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Prohibited Pagan Practices

¹ The Lord spoke to Moses: ² “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: I am the Lord your God.^{(C1) 3} Do not follow the practices of the land of Egypt,^(C1) where you used to live, or follow the practices of the land of Canaan,^(C2) where I am bringing you. You must not follow their customs.^{(C3) 4} You are to practice my ordinances^(C1) and you are to keep my statutes^(C2) by following them; I am the Lord your God. ⁵ Keep my statutes and ordinances; a person will live^(C1) if he does them.^(C2) I am the Lord.

⁶ “You are not to come near^(C1) any close relative^(F1) for sexual intercourse;^(C2) I am the Lord. ⁷ You are not to violate the intimacy that belongs to your father^(C1) and mother.^(F1) She is your mother; you must not have sexual intercourse with her. ⁸ You are not to have sex with your father’s wife;^(C1) she is your father’s family.^{(C2) 9} You are not to have sexual intercourse with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s,^(C1) whether born at home or born elsewhere. You are not to have sex with her. ¹⁰ You are not to have sexual intercourse with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, for they are your family.^{(F1) 11} You are not to have sexual intercourse with your father’s wife’s daughter, who is adopted by^(F1) your father; she is your sister. ¹² You are not to have sexual intercourse with your father’s sister;^(C1) she is your father’s close relative. ¹³ You are not to have sexual intercourse with your mother’s sister,^(C1) for she is your mother’s close relative. ¹⁴ You are not to violate the intimacy that belongs to^(F1) your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual intercourse; she is your aunt.^{(C1) 15} You are not to have sexual intercourse with your daughter-in-law.^(C1) She is your son’s wife; you are not to have sex with her. ¹⁶ You are not to have sexual intercourse with your brother’s wife; she is your brother’s family.^{(C1) 17} You are not to have sexual intercourse with a woman and her daughter.^(C1) You are not to marry her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter and have sex with her. They are close relatives; it is depraved.^{(C2) 18} You are not to marry a woman as a rival to her sister and have sexual intercourse with her during her sister’s lifetime.^(C1)

¹⁹ “You are not to approach^(C1) a woman during her menstrual impurity to have sexual intercourse with her.^{(C2) 20} You are not to have sexual intercourse with^(F1) your neighbor’s wife, defiling yourself with her.^(C1)

²¹ “You are not to sacrifice any of your children in the fire^(F1) to Molech.^(C1) Do not profane the name^(C2) of your God; I am the Lord. ²² You are not to sleep with a man as with a woman;^(C1) it is detestable.^{(C2) 23} You are not to have sexual intercourse with^(F1) any animal, defiling yourself with it; a woman is not to present herself to an animal to mate with it;^(C1) it is a perversion.

²⁴ “Do not defile yourselves by any of these practices, for the nations I am driving out before you have defiled themselves by all these things. ²⁵ The land has become defiled, so I am punishing it for its iniquity, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants.^{(C1) 26} But you are to keep my statutes and ordinances. You must not commit any of these detestable acts—not the native or the alien who resides among you. ²⁷ For the people who were in the land prior to you have committed all these detestable acts, and the land has become defiled. ²⁸ If you defile the land, it will vomit^(C1) you out as it has vomited out the nations that were before you. ²⁹ Any person who does any of these detestable practices is to be cut off from his people. ³⁰ You must keep my instruction to not do any of the detestable customs^(C1) that were practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them; I am the Lord your God.”