Leviticus 18:20 is a command in the Torah forbidding sexual relations between a man and his neighbor’s wife. It treats adultery as a serious violation that defiles the person who commits it, not merely a broken rule between two people. God speaks these words to the Israelites through Moses as part of a larger set of instructions about holy living in the land they are about to enter.
“‘You shall not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife, and defile yourself with her.
Leviticus 18:20 (WEB)
What Leviticus 18:20 Means
The verse opens with a direct prohibition: “You shall not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife.” The word “neighbor” here means more than someone who lives next door. It refers to a fellow member of the covenant community, someone whose household and family life belonged to the wider people of God. Touching another person’s spouse breaks the trust that holds a community together.
The second clause, “and defile yourself with her,” explains the cost. In Leviticus, defilement describes a state that separates a person from holiness and from the worship of the LORD. The sin does not stay contained within the act. It alters the person who commits it and damages their standing before God.
The verse does not promise that every affair will be discovered or punished in a visible way, and it does not describe the emotional aftermath in detail. What it does make clear is that God takes faithfulness in marriage seriously and that the bond between spouses is protected by God’s own law.
The Context of Leviticus 18:20
Leviticus is traditionally attributed to Moses and was written for the people of Israel as they were being formed into a holy nation. Chapter 18 belongs to a section that lists forbidden sexual relationships, and the instructions are meant to set Israel apart from the surrounding nations, whose practices the text describes as corrupt. The audience is a community that must learn how their bodies, families, and worship relate to the holiness of their God.
The verses just before and after help clarify the verse. Verses 17 through 19 address incest, the marrying of two sisters, and sexual relations during a woman’s impurity, all of which concern boundaries within families and the protection of life and purity. Verses 21 through 23 turn to the worship of Molech, to the profaning of God’s name, and to other sexual perversions. Read in this setting, verse 20 is one part of a careful picture of a people who belong to God in every area of life, including marriage.
Key Phrases in Leviticus 18:20
Exodus 20:14
“You shall not commit adultery.
(WEB)
This commandment among the Ten Words given at Sinai forbids adultery in its plainest form. Reading it alongside Leviticus 18:20 shows that the prohibition was part of the core moral vision God gave his people from the beginning, not a detail added later.
Hebrews 13:4
Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled: but God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
(WEB)
The New Testament writer affirms that marriage is to be honored among all and that the marriage bed is kept pure. This verse carries the concern of Leviticus into the life of the church and shows how God’s care for faithful marriage continues across the testaments.
A Short Prayer From Leviticus 18:20
Lord, you see the places in my heart where desire has wandered toward what is not mine to take. Give me a clear conscience and a faithful heart, so that I honor the people you have placed in my life and the covenant that holds my home together. Where I have already stepped toward sin, forgive me and lead me back to you. Protect my marriage and my relationships from temptation, and cleanse me from every defilement. Amen.
