15“ ‘If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death; and you shall kill the animal.
16“ ‘If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.
15 “ ‘If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death; and you shall kill the animal.
16 “ ‘If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.
KJVKing James Version
15 And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.
16 And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
Show all 3 translations
JPSJPS Tanakh (1917)
15 And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death; and ye shall slay the beast.
16 And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Does the Bible approve of capital punishment?The Pentateuchal legal codes prescribe death by stoning, burning, or general execution for an enormous range of offenses: murder (Gen 9:6; Num 35:30), striking…
Leviticus 18:23(v15)“ ‘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…
Deuteronomy 27:21(v15)‘Cursed is he who lies with any kind of animal.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
Exodus 22:19(v15)“Whoever has sex with an animal shall surely be put to death.
Exodus 19:13(v16)No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether it is animal or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet…
Exodus 21:32(v16)If the bull gores a male servant or a female servant, thirty shekels of silver shall be given to their master, and the ox shall be stoned.
Show all 7 cross-references
Hebrews 12:20(v16)for they could not stand that which was commanded, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned”.
Exodus 21:28(v16)“If a bull gores a man or a woman to death, the bull shall surely be stoned, and its meat shall not be eaten; but the owner of the bull…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (10 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv15–16Lev 20:15 And if a man lie with a…
Lev 20:15 And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.
Ver. 15. Ye shall slay the beast.] Though innocent: this shows the heinousness of the sin. See Lev 18:9.
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 Poole1685 · Public DomainOn v15Partly, for the prevention of monstrous births; partly, to…
Partly, for the prevention of monstrous births; partly, to blot out the memory of so loathsome a crime; and partly, that by so severe a punishment of that creature which was only a passive instrument to man’s sin, men might be assured that a more dreadful punishment than corporal death was reserved for them, if they repented not.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv15–16If a man lie with a beast,.... A sin…
If a man lie with a beast,.... A sin quite unnatural, exceeding shocking and detestable, forbid Lev 18:23,
he shall surely be put to death: by stoning, as the Targum of Jonathan adds; and this is the death such are condemned to in the Misnah (h):
Read full note →
and ye shall slay the beast; with clubs, as says the Targum of Jonathan; the reasons given in the Misnah (i), why the beast was to be slain, are, because ruin came to the man by means of it, and that it might not be said, as it passed along the streets, that is the beast for which such an one was stoned. Aben Ezra says it was to be slain, that it might not cause others to sin; and he adds, there are that say it was to cover the reproach: no doubt the true reason was to deter the more from this detestable sin, that if a beast, which was only accessory to it, and an instrument of it, was put to death, of how much sorer punishment must the man that committed it be worthy of, even of eternal wrath and destruction, and, unless repented of and forgiven, must be expected by him?
(h) Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 4. (i) Ibid.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn v15Slay the beast - Partly for the prevention of…
Slay the beast - Partly for the prevention of monstrous births, partly to blot out the memory of so loathsome a crime.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn v16Verse 16. If a woman approach unto any beast]…
Verse 16. If a woman approach unto any beast] We have the authority of one of the most eminent historians in the world, Herodotus, to say that this was a crime not unknown in Egypt; yea, that a case of this nature actually took place while he was there. Εγενετο δ' εν τῳ νο μῳ τουτῳ επ' εμευ τουτο το τερας, Γυναικι Τραγος εμισγετο αναφανδον. Τουτο ες επιδειξιν ανθρωπων απικετο. - Herod. in Euterp., p. 108. Edit. Gale, Lond. 1679.
"In this district, within my own recollection, this portentous business took place: a goat coupled so publicly with a woman that every person knew it," c. After this, need we wonder that God should have made laws of this nature, when it appears these abominations were not only practised among the Egyptians, but were parts of a superstitious religious system? This one observation will account for many of those strange prohibitions which we find in the Mosaic law others, the reasons of which are not so plain, we should see the propriety of equally, had we ampler historic records of the customs that existed in that country.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn v15Lev 20:15. Slay the beast — Partly for the…
Lev 20:15. Slay the beast — Partly for the prevention of monstrous births, partly to blot out the memory of so loathsome a crime.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv15–16The beast also ye shall kill. The killing of…
The beast also ye shall kill. The killing of the beast was for the greater horror of the crime, and to prevent the remembrance of such abomination. (Challoner) --- The beast was to be killed with clubs; the man was stoned to death. (Jonathan)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn v1515. Lie with a beast — See Lev_18:23.
15. Lie with a beast — See Lev_18:23.
Slay the beast — The innocent instrument of the abominable act of a moral agent is put to death as a mark of Jehovah’s abhorrence.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn v15(15, 16) with a beast.—See Lev_18:23.
(15, 16) with a beast.—See Lev_18:23.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On v15he must surely be put to death
he must surely be put to death
This can be stated in active form. AT: "you must surely put him to death" (See: Active or Passive)
Read full note →
you must kill the woman and the animal. They must certainly be put to death
Both clauses mean the same thing. They emphasize that the woman and animal must die. (See: Parallelism)
They must certainly be put to death
This can be stated in active form. AT: "You must certainly put them to death" (See: Active or Passive)
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv15–16 Lev 20:15 And if a man lie with a…
Lev 20:15 And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.
Ver. 15. Ye shall slay the beast.] Though innocent: this shows the heinousness of the sin. See Lev 18:9.
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 On v15 Partly, for the prevention of monstrous births; partly, to…
Partly, for the prevention of monstrous births; partly, to blot out the memory of so loathsome a crime; and partly, that by so severe a punishment of that creature which was only a passive instrument to man’s sin, men might be assured that a more dreadful punishment than corporal death was reserved for them, if they repented not.
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 On vv15–16 If a man lie with a beast,.... A sin…
If a man lie with a beast,.... A sin quite unnatural, exceeding shocking and detestable, forbid Lev 18:23,
he shall surely be put to death: by stoning, as the Targum of Jonathan adds; and this is the death such are condemned to in the Misnah (h):
Read full note →
and ye shall slay the beast; with clubs, as says the Targum of Jonathan; the reasons given in the Misnah (i), why the beast was to be slain, are, because ruin came to the man by means of it, and that it might not be said, as it passed along the streets, that is the beast for which such an one was stoned. Aben Ezra says it was to be slain, that it might not cause others to sin; and he adds, there are that say it was to cover the reproach: no doubt the true reason was to deter the more from this detestable sin, that if a beast, which was only accessory to it, and an instrument of it, was put to death, of how much sorer punishment must the man that committed it be worthy of, even of eternal wrath and destruction, and, unless repented of and forgiven, must be expected by him?
(h) Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 4. (i) Ibid.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v15 Slay the beast - Partly for the prevention of…
Slay the beast - Partly for the prevention of monstrous births, partly to blot out the memory of so loathsome a crime.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v16 Verse 16. If a woman approach unto any beast]…
Verse 16. If a woman approach unto any beast] We have the authority of one of the most eminent historians in the world, Herodotus, to say that this was a crime not unknown in Egypt; yea, that a case of this nature actually took place while he was there. Εγενετο δ' εν τῳ νο μῳ τουτῳ επ' εμευ τουτο το τερας, Γυναικι Τραγος εμισγετο αναφανδον. Τουτο ες επιδειξιν ανθρωπων απικετο. - Herod. in Euterp., p. 108. Edit. Gale, Lond. 1679.
"In this district, within my own recollection, this portentous business took place: a goat coupled so publicly with a woman that every person knew it," c. After this, need we wonder that God should have made laws of this nature, when it appears these abominations were not only practised among the Egyptians, but were parts of a superstitious religious system? This one observation will account for many of those strange prohibitions which we find in the Mosaic law others, the reasons of which are not so plain, we should see the propriety of equally, had we ampler historic records of the customs that existed in that country.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v15 Lev 20:15. Slay the beast — Partly for the…
Lev 20:15. Slay the beast — Partly for the prevention of monstrous births, partly to blot out the memory of so loathsome a crime.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv15–16 The beast also ye shall kill. The killing of…
The beast also ye shall kill. The killing of the beast was for the greater horror of the crime, and to prevent the remembrance of such abomination. (Challoner) --- The beast was to be killed with clubs; the man was stoned to death. (Jonathan)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v15 15. Lie with a beast — See Lev_18:23.
15. Lie with a beast — See Lev_18:23.
Slay the beast — The innocent instrument of the abominable act of a moral agent is put to death as a mark of Jehovah’s abhorrence.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v15 (15, 16) with a beast.—See Lev_18:23.
(15, 16) with a beast.—See Lev_18:23.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v15 he must surely be put to death
he must surely be put to death
This can be stated in active form. AT: "you must surely put him to death" (See: Active or Passive)
Read full note →
you must kill the woman and the animal. They must certainly be put to death
Both clauses mean the same thing. They emphasize that the woman and animal must die. (See: Parallelism)
They must certainly be put to death
This can be stated in active form. AT: "You must certainly put them to death" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
had relations with
guilt
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.