Leviticus 20:10-21

Leviticus 20:10-21 KJVA  And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.  11  And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.  12  And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.  13  If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.  14  And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.  15  And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.  16  And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.  17  And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.  18  And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.  19  And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister, nor of thy father's sister: for he uncovereth his near kin: they shall bear their iniquity.  20  And if a man shall lie with his uncle's wife, he hath uncovered his uncle's nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.  21  And if a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless.

Let's read this in different translations:

Leviticus 20:10-21 MKJV  And a man who commits adultery with a man's wife, who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.  11  And 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 on them.  12  And if a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death. They have performed a perversion; their blood shall be on them.  13  If a man also lies with mankind, as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be on them.  14  And if a man takes a wife and her mother, it is wickedness. They shall be burned with fire, both he and they, so that there may be no wickedness among you.  15  And if a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death. And you shall kill the animal.  16  And if a woman goes up to any animal and lies down with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be on them.  17  And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness, it is a wicked thing. And they shall be cut off in the sight of their people. He has uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.  18  And if a man shall lie with a menstruous woman, and shall uncover her nakedness, he has discovered her fountain, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood. And both of them shall be cut off from among their people.  19  And you shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, nor of your father's sister. For he uncovers his near kin. They shall bear their iniquity.  20  And if a man shall lie with his uncle's wife, he has uncovered his uncle's nakedness. They shall bear their sin. They shall die childless.  21  And if a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing. He has uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless.

Leviticus 20:10-21 ESV  “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.  11  If a man lies with his father's wife, he has uncovered his father's nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.  12  If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed perversion; their blood is upon them.  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 is upon them.  14  If a man takes a woman and her mother also, it is depravity; he and they shall be burned with fire, that there may be no depravity among you.  15  If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal.  16  If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.  17  “If a man takes his sister, a daughter of his father or a daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace, and they shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has uncovered his sister's nakedness, and he shall bear his iniquity.  18  If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual period and uncovers her nakedness, he has made naked her fountain, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from among their people.  19  You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister or of your father's sister, for that is to make naked one's relative; they shall bear their iniquity.  20  If a man lies with his uncle's wife, he has uncovered his uncle's nakedness; they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.  21  If a man takes his brother's wife, it is impurity. He has uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless.

Leviticus 20:10-21 BBE  And if a man has sex relations with another man's wife, even the wife of his neighbour, he and she are certainly to be put to death.  11  And the man who has sex relations with his father's wife has put shame on his father: the two of them are to be put to death; their blood will be on them.  12  And if a man has sex relations with his son's wife, the two of them are to be put to death: it is unnatural; their blood will be on them.  13  And if a man has sex relations with a man, the two of them have done a disgusting thing: let them be put to death; their blood will be on them.  14  And if a man takes as wife a woman and her mother, it is an act of shame; let them be burned with fire, all three of them, so that there may be no shame among you.  15  And if a man has sex relations with a beast, let him be put to death, and let the beast be put to destruction.  16  And if a woman goes near a beast and has sex relations with it, you will put an end to the woman and the beast: their blood will be on them.  17  And if a man takes his sister, daughter of his father or his mother, and has sex relations with her and she with him, it is an act of shame: they are to be cut off before the children of their people; he has had sex relations with his sister, and his sin will be on him.  18  And if a man has sex relations with a woman at the time when she is unwell, he has seen her fountain and she has let the fountain of her blood be uncovered, and the two of them are to be cut off from among their people.  19  And you may not have sex connection with your mother's sister or your father's sister, for they are his near relations: their sin will be on them.  20  And if a man has sex relations with the wife of his father's brother, he has put shame on his father's brother: their sin will be on them; till the day of their death they will have no children.  21  And if a man takes his brother's wife, it is an unclean act; he has put shame on his brother; they will have no children.

Leviticus 20:10-21 ERV  "If a man has sexual relations with his neighbor's wife, both the man and the woman are guilty of adultery and must be put to death!  11  If a man has sexual relations with his father's wife, both the man and the woman must be put to death. They are responsible for their own death. It is as if that man had sexual relations with his father!  12  "If a man has sexual relations with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have committed a terrible sexual sin! They are responsible for their own death.  13  "If a man has sexual relations with another man as with a woman, they have committed a terrible sin. They must be put to death. They are responsible for their own death.  14  "It is a sexual sin if a man has sexual relations with a woman and her mother. The people must burn that man and the two women in fire! Don't let this sexual sin happen among your people.  15  "If a man has sexual relations with an animal, both the man and the animal must be put to death.  16  If a woman has sexual relations with an animal, you must kill the woman and the animal. They must be put to death. They are responsible for their own death.  17  "It is a shameful thing for a brother and his sister or half-sister to marry each other and have sexual relations with each other. They must be punished in public. They must be separated from their people. The man who has sexual relations with his sister must be punished for his sin.  18  "If a man has sexual relations with a woman during her monthly time of bleeding, both the woman and the man must be separated from their people. They sinned because they exposed her source of blood.  19  "You must not have sexual relations with your mother's sister or your father's sister. That is a sin of incest. You must be punished for your sins.  20  "A man must not have sexual relations with his uncle's wife. It would be like having sexual relations with his uncle. That man and his uncle's wife will be punished for their sins. They will die without children.  21  "It is wrong for a man to take his brother's wife. It would be like having sexual relations with his brother! They will have no children.

Okay, now we should be past the Ick Factor. I mean, gross. But it's as simple as this:

Sin

Sexual relations with neighbor's spouse

Punishment

Man and woman are guilty of adultery and must be put to death

Let's put it in a table:

Notice homosexuality is listed amongst other perverted sexual sins. It's no more, and no less, than the other sins but it IS SIN, an abomination to God. All of these are egregious sins with severe penalties.

Capital punishment usually meant stoning to death.

"uncovered (their) nakedness" - "Before the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve lived without clothing in a perfectly natural state (Genesis 2:25). But after the fall, nakedness became a source of shame (Genesis 3:6–7). In fact, shame at their own nakedness was the first felt consequence of Adam and Eve’s sin. Since then, nakedness has been linked with sexuality, privacy, and vulnerability. When the Bible speaks of 'uncovering nakedness,' it is usually referring to some type of sexual sin, perversion, or dishonor." - GotQuestions.org

Absalom, David’s son, publicly broadcasted that he was having sex with his father’s concubines as a sign of disrespect. He violated God's law here.

2 Samuel 16:22 ESV So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof. And Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.

The husband and wife are "one flesh" and to "uncover the nakedness" of one, exposes the nakedness of them both.

Genesis 9:20-25 MKJV  And Noah began to be a husbandman. And he planted a vineyard.  21  And he drank of the wine and was drunk. And he was uncovered inside his tent.  22  And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.  23  And Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders. And they went backwards and covered the nakedness of their father. And their faces were backwards, and they did not see their father's nakedness.  24  And Noah awoke from his wine, and came to know what his younger son had done to him.  25  And he said, Cursed be Canaan. He shall be a servant of servants to his brothers. (Canaan was a son of Ham)

To be "cut off from the people" - ka^rath - H3772
Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries
A primitive root; to cut (off, down or asunder); by implication to destroy or consume; specifically to covenant (that is, make an alliance or bargain, originally by cutting flesh and passing between the pieces): - be chewed, be con- [feder-] ate, covenant, cut (down, off), destroy, fail, feller, be freed, hew (down), make a league ([covenant]), X lose, perish, X utterly, X want.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Definitions
1) to cut, cut off, cut down, cut off a body part, cut out, eliminate, kill, cut a covenant
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to cut off
1a1a) to cut off a body part, behead
1a2) to cut down
1a3) to hew
1a4) to cut or make a covenant
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to be cut off
1b2) to be cut down
1b3) to be chewed
1b4) to be cut off, fail
1c) (Pual)
1c1) to be cut off
1c2) to be cut down
1d) (Hiphil)
1d1) to cut off
1d2) to cut off, destroy
1d3) to cut down, destroy
1d4) to take away
1d5) to permit to perish
1e) (Hophal) cut off
Part of Speech: verb

"In the Hebrew Bible, kareth is a form of punishment which may mean premature death, or else exclusion from the people. According to Richard C. Steiner, the phrase 'to be cut off from one's people' is an antonym for 'to be gathered to one's people' (e.g. Genesis 25:8), and thus kareth in the Bible means to be deprived of the afterlife. Examples of sins making a person liable to kareth include eating chametz on Passover, sexual violations, ritual impurities, and a man's refusal to be circumcised. The Book of Numbers states that anyone who sins deliberately, or high-handedly, receives kareth." - Wikipedia

Note: Jacob Milgrom, a revered Jewish commentator who wrote a 2500+ page 3-volume commentary on Leviticus, notes 19 different categories or reasons that a person could be “cut off” in Israel (Vol I, pg. 458).

The following is from
Karet or Being “Cut Off” in Torah, Posted on April 29, 2011 by Derek Leman
What does it mean to be “cut off” from the people? A technical word for this is extirpation. While we’re throwing around fancy words, another way to talk about being cut off is excision. Excision. Extirpation. Excommunication. What is all this about? What things in Torah bring such a penalty? Is there any hope of forgiveness and release from such a penalty?

Causes of the Karet Penalty
Jacob Milgrom categorizes and lists all the crimes in Torah that result in being cut off. The list is surprising. Offenses range from those which seem relatively minor (eating leaven during Passover week) to major (sacrificing children to Molech).

Here is a simplified breakdown based on Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, Anchor Bible, 458:

Sacred time. Not sacrificing the Passover (Numbers 9:13). Eating leaven during Passover (Exodus 12:15, 19). Working on the Sabbath (Exodus 31:14). Working or failing to fast on Yom Kippur (Leviticus 23:29, 30).

Sacred substance. Eating/drinking blood (Leviticus 7:27; Leviticus 17:10, 14). Eating suet (organ fat, Leviticus 7:25). Misuse of holy incense (Exodus 30:38). Misuse of holy oil (Exodus 30:33). Eating sacrificial meat beyond the permitted time (Leviticus 7:18; 19:8). Eating sacrificial meat while impure (Leviticus 7:20-21). Levites entering sacred areas (Numbers 18:3; cf. Numbers 4:15, 19-20). Blaspheming or sinning with defiance (Numbers 15:30-31; cf. Leviticus 24:15).

Purification rituals. Neglecting circumcision (Genesis 17:14). Neglecting purification after corpse contact (Numbers 19:13-20).

Illicit worship. Molech worship (Leviticus 20:2-5; Ezekiel 14:5). Necromancy (Leviticus 20:6). Slaughter/sacrifice outside the sanctuary (Leviticus 17:4, 9).

Illicit sex. Incestuous marriages (Leviticus 18:27-29).

What is Karet?
Theories could include the following:
(1) Death penalty.
(2) Death penalty for offender and his whole family.
(3) A divine decree of death (not actionable by the people) at certain age (some have suggested before the age of sixty or fifty-two).
(4) A divine decree of a premature and childless death.
(5) A divine decree of the ending of the family line (extirpation).
(6) Denial of afterlife (no “gathering to the ancestors”).
(7) Excommunication from the people.

Karet is not simply the death penalty. The death penalty is carried out by witnesses of a crime and the rest of the townspeople. The Molech worship passage in Leviticus 20:2-5 is an example of a person incurring two penalties: the death penalty and karet.

Neither is karet a death penalty for a person’s entire family. That sort of penalty is different. It is called kherem (the ban) and the most famous example is Achan (Joshua 7).

Psalm 109:13 is helpful: “May his posterity be cut off; may his name be blotted out in the second generation!” The phrase “cut off” is from the karet root. Milgrom also cites Ruth 4:10 and the fear that a person’s line of descendants might end up “cut off” through the death of those carrying on the name. Being cut off (karet) can happen naturally through deaths and does not have to be a divine penalty for a crime. Add also Malachi 2:12.

Extirpation, the end of a family line, is the likely meaning of karet. Those who commit crimes worthy of karet will, in a matter of generations, find their line coming to an end.

Yet it also may mean a denial of afterlife. The biblical language of a person being “gathered to his kin” or “ancestors” is arguably more than just a reference to burial (as it is used in some cases of people who were not buried in the family tomb). See Numbers 20:24; Numbers 27:13; Numbers 31:2; Genesis 15:15; Genesis 47:30; Judges 2:10 for some examples of this language in the Bible which probably carries with it notions of afterlife.

As Milgrom points out, karet may very well be both denial of afterlife and a decree from God that a person’s family line will come to an end.

Are Karet Sins Forgivable?
The answer to this should be “obviously.”

There are many examples. One of my favorites is 2 Chronicles 30:17-20. The people have violated one of the stern commands with the penalty of karet. They have eaten the Passover in impurity. They have violated Leviticus 7:20-21 and probably for all of their lives they have violated Numbers 9:13 and Exodus 12:15, 19. Yet here is what we read:

"For there were many in the assembly who had not sanctified themselves; therefore the Levites had to kill the passover lamb for every one who was not clean, to make it holy to the Lord. For a multitude of the people, many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the passover otherwise than as prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, 'The good Lord pardon every one who sets his heart to seek God, the Lord the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary’s rules of cleanness.' And the Lord heard Hezekiah, and healed the people." (end)

 

"The fountain of her blood" - The Israelites often equated a woman's womb with a fountain. It was from the womb, or the fountain, that a new life came from. It was from Mary's womb that Jesus, the Fountain of Living Waters, sprang from. Each of us, as Christians and Believers in Jesus, become founts of Living Water too as we take the gospel into a dying world. We derive the Living Water from Jesus to sprinkle it throughout the world. This Living Water is the Holy Spirit that Jesus sent to the World after His ascension into Heaven.

John 7:37-38 …Now on the last day, the great day of the feast (Feast of Booths), Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”

According to Leviticus 15:19-24, a woman is unclean during her menstruation. It's not a sin because it does not require a sacrifice. But in her delicate condition, she was to have a chance to rest and reset. Every month women are reminded that they have to potential of bringing forth a child, a new life. "Life is in the blood". If she has her period, the menstrual flow of blood, is a reminder a life did not happen that month. The womb becomes a sacred place to be protected by her and her husband. It's the fount from whence their posterity will come.

Out of love for his wife and love for their future children, the husband was to protect this sacred space in his wife. Out of love for her husband and love for their future children, the wife was to protect this sacred space in herself if it was at all possible. (She can't help it if she is unprotected and is forcibly raped.) His sperm is sacred to him and her womb is sacred to her. His sperm was not to be spilled and wasted on anyone else. Her womb was not to be used and wasted on anyone else.

Before she is married, her father is normally her protector and the one to try and protect her sacred womb for from it will come his grandchildren. Once she is married, her husband becomes her protector and the one to protect her sacred womb from which his children shall come. It is the reason why a woman's virginity is so important to a father and a husband. BUT, the same can be said for a man's sperm. It should not be wasted and misused on anyone other than his lawful wife for it is the seed of their future children. A man's virginity is also important. God's commands to abstain from sex outside of marriage is for BOTH the man AND the woman. For him to run around with other women is just as offensive to the sacred as her running around with other men.

Having sex with a menstruating woman could harm her womb, her sacred place from which her children come from. It's like desecrating and vandalizing a church. God wants men and women to realize the sacredness of their sexual union from which comes life. Women are not to consider themselves as public toilets. Men are not to consider women as public toilets. The bodies of men and women are temples. Once we become Christians, the Holy Spirit moves into the temple of our bodies. We have the living God residing in us.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 MKJV  Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?  17  If anyone defiles the temple of God, God shall destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which you are.

1 Corinthians 6:16-20 ERV  The Scriptures say, "The two people will become one." So you should know that anyone who is joined with a prostitute becomes one with her in body.  17  But anyone who is joined with the Lord is one with him in spirit.  18  So run away from sexual sin. It involves the body in a way that no other sin does. So if you commit sexual sin, you are sinning against your own body.  19  You should know that your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit that you received from God and that lives in you. You don't own yourselves.  20  God paid a very high price to make you his. So honor God with your body.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 ESV  Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?  15  What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?  16  What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  17  Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you,  18  and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”

We should not pollute the sacredness of our bodies.

In the spiritual realm we should not pollute the message of the Living Water that flows from us. The Holy Spirit resides in us as Believers in Jesus Christ. According to the Bible we become temples of the Holy Spirit and a fountain of Living Water comes from this source within us. We need to protect that Source within us. I don't mean it will go away or that we control the Source. I mean we need to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and strengthen the outflow of it within us. The more we read the Word, dialogue with God in prayer, praise and worship Him, obey Him, the stronger the outflow of this Living Water. We become better fountains. It's not about white-washing and beautifying our bodies to be more attractive fountains. It's about being more in touch with the Living Water ourselves which strengthens the flow and the flow of the Holy Spirit will naturally begin to wash and cleanse the fountain.

We need to realize the Sacred (Holy Spirit) within us and we need to protect our time with God and learning about Him, deepening our relationship. It is our sacred time. We don't need to be following after every distraction and rabbit trail. That would be wasting our spiritual life and life-giving (showing others Jesus Christ). We don't need to pollute ourselves with the idols of this world but we need to deliberately protect our time with God, the Source of our Living Water. We should treasure Him above all else. We should seek Him out. We should run to Him. We should realize time with Him is sacred and not to be avoided or wasted. If born-again life is to issue forth in others, we need the unobstructed flow of Living Water coming from within us. I don't save people. But the Holy Spirit within me should issue forth and touch those around me and hopefully someone will respond and a born again life will happen. It's a natural consequence of the flowing Living Water. We are conduits of the Sacred life giving flow!

Do we spend an inordinate amount of time (money, energy) on spiffing up the exterior while neglecting the spiritual? Gym time, vitamins, hairstyles, makeup, clothing, enhancements, manis and pedis, cosmetic surgery, wigs/toupes, etc. This may make you look good on the outside, but it may be a waste of time and resources because it's not the outside that counts. Whether you look like the Italian Trevi Fountain or a spring that comes from under a mossy rock doesn't matter. It's the flow of the Water that brings life. Are you attending to your relationship with God or wasting your time on trivial pursuits? Are protecting the sacred relationship from which life may spring?

Lately, it's been in the news of the Christian world about the new President of the Southern Baptist plagiarizing sermons and presenting them as his own sermons. This is one example of someone who has polished his image on the outside but has not done the work on the inside with God. Anyone can get a preacher's hairdo, a fake tan, some nips and tucks, a nice suit and hold a Bible. That does NOT make you an effective fountain of Living Water. In this case, the man has gone to the trouble to even memorize the sermon word-for-word and acting it out on stage like an actor in a play but he is spouting something out of his mouth that is NOT from the Living Source. He's parroting. I'm not even saying what he's memorized and acted out on the platform is wrong so much as it's not coming from his own relationship with God! He needs to be protecting the Sacred Source within himself by spending time with God and staying in touch with God. That will strengthen the flow of the Living Water from within himself. It's not the "fountain" that saves and brings new life, it's the WATER that is issuing from the Source that bring life.  He says he's so busy that he can't take the time to write his own sermons. He gets his underlings to write for him or pays a consulting firm to write his sermons or lifts them from other pastors. So he gets the big bucks salary for someone else's work and he just performs it on a stage. And he's not the only one who does it. Rather than protect their sacred space within themselves and meeting with God there, they are avoiding God, bypassing their relationship with Him, and running around doing "more important things"! The flow out of their lives and mouths is not coming from the Living Water. They haven't put the time in with their Source for it to flow naturally. It's polluted and it's not lifegiving.

Not to be too hard on any one man, we all do it. We all like to run around and be too busy to spend time with God and therefore our busy-ness just ends in menstruating flow... no life coming from it. It's a waste of time. We must keep going back to our Source, God, and spending time with Him so that the flow is pure and strengthened and life giving to those around us! It ONLY comes from a relationship, protected and made a priority, with God. Then it flows naturally and is life giving. 

Don't make church politics the priority. Don't make church growth or more money the priority. Don't make bucks and butts, nickels and noses, the measure of success. Don't make anything a priority over time with God, your Source. 

Matthew 6:31-34 MKJV  Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, With what shall we be clothed?  32  For the nations seek after all these things. For your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things.  33  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.  34  Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow; for tomorrow shall be anxious for its own things. Sufficient to the day is the evil of it.

Matthew 23:24-33 MKJV  Blind guides who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!  25  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of extortion and excess.  26  Blind Pharisee! First cleanse the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of them may be clean also.  27  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear beautiful outside, but inside they are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.  28  Even so you also appear righteous to men outwardly, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.  29  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets, and decorate the tombs of the righteous,  30  and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.  31  Therefore you are witnesses to yourselves, that you are the sons of those who killed the prophets;  32  and you fill up the measure of your fathers.  33  Serpents! Offspring of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?

n repent and He forgives us. He welcomes us back into relationship every time.