Leviticus - 20:10



10 "'The man who commits adultery with another man's wife, even he who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Leviticus 20:10.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
If any man commit adultery with the wife of another, and defile his neighbour's wife, let then: be put to death, both the adulterer and the adulteress.
And a man that committeth adultery with a man's wife, who committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall certainly be put to death.
And a man who committeth adultery with a man's wife, who committeth adultery with the wife of his neighbour, the adulterer and the adulteress are surely put to death.
And if a man has sex relations with another man's wife, even the wife of his neighbour, he and she are certainly to be put to death.
'The man who commits adultery with another man's wife shall surely be put to death, both the adulterer and the adulteress.
If anyone will have committed sexual acts with the wife of another, or will have perpetrated adultery with his neighbor's spouse, they shall die a death, both the adulterer and the adulteress.
Vir qui adulterium commiserit cum uxore alterius, qui adulterium commiserit cum uxore proximi sui moriendo morientur adulter et adultera.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

Committeth adultery - To what has been said in the note on See Exodus 20:14 (note), we may add, that the word adultery comes from the Latin adulterium, which is compounded of ad, to or with, and alter, another, or, according to Minshieu, of ad alterius forum, he that approaches to another man's bed.

And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife,.... Which is a breach of the seventh command, Exodus 20:14,
even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife: which is only an explanation of the former clause; though the Jewish writers, as Jarchi and Ben Gersom, say this is so expressed to except the wife of a stranger, or a Gentile; but it means whether a Gentile or an Israelite; and which may be confirmed by the instance of Phinehas slaying a prince of Israel, that lay with a Midianitish woman, Numbers 25:6,
the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death; on account of her that is espoused, by strangling, with a hard napkin within a soft one; and on account of her that is married, by casting stones; even both the adulterer and adulteress, as the Targum: and the Jews say (b), strangling was thus performed; they that were strangled were fixed up to their knees in dung, and then they put a hard napkin within a soft one, and rolled it about his neck, and one drew it to him this way, and another drew it to him that way, until he expired: and there is no unlawful copulation punished with strangling, according to Maimonides (c), but lying with another man's wife; and who observes, that the death which is spoken of in the law absolutely, that is, without specifying any kind of death, is strangling; but stoning seems rather meant, agreeably to Deuteronomy 22:24.
(b) Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 3. (c) Hilchot lssure Biah, c. 1. sect. 6.

These verses repeat what had been said before, but it was needful there should be line upon line. What praises we owe to God that he has taught the evil of sin, and the sure way of deliverance from it! May we have grace to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things; may we have no fellowship with unfruitful works of darkness, but reprove them.

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