Boundaries That Protect
18 1 Our Father spoke to Moses, saying:
2 "Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: I am your Father. 3 You must not do as Egypt does, where you lived; you must not do as Canaan does, where I am bringing you; you must not follow their statutes. 4 You must follow my judgments and keep my statutes, walking in them. I am your Father. 5 Keep my statutes and my judgments; whoever does them will live by them. I am your Father.
6 None of you may approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am your Father.
7 Do not have sex with your mother—that exposes your father's nakedness. She is your mother; do not have sex with her.
8 You must not have sexual relations with your father's wife; that would dishonor your father.
9 Don't have sexual relations with your sister, your father's or mother's daughter, born at home or elsewhere.
10 Do not have sex with your son's or daughter's daughter—that exposes your own nakedness.
11 Your father's wife's daughter, born to your father, is your sister; do not have sex with her.
12 You must not have sexual relations with your father's sister; she is your father's close relative.
13 You must not have sexual relations with your mother's sister, for she is your mother's close relative.
14 Do not dishonor your father's brother by having sex with his wife; she is your aunt.
15 Do not have sex with your daughter-in-law; she is your son's wife—do not have sex with her.
16 You must not have sexual relations with your brother's wife; that would dishonor your brother.
17 Do not have sex with a woman and her daughter, or take her son's or her daughter's daughter, to have sex with them; they are close relatives — that is depraved.
18 Do not marry a woman as rival to her sister, sleeping with her while the sister is still living.
19 Do not approach a woman for sex during her monthly impurity.
20 Do not have sex with your neighbor's wife, making yourself unclean by her.
21 Do not give any of your children to be passed through the fire to Molech, desecrating your Father's name. I am your Father. a a v21 Molech was a god worshiped by passing children through fire — child sacrifice — which is why this defilement so deeply profanes our Father's name.
22 You must not have sexual relations with a male as with a woman; it is detestable.
23 Do not have sex with any animal, making yourself unclean; a woman must not present herself to an animal to mate with it. That is a perversion.
24 Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these, for by all of them the nations I'm driving out before you became unclean. 25 The land was made unclean, so I called it to account for its guilt, and it vomited out those living there. 26 Keep my rules and laws. None of you—native or foreigner among you—may do any of these detestable things. 27 For the people of the land before you did all these detestable things, and it was made unclean. 28 Let the land not vomit you out for making it unclean, as it vomited out the nation before you.
29 Anyone who does any of these detestable things will be cut off from among their people. 30 So keep my charge: do none of the detestable customs practiced before you, and do not make yourselves unclean by them. I am your Father."
