Leviticus 20:17
וְאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר־יִקַּח אֶת־אֲחֹתוֹ בַּת־אָבִיו אוֹ בַת־אִמּוֹ וְרָאָה אֶת־עֶרְוָתָהּ וְהִֽיא־תִרְאֶה אֶת־עֶרְוָתוֹ חֶסֶד הוּא וְנִכְרְתוּ לְעֵינֵי בְּנֵי עַמָּם עֶרְוַת אֲחֹתוֹ גִּלָּה עֲוֹנוֹ יִשָּֽׂא׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
וְאִ֣ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־יִקַּ֣ח אֶת־אֲחֹת֡וֹ בַּת־אָבִ֣יו א֣וֹ בַת־אִ֠מּוֹ וְרָאָ֨ה אֶת־עֶרְוָתָ֜הּ וְהִֽיא־תִרְאֶ֤ה אֶת־עֶרְוָתוֹ֙ חֶ֣סֶד ה֔וּא וְנִ֨כְרְת֔וּ לְעֵינֵ֖י בְּנֵ֣י עַמָּ֑ם עֶרְוַ֧ת אֲחֹת֛וֹ גִּלָּ֖ה עֲוֹנ֥וֹ יִשָּֽׂא׃
ὃς ἐὰν λάβῃ τὴν ἀδελφὴν αὐτοῦ ἐκ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ ἢ ἐκ μητρὸς αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἴδη τὴν ἀσχημοσύνην αὐτῆς καὶ αὕτη ἴδῃ τὴν ἀσχημοσύνην αὐτοῦ, ὄνειδός ἐστιν, ἐξολεθρευθήσονται ἐνώπιον υἱῶν γένους αὐτῶν· ἀσχημοσύνην ἀδελφῆς αὐτοῦ ἀπεκάλυψεν, ἁμαρτίαν κομιοῦνται.
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
Qui acceperit sororem suam filiam patris sui, vel filiam matris suæ, et viderit turpitudinem ejus, illaque conspexerit fratris ignominiam, nefariam rem operati sunt: occidentur in conspectu populi sui, eo quod turpitudinem suam mutuo revelaverint, et portabunt iniquitatem suam.
“‘Si un hombre se casa con su hermana, ya sea hija de su padre o de su madre, y tienen relaciones sexuales, cometen un acto vergonzoso. Serán eliminados a la vista de toda su gente. Ese hombre deshonró a su hermana, así que cargará con su culpa.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Y cualquiera que tomare á su hermana, hija de su padre ó hija de su madre, y viere su desnudez, y ella viere la suya, cosa es execrable; por tanto serán muertos á ojos de los hijos de su pueblo: descubrió la desnudez de su hermana; su pecado llevará.
If a man marries his sister, whether the daughter of his father or of his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off in the sight of their people. He has uncovered the nakedness of his sister; he shall bear his iniquity.
✦ What the text says
Summary
Leviticus 20:17 addresses a man who takes his sister — whether by his father or his mother — and describes the mutual act of "seeing" each other's nakedness as chesed ("shame", H2617B). The consequence is that both are cut off from among their people, and the text closes by stating that the man bears his avon ("iniquity", H5771G).
Key words
- yiqqach ("he will take", H3947I) — qal imperfect, describing the act of taking a wife, here applied to a forbidden union with a sister.
- chesed ("shame", H2617B) — a masculine singular noun; here used in a negative sense distinct from its more common meaning of "kindness/loyalty" elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible.
- nikhretu ("they will be cut off", H3772I) — niphal (passive) sequential perfect, plural, indicating both parties share the same consequence.
- gillah ("he has uncovered", H1540I) — piel perfect, an intensive verb form emphasizing the completed, deliberate act of exposure.
- avono ("his iniquity", H5771G with suffix) — construct noun with pronominal suffix, naming what the man "bears" (yissa, H5375J).
What the text says
The verse opens with ve'ish 'asher ("and a man who", H9002+H0376G+H0834A), a legal-formula construction common in this chapter, introducing a case followed by its consequence. The sister is defined twice in parallel construct chains — bat-aviv ("daughter of his father", H1323G+H0001G) and bat-immo ("daughter of his mother", H1323G+H0517) — covering a sister through either parent.
The narrative then shifts to two mirrored qal verbs of "seeing" (ra'ah, H7200G): first he sees her ervah ("nakedness", H6172) via a sequential perfect, then she sees his via an imperfect, with the same noun repeated with different suffixes (ervatah, "her nakedness"; ervato, "his nakedness"). This grammatical mirroring — same verb root, same object noun, alternating subjects — expresses reciprocity between the two parties.
After the noun chesed ("shame", H2617B) with the pronoun hu ("it", H1931) declaring a verdict on the act, the text moves to consequence: nikhretu ("they will be cut off", H3772I), a plural niphal verb, "before the eyes of the sons of their people" (bnei 'ammam, H1121A+H5971A). The final clause repeats ervat achoto ("nakedness of his sister", H6172+H0269) and gillah ("he has uncovered", H1540I, piel perfect) before stating avono yissa ("he will bear his iniquity", H5771G+H5375J), a qal imperfect closing formula.
Differences between versions
The LXX renders chesed ("shame", H2617B) as oneidos ("reproach"), while the Vulgate uses nefariam rem ("a wicked thing"), both interpretive expansions of the single Hebrew noun. The Vulgate adds occidentur ("they will be killed"), specifying execution, where the Hebrew nikhretu ("they will be cut off", H3772I) does not itself specify the method or nature of being "cut off." The Vulgate's phrase mutuo revelaverint ("they mutually revealed") makes the reciprocity explicit, which in the Hebrew is conveyed only through the mirrored verb structure rather than a stated word for "mutual."
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.