Leviticus 19:31
New International Version
“’Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

New Living Translation
“Do not defile yourselves by turning to mediums or to those who consult the spirits of the dead. I am the LORD your God.

English Standard Version
“Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God.

Berean Standard Bible
You must not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out, or you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

King James Bible
Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

New King James Version
‘Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

New American Standard Bible
‘Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

NASB 1995
‘Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

NASB 1977
‘Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

Legacy Standard Bible
‘Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am Yahweh your God.

Amplified Bible
‘Do not turn to mediums [who pretend to consult the dead] or to spiritists [who have spirits of divination]; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

Christian Standard Bible
“Do not turn to mediums or consult spiritists, or you will be defiled by them; I am the LORD your God.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Do not turn to mediums or consult spiritists, or you will be defiled by them; I am Yahweh your God.”

American Standard Version
Turn ye not unto them that have familiar spirits, nor unto the wizards; seek them not out, to be defiled by them: I am Jehovah your God.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Do Not go after necromancers and soothsayers and you shall not inquire of them lest you will be defiled by them; I AM LORD JEHOVAH your God.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Ye shall not attend to those who have in them divining spirits, nor attach yourselves to enchanters, to pollute yourselves with them: I am the Lord your God.

Contemporary English Version
Don't make yourselves disgusting to me by going to people who claim they can talk to the dead.

Douay-Rheims Bible
31Go not aside after wizards, neither ask any thing of soothsayers, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.

English Revised Version
Turn ye not unto them that have familiar spirits, nor unto the wizards; seek them not out, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Don't turn to psychics or mediums to get help. That will make you unclean. I am the LORD your God.

Good News Translation
"Do not go for advice to people who consult the spirits of the dead. If you do, you will be ritually unclean. I am the LORD your God.

International Standard Version
"You are to consult neither mediums nor familiar spirits. You are never to seek them—you'll just be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

JPS Tanakh 1917
Turn ye not unto the ghosts, nor unto familiar spirits; seek them not out, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

Literal Standard Version
You do not turn to those having familiar spirits, and you do not seek for wizards, to become unclean by them; I [am] your God YHWH.

Majority Standard Bible
You must not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out, or you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

New American Bible
Do not turn to ghosts or consult spirits, by which you will be defiled. I, the LORD, am your God.

NET Bible
Do not turn to the spirits of the dead and do not seek familiar spirits to become unclean by them. I am the LORD your God.

New Revised Standard Version
Do not turn to mediums or wizards; do not seek them out, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

New Heart English Bible
"'Do not turn to spirits of the dead, and do not inquire of familiar spirits, to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

Webster's Bible Translation
Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

World English Bible
“‘Don’t turn to those who are mediums, nor to the wizards. Don’t seek them out, to be defiled by them. I am Yahweh your God.

Young's Literal Translation
Ye do not turn unto those having familiar spirits; and unto wizards ye do not seek, for uncleanness by them; I am Jehovah your God.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Keep My Decrees
30You must keep My Sabbaths and have reverence for My sanctuary. I am the LORD. 31You must not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out, or you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God. 32You are to rise in the presence of the elderly, honor the aged, and fear your God. I am the LORD.…

Cross References
Acts 16:16
One day as we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl with a spirit of divination, who earned a large income for her masters by fortune-telling.

Exodus 22:18
You must not allow a sorceress to live.

Leviticus 20:6
Whoever turns to mediums or spiritists to prostitute himself with them, I will also set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.

Leviticus 20:27
A man or a woman who is a medium or spiritist must surely be put to death. They shall be stoned; their blood is upon them.'"

Deuteronomy 18:10
Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery,

Deuteronomy 18:11
casts spells, consults a medium or spiritist, or inquires of the dead.

1 Samuel 28:3
Now by this time Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed the mediums and spiritists from the land.


Treasury of Scripture

Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 19:26
Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.

Leviticus 20:6,7,27
And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people…

Exodus 22:18
Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

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Leviticus 19
1. A repetition of various laws














(31) Regard not.--Better, Turn ye not unto, as the Authorised Version renders this very phrase in Leviticus 19:4.

Them that have familiar spirits.--This phrase represents the single word oboth in the original, and the translators of our Authorised Version by adopting it implied that those who practised this craft were supposed to be attended by an invisible spirit who was subject to their call to supply them with supernatural information. According to the authorities during the second Temple it denotes one who has a spirit speaking from under his arm-holes, or chest, with a hollow voice, as if it came out of a bottle, which is the meaning of ob in Job 32:19. They identified it with the spirit of Python, by which the ancient Chaldee Version renders it.

Neither seek after wizards.--The expression "wizard," which in old English denotes "wise man," "sage," is almost the exact equivalent of the word in the original. These cunning men pretended to tell people their fortunes, where their lost property was to be found, &c. According to ancient tradition, these wizards took in their mouth a bone of a certain bird called yadu?, burned incense, thus producing fumes which sent them off into an ecstacy, and then foretold future events. Hence their name, yidonee, as it is in the original. It occurs eleven times in the Bible, and always together with the word translated "familiar spirit."

Verse 31. - This verse contains a prohibition of all dealings with those that have familiar spirits or are wizards. The punishment of such persons is appointed in the next chapter. Both in the Old and the New Testament, the real existence of evil spirits and their power of communicating with the human spirit is assumed.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“You must not
אַל־ (’al-)
Adverb
Strong's 408: Not

turn
תִּפְנ֤וּ (tip̄·nū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 6437: To turn, to face, appear, look

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

mediums
הָאֹבֹת֙ (hā·’ō·ḇōṯ)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 178: A bottle (made from animal skin), a necromancer

[or]
וְאֶל־ (wə·’el-)
Conjunctive waw | Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

spiritists;
הַיִּדְּעֹנִ֔ים (hay·yid·də·‘ō·nîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3049: A knowing one, a conjurer, a ghost

do not seek them out,
תְּבַקְשׁ֖וּ (tə·ḇaq·šū)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 1245: To search out, to strive after

or you will be defiled
לְטָמְאָ֣ה (lə·ṭā·mə·’āh)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 2930: To be or become unclean

by them.
בָהֶ֑ם (ḇā·hem)
Preposition | third person masculine plural
Strong's Hebrew

I
אֲנִ֖י (’ă·nî)
Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 589: I

am the LORD
יְהוָ֥ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

your God.
אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃ (’ĕ·lō·hê·ḵem)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative


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OT Law: Leviticus 19:31 Don't turn to those who are mediums (Le Lv Lev.)
Leviticus 19:30
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