Leviticus 20:21 (DBY)

Passage

And if a man take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness: they shall be childless.

Nearby Context

Leviticus 20:19 And the nakedness of thy mother's sister, and of thy father's sister shalt thou not uncover; for he hath laid naked his near relation: they shall bear their iniquity.

Leviticus 20:20 And if a man lie with his aunt, he hath uncovered his uncle's nakedness: their sin shall they bear: they shall die childless.

Leviticus 20:21 And if a man take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness: they shall be childless.

Leviticus 20:22 And ye shall observe all my statutes, and all mine ordinances, and do them, that the land whither I bring you to dwell therein vomit you not out.

Leviticus 20:23 And ye shall not walk in the customs of the nation which I am casting out before you; for all these things have they done, and they became an abomination to me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "take", "brother's", "wife", "unclean", "hath", "uncovered", and "nakedness". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "take" and "brother's", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "And if a man lie with his..." into verse 22's "And ye shall observe all my statutes...", so "take" and "brother's" 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 "take" and "brother's" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.