If 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.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘If a man lies with a woman having her monthly period, and uncovers her nakedness; he has made naked her fountain, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from among their people.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV If a man lies with a woman during her sickness and uncovers her nakedness, he has exposed her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from their people.
- NASB If there is a man who sleeps with a menstruous woman and uncovers her nakedness, he has exposed her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood; so both of them shall be cut off from among their people.
- NLT “If a man has sexual relations with a woman during her menstrual period, both of them must be cut off from the community, for together they have exposed the source of her blood flow.
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 and woman who have relations during her menstrual period are both to be cut off. Israel was to honor God's appointed boundaries even in marital intimacy.
Overview
Connected to the ritual impurity laws (ch. 15), this command treats deliberate disregard for the boundaries of cleanness as a serious offense. Both parties bear the consequence of being cut off. The law trained Israel to recognize that even intimate life falls under God's ordering, cultivating a reverence for holiness in every sphere.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- 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.
- Lev 18:19You must not approach a woman to have sexual relations with her during her menstrual period.
- 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.
- Ezek 22:10In you they have uncovered the nakedness of their fathers; in you they violate women during their menstrual impurity.
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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 20:18 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
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