1. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

1. Loquutus est Jehova ad Mosen, dicendo:

2. Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.

2. Filiis Israel dices, Quicunque e filiis Israel, et e peregrinis qui peregrinantur in Israel, dederit e semine suo Moloch, moriendo morietur: populus terrae lapidibus lapidabit eum.

3. And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.

3. Ego etiam ponam faciem meam contra virum illum, et exterminabo eum e medio populi sui, eo quod de-derit e semine suo Moloch, ut contaminaret sanctuarium meum, et profanaret nomen sanctitatis meae.

4. And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not:

4. Quod si abscondendo absconderit populus terrae oculos suos a viro illo quando dabit ex semine suo Moloch, non interficiendo illum;

5. Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.

5. Tunc ponam ego faciem meam in virum illum, et in familiam ejus, et succidam eum et omnes qui scor-tantur post ipsum, ut scortentur post Moloch, e medio populi sui.

6. And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.

6. Anima quae respexerit ad Pythones et ariolos, ad fornicandum post eos, ponam faciem meam contra animam illam, et exterminabo e medio populi sui.

27. A man also or woman that hath a familar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

27. Vir sive muleir in quibus fuerit Python, vel aruspicum spiritus, moriendo morietur: lapidando lapidabunt eos: sanguis eorum super eos.

1. And the Lord spake. The prohibition of this superstition was previously expounded in its proper place. God here commands the punishment to be inflicted, if any one should have polluted himself with it. And surely it was a detestable sacrilege to enslave to idols that offspring, which was begotten to God, and which He had adopted in the loins of Abraham, since in this way they not only despoiled God of His right, but, so far as they could, blotted out the grace of adoption. What He had then generally pronounced, He now specially applies, viz., that they should be stoned who offered their seed to Molech; for otherwise they would have tried to escape on the pretense that they had no intention of revolting to other gods. Just as now-a-days, under the Papacy, whatever is alleged from Scripture against their impious and corrupt worship, is coldly and contemptuously received; because they varnish over their idolatries, and so indulge themselves in them in security. But after God has commanded His judges to punish this crime severely, He at the same time declares that, if perchance they should connive at it, and encourage it by their lenity, He Himself will avenge it, so as to punish much more heavily those who may have escaped from the hands of men; and not only so, but that He would implicate all those who might have been aware of it in the same con-detonation.

9. For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.

9. Qui maledixerit patri suo aut matri suae morte moriatur: qui patri suo et matri suae maledixit, sanguis ejus super eum.

The commandment is now sanctioned by the denunciation of capital punishment for its violation, yet not so as to comprehend all who have in any respect sinned against their parents, but sufficient to show that the rights of parents are sacred, and not to be violated without the greatest criminality. We know that parricides [8] as being the most detestable of all men, were formerly sewn up in a leathern sack and cast into the water; but God proceeds further, when He commands all those to be exterminated who have laid violent hands on their parents [9] or addressed them in abusive language. For to smite does not only mean to kill, but refers to any violence, although no wound may have been inflicted. If, then, any one had struck his father or mother with his fist, or with a stick, the punishment of such an act of madness was the same as for murder. And, assuredly, it is an abominable and monstrous thing for a son not to hesitate to assault those from whom he has received his life; nor can it be but that impunity accorded to so foul a crime must straightway produce cruel barbarism. The second law avenges not only violence done to parents, but also, abusive words, which soon proceed to grosser insults and atrocious contempt. Still, if any one should have lightly let drop some slight reproach, as is often the case ill a quarrel, this severe punishment was not to be inflicted upon such, all inconsiderate piece of impertinence: and the word qll, kalal, from which the participle used by Moses is derived, not only means to reproach, but also to curse, as well as to esteem lightly, and to despise. Whilst, therefore, not every insult, whereby the reverence due to parents was violated, received the punishment of death, still God would have that impious pride, which would subvert the first principles of nature, held in abhorrence. But, inasmuch as it might seem hard that a word, [10] however unworthy of a dutiful son, should be the cause of death; this objection is met, by what is added by God in Leviticus, "his blood shall be upon him, because he hath cursed his father or mother:" as if He would put a stop to what men might otherwise presume to allege in mitigation of the severity of the punishment.

Footnotes:

[8] By the Roman law parricides were sewn up in a leathern sack with a dog, a cock, a viper, and a monkey, and east into the sea, or the nearest river. -- Vide Cicero pro Rose. Amer., 2:25, 26.

[9] "Ceux qui auront outrage pere ou mere, soit de faict, soit de parole;" those who shall have outraged father or mother either by act or word. -- Fr.

[10] "Une injure verbale;" a verbal injury. -- Fr.

10. 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.

10. Vir qui adulterium commiserit cum uxore alterius, qui adulterium commiserit cum uxore proximi sui moriendo morientur adulter et adultera.

11. And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

11. Quicunque concubuerit cum uxore patris sui, turpitudinem patris sui revelavit: moriendo morientur ambo, sanguis eorum super eos.

12. And if a man lie with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.

12. Vir qui coierit cum nuru sua, moriendo morientur ambo: flagitium admiserunt, sanguis eorum super eos.

14. And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.

14. Qui acceperit mulierem et matrem ejus, scelus est: igni comburent illum et illas, ne sit scelus in medio vestri.

17. And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off ill the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.

17. Quisquis acceperit sororem suam filiam patris sui, vel filiam matris suae, et viderit turpitudinem ejus, ipsaque viderit turpitudinem illius, foeditas est: propterea succindentur ambo coram oculis populi sui: turpitudinem sororis suae revelavit, iniquitatem suam feret.

19. And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister, nor of thy father's sister; for he uncovereth his near kin: they shall bear their iniquity.

19. Turpitudinem sororis matris tuae et sororis patris tui, non discooperies: quia propinquam suam nudavit, iniquitatem suam portabunt.

20. And if a man shall lie with his uncle's wife, he hath uncovered his uncle's nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.

20. Quisquis dormierit cum uxore fratris patris sui, turpitudinem fratris patris sui revelavit, iniquitatem suam portabunt, orbati morientur.

21. And if a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing; he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness: they shall be childless.

21. Qui acceperit uxorem fratris sui, opprobrium est, turpitudinem fratris sui revelavit, orbati erunt.

22. Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them; that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spew you not out.

22. Custodite itaque omnia statuta mea, et omnia judicia, et facite ea, ut non evomat vos terra in quam ego introduco vos ut illic habitetis.

23. And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nations which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.

23. Neque ambuletis in statutis gentis quam ego ejiciam a facie vestra: omnia enim ista fecerunt, et detestatus sum eas.

24. But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the Lord your God, which have separated you from other people.

24. Vobis autem dixi, Possidebitis terram eorum, quam ego daturus sum vobis ut haereditate eam possideatis terram fluentem lacte et melle: ego Jehova Deus vester qui separavi vos a populis.

Nothing new occurs here, for the object of Moses was, by the enactment of penalties, to sanction the instruction lately given. By previously condemning incestuous marriages, he would cite the Israelites before God, in order that their consciences might abhor the crime, although he gave them nothing to fear from earthly judges; whereas now he alarms them by the dread of punishment, in case any should indulge themselves with too great security. He does not chastise the incestuous with rods, as if they were only guilty of a light offense; but he pronounces it to be a capital crime, if any had sinned against the law of nature; and first he condemns the step-mother and step-son to death, if they should have had connection with each other; he then makes the same decree with reference to the father-in-law and daughter-in-law; and, thirdly, the step-father and step-daughter. But when, if a man cohabits at the same time with a mother and her daughter, he extends the punishment to the mother also, it must be understood, provided she also consents to the abominable medley; for, if a man, against the mother's will, seduces her daughter, and the mother is unable to resist it if she would, she is free from guilt. The same punishment is awarded to brother and sister, and nephew and aunt, and it is extended also to affinity; if any should cohabit with the wife of his uncle or his brother. We have elsewhere explained the meaning of the expression, "their blood shall be upon them;" i.e., that the cause of their death is to be imputed to none but the gross criminals themselves, lest their judges, under the cloak of humanity, should shrink from being severe, since it often happens that those who do not sufficiently weigh the atrocity of the evil, are led away by an empty show of clemency. [95] Moreover, Moses indirectly hints that if the guilty be pardoned, vengeance will be thus provoked against the whole people, since iniquity is fostered by impunity, until it bursts out like a deluge. The penalty of childlessness corresponds with the crime, for it is just that those should be exterminated in barrenness from the world, who have endeavored to corrupt the holy race of Abraham with their adulterous seed.

22. Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes He now warns the Israelites, for the third time, not to imitate the Gentiles, and exhorts them to keep themselves within the limits of the Law. I have already pointed out that this was not done without reason, since otherwise they might have easily fallen away into the approval of their evil habits. Moreover, lest they should shake off God's yoke, after He has said that the nations of Canaan were destroyed on account of similar abominations, He adds, that they were made the inheritors of the land on condition that they should separate themselves from heathen nations.

Footnotes:

[95] "Sont ployables, et faciles a pardoner;" are pliable and easily disposed to pardon. -- Fr.

Footnotes:

[94] Omitted in the French; and the ensuing verses considered under the "Political Supplements" of the Commandment.

13. If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

13. Quicunque coierit cum masculo coitu mulieris, abominationem fecerunt ambo: morte morientur, sanguis eorum super eos.

15. And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death; and ye shall slay the beast.

15. Si quis intulerit coitum suum in brutum, moriendo morietur, et jumentum occidetis.

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.

16. Si mulier accesserit ad unum animal ad coeundum cum eo, occides mulierem et animal, moriendo morientur, sanguis eorum super eos.

13. If a man also [63] God had hitherto taught what was right, in order to restrain the people from sin, not only from fear of punishment, but for conscience' sake. But whereas all do not voluntarily dispose themselves to obedience, the awards severe punishments to those wicked despisers in whom there is no effort to be religious. And it is astonishing that almost all the Gentiles have so sunk into stupid and brutal folly, that they have tolerated with little less than impunity unnatural crimes, detestable in their very name.

I admit that even the wickedest of them were ashamed to justify so gross a crime; but although it was practiced with impunity, it was a common reproach to make even against the very public tribunals, that it ought to be more severely punished than other crimes, which they did not spare.

Both of the offending parties were subjected to the same punishment, because it is a pollution which ought by no means to be borne. Nay, if a man or woman offend with a beast, in order that, all may the more abhor and beware of the unnatural crime, the penalty is extended even to the harmless animal; as we have before seen that a goring ox is condemned to death if it had killed a man. Hence we infer how greatly displeasing to God is this kind of crime, since its iniquity is confirmed by the death of guiltless animals.

Footnotes:

[63] The Supplements of the Seventh Commandment are differently divided in the Fr. There is no such heading as "Judicial Supplements," and this passage, as well as several others, is removed into a separate class, headed "Political Supplements."

18. And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness, he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.

18. Quicunque dormierit cum meretrice aegra, et revelaverit turpitudinem ejus, fontem ejus discooperuerit, ipsa etiam revelaverit fontem sanguinis sui: succidentur ambo e medio populi sui.

And if a man shall lie [84] The enormity of the crime is seen by the severity of the punishment; and surely, when a man and woman abandon themselves to so disgraceful an act, it is plain that there are no remains of modesty in them. God, therefore, does not only regard the offense itself, but the brutal impulse of lust, whereby men are so carried away as to degenerate from the very feelings of nature. For what wickedness would he abstain from who yields to such impurity, that he breaks through an obstacle in his fury which restrains the brutes themselves? Let us not wonder, then, that God is a severe avenger of such obscenity.

This precept [85] has no other tendency than that believers should be kept far from all filthiness, and that chastity may flourish among them. It is indeed true that a woman, under these circumstances, is withheld from connection with a man by the very foulness of the disease, whilst there is also danger of contagion; but God rather chooses here to be an instructor in decency to His people, than to perform the office of a physician. It must be remembered, therefore, that men are warned against all indelicacy, which is abhorrent to the natural sense; and, by synecdoche, married persons are exhorted to restrain themselves from all immodest lasciviousness, and that the husband should enjoy his wife's embraces with delicacy and propriety.

Footnotes:

[84] This passage considered further on in Fr., under the head of "Political Supplements."

[85] This commentary is, in Fr., appended to Leviticus 18:19, and included previously under the General Supplements of the Commandment.

25. Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.

25. Vos quoque discrimen facite inter animal mundum et immundum, et inter avem immundam et mundam, et ne abominabiles reddatis animas vestras in animalibus et volatilibus, atque in omni quod reptat in terra: quae separavi vobis ad im-munditiam.

26. And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.

26. Eritis autem sancti mihi: quia sanctus sum ego Jehova, et separavi vosa populis, ut essetis mei.

Ye shall therefore put difference. I have no doubt but that this sentence depends on the end of the foregoing verse; for although that verse contains a reason to deter them from incest, of which he had been speaking, still it refers also to the doctrine before us, and stands in the shape of preface to it. In a word, it connects two things, for God here briefly declares His will, not only with respect to unlawful and improper intercourse, but also why He forbids His people to eat of unclean animals. Therefore He says, "I am the Lord your God, which have separated you from other people." Whence it follows, that for no other reason were they prohibited from eating those animals, except that they thence may learn to take more diligent heed, and to withdraw themselves far from all the pollutions of the Gentiles. He had before recommended purity by various symbols, and now extends it even to the very animals. And this reason must be carefully marked, that the distinction between meats is propounded to them in order that they may study purity. For there would be something unmeaning in what is here said, if we did not know that this interdiction was imposed with this object, that they should not mix themselves promiscuously with the Gentiles. Therefore it is again repeated, that they were severed, that they might be God's inheritance; and hence it is inferred, that holiness was to be cultivated by them, that they might conform themselves to the example of their God. Now it cannot be questioned, that the distinction of meats which is prescribed, is a supplement to the First Commandment, wherein the rule for worshipping God duly and purely is laid down; and thus religion is rescued from all admixtures of superstition.