Exodus 22:19
New International Version
“Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal is to be put to death.

New Living Translation
“Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal must certainly be put to death.

English Standard Version
“Whoever lies with an animal shall be put to death.

Berean Standard Bible
Whoever lies with an animal must surely be put to death.

King James Bible
Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.

New King James Version
“Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death.

New American Standard Bible
“Whoever has sexual intercourse with an animal must be put to death.

NASB 1995
“Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death.

NASB 1977
“Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death.

Legacy Standard Bible
“Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death.

Amplified Bible
“Whoever lies with an animal must be put to death.

Christian Standard Bible
“Whoever has sexual intercourse with an animal must be put to death.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Whoever has sexual intercourse with an animal must be put to death.”

American Standard Version
Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.

Contemporary English Version
Death is the punishment for having sex with an animal.

English Revised Version
Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Whoever has sexual intercourse with an animal must be put to death.

Good News Translation
"Put to death any man who has sexual relations with an animal.

International Standard Version
"Whoever has sexual relations with an animal is certainly to be put to death.

Majority Standard Bible
Whoever lies with an animal must surely be put to death.

NET Bible
"Whoever has sexual relations with a beast must surely be put to death.

New Heart English Bible
"Whoever has sex with an animal shall surely be put to death.

Webster's Bible Translation
Whoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.

World English Bible
“Whoever has sex with an animal shall surely be put to death.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Whoever lies with a beast is certainly put to death.

Young's Literal Translation
'Whoever lieth with a beast is certainly put to death.

Smith's Literal Translation
Every one lying with a quadruped, dying, shall die.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Whosoever copulateth with a beast shall be put to death.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Whoever has sexual intercourse with an animal shall be put to death.

New American Bible
Anyone who lies with an animal shall be put to death.

New Revised Standard Version
Whoever lies with an animal shall be put to death.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And everyone whoever will have sexual intercourse with an animal shall surely be killed.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Every one that lies with a beast ye shall surely put to death.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Laws of Social Responsibility
18You must not allow a sorceress to live. 19Whoever lies with an animal must surely be put to death. 20If anyone sacrifices to any god other than the LORD alone, he must be set apart for destruction.…

Cross References
Leviticus 18:23
You must not lie carnally with any animal, thus defiling yourself with it; a woman must not stand before an animal to mate with it; that is a perversion.

Leviticus 20:15-16
If a man lies carnally with an animal, he must be put to death. And you are also to kill the animal. / If a woman approaches any animal to mate with it, you must kill both the woman and the animal. They must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.

Deuteronomy 27:21
‘Cursed is he who lies with any animal.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, / nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

Romans 1:26-27
For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. / Likewise, the men abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

1 Timothy 1:9-10
We realize that law is not enacted for the righteous, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for killers of father or mother, for murderers, / for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching

Deuteronomy 22:5
A woman must not wear men’s clothing, and a man must not wear women’s clothing, for whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD your God.

Genesis 6:5-7
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time. / And the LORD regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. / So the LORD said, “I will blot out man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—every man and beast and crawling creature and bird of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.”

Genesis 19:5
They called out to Lot, saying, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have relations with them!”

Judges 19:22-24
While they were enjoying themselves, suddenly the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they said to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house, so we can have relations with him!” / The owner of the house went out and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Do not commit this outrage. / Look, let me bring out my virgin daughter and the man’s concubine, and you can use them and do with them as you wish. But do not do such a vile thing to this man.”

2 Peter 2:6-8
if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, reducing them to ashes as an example of what is coming on the ungodly; / and if He rescued Lot, a righteous man distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless / (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—

Jude 1:7
In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal fire.

Revelation 21:8
But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”

Revelation 22:15
But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

1 Kings 14:24
There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land. They imitated all the abominations of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.


Treasury of Scripture

Whoever lies with a beast shall surely be put to death.

Leviticus 18:23,25
Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion…

Leviticus 20:15,16
And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast…

Deuteronomy 27:21
Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen.

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Exodus 22
1. Of Theft
5. Of damage
7. Of trespasses
14. Of borrowing
16. Of fornication
18. Of witchcraft
19. Of bestiality
20. Of idolatry
21. Of strangers, widows, and fatherless
25. Of usury
26. Of pledges
28. Of reverence to magistrates
29. Of the first fruits
31. Of torn flesh














Whoever lies with an animal
This phrase addresses a specific act of bestiality, which is explicitly condemned in the Mosaic Law. The Hebrew word used here for "lies" is "שָׁכַב" (shakab), which generally means to lie down, often with sexual connotations. In the ancient Near Eastern context, such acts were seen as a severe violation of the natural order established by God. The prohibition reflects the sanctity of human sexuality, which is intended to be expressed within the boundaries of marriage between a man and a woman. This command underscores the importance of maintaining purity and holiness in the community of Israel, as God's chosen people were to be set apart from the surrounding nations, many of which engaged in various forms of sexual immorality.

must surely be put to death
The phrase "must surely be put to death" is a translation of the Hebrew "מוֹת יוּמָת" (mot yumat), which is a strong expression indicating the certainty and necessity of the death penalty for this offense. This severe punishment highlights the gravity of the sin in the eyes of God. In the ancient world, the death penalty served as a deterrent and a means of purging evil from the community. The Israelites were called to be holy as God is holy (Leviticus 19:2), and this required strict adherence to His commandments. The death penalty for such an act reflects the seriousness with which God views the violation of His created order and the sanctity of human relationships. It serves as a sobering reminder of the consequences of sin and the need for repentance and obedience to God's laws.

(19) The sin here denounced was common among the Canaanitish nations (Leviticus 18:24), and not unknown in Egypt (Herod. ii. 46). It was therefore necessary that God's abhorrence of it should be distinctly declared to Israel.

Verse 19. - Law against unnatural crime. The abomination here mentioned is said to have prevailed in Egypt, and even to have formed part of the Egyptian religion (Herod. 2:46; Strab. 17. p. 802; Clem. A1. Cohort. ad Gentes, p. 9; etc.). Though regarded by the Greeks and Romans as disgusting and contemptible, it does not seem to have been made a crime by any of their legislators. It was, however, condemned by the Gentoo laws and by the laws of Menu (11:17).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Whoever
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

has sexual relations
שֹׁכֵ֥ב (šō·ḵêḇ)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 7901: To lie down

with
עִם־ (‘im-)
Preposition
Strong's 5973: With, equally with

an animal
בְּהֵמָ֖ה (bə·hê·māh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 929: A dumb beast, any large quadruped, animal

must surely be put to death.
מ֥וֹת (mō·wṯ)
Verb - Qal - Infinitive absolute
Strong's 4191: To die, to kill


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OT Law: Exodus 22:19 Whoever has sex with an animal shall (Exo. Ex)
Exodus 22:18
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