Imamat 20:6

Prohibition against Spiritists and Mediums ¹ 

20:6 “‘The person who turns to the spirits of the dead and familiar spirits ²  to commit prostitution by going after them, I will set my face ³  against that person and cut him off from the midst of his people.

Imamat 20:10

20:10 If a man ⁴  commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, ⁵  both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.

Imamat 20:27

Prohibition against Spiritists and Mediums

20:27 “‘A man or woman who ⁶  has in them a spirit of the dead or a familiar spirit ⁷  must be put to death. They must pelt them with stones; ⁸  their blood guilt is on themselves.’”

Ulangan 5:11

5:11 You must not make use of the name of the Lord your God for worthless purposes, ⁹  for the Lord will not exonerate anyone who abuses his name that way. ¹⁰ 

Ulangan 5:17-21

5:17 You must not murder. ¹¹  5:18 You must not commit adultery. 5:19 You must not steal. 5:20 You must not offer false testimony against another. ¹²  5:21 You must not desire ¹³  another man’s ¹⁴  wife, nor should you crave his ¹⁵  house, his field, his male and female servants, his ox, his donkey, or anything else he owns.” ¹⁶ 

Yeremia 7:9-10

7:9 You steal. ¹⁷  You murder. You commit adultery. You lie when you swear on oath. You sacrifice to the god Baal. You pay allegiance to ¹⁸  other gods whom you have not previously known. 7:10 Then you come and stand in my presence in this temple I have claimed as my own ¹⁹  and say, “We are safe!” You think you are so safe that you go on doing all those hateful sins! ²⁰ 

Yehezkiel 22:6-12

22:6 “‘See how each of the princes of Israel living within you has used his authority to shed blood. ²¹  22:7 They have treated father and mother with contempt ²²  within you; they have oppressed the foreigner among you; they have wronged the orphan and the widow ²³  within you. 22:8 You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths! 22:9 Slanderous men shed blood within you. ²⁴  Those who live within you eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains; ²⁵  they commit obscene acts among you. ²⁶  22:10 They have sex with their father’s wife within you; ²⁷  they violate women during their menstrual period within you. ²⁸  22:11 One ²⁹  commits an abominable act with his neighbor’s wife; another obscenely defiles his daughter-in-law; another violates ³⁰  his sister – his father’s daughter ³¹  – within you. 22:12 They take bribes within you to shed blood. You engage in usury and charge interest; ³²  you extort money from your neighbors. You have forgotten me, ³³  declares the sovereign Lord. ³⁴ 

Zakharia 5:3-4

5:3 The speaker went on to say, “This is a curse ³⁵  traveling across the whole earth. For example, according to the curse whoever steals ³⁶  will be removed from the community; or on the other hand (according to the curse) whoever swears falsely will suffer the same fate.” 5:4 “I will send it out,” says the Lord who rules over all, “and it will enter the house of the thief and of the person who swears falsely in my name. It will land in the middle of his house and destroy both timber and stones.”

Zakharia 5:1

Vision Six: The Flying Scroll

5:1 Then I turned to look, and there was a flying scroll!

Kolose 1:9-10

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ³⁷  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ³⁸  to fill ³⁹  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 1:10 so that you may live ⁴⁰  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ⁴¹  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

Galatia 5:19-21

5:19 Now the works of the flesh ⁴²  are obvious: ⁴³  sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, ⁴⁴  hostilities, ⁴⁵  strife, ⁴⁶  jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, ⁴⁷  factions, 5:21 envying, ⁴⁸  murder, ⁴⁹  drunkenness, carousing, ⁵⁰  and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!

Ibrani 13:4

13:4 Marriage must be honored among all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge sexually immoral people and adulterers.

Wahyu 21:8

21:8 But to the cowards, unbelievers, detestable persons, murderers, the sexually immoral, and those who practice magic spells, ⁵¹  idol worshipers, ⁵²  and all those who lie, their place ⁵³  will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. ⁵⁴  That ⁵⁵  is the second death.”

Wahyu 22:15

22:15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers ⁵⁶  and the sexually immoral, and the murderers, and the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood! ⁵⁷ 

[20:6]  ¹ sn For structure and coherence in Lev 20:6-27 see the note on v. 27 below.

[20:6]  ² tn See the note on the phrase “familiar spirits” in Lev 19:31 above.

[20:6]  ³ tn Heb “I will give my faces.”

[20:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “And a man who.” The syntax here and at the beginning of the following verses elliptically mirrors that of v. 9, which justifies the rendering as a conditional clause.

[20:10]  ⁵ tc The reading of the LXX minuscule mss has been followed here (see the BHS footnote a-a). The MT has a dittography, repeating “a man who commits adultery with the wife of” (see the explanation in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 328). The duplication found in the MT is reflected in some English versions, e.g., KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV.

[20:27]  ⁶ tc Smr, LXX, Syriac, and some Targum mss have the relative pronoun אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “who, which”), rather than the MT’s כִּי (ki, “for, because, that”).

[20:27]  ⁷ tn See the note on the phrase “familiar spirit” in Lev 19:31 above.

[20:27]  ⁸ tn This is not the most frequently-used Hebrew verb for stoning, but a word that refers to the action of throwing, slinging, or pelting someone with stones (see the note on v. 2 above). Smr and LXX have “you [plural] shall pelt them with stones.”

[20:27]  sn At first glance Lev 20:27 appears to be out of place but, on closer examination, one could argue that it constitutes the back side of an envelope around the case laws in 20:9-21, with Lev 20:6 forming the front of the envelope (note also that execution of mediums and spiritists by stoning in v. 27 is not explicitly stated in v. 6). This creates a chiastic structure: prohibition against mediums and spiritists (vv. 6 and 27), variations of the holiness formula (vv. 7 and 25-26), and exhortations to obey the Lord’s statutes (and judgments; vv. 8 and 22-24). Again, in the middle are the case laws (vv. 9-21).

[5:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “take up the name of the Lord your God to emptiness”; KJV “take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” The idea here is not cursing or profanity in the modern sense of these terms but rather the use of the divine Name for unholy, mundane purposes, that is, for meaningless (the Hebrew term is שָׁוְא) and empty ends. In ancient Israel this would include using the Lord’s name as a witness in vows one did not intend to keep.

[5:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “who takes up his name to emptiness.”

[5:17]  ¹¹ tn Traditionally “kill” (so KJV, ASV, RSV, NAB). The verb here (רָצַח, ratsakh) is generic for homicide but in the OT both killing in war and capital punishment were permitted and even commanded (Deut 13:5, 9; 20:13, 16-17), so the technical meaning here is “murder.”

[5:20]  ¹² tn Heb “your neighbor.” Clearly this is intended generically, however, and not to be limited only to those persons who live nearby (frequently the way “neighbor” is understood in contemporary contexts). So also in v. 20.

[5:21]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew verb used here (חָמַד, khamad) is different from the one translated “crave” (אָוַה, ’avah) in the next line. The former has sexual overtones (“lust” or the like; cf. Song of Sol 2:3) whereas the latter has more the idea of a desire or craving for material things.

[5:21]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “your neighbor’s.” See note on the term “fellow man” in v. 19.

[5:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “your neighbor’s.” The pronoun is used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[5:21]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

[7:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Will you steal…then say, ‘We are safe’?” Verses 9-10 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text.

[7:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “You go/follow after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom involved here.

[7:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.

[7:10]  ²⁰ tn Or “‘We are safe!’ – safe, you think, to go on doing all those hateful things.” Verses 9-10 are all one long sentence in the Hebrew text. It has been broken up for English stylistic reasons. Somewhat literally it reads “Will you steal…then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe’ so as to/in order to do…” The Hebrew of v. 9 has a series of infinitives which emphasize the bare action of the verb without the idea of time or agent. The effect is to place a kind of staccato like emphasis on the multitude of their sins all of which are violations of one of the Ten Commandments. The final clause in v. 8 expresses purpose or result (probably result) through another infinitive. This long sentence is introduced by a marker (ה interrogative in Hebrew) introducing a rhetorical question in which God expresses his incredulity that they could do these sins, come into the temple and claim the safety of his protection, and then go right back out and commit the same sins. J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 52) catches the force nicely: “What? You think you can steal, murder…and then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe…’ just so that you can go right on…”

[22:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “Look! The princes of Israel, each according to his arm, were in you in order to shed blood.”

[22:7]  ²² tn Heb “treated lightly, cursed.”

[22:7]  ²³ tn Widows and orphans are often coupled together in the OT (Deut 14:29; 16:11, 14; 24:19-21; 26:12-13; Jer 7:6; 22:3). They represented all who were poor and vulnerable to economic exploitation.

[22:9]  ²⁴ tn Heb “men of slander are in you in order to shed blood.”

[22:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and on the mountains they eat within you.” The mountains mentioned here were the site of pagan sacrifices. See 18:6.

[22:9]  ²⁶ sn This statement introduces vv. 10-11 and refers in general terms to the sexual sins described there. For the legal background of vv. 10-11, see Lev 18:7-20; 20:10-21; Deut 22:22-23, 30; 27:22.

[22:10]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the nakedness of a father one uncovers within you.” The ancient versions read the verb as plural (“they uncover”). If the singular is retained, it must be taken as indefinite and representative of the entire group. The idiomatic expression “uncover the nakedness” refers here to sexual intercourse (cf. Lev 18:6). To uncover a father’s nakedness could include sexual relations with one’s own mother (Lev 18:7), but more likely it refers to having intercourse with another wife of one’s father, such as a stepmother (Lev 18:8; cf. Gen 35:22; 49:4).

[22:10]  ²⁸ tn Heb “(one who is) unclean due to the impurity they humble within you.” The use of the verb “to humble” suggests that these men forced themselves upon women during menstruation. Having sexual relations with a woman during her period was forbidden by the Law (Lev 18:19; 20:18).

[22:11]  ²⁹ tn Heb “a man.”

[22:11]  ³⁰ tn The verb is the same one used in verse 10b and suggests forcible sexual violation of the woman.

[22:11]  ³¹ sn Sexual relations with one’s half-sister may be primarily in view here. See Lev 18:9; 20:17.

[22:12]  ³² tn Heb “usury and interest you take.” See 18:13, 17. This kind of economic exploitation violated the law given in Lev 25:36.

[22:12]  ³³ sn Forgetting the Lord is also addressed in Deut 6:12; 8:11, 14; Jer 3:21; 13:25; Ezek 23:35; Hos 2:15; 8:14; 13:6.

[22:12]  ³⁴ tn The second person verb forms are feminine singular in Hebrew, indicating that the personified city is addressed here as representing its citizens.

[5:3]  ³⁵ tn The Hebrew word translated “curse” (אָלָה, ’alah) alludes to the covenant sanctions that attend the violation of God’s covenant with Israel (cf. Deut 29:12, 14, 20-21).

[5:3]  ³⁶ sn Stealing and swearing falsely (mentioned later in this verse) are sins against mankind and God respectively and are thus violations of the two major parts of the Ten Commandments. These two stipulations (commandments 8 and 3) represent the whole law.

[1:9]  ³⁷ tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ³⁸ tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ³⁹ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.

[1:10]  ⁴⁰ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ⁴¹ tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

[5:19]  ⁴² tn See the note on the word “flesh” in Gal 5:13.

[5:19]  ⁴³ tn Or “clear,” “evident.”

[5:20]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “witchcraft.”

[5:20]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “enmities,” “[acts of] hatred.”

[5:20]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “discord” (L&N 39.22).

[5:20]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “discord(s)” (L&N 39.13).

[5:21]  ⁴⁸ tn This term is plural in Greek (as is “murder” and “carousing”), but for clarity these abstract nouns have been translated as singular.

[5:21]  ⁴⁹ tc ‡ φόνοι (fonoi, “murders”) is absent in such important mss as Ì⁴⁶ א B 33 81 323 945 pc sa, while the majority of mss (A C D F G Ψ 0122 0278 1739 1881 Ï lat) have the word. Although the pedigree of the mss which lack the term is of the highest degree, homoioteleuton may well explain the shorter reading. The preceding word has merely one letter difference, making it quite possible to overlook this term (φθόνοι φόνοι, fqonoi fonoi).

[5:21]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “revelings,” “orgies” (L&N 88.287).

[21:8]  ⁵¹ tn On the term φαρμακεία (farmakeia, “magic spells”) see L&N 53.100: “the use of magic, often involving drugs and the casting of spells upon people – ‘to practice magic, to cast spells upon, to engage in sorcery, magic, sorcery.’ φαρμακεία: ἐν τῇ φαρμακείᾳ σου ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”

[21:8]  ⁵² tn Grk “idolaters.”

[21:8]  ⁵³ tn Grk “their share.”

[21:8]  ⁵⁴ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[21:8]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “sulfur, which is.” The relative pronoun has been translated as “that” to indicate its connection to the previous clause. The nearest logical antecedent is “the lake [that burns with fire and sulfur],” although “lake” (λίμνη, limnh) is feminine gender, while the pronoun “which” (ὅ, Jo) is neuter gender. This means that (1) the proper antecedent could be “their place” (Grk “their share,”) agreeing with the relative pronoun in number and gender, or (2) the neuter pronoun still has as its antecedent the feminine noun “lake,” since agreement in gender between pronoun and antecedent was not always maintained, with an explanatory phrase occurring with a neuter pronoun regardless of the case of the antecedent. In favor of the latter explanation is Rev 20:14, where the phrase “the lake of fire” is in apposition to the phrase “the second death.”

[22:15]  ⁵⁶ tn On the term φάρμακοι (farmakoi) see L&N 53.101.

[22:15]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “lying,” “deceit.”