1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
2Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: I am the Lord your God.
3You shall not act according to the custom of the land of Egypt, in which you have lived; nor shall you behave according to the habit of the region of Canaan, into which I will lead you; neither shall you walk in their ordinances.
4You shall accomplish my judgments, and you shall observe my precepts, and you shall walk in them. I am the Lord your God.
5Keep my laws and judgments; when a man does these, he shall live by them. I am the Lord.
6No man shall approach her who is a close blood-relative to him, so as to uncover her nakedness. I am the Lord.
7You shall not expose the nakedness of your father, or the nakedness of your mother. She is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness.
8You shall not expose the nakedness of your father’s wife; for it is the nakedness of your father.
9You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, whether from father or from mother, whether she was born at home or abroad.
10You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son’s daughter, or your daughter’s daughter; for it is your own nakedness.
11You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, whom she bore to your father, and who is your sister.
12You shall not expose the nakedness of your father’s sister; for she is the flesh of your father.
13You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, because she is the flesh of your mother.
14You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother, nor shall you approach his wife, who is joined to you by affinity.
15You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law, for she is your son’s wife; neither shall you expose her dishonor.
16You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; for it is the nakedness of your brother.
17You shall not uncover the nakedness of your wife and her daughter. You shall not take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, so as to uncover her dishonor; for they are her flesh, and such sexual intercourse is incest.
18You shall not take your wife’s sister as a rival mistress; nor shall you uncover her nakedness, while your wife is still living.
19You shall not approach a woman who is undergoing menstruation, nor shall you uncover her foulness.
20You shall not have sexual intercourse with your neighbor’s wife, nor shall you be defiled by the mingling of seed.
21You shall not give some of your seed to be consecrated to the idol Moloch, nor to pollute the name of your God. I am the Lord.
22You shall not commit sexual acts with a male, in place of sexual intercourse with a female, for this is an abomination.
23You shall not commit sexual acts with any animal, nor shall you be defiled by it. A woman shall not lie down with a beast, nor commit sexual acts with it; for this is wickedness.
24Do not pollute yourselves with any of these things, by which all of the nations, which I will cast out in your sight, have been contaminated
25and by which the land has been polluted. I will visit the wickedness of the land, so that it may vomit out its inhabitants.
26Keep my ordinances and judgments, and do not do any of these abominations: the native born, as well as the settler, who sojourns among you.
27For all these detestable things were done by the inhabitants of the land who were here before you, and they have polluted it.
28Therefore, beware, lest in a similar manner, it may vomit you out as well, if you do these same things, just as it vomited out the people who were before you.
29Every soul who shall commit any of these abominations shall perish from the midst of his people.
30Keep my commandments. Do not be willing to do the things which have been done by those who were before you, and do not be polluted by these things. I am the Lord your God.
Verse 5
For the law promises those who practice it not the rewards of the heavenly kingdom but the consolations of this life when it says, “The one who does these things shall live in them.” But the Lord says to his disciples, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. [Leviticus 18:5] Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
“The man who carries out the law will find life through it.” Scripture did not say he will find life through it, in the sense that through the law he will live in heaven, but he will find life through it to the extent that what he merits, he reaps in the present world.
The righteousness of the law, of which it is said that if a man does it he shall live in it, is set forth to this end: that every man may recognize his own infirmity. It is not in his own strength or through the letter of the law (which cannot be) but only by receiving through faith the favor of the Justifier that he may attain and do and live in righteousness.
Verse 6
Divine Law forbids a man to "uncover the nakedness of his kindred". Therefore, marriage should only be permitted from the third or fourth generation of relatives, while those in the second generation of kinship must completely abstain from marrying one another.
Verse 8
Marrying one’s stepmother is a grave sin because the Law states, "You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father". While a son cannot literally uncover his father’s nakedness, Scripture also says, "The two shall become one flesh". Thus, if a man takes his stepmother, who was one flesh with his father, he is in effect uncovering his father’s nakedness.
Verse 23
Because it is a heinous crime: In Hebrew, this word heinous crime is expressed by the word confusion, signifying the shamefulness and baseness of this abominable sin.