Leviticus - 20:13



13 "'If a man lies with a male, as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Leviticus 20:13.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
If any one lie with a man se with a woman, both have committed an abomination, let them be put to death: their blood be upon them.
And if a man lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall certainly be put to death; their blood is upon them.
And a man who lieth with a male as one lieth with a woman; abomination both of them have done; they are certainly put to death; their blood is on them.
And if a man has sex relations with a man, the two of them have done a disgusting thing: let them be put to death; their blood will be on them.
'If a man has sexual relations with a male, as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
If any man has slept with a male in place of sexual intercourse with a female, both have committed a nefarious act, they shall die a death. So let their blood be upon them.
Quicunque coierit cum masculo coitu mulieris, abominationem fecerunt ambo: morte morientur, sanguis eorum super eos.

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


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

If a man also [1] God had hitherto taught what was right, in order to restrain the people from sin, not only from fear of punishment, but for conscience' sake. But whereas all do not voluntarily dispose themselves to obedience, the awards severe punishments to those wicked despisers in whom there is no effort to be religious. And it is astonishing that almost all the Gentiles have so sunk into stupid and brutal folly, that they have tolerated with little less than impunity unnatural crimes, detestable in their very name. I admit that even the wickedest of them were ashamed to justify so gross a crime; but although it was practiced with impunity, it was a common reproach to make even against the very public tribunals, that it ought to be more severely punished than other crimes, which they did not spare. Both of the offending parties were subjected to the same punishment, because it is a pollution which ought by no means to be borne. Nay, if a man or woman offend with a beast, in order that, all may the more abhor and beware of the unnatural crime, the penalty is extended even to the harmless animal; as we have before seen that a goring ox is condemned to death if it had killed a man. Hence we infer how greatly displeasing to God is this kind of crime, since its iniquity is confirmed by the death of guiltless animals.

Footnotes

1 - The Supplements of the Seventh Commandment are differently divided in the Fr. There is no such heading as "Judicial Supplements," and this passage, as well as several others, is removed into a separate class, headed "Political Supplements."

If a man lie also with mankind, as he lieth with a woman,.... Is guilty of the sin of sodomy, this is a breach of the law in Leviticus 18:22,
both of them have committed an abomination; he that lies, and he that is lain with, both consenting to perpetrate the abominable wickedness; which may well be called an abomination, being contrary to nature, and more than brutish, for nothing of that kind is to be found among brutes:
they shall surely be put to death; if he that is lain with is not forced, as Aben Ezra observes:
their blood shall be upon them; be slain by stoning, as the above Targum.

Put to death - Except the one party was forced by the other. See Deuteronomy 22:25.

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