Leviticus 20:11 (DRB)

Passage

If a man lie with his stepmother, and discover the nakedness of his father, let them both be put to death: their blood be upon them.

Nearby Context

Leviticus 20:9 He that curseth his father, or mother, dying let him die. He hath cursed his father, and mother: let his blood be upon him.

Leviticus 20:10 If any man commit adultery with the wife of another, and defile his neighbour's wife: let them be put to death, both the adulterer and the adulteress.

Leviticus 20:11 If a man lie with his stepmother, and discover the nakedness of his father, let them both be put to death: their blood be upon them.

Leviticus 20:12 If any man lie with his daughter in law: let both die, because they have done a heinous crime. Their blood be upon them.

Leviticus 20:13 If any one lie with a man as with a woman, both have committed an abomination: let them be put to death. Their blood be upon them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "stepmother", "discover", "nakedness", "father", "both", "death", "blood", and "upon". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "stepmother" and "discover", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "If any man commit adultery with the..." into verse 12's "If any man lie with his daughter...", so "stepmother" and "discover" 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 "stepmother" and "discover" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.