Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 27:21
‘Cursed is he who lies with any animal.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses Israel on the plains of Moab before the Jordan crossing, leading the covenant ratification ceremony on Mount Ebal. The assembled community responds to each pronouncement with a corporate declaration.
The words — The Hebrew uses אָרוּר ('a.Rur) for "cursed" and שֹׁכֵב (sho.Khev) for "one who lies," combined with בְּהֵמָה (be.he.Mah) meaning "animal." The passage closes with כָּל הָעָם (kol ha-'Am) issuing the collective response "Amen."
The thread — This curse aligns with the legal prohibitions in Exodus 22:19, Leviticus 18:23, and Leviticus 20:15, which forbid sexual relations with animals and mandate execution. The verse shifts these statutes from legal code to covenantal oath.
Why it lands — The text defines a hard boundary against sexual practices that violate created order, requiring the community to actively affirm the standard. Readers must acknowledge that covenant fidelity demands public rejection of acts that corrupt human and animal boundaries.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen.
Cross-references
- Leviticus 18:23 You must not lie carnally with any animal, thus defiling yourself with it; a woman must not stand before an animal to mate with it; that is a perversion.
- Exodus 22:19 Whoever lies with an animal must surely be put to death.
- Leviticus 20:15 If a man lies carnally with an animal, he must be put to death. And you are also to kill the animal.