CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Leviticus 18:18 You must not take your wife's sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is still alive.</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/leviticus/18-18.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/new9.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><meta property="og:image" content="https://biblehub.com/visuals/13/03_Lev_18_18.jpg" /><meta property="og:title" content="Leviticus 18:18 - Unlawful Sexual Relations" /><meta property="og:site_name" content="Bible Hub" /><meta property="og:description" content="You must not take your wife's sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is still alive." /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="/vmenus/leviticus/18-18.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="/bmc/leviticus/18-18.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="/">Bible</a> > <a href="/leviticus/">Leviticus</a> > <a href="/leviticus/18.htm">Chapter 18</a> > Verse 18</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div><div id="ad1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/ad18.htm" width="100%" height="48" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="/leviticus/18-17.htm" title="Leviticus 18:17">◄</a> Leviticus 18:18 <a href="/leviticus/18-19.htm" title="Leviticus 18:19">►</a></div></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="topverse"> <a href="#audio" class="clickchap2" title="Context and Audio Bible"> Audio </a> <a href="#crossref" class="clickchap2" title="Cross References"> Cross </a> <a href="#study" class="clickchap2" title="Study Bible"> Study </a> <a href="#commentary" class="clickchap2" title="Commentary"> Comm </a> <a href="#lexicon" class="clickchap2" title="Lexicon"> Heb </a> </div><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheadingv"><b>Verse</b><a href="/bsb/leviticus/18.htm" class="clickchap" style="color:#001320" title="Click any translation name for full chapter">  (Click for Chapter)</a></div><div id="par"><span class="versiontext"><a href="/niv/leviticus/18.htm">New International Version</a></span><br />&#8220&#8217Do not take your wife&#8217s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nlt/leviticus/18.htm">New Living Translation</a></span><br />“While your wife is living, do not marry her sister and have sexual relations with her, for they would be rivals.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/esv/leviticus/18.htm">English Standard Version</a></span><br />And you shall not take a woman as a rival wife to her sister, uncovering her nakedness while her sister is still alive.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/bsb/leviticus/18.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a></span><br />You must not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is still alive.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/kjv/leviticus/18.htm">King James Bible</a></span><br />Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex <i>her</i>, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life <i>time</i>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nkjv/leviticus/18.htm">New King James Version</a></span><br />Nor shall you take a woman as a rival to her sister, to uncover her nakedness while the other is alive.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb_/leviticus/18.htm">New American Standard Bible</a></span><br />And you shall not marry a woman in addition to her sister as a second wife while she is alive, to uncover her nakedness.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb/leviticus/18.htm">NASB 1995</a></span><br />&#8216You shall not marry a woman in addition to her sister as a rival while she is alive, to uncover her nakedness.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb77/leviticus/18.htm">NASB 1977 </a></span><br />‘And you shall not marry a woman in addition to her sister as a rival while she is alive, to uncover her nakedness.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsb/leviticus/18.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a></span><br />And you shall not marry a woman in addition to her sister as a rival while she is alive, to uncover her nakedness.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/amp/leviticus/18.htm">Amplified Bible</a></span><br />You shall not marry a woman in addition to her sister as a rival while she is alive, to uncover her nakedness.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/csb/leviticus/18.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />You are not to marry a woman as a rival to her sister and have sexual intercourse with her during her sister’s lifetime.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hcsb/leviticus/18.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />You are not to marry a woman as a rival to her sister and have sexual intercourse with her during her sister&#8217s lifetime.&#8221 <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/asv/leviticus/18.htm">American Standard Version</a></span><br />And thou shalt not take a wife to her sister, to be a rival to her, to uncover her nakedness, besides the other in her life-time.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cev/leviticus/18.htm">Contemporary English Version</a></span><br />As long as your wife is alive, don't cause trouble for her by taking one of her sisters as a second wife. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/erv/leviticus/18.htm">English Revised Version</a></span><br />And thou shalt not take a woman to her sister, to be a rival to her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gwt/leviticus/18.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a></span><br />While your wife is living, never marry her sister as a rival wife and have sexual intercourse with her.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gnt/leviticus/18.htm">Good News Translation</a></span><br />Do not take your wife's sister as one of your wives, as long as your wife is living. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/isv/leviticus/18.htm">International Standard Version</a></span><br />"You are not to marry a woman and then have sexual relations with her sister as a rival when your wife is still alive.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/msb/leviticus/18.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a></span><br />You must not take your wife?s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is still alive.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/net/leviticus/18.htm">NET Bible</a></span><br />You must not take a woman in marriage and then marry her sister as a rival wife while she is still alive, to have sexual intercourse with her. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nheb/leviticus/18.htm">New Heart English Bible</a></span><br />"'You shall not take a wife to her sister, to be a rival, to uncover her nakedness, while her sister is yet alive.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wbt/leviticus/18.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a></span><br />Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness besides the other in her life-time.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/web/leviticus/18.htm">World English Bible</a></span><br />“‘You shall not take a wife in addition to her sister, to be a rival, to uncover her nakedness, while her sister is still alive. <div class="vheading2"><b>Literal Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsv/leviticus/18.htm">Literal Standard Version</a></span><br />And you do not take a woman [in addition] to her sister, to be an adversary, to uncover her nakedness beside her, in her life.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/ylt/leviticus/18.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a></span><br /> 'And a woman unto another thou dost not take, to be an adversary, to uncover her nakedness beside her, in her life.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/slt/leviticus/18.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a></span><br />And a wife to her sister thou shalt not take to press to uncover her nakedness with her, in her living.<div class="vheading2"><b>Catholic Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/drb/leviticus/18.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a></span><br />Thou shalt not take thy wife's sister for a harlot, to rival her, neither shalt thou discover her nakedness, while she is yet living. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cpdv/leviticus/18.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a></span><br />You shall not take your wife’s sister as a rival mistress; nor shall you uncover her nakedness, while your wife is still living.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nabre/leviticus/18.htm">New American Bible</a></span><br />While your wife is still living you shall not marry her sister as her rival and have intercourse with her.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nrsvce/leviticus/18.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a></span><br />And you shall not take a woman as a rival to her sister, uncovering her nakedness while her sister is still alive.<div class="vheading2"><b>Translations from Aramaic</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lamsa/leviticus/18.htm">Lamsa Bible</a></span><br />And you shall not take to wife a sister of your wife, to distress her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hpbt/leviticus/18.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a></span><br />And do not take a woman with her sister and grieve her and expose her nakedness upon her in her life.<div class="vheading2"><b>OT Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/jps/leviticus/18.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a></span><br />And thou shalt not take a woman to her sister, to be a rival to her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her lifetime.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/sep/leviticus/18.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a></span><br />Thou shalt not take a wife in addition to her sister, as a rival, to uncover her nakedness in opposition to her, while she is yet living.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/parallel/leviticus/18-18.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></span></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv"><b>Audio Bible</b></div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NWs_V1RyMFo?start=4857" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="vheadingv"><b>Context</b></div><span class="hdg"><a href="/bsb/leviticus/18.htm">Unlawful Sexual Relations</a></span><br>…<span class="reftext">17</span>You must not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. You are not to marry her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter and have sexual relations with her. They are close relatives; it is depraved. <span class="reftext">18</span><span class="highl"><a href="/hebrew/3808.htm" title="3808: lō (Adv-NegPrt) -- Not. Or lowi; or loh; a primitive particle; not; by implication, no; often used with other particles.">You must not</a> <a href="/hebrew/3947.htm" title="3947: ṯiq·qāḥ (V-Qal-Imperf-2ms) -- To take. A primitive root; to take.">take</a> <a href="/hebrew/802.htm" title="802: wə·’iš·šāh (Conj-w:: N-fs) -- Woman, wife, female. Feminine of 'iysh or 'enowsh; irregular plural, nashiym; a woman.">your wife’s</a> <a href="/hebrew/413.htm" title="413: ’el- (Prep) -- To, into, towards. "></a> <a href="/hebrew/269.htm" title="269: ’ă·ḥō·ṯāh (N-fsc:: 3fs) -- Sister. Irregular feminine of 'ach; a sister (like 'Ezrachiy), literally and figuratively).">sister</a> <a href="/hebrew/6887.htm" title="6887: liṣ·rōr (Prep-l:: V-Qal-Inf) -- A primitive root; to cramp, literally or figuratively, transitive or intransitive.">as a rival wife</a> <a href="/hebrew/1540.htm" title="1540: lə·ḡal·lō·wṯ (Prep-l:: V-Piel-Inf) -- To uncover, remove. A primitive root; to denude; by implication, to exile; figuratively, to reveal.">and have sexual relations with her</a> <a href="/hebrew/6172.htm" title="6172: ‘er·wā·ṯāh (N-fsc:: 3fs) -- Nakedness. From arah; nudity, literally or figuratively."></a> <a href="/hebrew/5921.htm" title="5921: ‘ā·le·hā (Prep:: 3fs) -- Properly, the same as al used as a preposition; above, over, upon, or against in a great variety of applications."></a> <a href="/hebrew/2416.htm" title="2416: bə·ḥay·ye·hā (Prep-b:: N-mpc:: 3fs) -- Alive, raw, fresh, strong, life. From chayah; alive; hence, raw; fresh, strong; also life, whether literally or figuratively.">while your wife is still alive.</a> </span><span class="reftext">19</span>You must not approach a woman to have sexual relations with her during her menstrual period.…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><span class="crossverse"><a href="/genesis/29-28.htm">Genesis 29:28-30</a></span><br />And Jacob did just that. He finished the week’s celebration, and Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. / Laban also gave his servant girl Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maidservant. / Jacob slept with Rachel as well, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/genesis/30-1.htm">Genesis 30:1-3</a></span><br />When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob. / Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?” / Then she said, “Here is my maidservant Bilhah. Sleep with her, that she may bear children for me, so that through her I too can build a family.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/exodus/21-10.htm">Exodus 21:10</a></span><br />If he takes another wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of his first wife.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/deuteronomy/21-15.htm">Deuteronomy 21:15-17</a></span><br />If a man has two wives, one beloved and the other unloved, and both bear him sons, but the unloved wife has the firstborn son, / when that man assigns his inheritance to his sons he must not appoint the son of the beloved wife as the firstborn over the son of the unloved wife. / Instead, he must acknowledge the firstborn, the son of his unloved wife, by giving him a double portion of all that he has. For that son is the firstfruits of his father’s strength; the right of the firstborn belongs to him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_samuel/1-2.htm">1 Samuel 1:2</a></span><br />He had two wives, one named Hannah and the other Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/2_samuel/12-8.htm">2 Samuel 12:8</a></span><br />I gave your master’s house to you and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that was not enough, I would have given you even more.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_kings/11-3.htm">1 Kings 11:3</a></span><br />He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines—and his wives turned his heart away.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/malachi/2-14.htm">Malachi 2:14-16</a></span><br />Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. / Has not the LORD made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. / “For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “He who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,” says the LORD of Hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/matthew/19-4.htm">Matthew 19:4-6</a></span><br />Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ / and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? / So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/mark/10-6.htm">Mark 10:6-9</a></span><br />However, from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ / ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, / and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/romans/7-2.htm">Romans 7:2-3</a></span><br />For instance, a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. / So then, if she is joined to another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_corinthians/7-2.htm">1 Corinthians 7:2-4</a></span><br />But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. / The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. / The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_corinthians/7-10.htm">1 Corinthians 7:10-11</a></span><br />To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. / But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_corinthians/7-39.htm">1 Corinthians 7:39</a></span><br />A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, as long as he belongs to the Lord.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/ephesians/5-31.htm">Ephesians 5:31-33</a></span><br />“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” / This mystery is profound, but I am speaking about Christ and the church. / Nevertheless, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.</div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div><p class="tsk2">Neither shall you take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.</p><p class="hdg">wife.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/genesis/4-19.htm">Genesis 4:19</a></b></br> And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one <i>was</i> Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/genesis/29-28.htm">Genesis 29:28</a></b></br> And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/exodus/26-3.htm">Exodus 26:3</a></b></br> The five curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and <i>other</i> five curtains <i>shall be</i> coupled one to another.</p><p class="hdg">to vex her</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/genesis/30-15.htm">Genesis 30:15</a></b></br> And she said unto her, <i>Is it</i> a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son's mandrakes.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/1_samuel/1-6.htm">1 Samuel 1:6-8</a></b></br> And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb… </p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/malachi/2-15.htm">Malachi 2:15</a></b></br> And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.</p><div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/leviticus/14-46.htm">Addition</a> <a href="/exodus/23-22.htm">Adversary</a> <a href="/leviticus/16-10.htm">Alive</a> <a href="/leviticus/14-31.htm">Besides</a> <a href="/2_timothy/2-5.htm">Competition</a> <a href="/leviticus/11-10.htm">Life</a> <a href="/genesis/38-8.htm">Marry</a> <a href="/leviticus/18-17.htm">Nakedness</a> <a href="/leviticus/18-17.htm">Relations</a> <a href="/ezekiel/31-8.htm">Rival</a> <a href="/leviticus/18-17.htm">Sexual</a> <a href="/leviticus/18-13.htm">Sister</a> <a href="/leviticus/16-17.htm">Time</a> <a href="/leviticus/18-17.htm">Uncover</a> <a href="/genesis/30-37.htm">Uncovering</a> <a href="/exodus/22-21.htm">Vex</a> <a href="/leviticus/18-17.htm">Wife</a> <a href="/leviticus/18-11.htm">Wife's</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/leviticus/23-38.htm">Addition</a> <a href="/numbers/10-9.htm">Adversary</a> <a href="/leviticus/26-36.htm">Alive</a> <a href="/leviticus/23-38.htm">Besides</a> <a href="/romans/2-8.htm">Competition</a> <a href="/leviticus/19-16.htm">Life</a> <a href="/leviticus/21-7.htm">Marry</a> <a href="/leviticus/18-19.htm">Nakedness</a> <a href="/leviticus/18-19.htm">Relations</a> <a href="/1_samuel/1-6.htm">Rival</a> <a href="/leviticus/18-19.htm">Sexual</a> <a href="/leviticus/20-17.htm">Sister</a> <a href="/leviticus/18-19.htm">Time</a> <a href="/leviticus/18-19.htm">Uncover</a> <a href="/ruth/3-4.htm">Uncovering</a> <a href="/leviticus/19-33.htm">Vex</a> <a href="/leviticus/18-20.htm">Wife</a> <a href="/judges/11-2.htm">Wife's</a><div class="vheading2">Leviticus 18</div><span class="reftext">1. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/leviticus/18-1.htm">Unlawful marriages and unlawful lusts</a></span><br></div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> <br /><br /> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/leviticus/18.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/leviticus/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/leviticus/18.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div><b>You must not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife</b><br>This phrase addresses the practice of polygamy, which was common in ancient Near Eastern cultures. The prohibition against marrying a wife's sister as a rival wife is intended to prevent familial discord and protect the sanctity of the marriage relationship. In biblical context, this law seeks to maintain harmony within the family unit, as seen in the story of Jacob, Leah, and Rachel (Genesis 29-30), where rivalry between sisters led to significant strife. The law reflects a broader biblical principle of monogamy and the ideal of one man and one woman in marriage, as established in <a href="/genesis/2-24.htm">Genesis 2:24</a>.<p><b>and have sexual relations with her</b><br>This part of the verse emphasizes the prohibition of sexual relations with a wife's sister, reinforcing the idea of sexual exclusivity within marriage. The biblical context underscores the importance of sexual purity and fidelity, as seen in the broader Levitical laws that govern sexual conduct. The prohibition is consistent with the seventh commandment, "You shall not commit adultery" (<a href="/exodus/20-14.htm">Exodus 20:14</a>), and reflects the holiness code that calls for Israel to be set apart from surrounding nations.<p><b>while your wife is still alive</b><br>The phrase "while your wife is still alive" highlights the temporal aspect of the prohibition, indicating that the law applies as long as the wife is living. This underscores the permanence and commitment expected in the marriage covenant. The historical context of this law is significant, as it contrasts with the practices of other ancient cultures where polygamy and concubinage were more freely practiced. The emphasis on the wife's lifetime suggests a respect for her dignity and the enduring nature of the marital bond, aligning with New Testament teachings on marriage, such as in <a href="/ephesians/5-31.htm">Ephesians 5:31-33</a>, which speaks of the profound mystery of Christ and the church reflected in the marital relationship.<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <b><a href="/topical/m/moses.htm">Moses</a></b><br>- The author of Leviticus, who received the laws from God to instruct the Israelites.<br><br>2. <b><a href="/topical/i/israelites.htm">Israelites</a></b><br>- The chosen people of God, to whom the laws in Leviticus were given.<br><br>3. <b><a href="/topical/c/canaan.htm">Canaan</a></b><br>- The land where the Israelites were headed, which had practices God wanted them to avoid.<br><br>4. <b><a href="/topical/s/sister-in-law.htm">Sister-in-law</a></b><br>- The specific familial relationship mentioned in this verse, highlighting the importance of family integrity.<br><br>5. <b><a href="/topical/g/god.htm">God</a></b><br>- The ultimate lawgiver, whose holiness and standards are reflected in these commands.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><b><a href="/topical/s/sanctity_of_marriage.htm">Sanctity of Marriage</a></b><br>This verse underscores the importance of maintaining the sanctity and exclusivity of the marital relationship.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/a/avoiding_family_strife.htm">Avoiding Family Strife</a></b><br>By prohibiting marriage to a wife's sister, the law seeks to prevent familial discord and rivalry.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/g/god's_design_for_relationships.htm">God’s Design for Relationships</a></b><br>The command reflects God’s design for relationships to be harmonious and respectful.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/c/cultural_distinction.htm">Cultural Distinction</a></b><br>The Israelites were called to be distinct from the surrounding nations, who practiced polygamy and other customs contrary to God’s laws.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/h/holiness_in_daily_life.htm">Holiness in Daily Life</a></b><br>Observing God’s commands in personal relationships is a reflection of living a holy life.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_leviticus_18.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Leviticus 18</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/was_solomon's_wife_his_sister_too.htm">Was Solomon's wife his sister too?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/want_to_thrive_and_stay_healthy.htm">What does Leviticus 18:22 mean about male relations?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/how_does_love_reconcile_lev._18_22.htm">Leviticus 18:22 condemns same-sex relations; how can this be reconciled with the New Testament emphasis on love (John 13:34-35)?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/what_defines_the_new_anointing.htm">What does 'uncover the nakedness' mean in the Bible?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/leviticus/18.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(18) <span class= "bld">A wife to her sister.</span>--That is, a man is here forbidden to take a second sister for a wife to or in addition to the one who is already his wife, and who is still alive. This clause therefore forbids the Jews, who were permitted to have several wives, a particular kind of polygamy, i.e., a plurality of sisters. According to the administrators of the law during the second Temple, the expression "sister" here not only denotes a full sister by the same father and the same mother, but a half-sister either by the same father or the same mother. The marginal rendering in the Authorised Version, "one wife to another," which makes this a prohibition of polygamy, and which was first proposed by Junius and Tremelius in 1575, is (1) contrary to the expressions "wife" and "sister," which, in every verse of these prohibitions (see <a href="/context/leviticus/18-8.htm" title="The nakedness of your father's wife shall you not uncover: it is your father's nakedness.">Leviticus 18:8-9</a>; <a href="/context/leviticus/18-11.htm" title="The nakedness of your father's wife's daughter, begotten of your father, she is your sister, you shall not uncover her nakedness.">Leviticus 18:11-17</a>), invariably mean wife and sister. (2) Whenever the phrase, "a man to his brother," or "a woman to her sister," is used metaphorically in the sense of "one to" or "one with another" (<a href="/exodus/26-3.htm" title="The five curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and other five curtains shall be coupled one to another.">Exodus 26:3</a>; <a href="/context/exodus/26-5.htm" title="Fifty loops shall you make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shall you make in the edge of the curtain that is in the coupling of the second; that the loops may take hold one of another.">Exodus 26:5-6</a>; <a href="/exodus/26-17.htm" title="Two tenons shall there be in one board, set in order one against another: thus shall you make for all the boards of the tabernacle.">Exodus 26:17</a>; <a href="/ezekiel/1-9.htm" title="Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.">Ezekiel 1:9</a>; <a href="/ezekiel/1-23.htm" title="And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies.">Ezekiel 1:23</a>; <a href="/ezekiel/3-13.htm" title="I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.">Ezekiel 3:13</a>, &c.), the words have always a distributive force, and are invariably preceded by a plural verb, and the things themselves to which they refer are mentioned by name. Thus, for instance, in <a href="/ezekiel/1-23.htm" title="And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies.">Ezekiel 1:23</a>, it is, "their wings were straight one toward the other," which is not the case in the passage before us. (3) This rendering is at variance with the Mosaic code, which bases its legislation upon the existence of polygamy, and thus authorises it, as will be seen from the following facts. It permits a father, who had given his son a bond-woman for a wife, to give him a second wife of "freer birth," and prescribes how the first is to be treated under such circumstances (<a href="/context/exodus/21-9.htm" title="And if he have betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.">Exodus 21:9-10</a>). It ordains that a king "shall not multiply wives unto himself" (<a href="/deuteronomy/17-17.htm" title="Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.">Deuteronomy 17:17</a>), which, as Bishop Patrick rightly remarks, "is not a prohibition to take more wives than one, but not to have an excessive number"; thus, in fact, legalising a moderate number. The law of primogeniture presupposes the case of a man having two wives (<a href="/context/deuteronomy/21-15.htm" title="If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated:">Deuteronomy 21:15-17</a>), and the Levitical law expressly enjoins that a man, though having a wife already, is to marry his deceased brother's widow (<a href="/deuteronomy/25-17.htm" title="Remember what Amalek did to you by the way, when you were come forth out of Egypt;">Deuteronomy 25:17</a>). Hence we find that the judges and kings of Israel had many wives (<a href="/judges/10-4.htm" title="And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead.">Judges 10:4</a>, <a href="/judges/12-9.htm" title="And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, whom he sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.">Judges 12:9</a>; <a href="/1_samuel/1-2.htm" title="And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.">1Samuel 1:2</a>; <a href="/2_samuel/3-7.htm" title="And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ishbosheth said to Abner, Why have you gone in to my father's concubine?">2Samuel 3:7</a>). David, the royal singer of Israel, "their best king," as Bishop Patrick remarks, "who read God's word day and night and could not but understand it, took many wives without reproof; nay, God gave him more than he had before by delivering his master's wives to him" (<a href="/2_samuel/12-8.htm" title="And I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given to you such and such things.">2Samuel 12:8</a>), and the case adduced in the previous verse plainly shows that polygamy continued among the Jews after the destruction of the second Temple (<a href="/leviticus/18-10.htm" title="The nakedness of your son's daughter, or of your daughter's daughter, even their nakedness you shall not uncover: for theirs is your own nakedness.">Leviticus 18:10</a>). (4) The Jews to whom this law was given to be observed in their every day life, and to whom the right understanding of its import was of the utmost importance, inasmuch as it involved the happiness of their families, the transgression of it being visited with capital punishment, have, as far as we can trace it, always interpreted this precept as referring to marriage with two sisters together. Hence the ancient canonical interpretation of it is embodied in the Chaldee Version, "a woman in the lifetime of her sister thou shalt not take," in the LXX., Vulg., the Syriac, and all the ancient versions. . . . <div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/leviticus/18.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 18.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life</span> time. Do these words refer to the marriage of two sisters or not? It has been passionately affirmed that they do, by those who are opposed to permission being granted for marriage with a deceased wife's sister, and by those who are in favour of that measure, each party striving to derive from the text an argument for the side which they are maintaining. But Holy Scripture ought not to be made a quarry whence partisans hew arguments for views which they have already adopted, nor is that the light in which a commentator can allow himself to regard it. A reverent and profound study of the passage before us, with its context, leads to the conclusion that the words have no bearing at all on the question of marriage with a deceased wife's sister, and thus it may be removed from the area and atmosphere of angry polemics. It is certain that the words translated <span class="accented">a wife to her sister</span> may be translated, in accordance with the marginal rendering, <span class="accented">one wife to another.</span> The objections made to such a version are arbitrary and unconvincing. It is in accordance with the genius of the Hebrew language to take "father," "son, brother," "sister," in a much wider acceptation than is the case in the Western tongues. Anything that produces or causes is metaphorically a "father;" anything produced or caused is a "son;" any things akin to each other in form, shape, character, or nature, are "brothers" and "sisters." This is the name given to the loops of the curtains of the tabernacle (<a href="/exodus/26-3.htm">Exodus 26:3, 5, 6</a>), the tenons of the boards (<a href="/exodus/26-17.htm">Exodus 26:17</a>), and the wings of the cherubim (<a href="/ezekiel/1-11.htm">Ezekiel 1:11, 23</a>). Indeed, wherever the expression, "a man to his brother," or "a woman to her sister," is used (and it is used very frequently) in the Hebrew Scriptures, it means not two brothers or two sisters, but two things or persons similar in kind. This does more than raise a presumption - it creates a high probability - that the expression should be understood in the same way here. But a difficulty then arises. If the right reading is, <span class="accented">Neither shalt thou take one wife to another</span>, does not the verse forbid polygamy altogether, and is not polygamy permitted by <a href="/exodus/21-7.htm">Exodus 21:7-11</a>; <a href="/deuteronomy/21-15.htm">Deuteronomy 21:15-17</a>; <a href="/deuteronomy/17-17.htm">Deuteronomy 17:17</a>? Certainly, if so important a restriction was to be made, we should expect it to be made directly, and in a manner which could not be disputed. Is there any way out of the difficulty? Let us examine each word of the Law. <span class="accented">Neither shalt thou take one wife to another, to vex, to uncover her nakedness upon her in her life time.</span> The two words, <span class="accented">to vex</span>, have not been sufficiently dwelt on. The Hebrew, <span class="accented">tsarar</span>, means to distress by packing closely together, and so, to vex, or to annoy in any way. Here is to be found the ground of the prohibition contained in the law before us. A man is not to take for a second wife a woman who is likely, from spiteful temper or for other reasons, to vex the first wife. Rachel vexed Leah; Peninnah vexed Hannah; the first pair were blood relations, the second were not; but under the present law the second marriage would in both cases have been equally forbidden, if the probability of the provocation had been foreseen. It follows that polygamy is not prohibited by the text before us, but that the liberty of the polygamist is somewhat circumscribed by the application of the law of charity. It follows, too, that the law has no bearing on the question of marriage with a deceased wife's sister, which is neither forbidden nor allowed by it. Are we then to conclude that the Law of Moses leaves the case of the wife's sister untouched? Not so, for the general principle has been laid down, None <span class="accented">of you shall approach to any, that is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness</span>, and, as we have seen, the expression, <span class="accented">near of kin</span>, includes relations by affinity equally with blood relations; as therefore the wife's sister is in the canonists' first degree of affinity (and in the second according to the civilians), it is reasonably inferred that marriage with her is forbidden under the above law, and this inference is confirmed by marriage with the other sister-in-law - the brother's wife - being, as the rule, prohibited. It can hardly be doubted that marriage with the grandmother and with the niece - both in the second degree of consanguinity according to the canonists, and the third degree according to the civilians - and incest with a daughter are forbidden under the same clause. The present verse completes the Levitical code of prohibited degrees. The Roman code of restrictions on marriage was almost identical with the Mosaic tables. It only differed from them by specifically naming the grandmother and the niece among the blood relations with whom a marriage might not be contracted, and omitting the brother's wife among relatives by affinity. In the time of Claudius, a change was introduced into it, for the purpose of gratifying the emperor's passion for Agrippina, which legalized marriage with a brother's daughter. This legalization con-tinned in force until the time of Constantius, who made marriage with a niece a capital crime. The imperial code and the canon law were framed upon the Mosaic and the Roman tables, and under them no question arose, except as to the marriage of the niece, the decreased wife's sister, and the first cousin. Marriage with the niece was forbidden by Constantius, as we have said, in the year 355, on penalty of capital punishment for committing the offense, and marriage with a deceased wife's sister was declared by the same emperor to be null. The canons of Councils and the declarations of the chief Church teachers are in full accordance with the imperial legislation, condemning these marriages without a dissentient voice. The only ease in which no consensus is found is that of the marriage of first cousins. By the earliest Roman law these marriages had been disallowed (Tacitus, 'Annal.,' 12:6), but in the <span class="date">second century B.C.</span> they had become common (Livy, 42:34), and they continued to be lawful till the year A.D. or 385, when Theodosius condemned them, and made them punishable by the severest penalties possible. This enactment lasted only twenty years, when it was repealed by Arcadius, A.D. 404 or 405. No adverse judgment respecting the marriage of first cousins was pronounced by the Church until after the legislation of Theodosius, but it appears that that legislation was promoted at her instance, and from that time forward the tendency to condemn these marriages became more and more pronounced. See the canons of the Councils of Agde, Epaone, Auvergne, Orleans, Tours, Auxerre, in the sixth century, and of the Council in Trullo in the seventh century. The reformers of the sixteenth century in England, entrenching themselves, as usual, behind the letter of Scripture and the practice of the primitive Church, forbade marriages of consanguinity and affinity in the first, second, and third degrees according to the reckoning of the civil law, and in the first and second degrees according to the reckoning of the canon law, excepting those of first cousins, on which the early Christians pronounced no decisive judgment. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/commentaries/leviticus/18-18.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div><span class="word">You must not</span><br /><span class="heb">לֹ֣א</span> <span class="translit">(lō)</span><br /><span class="parse">Adverb - Negative particle<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3808.htm">Strong's 3808: </a> </span><span class="str2">Not, no</span><br /><br /><span class="word">take</span><br /><span class="heb">תִקָּ֑ח</span> <span class="translit">(ṯiq·qāḥ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3947.htm">Strong's 3947: </a> </span><span class="str2">To take</span><br /><br /><span class="word">your wife’s</span><br /><span class="heb">וְאִשָּׁ֥ה</span> <span class="translit">(wə·’iš·šāh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_802.htm">Strong's 802: </a> </span><span class="str2">Woman, wife, female</span><br /><br /><span class="word">sister</span><br /><span class="heb">אֲחֹתָ֖הּ</span> <span class="translit">(’ă·ḥō·ṯāh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - feminine singular construct | third person feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_269.htm">Strong's 269: </a> </span><span class="str2">Sister -- a sister</span><br /><br /><span class="word">as a rival wife</span><br /><span class="heb">לִצְרֹ֗ר</span> <span class="translit">(liṣ·rōr)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_6887.htm">Strong's 6887: </a> </span><span class="str2">To bind, tie up, be restricted, narrow, scant, or cramped</span><br /><br /><span class="word">and have sexual relations</span><br /><span class="heb">לְגַלּ֧וֹת</span> <span class="translit">(lə·ḡal·lō·wṯ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_1540.htm">Strong's 1540: </a> </span><span class="str2">To denude, to exile, to reveal</span><br /><br /><span class="word">with her</span><br /><span class="heb">עָלֶ֖יהָ</span> <span class="translit">(‘ā·le·hā)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition | third person feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5921.htm">Strong's 5921: </a> </span><span class="str2">Above, over, upon, against</span><br /><br /><span class="word">while your wife is still alive.</span><br /><span class="heb">בְּחַיֶּֽיהָ׃</span> <span class="translit">(bə·ḥay·ye·hā)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_2416.htm">Strong's 2416: </a> </span><span class="str2">Alive, raw, fresh, strong, life</span><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/leviticus/18-18.htm">Leviticus 18:18 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/leviticus/18-18.htm">Leviticus 18:18 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/leviticus/18-18.htm">Leviticus 18:18 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/leviticus/18-18.htm">Leviticus 18:18 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/leviticus/18-18.htm">Leviticus 18:18 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="//bibleapps.com/leviticus/18-18.htm">Leviticus 18:18 BibleApps.com</a><br /><a href="//bibliaparalela.com/leviticus/18-18.htm">Leviticus 18:18 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="//holybible.com.cn/leviticus/18-18.htm">Leviticus 18:18 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="//saintebible.com/leviticus/18-18.htm">Leviticus 18:18 French Bible</a><br /><a href="/catholic/leviticus/18-18.htm">Leviticus 18:18 Catholic Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/leviticus/18-18.htm">OT Law: Leviticus 18:18 You shall not take a wife (Le Lv Lev.) </a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/leviticus/18-17.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Leviticus 18:17"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Leviticus 18:17" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/leviticus/18-19.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Leviticus 18:19"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Leviticus 18:19" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>