Leviticus 20:16 (LSB)

Passage

If there is a woman who approaches any animal to mate with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.

Nearby Context

Leviticus 20:14 If there is a man who marries a woman and her mother, it is lewdness; both he and they shall be burned with fire so that there will be no lewdness in your midst.

Leviticus 20:15 If there is a man who lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death; you shall also kill the animal.

Leviticus 20:16 If there is a woman who approaches any animal to mate with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.

Leviticus 20:17 ‘If there is a man who takes his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter, so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace; and they shall be cut off in the sight of the sons of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he bears his guilt.

Leviticus 20:18 If there is a man who lies with a menstruous woman and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood; thus both of them shall be cut off from among their people.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "woman", "approaches", "animal", "mate", "shall", and "kill". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "woman" and "approaches", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "If there is a man who lies..." into verse 17's "If there is a man who takes...", so "woman" and "approaches" 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 "woman" and "approaches" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.