Leviticus 20 — Hebrew and Greek compared
Disparate in this chapter: 20:2, 20:3, 20:4, 20:5, 20:17, 20:20, 20:21, 20:22
Each card keeps the independently rendered source readings above their shared comparison and reception notes. The badge records the source’s governing classification; disparate readings are marked in red. Each reading retains its original reference.
Chapter 20
Penalties and separation
Molech and forbidden spiritual practices · 20:1–8
Verse 20:1 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:1 YHWH spoke to Moses, saying:
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
Classification & Notes
Same. The speech formula corresponds.
Verse 20:2 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:2 You shall say to the sons of Israel: Any man of the sons of Israel, or of the resident foreigners residing in Israel, who gives any of his offspring to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:2 You shall speak to the sons of Israel: If anyone of the sons of Israel, or of the resident foreigners who have joined Israel, gives any of his offspring to a ruler, let him be put to death. The nation upon the land shall stone him with stones.
Classification & Notes
Disparate. Hebrew names Molech; Greek has a ruler, archōn. The named recipient is materially different; the Greek wording alone does not identify every civil ruler with Molech.
Rabbinic reception. Rashi locates execution within the responsibility of the court, with public assistance if required. His legal interpretation does not authorize a private person to impose the penalty independently. Rashi, Leviticus 20:2
Verse 20:3 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:3 I Myself will set My face against that man and cut him off from among his people, because he gave some of his offspring to Molech, defiling My sanctuary and profaning My holy name.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:3 I will set My face against that man and destroy him from among his people, because he gave some of his offspring to a ruler, defiling My holy things and profaning the name of those consecrated to Me.
Classification & Notes
Disparate. Besides Molech/ruler, My holy name becomes the name of those consecrated to Me. Greek shifts the object of profanation from the divine name to consecrated persons or things.
Verse 20:4 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:4 If the people of the land deliberately close their eyes to that man when he gives some of his offspring to Molech, and do not put him to death,
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:4 If the natives of the land deliberately overlook that man with their eyes when he gives some of his offspring to a ruler, and do not put him to death,
Classification & Notes
Disparate. The different recipient continues from verse 2; the community’s failure to act is shared.
Verse 20:5 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:5 then I will set My face against that man and his family. I will cut him off from among their people, together with all who prostitute themselves after him by prostituting themselves after Molech.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:5 then I will set My face against that man and his kin. I will destroy him from among their people, together with all who agree with him so that he prostitutes himself after rulers.
Classification & Notes
Disparate. Greek has plural rulers and describes accomplices as those agreeing with him; Hebrew describes all who follow him in prostitution after Molech.
Verse 20:6 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:6 As for the person who turns to mediums and spirit-knowers, prostituting himself after them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from among his people.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:6 As for the person who follows spirit-mediums or enchanters, prostituting himself after them, I will set My face against that person and destroy him from among his people.
Classification & Notes
Different. The second forbidden practitioner is a Hebrew spirit-knower and a Greek enchanter; the sanction is expressed as cutting off or destruction.
Verse 20:7 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:7 Consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am YHWH your God.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:7 You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.
Classification & Notes
Divergent. Greek omits the opening consecrate yourselves and adds holy to the divine self-description. Both command holiness.
Verse 20:8 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:8 Keep My statutes and do them. I am YHWH who sanctifies you.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:8 Keep My ordinances and do them. I am the Lord who sanctifies you.
Classification & Notes
Same. The command and divine sanctification correspond.
Family and sexual offenses · 20:9–21
Verse 20:9 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:9 Any man who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:9 Any man who speaks evil of his father or his mother shall be put to death. He has spoken evil of his father or his mother; he shall be guilty.
Classification & Notes
Different. Greek renders the blood-liability formula as guilty and uses speaks evil for curses. Hebrew conjunctions here distribute over either parent.
Verse 20:10 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:10 If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife, committing adultery with his neighbor’s wife, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:10 If a man commits adultery with a man’s wife, or commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.
Classification & Notes
Similar. Greek coordinates with or where Hebrew repeats the description. Both prescribe the same penalty for adultery.
Verse 20:11 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:11 If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:11 If anyone lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both shall be put to death; they are guilty.
Classification & Notes
Different. The same offense and penalty stand; Greek states guilt instead of the blood-liability formula.
Verse 20:12 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:12 If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both shall surely be put to death. They have committed a perversion; their blood is upon them.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:12 If anyone lies with his daughter-in-law, both shall be put to death, for they have acted impiously; they are guilty.
Classification & Notes
Different. Hebrew perversion is Greek impiety; blood liability is expressed as guilt.
Verse 20:13 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:13 If a man lies with a male as one lies with a woman, both have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:13 If anyone lies with a male as one lies with a woman, both have committed an abomination. They shall be put to death; they are guilty.
Classification & Notes
Different. The offense and death penalty agree. Greek replaces the final blood-liability idiom with a statement of guilt.
Verse 20:14 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:14 If a man takes a woman and her mother, it is a wicked scheme. They shall burn him and them with fire, so that there may be no wickedness among you.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:14 If anyone takes a woman and her mother, it is a lawless deed. They shall burn him and them with fire, so that there may be no lawlessness among you.
Classification & Notes
Similar. Wicked scheme and lawless deed characterize the same act and punishment.
Verse 20:15 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:15 If a man has intercourse with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:15 If anyone has intercourse with a four-footed animal, he shall be put to death, and you shall kill the animal.
Classification & Notes
Similar. Greek makes the quadruped category explicit; the punishment corresponds.
Verse 20:16 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:16 If a woman approaches any animal to mate with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:16 If a woman approaches any animal to be mounted by it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall be put to death; they are guilty.
Classification & Notes
Different. The same prohibition is expressed with different sexual idioms; blood liability becomes guilt.
Verse 20:17 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:17 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 disgrace. They shall be cut off before the eyes of the sons of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he shall bear his guilt.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:17 If anyone takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a reproach. They shall be destroyed before the sons of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness; they shall bear their sin.
Classification & Notes
Disparate. The final bearer of liability changes from he to they. Both already face the preceding communal sanction, but Greek expressly makes both bear the sin.
Verse 20:18 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:18 If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual illness and uncovers her nakedness, he has exposed her fountain, and she has uncovered the source of her blood. Both shall be cut off from among their people.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:18 If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual separation and uncovers her nakedness, he has exposed her fountain, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood. Both shall be destroyed from among their kin.
Classification & Notes
Similar. Source and flow are related images; the prohibition and exclusion correspond.
Verse 20:19 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:19 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister or your father’s sister, for one who does so exposes his close kin. They shall bear their guilt.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:19 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister or your mother’s sister, for he has exposed his own kinship. They shall bear their sin.
Classification & Notes
Different. Greek reverses the order of the two aunts. Both end with plural liability.
Verse 20:20 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:20 If a man lies with his aunt, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness. They shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:20 If anyone lies with his female relative, he has uncovered the nakedness of his kinship. They shall die childless.
Classification & Notes
Disparate. Greek uses broader kinship terms and omits they shall bear their sin. Hebrew specifically concerns an aunt by marriage and the uncle’s nakedness; the exact scope of Greek kinship language needs contextual interpretation.
Verse 20:21 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:21 If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is an impurity. He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:21 If anyone takes his brother’s wife, it is an uncleanness. He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall die childless.
Classification & Notes
Disparate. Greek adds death to the childlessness formula. Hebrew here says be childless, unlike the explicit die childless in verse 20.
Holiness and the land · 20:22–27
Verse 20:22 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:22 Keep all My statutes and all My judgments and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to dwell does not vomit you out.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:22 Keep all My ordinances and My judgments and do them, so that the land into which I am bringing you to dwell is not indignant with you.
Classification & Notes
Disparate. Hebrew depicts expulsion by vomiting; Greek depicts the land’s indignation. The warning is shared, but the image differs. As in 18:28, the explicitly stated consequence differs: expulsion versus indignation.
Verse 20:23 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:23 You shall not walk in the statutes of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and I abhorred them.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:23 You shall not walk in the laws of the nations that I am driving away from you, for they did all these things, and I abhorred them.
Classification & Notes
Different. Hebrew nation is singular; Greek nations is plural. Greek also says driving away from you where Hebrew says driving out before you.
Verse 20:24 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:24 I said to you: You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am YHWH your God, who separated you from the peoples.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:24 I said to you: Inherit their land, and I will give it to you as a possession, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God, who separated you from all the nations.
Classification & Notes
Different. Greek makes inheritance an imperative and adds all before nations. Hebrew states the inheritance prospectively.
Verse 20:25 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:25 You shall distinguish between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean. Do not make yourselves detestable through animal or bird or anything that creeps on the ground, which I have set apart for you as unclean.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:25 You shall distinguish between clean animals and unclean, and between clean birds and unclean. Do not make yourselves detestable through animals or birds or any creeping things of the ground, which I have set apart for you as unclean.
Classification & Notes
Different. Greek reverses the order of the bird categories and uses plurals. The required distinction agrees.
Verse 20:26 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:26 You shall be holy to Me, for I, YHWH, am holy. I separated you from the peoples to be Mine.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:26 You shall be holy to Me, for I am holy, the Lord your God. I separated you from all the nations to be Mine.
Classification & Notes
Divergent. Greek adds your God and all. The purpose of belonging to God is shared.
Verse 20:27 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
20:27 A man or a woman in whom there is a medium or a spirit-knower shall surely be put to death. They shall stone them with stones; their blood is upon them.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
20:27 If a man or a woman becomes a spirit-medium or an enchanter, both shall be put to death. You shall stone them with stones; they are guilty.
Classification & Notes
Different. Greek explicitly says both after the alternatives man or woman and substitutes enchanter and guilty. Both applies across the prohibited cases; it need not imply a married couple.