Leviticus 19:20 (ASV)

Passage

And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to a husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; they shall be punished; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.

Nearby Context

Leviticus 19:18 Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people; but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am Jehovah.

Leviticus 19:19 Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with two kinds of seed: neither shall there come upon thee a garment of two kinds of stuff mingled together.

Leviticus 19:20 And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to a husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; they shall be punished; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.

Leviticus 19:21 And he shall bring his trespass-offering unto Jehovah, unto the door of the tent of meeting, even a ram for a trespass-offering.

Leviticus 19:22 And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass-offering before Jehovah for his sin which he hath sinned: and the sin which he hath sinned shall be forgiven him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whosoever", "lieth", "carnally", "woman", "bondmaid", "betrothed", "husband", and "redeemed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whosoever" and "lieth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "Ye shall keep my statutes Thou shalt..." into verse 21's "And he shall bring his trespass-offering unto...", so "whosoever" and "lieth" belong inside that flow. In Leviticus context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "whosoever" and "lieth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.