Leviticus 20:10 kjv
And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
Leviticus 20:10 nkjv
'The man who commits adultery with another man's wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.
Leviticus 20:10 niv
"?'If a man commits adultery with another man's wife?with the wife of his neighbor?both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.
Leviticus 20:10 esv
"If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
Leviticus 20:10 nlt
"If a man commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, both the man and the woman who have committed adultery must be put to death.
Leviticus 20 10 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 2:24 | Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. | Establishes the divine institution of marriage. |
| Ex 20:14 | “You shall not commit adultery." | The Seventh Commandment. |
| Deut 5:18 | “You shall not commit adultery." | Restates the Seventh Commandment. |
| Deut 22:22 | “If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die...". | Confirms the capital punishment for adultery. |
| Prov 6:32 | He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself. | Highlights the self-destructive nature of adultery. |
| Jer 29:23 | ...because they have committed vile things in Israel; they have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives... | God’s judgment against adultery among His people. |
| Mal 3:5 | “Then I will draw near to you for judgment... against those who oppress the hireling... against adulterers..." | God declares judgment against adulterers. |
| Matt 5:27-28 | “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart." | Jesus deepens the command to internal intent. |
| Mark 10:11-12 | “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her...". | Jesus on remarriage after unlawful divorce. |
| Luke 16:18 | “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery." | Jesus' teaching on the sanctity of marriage. |
| John 8:4-5 | “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women...". | Historical context of the law's application (or challenge). |
| Rom 7:2-3 | For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives... So then, if she lives with another man while her husband lives, she is called an adulteress. | Analogy of marriage for law's binding nature. |
| 1 Cor 6:9-10 | Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?... nor adulterers...". | Adulterers are excluded from God's kingdom. |
| Gal 5:19-21 | Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry... adultery... those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. | Lists adultery as a work of the sinful nature. |
| Heb 13:4 | Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. | Exhortation to honor marriage and a warning against defilement. |
| James 2:10-11 | For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” | Emphasizes the interconnectedness of God's commands. |
| James 4:4 | You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? | Spiritual adultery, showing disloyalty to God. |
| 1 Thess 4:3-5 | For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God. | Command to abstain from sexual immorality. |
| Rev 21:8 | But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” | Eternal consequence for unrepentant sexual sin. |
| Ex 22:16-17 | "If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall pay a dowry for her to be his wife...". | Differentiates seduction from adultery. |
| Lev 18:20 | “You shall not lie sexually with your neighbor’s wife and so make yourself unclean with her." | Calls adultery an act that makes one unclean. |
| Lev 20:11-16 | Details various other sexual perversions and their penalties, framing adultery within broader sexual purity laws. | Broader context of forbidden sexual unions. |
Leviticus 20 verses
Leviticus 20 10 Meaning
Leviticus 20:10 establishes a clear and severe penalty for adultery within ancient Israel: the death of both the male and female involved. This decree underscores the sanctity of marriage as a foundational institution within God's covenant community, considering its violation a grave offense against the divine law, societal order, and the purity of the individual families involved. The capital punishment emphasizes the depth of the defilement caused by adultery and the absolute necessity of maintaining moral and communal holiness.
Leviticus 20 10 Context
Leviticus 20:10 is found within the "Holiness Code" (Leviticus 17-26), a section of the book that lays out divine laws for how the Israelite people were to live as a holy nation, set apart unto God. This chapter specifically lists various offenses that required capital punishment, many of them involving sexual immorality (incest, bestiality, child sacrifice to Molech, homosexuality) and others relating to sorcery and blasphemy. The strict laws surrounding sexual conduct, including adultery, reflect God's design for human sexuality within the bounds of a holy marriage, His intention for family structures, and His abhorrence of anything that would defile the sanctity of His covenant people. Adultery, therefore, was not merely a private affair but a direct attack on the integrity and purity of the entire community, meriting the severest judicial response to cleanse the land of impurity. The polemic is clear against the lax sexual morality of surrounding pagan nations whose deities and practices often involved illicit sexual acts and temple prostitution.
Leviticus 20 10 Word analysis
- And the man: The Hebrew phrase ’ish (אישׁ) typically denotes an adult male. The construction emphasizes the responsibility of the male party.
- that committeth adultery: From the Hebrew verb na’aph (נָאַף), meaning "to commit adultery," "to be an adulterer." It implies a breaking of marital vows and the invasion of another man's sexual domain and marital bond. This term encompasses both the act and the state of being unfaithful.
- with another man's wife: This phrase explicitly identifies the target of the transgression: a woman already bound by marriage vows to another. The Hebrew for "wife" (’ishah אִשָּׁה) here denotes her married status. This emphasizes the violation of the husband's rights and the marital covenant, which under Israelite law, afforded a degree of proprietorship over one's wife as a member of his household and inheritance. It directly opposes the societal structure ordained by God.
- even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife: This is a repetition for emphasis and clarity, highlighting that the identity of the adulteress is precisely "his neighbor's wife." This phrasing reiterates the specific nature of the transgression: not general promiscuity, but the violation of an established marriage. The repetition underscores the grave offense.
- the adulterer: The Hebrew ha-no’eph (הַנֹּאֵף), the masculine form of the particpial form of
na'aph, literally "the one committing adultery." This term clearly identifies the male participant. - and the adulteress: The Hebrew ve-ha-no’efet (וְהַנֹּאֶפֶת), the feminine form. The explicit mention of both parties highlights the equal culpability of both the male and female involved in the act, an important point in many ancient legal codes where only the female or the female's owner might be punished. This reflects the impartial justice of God's law.
- shall surely be put to death: The Hebrew phrase mot yumat (מוֹת יוּמָת) is a legal idiom indicating absolute, mandatory capital punishment. It literally means "dying, he shall be put to death," conveying certainty and severity, leaving no room for leniency or alternative penalties. This emphatic construction is consistently used for offenses that directly defy God's holiness and gravely defile the community.
Leviticus 20 10 Bonus section
The severe penalty for adultery in the Old Testament, though no longer directly applicable for capital punishment under the New Covenant (as seen in John 8:1-11 where Jesus shifts the focus to mercy and conviction for sin, not immediate physical execution), highlights God’s unwavering standard of holiness regarding marriage and sexual purity. This Old Testament severity foreshadows the New Testament’s teaching that all unrepentant sexual immorality carries spiritual death and eternal separation from God (Rom 6:23, Gal 5:19-21, Rev 21:8). The original context of the Law was also to physically cleanse the land and the community from impurities that would prevent God’s dwelling among them. The term mot yumat always points to offenses deemed to pollute the land or the people to such an extent that only eradication of the offenders could purge the impurity. It was also a boundary marker between Israel's laws and the more lenient or discriminatory laws of surrounding cultures regarding marital fidelity.
Leviticus 20 10 Commentary
Leviticus 20:10 sets forth one of the sternest penalties in Israelite law, reflecting God’s absolute regard for the sanctity of the marital covenant and its foundational role in a holy society. Adultery, in God’s eyes, was far more than a private indiscretion; it was a profound violation of sacred trust, a public affront to societal order, and a defilement that warranted divine cleansing through the severest judgment. The explicit mandate for both parties to suffer capital punishment illustrates the impartial nature of divine justice and prevents a scenario where one party (often the woman) bears the sole burden of culpability. This severe consequence underscores God’s expectation of sexual purity within His covenant people, aligning with the Seventh Commandment and serving as a deterrent to safeguard the purity of lineage, property rights, and the communal bond. It also subtly reinforces the exclusive nature of the covenant between God and Israel, where fidelity in marriage mirrors fidelity to God.