Leviticus 19:29
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This verse isn't just forbidding sexual immorality; it's a stark warning against the corruption of sacred things. Prostituting one's daughter was a practice tied to pagan worship, turning a profound human relationship into a tool for idolatrous devotion, which in turn would rot the entire community from within.
“Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This verse comes within a chapter packed with instructions for holy living, following laws about worship and purity. It's a direct command against a specific, harmful cultural practice – prostituting one's daughter, often tied to pagan worship – warning that allowing such things corrupts the whole community. The instruction directly precedes laws about honesty in business and love for one's neighbor, showing that sexual purity and ethical conduct are intertwined aspects of living as God's people.
Why would God warn against something that seems like a private family matter? This verse connects personal choices to the health of the entire community.
God's people were called to a higher standard than the surrounding nations. The command, "Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute," directly confronts a practice common in pagan cultures where daughters were sometimes dedicated to temples for ritual prostitution. This wasn't just about sexual immorality; it was seen as a form of worship to certain deities, like Astarte or Venus.
God's prohibition is clear: Israel was not to engage in or condone such practices, even under the guise of religious devotion. This emphasizes that true worship of the LORD is incompatible with sexual exploitation and that our bodies and relationships are meant for His honor, not for pagan rituals or personal gain through exploitation.
What does a single act of 'prostitution' have to do with the entire nation? This verse reveals how deeply sin can permeate a society.
The consequence of profaning one's daughter is stark: 'lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity.' This isn't just hyperbole; it's a warning about the contagious nature of sin and its corrupting influence on an entire society.
When a practice like sexual exploitation is normalized or even encouraged within families or religious contexts, it erodes the moral fabric of the nation. The 'land' here represents not just the physical territory but its inhabitants and their collective moral character. What starts as a specific prohibition within families can, if unchecked, lead to widespread immorality and a pervasive atmosphere of wickedness that infects every aspect of life.
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Understand the original words
chalal · Hebrew Verb
To render something holy as common or unclean. It involves treating sacred things, people, or places with irreverence, thereby diminishing the holiness of God's name or covenant.
zanah · Hebrew Noun/Verb
A Hebrew term referring to sexual immorality, specifically illicit sexual behavior or spiritual unfaithfulness to God. It often carries the connotation of abandoning one's covenantal devotion to Yahweh for the pursuit of idols or sin.
zimmah · Hebrew Noun
A state of moral corruption, wickedness, or lewdness that results from the breaking of God’s laws. It signifies a society or condition that has become ethically repulsive in the sight of God.
This passage echoes the consequence of 'depravity' in Leviticus, specifically forbidding the introduction of male or female cult prostitutes into Israel, linking sexual immorality directly with detestable practices.
Hosea 4:11The prophet Hosea directly addresses the spiritual and moral decay of Israel, where 'wine and new wine' (symbols of excess and corruption) steal their 'right' and lead to widespread 'whoredom' and 'uncleanness', mirroring the 'depravity' warned against in Leviticus.
Jeremiah 7:9-10Jeremiah condemns the people for their deeply ingrained sins, including theft, murder, adultery, and false oaths, which he links to the 'depravity' that defiles the land and its inhabitants, similar to the outcome described in Leviticus.
1 Corinthians 6:15-20This New Testament passage offers a profound parallel by explaining that believers' bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, and engaging in sexual immorality (whoredom) profanes that temple, a concept that resonates with the idea of the land becoming 'full of depravity' when its people engage in such acts.
bensonLeviticus 19:29: "Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness."
Leviticus 19:29 . Do not prostitute — As the Gentiles frequently did for the honour of some of their idols, to whom women were consecrated, and publicly prostituted.
clarkeLeviticus 19:29: "Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness."
Do not prostitute thy daughter - This was a very frequent custom, and with examples of it writers of antiquity abound. The Cyprian women, according to Justin, gained that portion which their husbands received with them at marriage by previous public prostitution. And the Phoenicians, according to Augustine, made a gift to Venus of the gain acquir…
This verse isn't just forbidding sexual immorality; it's a stark warning against the corruption of sacred things. Prostituting one's daughter was a practice tied to pagan worship, turning a profound human relationship into a tool for idolatrous devotion, which in turn would rot the entire community from within.
This verse comes within a chapter packed with instructions for holy living, following laws about worship and purity. It's a direct command against a specific, harmful cultural practice – prostituting one's daughter, often tied to pagan worship – warning that allowing such things corrupts the whole community. The instruction directly precedes laws about honesty in business and love for one's neighbor, showing that sexual purity and ethical conduct are intertwined aspects of living as God's people.
This verse comes within a chapter packed with instructions for holy living, following laws about worship and purity. It's a direct command against a specific, harmful cultural practice – prostituting one's daughter, often tied to pagan worship – warning that allowing such things corrupts the whole community. The instruction directly precedes laws about honesty in business and love for one's neighbor, showing that sexual purity and ethical conduct are intertwined aspects of living as God's people.
"“Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity." — This verse isn't just forbidding sexual immorality; it's a stark warning against the corruption of sacred things. Prostituting one's daughter was a practice tied to pagan worship, turning a profound…
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Last reviewed October 2026
