Leviticus 20:21 (LSB)

Passage

If there is a man who takes his brother’s wife, it is an impure act; he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They will be childless.

Nearby Context

Leviticus 20:19 You shall also not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister or of your father’s sister, for such a one has made naked his blood relative; they will bear their guilt.

Leviticus 20:20 If there is a man who lies with his aunt, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness; they will bear their sin. They will die childless.

Leviticus 20:21 If there is a man who takes his brother’s wife, it is an impure act; he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They will be childless.

Leviticus 20:22 ‘You shall therefore keep all My statutes and all My judgments and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to inhabit will not vomit you out.

Leviticus 20:23 Moreover, you shall not walk in the statutes of the nation which I will cast out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have loathed them.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "If there is a man who lies..." into verse 22's "You shall therefore keep all My statutes...", so "takes" and "brother" 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 "takes" and "brother" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.