Leviticus 19:20 (DRB)

Passage

If a man carnally lie with a woman that is a bondservant and marriageable, and yet not redeemed with a price, nor made free: they both shall be scourged: and they shall not be put to death, because she was not a free woman.

Nearby Context

Leviticus 19:18 Seek not revenge, nor be mindful of the injury of thy citizens. Thou shalt love thy friend as thyself. I am the Lord.

Leviticus 19:19 Keep ye my laws. Thou shalt not make thy cattle to gender with beasts of any other kind. Thou shalt not sow thy field with different seeds. Thou shalt not wear a garment that is woven of two sorts.

Leviticus 19:20 If a man carnally lie with a woman that is a bondservant and marriageable, and yet not redeemed with a price, nor made free: they both shall be scourged: and they shall not be put to death, because she was not a free woman.

Leviticus 19:21 And for his trespass he shall offer a ram to the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony.

Leviticus 19:22 And the priest shall pray for him: and for his sin before the Lord: and he shall have mercy on him, and the sin shall be forgiven.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "carnally", "woman", "bondservant", "marriageable", "redeemed", "price", "free", and "both". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "carnally" and "woman", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "Keep ye my laws Thou shalt not..." into verse 21's "And for his trespass he shall offer...", so "carnally" and "woman" 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 "carnally" and "woman" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.