‘None of you shall approach any blood relative of his to uncover nakedness; I am the Lord.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘None of you shall approach anyone who are his close relatives, to uncover their nakedness: I am Yahweh.
- KJV None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD.
- BSB None of you are to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD.
- NKJV ‘None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness: I am the Lord.
- NLT “You must never have sexual relations with a close relative, for I am the Lord.
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
No one may have sexual relations with a close relative, the general principle behind the laws that follow.
Overview
This verse states the overarching prohibition against incest before listing specific cases. 'Uncovering nakedness' is a Hebrew idiom for sexual relations. By guarding the family from such corruption, God protects the dignity of marriage and the household, and the refrain 'I am Yahweh' grounds these boundaries in his holy character.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Lev 20:17–21“‘If a man takes his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness; it is a shameful thing. They shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness. He shall bear his iniquity.
- Lev 18:7–19“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, nor the nakedness of your mother: she is your mother. You shall not uncover her nakedness.
- Lev 20:11–12“‘The man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
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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 18:6 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.