You must not approach a woman to have sexual relations with her during her menstrual period.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is impure by her uncleanness.
- KJV Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness.
- NKJV ‘Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness as long as she is in her customary impurity.
- NASB ‘Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness during her menstrual impurity.
- NLT “Do not have sexual relations with a woman during her period of menstrual impurity.
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 man must not have relations with a woman during her menstrual uncleanness.
Overview
This law connects the sexual ethics of the chapter to the broader purity laws of Leviticus regarding bodily discharges. It taught Israel restraint and reverence for the rhythms of life God ordained. Such commands cultivated a holy regard for the body and for the boundaries God set within marriage.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Lev 20:18If a man lies with a menstruating woman and has sexual relations with her, he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has uncovered the source of her blood. Both of them must be cut off from among their people.
- Lev 15:24If a man lies with her and her menstrual flow touches him, he will be unclean for seven days, and any bed on which he lies will become unclean.
- Ezek 22:10In you they have uncovered the nakedness of their fathers; in you they violate women during their menstrual impurity.
- Lev 15:19When a woman has a discharge consisting of blood from her body, she will be unclean due to her menstruation for seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean until evening.
- Ezek 18:6He does not eat at the mountain or look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor’s wife or approach a woman during her period.
- Lev 12:2“Say to the Israelites, ‘A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be unclean for seven days, as she is during the days of her menstruation.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 18:19 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.