‘Cursed is he who lies with any animal.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
Parallel translations
- WEB ‘Cursed is he who lies with any kind of animal.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
- KJV Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen.
- ESV “‘Cursed be anyone who lies with any kind of animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
- NKJV ‘Cursed is the one who lies with any kind of animal.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
- NASB ‘Cursed is one who has sexual intercourse with any animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
- NLT ‘Cursed is anyone who has sexual intercourse with an animal.’ And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A curse falls on bestiality, a perversion of God's created order.
Overview
This act distorts the boundaries God set in creation between humans and animals. Such sins defile the land and the people. The curse underscores that sexual conduct is a matter of covenant holiness, not mere private choice.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Lev 18:23You 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.
- Exod 22:19Whoever lies with an animal must surely be put to death.
- Lev 20:15If a man lies carnally with an animal, he must be put to death. And you are also to kill the animal.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 27:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.