“ ‘Don’t defile yourselves in any of these things; for in all these the nations which I am casting out before you were defiled.
Parallel Translations
-
“ ‘Don’t defile yourselves in any of these things; for in all these the nations which I am casting out before you were defiled.
-
Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:
-
Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things; for in all these the nations are defiled, which I cast out from before you.
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to Leviticus 18:24 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Deuteronomy 18:12 For whoever does these things is an abomination to Yahweh. Because of these abominations, Yahweh your God drives them out from before you.
- Leviticus 18:30 Therefore you shall keep my requirements, that you do not practice any of these abominable customs which were practiced before you, and that you do not defile yourselves with them. I am Yahweh your God.’ ”
- Leviticus 20:22-23 “ ‘You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my ordinances, and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not vomit you out. You shall not walk in the customs of the nation which I am casting out before you; for they did all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.
- Leviticus 18:3 You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived. You shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. You shall not follow their statutes.
- Deuteronomy 12:31 You shall not do so to Yahweh your God; for every abomination to Yahweh, which he hates, they have done to their gods; for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.
- Jeremiah 44:4 However I sent to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, “Oh, don’t do this abominable thing that I hate.”
- Matthew 15:18-20 But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies. These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands doesn’t defile the man.”
- 1 Corinthians 3:17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, which you are.
- Leviticus 18:6-23 “ ‘None of you shall approach any close relatives, to uncover their nakedness: I am Yahweh. “ ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, nor the nakedness of your mother: she is your mother. You shall not uncover her nakedness. “ ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife. It is your father’s nakedness. “ ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or born abroad. “ ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son’s daughter, or of your daughter’s daughter, even their nakedness; for theirs is your own nakedness. “ ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, conceived by your father, since she is your sister. “ ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister. She is your father’s near kinswoman. “ ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s near kinswoman. “ ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother. You shall not approach his wife. She is your aunt. “ ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife. You shall not uncover her nakedness. “ ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife. It is your brother’s nakedness. “ ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter. You shall not take her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness. They are near kinswomen. It is wickedness. “ ‘You shall not take a wife in addition to her sister, to be a rival, to uncover her nakedness, while her sister is still alive. “ ‘You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is impure by her uncleanness. “ ‘You shall not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife, and defile yourself with her. “ ‘You shall not give any of your children as a sacrifice to Molech. You shall not profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh. “ ‘You shall not lie with a man as with a woman. That is detestable. “ ‘You shall not lie with any animal to defile yourself with it. No woman may give herself to an animal, to lie down with it: it is a perversion.
- Mark 7:10-23 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother;’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban,” ’ ” that is to say, given to God, “then you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother, making void the word of God by your tradition, which you have handed down. You do many things like this.” He called all the multitude to himself, and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. There is nothing from outside of the man, that going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!” When he had entered into a house away from the multitude, his disciples asked him about the parable. He said to them, “Are you also without understanding? Don’t you perceive that whatever goes into the man from outside can’t defile him, because it doesn’t go into his heart, but into his stomach, then into the latrine, making all foods clean?” He said, “That which proceeds out of the man, that defiles the man. For from within, out of the hearts of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual sins, murders, thefts, covetings, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Lev 18:24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of…
Lev 18:24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:
Ver. 24. The nations are defiled.] And yet are not the Scriptures defiled, by providing against such filthinesses, no more than the sunbeams are by shining upon a stinking lake.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain In all these, to wit, above-mentioned sins. Whence it…
In all these, to wit, above-mentioned sins. Whence it is apparent that the several incests here prohibited are not only against the positive and particular law given by God to the Jews, but also against the general law and light of nature. And therefore the law about these things was one of the seven precepts of Noah. And the sober heathens condemned such incestuous marriages. The Roman historians observe, that when Claudius the emperor had married his niece, (which is one of the lowest kinds of incest here mentioned,) and the senate in complaisance with him had made it lawful for any to do so, yet there was but one, and he too an obscure person, that followed his example.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things,....…
Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things,.... In incestuous copulations and marriages, in adultery, corporeal and spiritual, and bestiality:
for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you; that is, the seven nations of the land of Canaan, which God was about to eject out of their land to make room for the Israelites, and that on account of the above shocking vices which abounded among them; so that in some sense the land they dwelt upon was defiled by them, and called for vengeance on them, as even loathing its inhabitants, as afterwards suggested.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain The land designed and consecrated for His people by…
The land designed and consecrated for His people by Yahweh Lev 25:23 is here impersonated, and represented as vomiting forth its present inhabitants, in consequence of their indulgence in the abominations that have been mentioned. The iniquity of the Canaanites was now full. See Gen 15:16; compare Isa 24:1-6. The Israelites in this place, and throughout the chapter, are exhorted to a pure and holy life, on the ground that Yahweh, the Holy One, is their God and that they are His people. Compare Lev 19:2. It is upon this high sanction that they are peremptorily forbidden to defile themselves with the pollutions of the pagan. The only punishment here pronounced upon individual transgressors is, that they shall “bear their iniquity” and be “cut off from among their people.” We must understand this latter phrase as expressing an “ipso facto” excommunication or outlawry, the divine Law pronouncing on the offender an immediate forfeiture of the privileges which belonged to him as one of the people in covenant with Yahweh. See Exo 31:14 note. The course which the Law here takes seems to be first to appeal to the conscience of the individual man on the ground of his relation to Yahweh, and then Lev. 20 to enact such penalties as the order of the state required, and as represented the collective conscience of the nation put into operation.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Defile not yourselves in any of these things--In the…
Defile not yourselves in any of these things--In the preceding verses seventeen express cases of incest are enumerated; comprehending eleven of affinity [Lev 18:7-16], and six of consanguinity [Lev 18:17-20], together with some criminal enormities of an aggravated and unnatural character. In such prohibitions it was necessary for the instruction of a people low in the scale of moral perception, that the enumeration should be very specific as well as minute; and then, on completing it, the divine lawgiver announces his own views of these crimes, without any exception or modification, in the remarkable terms employed in this verse.
in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you, &c.--Ancient history gives many appalling proofs that the enormous vices described in this chapter were very prevalent, nay, were regularly practised from religious motives in the temples of Egypt and the groves of Canaan; and it was these gigantic social disorders that occasioned the expulsion, of which the Israelites were, in the hands of a righteous and retributive Providence, the appointed instruments (Gen 15:16). The strongly figurative language of "the land itself vomiting out her inhabitants" [Lev 18:25], shows the hopeless depth of their moral corruption.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 24–30. See general note at the beginning of the…
24–30. See general note at the beginning of the ch. These vv. are probably expanded from earlier materials. After the warning in Lev_18:24 the standpoint changes, and the remainder of the passage is a reflection on the past, the verbs being really in the past tense, were defiled, was defiled, I visited, (the land) vomited.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (24) Defile not ye yourselves.—The Lawgiver who solemnly introduced…
(24) Defile not ye yourselves.—The Lawgiver who solemnly introduced these precepts by five verses of preamble at the beginning of the chapter (Lev_18:1-5), now concludes by an equally solemn appeal to God’s people sacredly to observe them in all their integrity, since the violation of them (Lev_18:6-23) has branded those nations with infamy, and brought about their national destruction, and expulsion from the very land which is now to be given to the Israelites.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 24-30. These verses contain a warning against the…
Vers. 24-30. These verses contain a warning against the sins of incest and impurity already specified. The reason why the Canaanites were east out before the Israelites was that they were defiled in all these things,... and the land was defiled by them. God visited the iniquity of these debased races, and the land itself vomited out her inhabitants on account of their abominations. The fate of the Canaanites was therefore a witness to them of what would be their fate if they did like them. Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things... Ye shall not commit any of these abominations,... that the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it. Special penalties are appointed for particular sins further on. Here there are but two punishments denounced, one for individual sinners, the other national. The individual sinner is to be cut off from the nation by excommunication, For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. The nation, if it does not thus purify itself by cutting off from itself the authors of these corruptions, is to perish like the Canaanites. The words vomiteth (verse 25) and spued out (verse 28) are in that tense of the Hebrew verb which is generally called by grammarians a preterite, but this tense does not necessarily imply a past time; the time referred to depends on the context. The previous verbs, "I cast out," "I do visit," being present in sense, the two verbs, "vomiteth out (her inhabitants)," and "spued out (the nations that were before you)," are present also (see Introduction).
Vers. 24-30. Dissolute morals in respect to the relations of the sexes is always a symptom which precedes the ruin of an empire or the fall of a nation. It is both a sign and a cause a sign of a general corruption, which will show itself elsewhere and under other forms; and a cause of the coming evils, as indulgence in bodily pleasures and. Sybarite excesses takes away the firmness of will and readiness to endure hardness which are necessary conditions of both soldiers and citizens doing their duty to the State. When a country is sunk in dissoluteness there is, generally speaking, no renovation for it except by the irruption of a new race, as of the Israelites in Canaan, or of the barbarous nations on the breaking up of the old Roman Empire. The moral reason of the extermination of the Canaanites was the danger of their licentiousness spreading, as has often been the case, to the conquerors. (cf. Num_25:17, Num_25:18)
Read full note →
Vers. 24-30. The penalty of sin.
The disastrous consequences of iniquity are clearly and strongly expressed in these concluding words of the chapter. We have the truth brought out
I THAT BY SIN WE CORRUPT OURSELVES. "Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things" (verse 24); "that ye defile not yourselves therein" (verse 30). Our Lord tells us that "out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications," etc., and that "these things defile a man". (Mat_7:19, Mat_7:20) And Paul tells us that we "are the temple of God," and that "if any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy". (1Co_3:16, 1Co_3:17) Those sins which a man commits against his own spirit or his own body those wrongs which a man does himself end in positive and serious injury. They enfeeble, they degrade, they brutalize, they bring down a man"s tastes and appetites to the meanest levels, they lay and leave his nature open to the worst temptations. In the practice of vice a man sinks down daily until he becomes thoroughly corrupt, averse to all that is holy, prone to everything impure.
II THAT BY SIN WE CONTAMINATE SOCIETY. "In all these the nations are defiled" (verse 24); "and the land is defiled" (verses 25, 27). Societies as well as individuals become corrupt. Even one Achan defiled the whole camp of Israel and paralyzed its power. One incestuous member of the Corinthian Church infected and stained that Christian society. How much more will many evil-doers corrupt the community! It may not take a large number of unholy, impure, unrighteous souls to make a Church or society "defiled" in the sight of the Holy One, no longer a fit dwelling-place for his Holy Spirit, a community to be abandoned to itself.
III THAT BY SIN WE INCUR THE HIGH DISPLEASURE OF ALMIGHTY GOD. "Ye shall not commit any of these abominations (verses 26, 27, 29), "of these abominable customs (verse 30). The Holy One, in his righteous indignation, threatens that "the land shall spue them out" if they indulge in such iniquities. No stronger language could be employed to indicate the uttermost conceivable detestation and abhorrence which God has of such sins as these described. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God"; (Heb_10:31) and it is a fearful thing to have done or to have become that which God regards with Divine abomination, to be the object of his awful resentment and indignation; to have to feel that he, the Divine Father and the righteous Judge, cannot look on us without terrible aversion.
IV THAT BY SIN WE ARE DETERMINING OUR DOOM. (Verse 29.) Whether by being "cut off from among the people" we understand excommunication and exile or death, the penalty is severe. It is certain that verse 28 points to stern rejection and utter destruction.
1. It is certain that by open sin we expose ourselves to exile from the Christian Church, and even to banishment from all decent and honourable society. The Church, the family, and the social circle must exclude the wanton offender for the sake of their pure and innocent members.
2. Also that by continuance in deliberate sin, whether open or secret, whether of the body or of the soul, we shall be rejected from the city of God. "There shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination". C. (Rev_21:27)
Vers. 24, 25. Abominations denounced.
Some chapters of law, as of history, are not pleasant reading. That they should have been found necessary is a proof of the fearful depravity into which man may fall, sinning against natural instincts, hurried away and blinded by passion so as to overstep the bounds of decency. The prohibitions of this chapter were designed to hallow marriage and the family relationship. Their observance would tend to benefit the entire nation, for the laws of God are framed with benevolent wisdom. To sin against them is to wrong one"s own soul.
I THE DENUNCIATIONS AND THREATENINGS EVINCE GOD"S HATRED OF ABOMINABLE CONDUCT. "That the land spue not you out also." "The souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people." Strong is the language applied to sinful practices they are "wickedness" (verse 17), "abomination (verse 22), "confusion" (verse 23). The Law will have no compromise, admits of no alternative amongst God"s people, the command is, "Thou shalt not." Wickedness is not to be tolerated even in the stranger (verse 26); he is not obliged to conform to all the ceremonies, but he must rigidly abstain from every moral offense. The New Testament relaxes not one jot in condemnation of all that is impure and filthy in conduct and even language. (see Rom_1:18, 32 1Co_6:9, 10 Eph_5:3-5 Rev_21:8)
II THE DELAY BETWEEN SIN AND PUNISHMENT IS A MARK OF THE KINDNESS AND LONG-SUFFERING OF GOD. (See Peter"s argument in 2Pe_3:9) In Gen_15:16 it was expressly declared, "the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." They were allowed four hundred years to repent, or to fill up the cup of their iniquity, and they chose the latter. This is the clearest answer to any who would impugn the justice of God"s dealing with the Canaanites in exterminating them with fire and sword. Oh, the folly of men who abuse precious time by laughing at solemn announcements of coming woe, instead of employing it in making their peace with God! By every moment that intervenes between the sinner and death God urges him to seek pardon and amendment.
III THE INSTANCES RECORDED SHOW THE CERTAIN VISITATION OF SIN WITH GOD"S DISPLEASURE. Delay is no guarantee of final immunity from punishment. The heathen were at last driven out of the land, and likewise the Israelites who succeeded felt the wrath of God on account of the shameful customs in which they indulged. God is impartial, and does not spare sin in his people or his enemies. As the denunciation shows God in principle and language, so the fulfillment of his threat demonstrates him in act, and is a further vivid evidence of his dislike of all wickedness. Nathan was God"s messenger to rebuke and threaten David, as afterwards John the Baptist denounced Herod for taking his brother"s wife. Just retribution foretells a day of judgment, when inequalities of punishment shall be righted and God"s equity triumphantly vindicated. Here we see sufficient to establish the fact of the existence of a moral government. (Ecc_8:11-13)
IV THE CLIMAX OF SIN IS REACHED WHEN NATURE HERSELF SEEMS TO ABHOR THE SINNER. Graphic is the picture of the land loathing its burden and vomiting forth its inhabitants. As a leprosy infected walls and garments, so the abominations of the heathen defiled the land itself that it stank. The results of immorality upon the state of society and of individuals have been appalling. Eventually everything has sunk into ruin, disintegration and corruption have prevailed. The population decreases by sickness and barrenness and murder. The arts and sciences decay, literature is blighted, philanthropy unknown. The text reminds us that a closer connection exists between man and inanimate nature than we sometimes think. (see this also suggested in Rom_8:20 and Gen_3:17)
CONCLUSION. If the subject is painful, the lesson may be salutary. Sin is widespread. "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." We may be glad of the healthful influence of Christianity, rightly directing public opinion, and erecting it into a safeguard against evil. "Having these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the fleash and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. S.R.A.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 the nations are defiled
the nations are defiled
This refers to the people groups already living in Canaan. Translate this so the term "nations" is clarified as people. AT: "the people of the nations defiled themselves" (See: Metonymy)
Read full note →
The land became defiled
"The people defiled the land"
the land vomited out its inhabitants
Yahweh forcibly removing the people from the land is spoken of as if the land were a person who vomited the people out. AT: "I forcibly removed the people from the land, like a person vomits up food" (See: Metaphor and Personification)
translationWords
defile
nation
cast out
punish
sin
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 18:24-25 any of these ways: Pagan worship (18:21), homosexuality…
18:24-25 any of these ways: Pagan worship (18:21), homosexuality (18:22), and bestiality (18:23). • The land was so nauseated by Canaanite practices that it would dramatically vomit them out (see 18:28).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.