Leviticus 20:11 (WEB)

Passage

“‘The man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Nearby Context

Leviticus 20:9 “‘For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death: he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.

Leviticus 20:10 “‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, even he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

Leviticus 20:11 “‘The man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Leviticus 20:12 “‘If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have committed a perversion; their blood shall be upon them.

Leviticus 20:13 “‘If a man lies with a male, as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "lies", "father", "wife", "uncovered", "nakedness", "both", and "shall". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "lies" and "father", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "The man who commits adultery with another..." into verse 12's "If a man lies with his daughter-in-law...", so "lies" and "father" 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 "lies" and "father" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.