They shall die childless - Either the offspring should not be regarded as lawfully theirs, nor be entitled to any hereditary privileges, or they should have no blessing in their children. read more
Leviticus 20:20. They shall die childless Both shall be speedily cut off ere they can have a child by that incestuous conjunction; or, if this seem a less crime than most of the former incestuous mixtures, and therefore the magistrate forbear to punish it with death, yet they shall either have no children from such an unlawful bed, or their children shall die before them. read more
Leviticus 20:21. His brother’s wife Except in the case allowed by God, Deuteronomy 25:5. read more
Penalties for wrongdoing (20:1-27)The law now sets out penalties for the more serious offences outlined in Chapters 18 and 19. People who offered their children to the gods were to be stoned to death (20:1-5; for Molech see note on 18:21). Those who looked for guidance through witchcraft were guilty of rebellion against God and were to be punished by being cut off from the life of the community. A person who consulted the spirits of the dead was to be killed (6-9,27).Most of the perverse sexual... read more
sin = penalty. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause). App-6 . read more
Leviticus 20:20. They shall die childless— Whatever be the precise mode in which this curse was to be executed, whether by the entire withholding of children, or the speedy cutting them off when born; it affords us a striking proof of the Divinity of the Jewish law: for, to give or withhold children being in the power of the Divine Providence only, no impostor would have added such a sanction, the impotency of which a little time must have fully detected. read more
Leviticus 20:21. If a man take his brother's wife— Except that brother die childless. Compare Genesis 38:8. Deuteronomy 25:5-6. REFLECTIONS.—Nothing needs severer restraints than the lusts which naturally reign in our mortal bodies: no sins have severer punishments denounced on their indulgence. To instance only one—The adulterer and adulterers were both to perish together. The wrong is irreparable to the injured, peace of conscience destroyed to the guilty, and the avenging wrath of God... read more
20. they shall die childless—Either by the judgment of God they shall have no children, or their spurious offspring shall be denied by human authority the ordinary privileges of children in Israel. read more
4. Punishments for serious crimes ch. 20The preceding two chapters specify correct behavior. This one sets forth the punishments for disobedience. Chapters 18-19 already discussed most of the subjects dealt with in this chapter."The difference between the laws in this chapter and previous ones lies in their form. Those in chs. 18-19 are apodictic in form; that is, they forbid or command certain types of behavior but they rarely indicate what the consequences of disregarding these rules would... read more
Get Bible verse every day in your inbox
Read on Mobile
The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 20:20-21
They shall die childless;… they shall be childless. "It cannot be supposed that a perpetual miracle was to be maintained through all the ages of Israel's history; but the meaning evidently is that the children of such marriages should be reckoned, not to their actual father, but to the former husband of the woman. In the strong feeling of the Israelites in regard to posterity, this penalty seems to have been sufficient" (Gardiner). read more