“If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”
My Notes
What Does Leviticus 20:13 Mean?
This verse appears in Leviticus 20, a chapter specifying penalties for violations of the holiness code outlined in Leviticus 18. Where chapter 18 names the prohibitions, chapter 20 prescribes the consequences within Israel's theocratic legal system.
The penalty — death — is the same penalty prescribed in this chapter for adultery, incest, and bestiality. The severity reflects the holiness code's framework: these were capital offenses under Israel's covenant law, which functioned as both religious and civil code.
The phrase "their blood shall be upon them" is a legal formula meaning the guilty parties bear responsibility for their own punishment. It appears throughout Leviticus and Ezekiel for various offenses.
Historical context is essential: this was written for a specific nation under a specific covenant, operating as a theocracy. The relationship between Old Testament civil penalties and New Covenant ethics is one of the most complex interpretive questions in Christian theology. Christians across the theological spectrum agree that the civil penalties of Leviticus are not directly applicable today — the disagreement is about what, if anything, the moral framework beneath them still requires.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How do you approach the Old Testament civil penalties — are they directly applicable today, and how do you decide?
- 2.This chapter prescribes the death penalty for multiple offenses (adultery, cursing parents, etc.). Why does this verse receive more attention than the others?
- 3.How do you hold space for people who are deeply wounded by this text while also engaging with what it says?
- 4.What does it look like to wrestle honestly with a difficult passage rather than either dismissing it or weaponizing it?
Devotional
This is one of the most painful verses in Scripture for many people. It has been used to justify violence, exclusion, and cruelty. It has also been held by others as an expression of God's moral framework. Both realities exist, and neither can be dismissed.
What's worth acknowledging upfront: the civil death penalty prescribed here is part of Israel's theocratic legal code that even the most conservative Christian traditions do not apply literally today. No one is executing people for adultery (also prescribed in this chapter) or cursing parents (also in this chapter). The penalties reflect a specific covenant, a specific nation, and a specific moment in redemptive history.
That doesn't make the verse irrelevant. It makes it complex. And complexity deserves honesty, not shortcuts.
If this verse has been used as a weapon against you or someone you love, that wound is real. If this verse represents sincere conviction about God's design for sexuality, that conviction deserves respectful engagement. The hardest and most necessary work is holding both truths without letting either one cancel the other.
Scripture invites you into the wrestling. It doesn't always resolve it as quickly as you'd like.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
If a man lie also with mankind, as he lieth with a woman,.... Is guilty of the sin of sodomy, this is a breach of the…
Sins against the seventh commandment are here ordered to be severely punished. These are sins which, of all others,…
Directions on the whole similar to those of Lev 18:6-20; Lev 18:22-23, but adding penalties for transgression.
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture