1
וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר.
Y Jehová habló a Moisés, diciendo:
2
וְאֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, תֹּאמַר, אִישׁ אִישׁ מִבְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וּמִן-הַגֵּר הַגָּר בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר יִתֵּן מִזַּרְעוֹ לַמֹּלֶךְ, מוֹת יוּמָת; עַם הָאָרֶץ, יִרְגְּמֻהוּ בָאָבֶן.
Say to the children of Israel: Any man of the children of Israel, or of the foreigners living in Israel, who gives any of his offspring to
Molech, shall surely be put to death; the people of the land shall stone him with stones.
noteDi a los hijos de Israel: Cualquier hombre de los hijos de Israel, o de los extranjeros que habitan en Israel, que dé de su descendencia a
Molec, morirá sin falta; el pueblo de la tierra lo apedreará.
3
וַאֲנִי אֶתֵּן אֶת-פָּנַי, בָּאִישׁ הַהוּא, וְהִכְרַתִּי אֹתוֹ, מִקֶּרֶב עַמּוֹ: כִּי מִזַּרְעוֹ, נָתַן לַמֹּלֶךְ--לְמַעַן טַמֵּא אֶת-מִקְדָּשִׁי, וּלְחַלֵּל אֶת-שֵׁם קָדְשִׁי.
I myself will set my face against that man, and cut him off from among his people, because he has given his offspring to Molech, defiling my sanctuary and profaning my holy name.
noteYo mismo pondré mi rostro contra ese hombre, y lo cortaré de en medio de su pueblo, porque dio de su descendencia a Molec, contaminando mi santuario y profanando mi santo nombre.
4
וְאִם הַעְלֵם יַעְלִימוּ עַם הָאָרֶץ אֶת-עֵינֵיהֶם, מִן-הָאִישׁ הַהוּא, בְּתִתּוֹ מִזַּרְעוֹ, לַמֹּלֶךְ--לְבִלְתִּי, הָמִית אֹתוֹ.
And if the people of the land close their eyes to that man when he gives his offspring to Molech, and do not put him to death,
noteY si el pueblo de la tierra cierra sus ojos ante ese hombre cuando dé de su descendencia a Molec, y no lo mata,
5
וְשַׂמְתִּי אֲנִי אֶת-פָּנַי בָּאִישׁ הַהוּא, וּבְמִשְׁפַּחְתּוֹ; וְהִכְרַתִּי אֹתוֹ וְאֵת כָּל-הַזֹּנִים אַחֲרָיו, לִזְנוֹת אַחֲרֵי הַמֹּלֶךְ--מִקֶּרֶב עַמָּם.
then I myself will set my face against that man and against his family, and I will cut off from among their people both him and all who prostitute themselves after him in following Molech.
noteentonces yo mismo pondré mi rostro contra ese hombre y contra su familia, y lo cortaré de en medio de su pueblo, a él y a todos los que se prostituyan tras él siguiendo a Molec.
6
וְהַנֶּפֶשׁ, אֲשֶׁר תִּפְנֶה אֶל-הָאֹבֹת וְאֶל-הַיִּדְּעֹנִים, לִזְנֹת, אַחֲרֵיהֶם--וְנָתַתִּי אֶת-פָּנַי בַּנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא, וְהִכְרַתִּי אֹתוֹ מִקֶּרֶב עַמּוֹ.
And the person who turns to mediums and spiritists, prostituting themselves after them, I will set my face against that person and cut him off from among his people.
noteY la persona que se vuelva a los médiums y a los espiritistas, prostituyéndose tras ellos, pondré mi rostro contra esa persona y la cortaré de en medio de su pueblo.
7
וְהִתְקַדִּשְׁתֶּם--וִהְיִיתֶם, קְדֹשִׁים: כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה, אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.
Sanctify yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am Jehovah your God.
noteSantificáos, pues, y sed santos, porque yo soy Jehová vuestro Dios.
8
וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם, אֶת-חֻקֹּתַי, וַעֲשִׂיתֶם, אֹתָם: אֲנִי יְהוָה, מְקַדִּשְׁכֶם.
And keep my statutes, and carry them out: I am Jehovah, who sanctifies you.
noteY guardad mis estatutos, y ponedlos por obra: Yo soy Jehová, quien os santifica.
9
כִּי-אִישׁ אִישׁ, אֲשֶׁר יְקַלֵּל אֶת-אָבִיו וְאֶת-אִמּוֹ--מוֹת יוּמָת: אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ קִלֵּל, דָּמָיו בּוֹ.
For any man who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother — his blood is upon him.
notePorque cualquier hombre que maldiga a su padre o a su madre morirá sin falta; a su padre o a su madre maldijo —su sangre será sobre él.
10
וְאִישׁ, אֲשֶׁר יִנְאַף אֶת-אֵשֶׁת אִישׁ, אֲשֶׁר יִנְאַף, אֶת-אֵשֶׁת רֵעֵהוּ--מוֹת-יוּמַת הַנֹּאֵף, וְהַנֹּאָפֶת.
And the man who commits adultery with a married woman — who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife — the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
noteY el hombre que cometa adulterio con la mujer de otro —que cometa adulterio con la mujer de su prójimo—, el adúltero y la adúltera morirán sin falta.
11
וְאִישׁ, אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁכַּב אֶת-אֵשֶׁת אָבִיו--עֶרְוַת אָבִיו, גִּלָּה; מוֹת-יוּמְתוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם, דְּמֵיהֶם בָּם.
And the man who lies with his father's wife has uncovered his father's nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death — their blood is upon them.
noteY el hombre que se acueste con la mujer de su padre ha descubierto la desnudez de su padre; ambos morirán sin falta —su sangre será sobre ellos.
12
וְאִישׁ, אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁכַּב אֶת-כַּלָּתוֹ--מוֹת יוּמְתוּ, שְׁנֵיהֶם: תֶּבֶל עָשׂוּ, דְּמֵיהֶם בָּם.
And the man who lies with his daughter-in-law — both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed a
perversion — their blood is upon them.
noteY el hombre que se acueste con su nuera —ambos morirán sin falta; han cometido
perversión —su sangre será sobre ellos.
13
וְאִישׁ, אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁכַּב אֶת-זָכָר מִשְׁכְּבֵי אִשָּׁה--תּוֹעֵבָה עָשׂוּ, שְׁנֵיהֶם; מוֹת יוּמָתוּ, דְּמֵיהֶם בָּם.
And the man who lies with a male as one lies with a woman — both of them have committed an
abomination; they shall surely be put to death — their blood is upon them.
noteY el hombre que se acueste con varón como se acuesta con mujer —ambos han cometido
abominación; morirán sin falta —su sangre será sobre ellos.
14
וְאִישׁ, אֲשֶׁר יִקַּח אֶת-אִשָּׁה וְאֶת-אִמָּהּ--זִמָּה הִוא; בָּאֵשׁ יִשְׂרְפוּ אֹתוֹ, וְאֶתְהֶן, וְלֹא-תִהְיֶה זִמָּה, בְּתוֹכְכֶם.
And the man who takes a woman and her mother as well — it is
depravity; he and they shall be burned with fire, so that there is no depravity among you.
noteY el hombre que tome a una mujer y también a su madre —es
depravación; serán quemados con fuego, él y ellas, para que no haya depravación entre vosotros.
15
וְאִישׁ, אֲשֶׁר יִתֵּן שְׁכָבְתּוֹ בִּבְהֵמָה--מוֹת יוּמָת; וְאֶת-הַבְּהֵמָה, תַּהֲרֹגוּ.
And the man who lies with an animal shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal.
noteY el hombre que se una con un animal morirá sin falta, y mataréis al animal.
16
וְאִשָּׁה, אֲשֶׁר תִּקְרַב אֶל-כָּל-בְּהֵמָה לְרִבְעָה אֹתָהּ--וְהָרַגְתָּ אֶת-הָאִשָּׁה, וְאֶת-הַבְּהֵמָה; מוֹת יוּמָתוּ, דְּמֵיהֶם בָּם.
And the woman who approaches any animal to mate with it — you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death — their blood is upon them.
noteY la mujer que se acerque a cualquier animal para unirse con él —matarás a la mujer y al animal; morirán sin falta —su sangre será sobre ellos.
17
וְאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר-יִקַּח אֶת-אֲחֹתוֹ בַּת-אָבִיו אוֹ בַת-אִמּוֹ וְרָאָה אֶת-עֶרְוָתָהּ וְהִיא-תִרְאֶה אֶת-עֶרְוָתוֹ, חֶסֶד הוּא--וְנִכְרְתוּ, לְעֵינֵי בְּנֵי עַמָּם; עֶרְוַת אֲחֹתוֹ גִּלָּה, עֲוֺנוֹ יִשָּׂא.
And the man who takes his sister, his father's daughter or his mother's daughter, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness — it is a
disgrace, and they shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people; he has uncovered his sister's nakedness, he shall bear his iniquity.
noteY el hombre que tome a su hermana, hija de su padre o hija de su madre, y vea su desnudez, y ella vea la desnudez de él —es una
deshonra, y serán cortados a la vista de los hijos de su pueblo; descubrió la desnudez de su hermana, cargará con su iniquidad.
18
וְאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר-יִשְׁכַּב אֶת-אִשָּׁה דָּוָה, וְגִלָּה אֶת-עֶרְוָתָהּ אֶת-מְקֹרָהּ הֶעֱרָה, וְהִוא, גִּלְּתָה אֶת-מְקוֹר דָּמֶיהָ--וְנִכְרְתוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם, מִקֶּרֶב עַמָּם.
And the man who lies with a woman during her sickness, and uncovers her nakedness — he has exposed her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her own blood — both of them shall be cut off from among their people.
noteY el hombre que se acueste con una mujer durante su enfermedad, y descubra su desnudez —expuso su flujo, y ella descubrió el flujo de su propia sangre—, ambos serán cortados de en medio de su pueblo.
19
וְעֶרְוַת אֲחוֹת אִמְּךָ וַאֲחוֹת אָבִיךָ, לֹא תְגַלֵּה: כִּי אֶת-שְׁאֵרוֹ הֶעֱרָה, עֲוֺנָם יִשָּׂאוּ.
And you shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, or of your father's sister, for that exposes one's own close relative; they shall bear their iniquity.
noteY no descubrirás la desnudez de la hermana de tu madre, ni de la hermana de tu padre, porque eso expone a su propia parienta cercana; cargarán con su iniquidad.
20
וְאִישׁ, אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁכַּב אֶת-דֹּדָתוֹ--עֶרְוַת דֹּדוֹ, גִּלָּה; חֶטְאָם יִשָּׂאוּ, עֲרִירִים יָמֻתוּ.
And the man who lies with his uncle's wife has uncovered his uncle's nakedness; they shall bear their sin — they shall die childless.
noteY el hombre que se acueste con la mujer de su tío ha descubierto la desnudez de su tío; cargarán con su pecado —morirán sin hijos.
21
וְאִישׁ, אֲשֶׁר יִקַּח אֶת-אֵשֶׁת אָחִיו--נִדָּה הִוא; עֶרְוַת אָחִיו גִּלָּה, עֲרִירִים יִהְיוּ.
And the man who takes his brother's wife — it is
impurity; he has uncovered his brother's nakedness — they shall be childless.
noteY el hombre que tome a la mujer de su hermano —es
impureza; descubrió la desnudez de su hermano —quedarán sin hijos.
22
וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם אֶת-כָּל-חֻקֹּתַי וְאֶת-כָּל-מִשְׁפָּטַי, וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֹתָם; וְלֹא-תָקִיא אֶתְכֶם, הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי מֵבִיא אֶתְכֶם שָׁמָּה, לָשֶׁבֶת בָּהּ.
You shall keep all my statutes and all my ordinances, and carry them out, so that the land where I am bringing you to live does not vomit you out.
noteGuardaréis todos mis estatutos y todas mis ordenanzas, y los pondréis por obra, para que la tierra adonde os llevo a habitar no os vomite.
23
וְלֹא תֵלְכוּ בְּחֻקֹּת הַגּוֹי, אֲשֶׁר-אֲנִי מְשַׁלֵּחַ מִפְּנֵיכֶם: כִּי אֶת-כָּל-אֵלֶּה עָשׂוּ, וָאָקֻץ בָּם.
And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and I abhorred them.
noteY no andaréis en las costumbres de la nación que echo de delante de vosotros, porque hicieron todas estas cosas, y las aborrecí.
24
וָאֹמַר לָכֶם, אַתֶּם תִּירְשׁוּ אֶת-אַדְמָתָם, וַאֲנִי אֶתְּנֶנָּה לָכֶם לָרֶשֶׁת אֹתָהּ, אֶרֶץ זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבָשׁ: אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, אֲשֶׁר-הִבְדַּלְתִּי אֶתְכֶם מִן-הָעַמִּים.
But I have said to you: You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am Jehovah your God, who has set you apart from the peoples.
notePero os he dicho: Vosotros heredaréis su tierra, y yo os la daré para que la poseáis, tierra que fluye leche y miel: Yo soy Jehová vuestro Dios, que os he separado de los pueblos.
25
וְהִבְדַּלְתֶּם בֵּין-הַבְּהֵמָה הַטְּהֹרָה, לַטְּמֵאָה, וּבֵין-הָעוֹף הַטָּמֵא, לַטָּהֹר; וְלֹא-תְשַׁקְּצוּ אֶת-נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם בַּבְּהֵמָה וּבָעוֹף, וּבְכֹל אֲשֶׁר תִּרְמֹשׂ הָאֲדָמָה, אֲשֶׁר-הִבְדַּלְתִּי לָכֶם, לְטַמֵּא.
You shall therefore distinguish between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; and you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or bird or anything that crawls on the ground, which I have set apart for you as unclean.
noteDistinguiréis, pues, entre el animal puro y el impuro, y entre el ave impura y la pura; y no os hagáis detestables por animal, ni por ave, ni por nada que se arrastre sobre la tierra, que he separado para vosotros como impuro.
26
וִהְיִיתֶם לִי קְדֹשִׁים, כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי יְהוָה; וָאַבְדִּל אֶתְכֶם מִן-הָעַמִּים, לִהְיוֹת לִי.
And you shall be holy to me, for I, Jehovah, am holy, and I have set you apart from the peoples, to be mine.
noteY me seréis santos, porque santo soy yo, Jehová, y os he separado de los pueblos, para que seáis míos.
27
וְאִישׁ אוֹ-אִשָּׁה, כִּי-יִהְיֶה בָהֶם אוֹב אוֹ יִדְּעֹנִי--מוֹת יוּמָתוּ; בָּאֶבֶן יִרְגְּמוּ אֹתָם, דְּמֵיהֶם בָּם. {פ}
A man or a woman who has a ghost or a familiar spirit shall surely be put to death; they shall be stoned with stones — their blood is upon them.
{פ}noteUn hombre o una mujer que tenga espíritu de adivino o de mago morirán sin falta; los apedrearán —su sangre será sobre ellos.
Leviticus 20 meaning — the same laws as Leviticus 18, now with penalties attached
This chapter restates Leviticus 18's own catalog (already on these pages) almost item for item, but changes its whole grammar: chapter 18 said ‘you shall not’; this chapter says what happens if you do. The Molech law (vv1–5) resolves a detail Leviticus 18's own note (already on these pages) left open — that chapter's verse never said ‘through the fire,’ and this one still doesn't, though 2 Kings 23:10 and Jeremiah 32:35 (neither yet on these pages) eventually will.
⚠ The penalty has two tiers, and the second exists because the first might fail. If the community stones the offender, that is v2's justice. But if ‘the people of the land close their eyes’ (v4) — if the community itself looks away — Jehovah's own action in v5 becomes the backstop: no human failure to prosecute exempts anyone from the law's actual claim. Justice deferred by a community is not justice avoided.
Mediums and holiness — the frame this whole chapter is built inside
Mediums and spiritists (v6) already appeared as a bare prohibition at Leviticus 19:31 (already on these pages); this chapter attaches the penalty, and — worth noticing — opens on this topic and closes on it again at v27, the entire death-penalty catalog framed by the same offense at both ends. Between the two mentions sits the chapter's own stated reason for all of it: ‘sanctify yourselves, and be holy, for I am Jehovah your God’ (v7) — not a new demand but the same one this book has repeated since Leviticus 11:44 (already on these pages).
Death for cursing a parent, adultery, incest, and bestiality — Leviticus 18's list, with penalties now attached
V9's law against cursing father or mother is worded identically to Exodus 21:17 (already on these pages) — the same clause standing in two different law codes. Verses 10–16 then work through adultery, a father's wife, a daughter-in-law, male-male intercourse, a woman and her mother together, and bestiality — the same relationships Leviticus 18 (already on these pages) prohibited, now each one closed with ‘their blood is upon them,’ the standing formula that places responsibility for the death on the offenders' own actions, not on whoever carries out the sentence.
⚠ One penalty in this stretch is harsher than the rest: v14's man-and-mother case alone is burned, not stoned — the single escalation in an otherwise uniform list, and the only hint the text gives that not every item on it was weighed as equally severe.
Chesed meaning — the Bible's great word for loyal love, turned on its head
V17 uses chesed for brother-sister incest — the identical word this project's own dictionary entry (already on these pages) calls ‘one of the Bible's great untranslatables,’ the steadfast covenant kindness behind the Psalms' ‘mercy’ and, strikingly, first spoken in the whole Bible by Lot himself (already on these pages), begging the angels for chesed as they pulled him out of Sodom — the same chapter that ends with Lot's own daughters and their father. Two real explanations exist for the reversal, and this translation does not choose between them: either a second, homonymous root (cognate with Aramaic and Arabic words for shame) that merely looks identical to the covenant-kindness word, or the same single root turned bitterly ironic — ‘kindness,’ ironically. KJV and ASV read ‘a wicked thing’ and ‘a shameful thing’; NIV has ‘a disgrace.’ This translation keeps ‘disgrace,’ and flags the pun rather than erasing it.
Set apart to be holy — the chapter's own closing argument
Verses 18–21 shift penalty types partway through the list: menstrual intercourse and the two aunt-relationships close on ‘bearing iniquity’ rather than a court sentence, and the uncle's-wife and brother's-wife cases close on ‘childless’ (ariri) instead — not a punishment any human court administers, but a consequence the text simply states as fact. Not every item in this catalog is enforced the same way.
The closing paragraph (vv22–26) makes the whole chapter's real argument explicit: Israel is ‘set apart from the peoples’ (hivdalti, vv24, 26) by the same root this project has tracked since Aaron's own job description at Leviticus 10:10 (already on these pages) — to distinguish clean from unclean. The land itself will vomit out a people who blur that distinction, exactly as it already vomited out the nation before them (Leviticus 18:25, already on these pages).
Notes on this translation
Decisions. Hebrew and English Leviticus 20 both run 1–27 — verified against the Masoretic text, no versification shift. Like Leviticus 16 and 17 before it, the chapter carries no internal paragraph break at all, a single Masoretic unit closed by one open break at v27. The recurring formula ‘his/their blood is upon him/them’ is kept literal and only appears where the Hebrew actually has it (vv9, 11, 12, 13, 16, 27) — not, for instance, at v10's adultery or v14's fire-penalty, where the Hebrew omits it. Tevel (v12) and to'evah (v13) both pay off dictionary entries fixed two chapters ago; v17's chesed gets a second, ironic sense flagged directly against its own established entry.
Echoes paid. Leviticus 18's entire catalog (already on these pages), restated here with penalties as that chapter's own chnote promised; Leviticus 19:31's bare mediums prohibition (already on these pages), now given its penalty and its bookend at v27; Exodus 21:17's identical cursing-parents clause (already on these pages); Leviticus 10:10's distinguishing root (already on these pages), now the closing chapter's own stated purpose; and Genesis 19:19's first use of chesed, on Lot's own lips (already on these pages), now turned against Lot's own family's crime.
Echoes planted. 2 Kings 23:10 and Jeremiah 32:35 (neither yet on these pages), which will finally state the Molech law's ‘through the fire’ detail neither this chapter nor Leviticus 18 spells out.
⚠ A note on order: Leviticus stands complete on these pages, chapters 1–27.