Leviticus 20 · Verse 16

Leviticus 20:16

And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
Leviticus 20:16, King James Version

Leviticus 20:16 in other translations

BSBIf a woman approaches any animal to mate with it, you must kill both the woman and the animal. They must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
WEB“‘If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.
ASVAnd if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
YLT‘And a woman who draweth near unto any beast to lie with it--thou hast even slain the woman and the beast; they are certainly put to death; their blood is on them.
DARBYAnd if a woman approach unto any beast to gender therewith, thou shalt kill the woman and the beast: they shall certainly be put to death; their blood is upon them.
BBEAnd if a woman goes near a beast and has sex relations with it, you will put an end to the woman and the beast: their blood will be on them.
WebsterAnd if a woman shall approach to any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman and the beast; they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

What does Leviticus 20:16 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Leviticus 20:7-19

7-19. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy--The minute specification of the incestuous and unnatural crimes here enumerated shows their sad prevalence amongst the idolatrous nations around, and the extreme proneness of the Israelites to follow the customs of their neighbors. It is to be understood, that, whenever mention is made that the offender was "to be put to death" without describing the mode, stoning…

Read the full comment on Leviticus 20:7-19 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 16 If a woman approach unto any beast - We have the authority of one of the most eminent historians in the world, Herodotus, to say that this was a crime not unknown in Egypt; yea, that a case of this nature actually took place while he was there. Εγενετο δ' εν τῳ νο μῳ τουτῳ επ' εμευ τουτο το τερας, Γυναικι Τραγος εμισγετο αναφανδον. Τουτο ες επιδειξιν ανθρωπων απικετο. - Herod. in Euterp., p. 108. Edit. Gale, Lond. 1679. "In this district, within my own recollection, this portentous business took place: a goat coupled so publicly with a woman that every person knew it," etc. After this, need we wonder that God should have made laws of this nature, when it appears these abominations were not only practiced among the Egyptians, but were parts of a superstitious religious system? This one observation will account for many of those strange prohibitions which we find in the Mosaic law; others, the reasons of which are not so plain, we should see the propriety of equally, had we ampler historic records of the customs that existed in that country.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Leviticus 20:10-27

These verses repeat what had been said before, but it was needful there should be line upon line. What praises we owe to God that he has taught the evil of sin, and the sure way of deliverance from it! May we have grace to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things; may we have no fellowship with unfruitful works of darkness, but reprove them.

Read the full comment on Leviticus 20:10-27 →

Leviticus 20:16 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְאִשָּׁ֗הve.'i.Shahand a womanH802
אֲשֶׁ֨ר'a.SherwhoH834
תִּקְרַ֤בtik.Ravshe will draw nearH7126
אֶל\־'el-toH413
כָּל\־kol-anyH3605
בְּהֵמָה֙be.he.MahanimalH929
לְרִבְעָ֣הle.riv.'Ahto stretch out withH7250
אֹתָ֔הּ'o.Tahwith <the> itH854
וְהָרַגְתָּ֥ve.ha.rag.Taand you will killH2026
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הָאִשָּׁ֖הha.'i.Shahthe womanH802
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
הַבְּהֵמָ֑הha.be.he.Mahthe animalH929
מ֥וֹתMotcertainly <to die>H4191
יוּמָ֖תוּyu.Ma.tuthey will be put to deathH4191
דְּמֵיהֶ֥םde.mei.Hemblood<s> theirH1818
בָּֽם\׃Bam[are] on <the> them

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Leviticus 20:16

  • Exodus 19:13

    There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

  • Hebrews 12:20

    (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:

  • Exodus 21:32

    If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

  • Exodus 21:28

    If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
And if a woman.We are assured by Herodotus (in Euterp.) that the abominations here referred to existed among the Egyptians, and even formed part of their superstitious religious system, and we have reason to believe that they were not uncommon among the Canaanites. (See ch. 18:24, 25). Need we wonder then, that God should have made laws of this nature, and appointed the punishment of death for these crimes? This one observation will account for many of those strange prohibitions which we find in the Mosaic law.
and the beast.
Ex 19:13; 21:28,32; Heb 12:20

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Leviticus 20:15

    And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.

  • Leviticus 20:16

    And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

  • Leviticus 20:17

    And if a man shall take his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.

Read all of Leviticus 20

Leviticus 20:16 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y la mujer que se allegare á algún animal, para tener ayuntamiento con él, á la mujer y al animal matarás: morirán infaliblemente; será su sangre sobre ellos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et si une femme s’approche d’une bête, quelle qu’elle soit, pour se prostituer à elle, tu tueras la femme et la bête; elles seront certainement mises à mort: leur sang est sur elles.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und wenn ein Weib sich irgend einem Vieh naht, um mit ihm zu schaffen zu haben, so sollst du das Weib und das Vieh umbringen; sie sollen gewißlich getötet werden, ihr Blut ist auf ihnen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Mulier, quæ succubuerit cuilibet jumento, simul interficietur cum eo: sanguis eorum sit super eos.