Leviticus 19:31
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
This verse doesn't just forbid seeking out occult practitioners; it warns against turning to them, highlighting that the real danger is adopting a mindset that looks to anything other than God for answers. The emphasis on "making yourselves unclean" reveals that these practices are seen not just as superstition, but as a spiritual defilement that separates God's people from Him.
“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.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The chapter is packed with instructions on how the Israelites should live a holy life, separating them from the surrounding nations. This verse immediately follows commands about treating others with justice and not spreading slander, emphasizing the importance of upright conduct in all relationships. The prohibition against consulting mediums and wizards, found here and elsewhere, highlights a crucial boundary: their guidance and power were meant to come solely from God, not from forbidden spiritual sources.
Ever wondered why God would prohibit seeking advice from mediums or wizards? It wasn't just a random rule.
A Warning Against Spiritual Imposters
God's command in Leviticus 19:31 isn't just about avoiding 'spooky' things; it's a profound instruction about where true authority and wisdom lie.
Ask a follow-up
The 'wise' and 'knowing' ones God warns against weren't just wrong; they were actively misleading people.
Deception Masquerading as Knowledge
Leviticus 19:31 calls out specific types of individuals who preyed on people's fears and desires for certainty. Understanding their methods highlights the nature of spiritual deception.
Understand the original words
'ob · Hebrew Noun
A person claiming to have contact with the spirits of the dead or supernatural knowledge, often involving divination. Such practices were strictly forbidden in Israel as they usurped the authority of God and His revealed word.
yidde'oni · Hebrew Noun
One who attempts to communicate with the dead to gain information or guidance, a practice condemned as an abomination because it bypasses God and involves occult interaction.
tame' · Hebrew Verb
A state of ritual or moral impurity that separates a person from the holy presence of God and the covenant community, often resulting from disobedience to God's law.
YHWH · Hebrew Proper Noun
The self-existent, eternal, and covenant-keeping God of Israel, who reveals Himself to His people to guide their moral conduct and demand their exclusive allegiance.
This passage shows King Saul directly violating this command by seeking out the witch of Endor, demonstrating the real-world temptation and consequences of turning to forbidden spiritual consultations.
Deuteronomy 18:10-12This passage directly precedes and reinforces the prohibition in Leviticus, explicitly listing various forms of divination and sorcery that are detestable to the LORD, providing further context for what 'mediums' and 'wizards' encompass.
Isaiah 8:19This verse echoes the sentiment of Leviticus 19:31 by warning people against consulting mediums and necromancers, and instead directing them to seek guidance from God's law and testimony, highlighting the contrast between true and false spiritual seeking.
Acts 16:16-18This New Testament account of Paul encountering a slave girl with a spirit of divination shows that these practices, referred to as 'fortune-telling,' continued and were seen as demonic, further emphasizing the ongoing relevance of this prohibition.
Galatians 5:19-21This passage lists 'sorcery' (which encompasses these forbidden practices) among the works of the flesh that disqualify one from inheriting the kingdom of God, underlining the seriousness of these actions from a New Testament perspective.
clarkeLeviticus 19:31: "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God."
Regard not them that have familiar spirits - The Hebrew word אבות oboth probably signifies a kind of engastromuthoi or ventriloquists, or such as the Pythoness mentioned Acts 16:16 , Acts 16:18 ; persons who, while under the influence of their demon, became greatly inflated, as the Hebrew word implies, and gave answers in a sort of frenzy. See a case of this…
pulpitLeviticus 19:31: "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God."
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.
This verse doesn't just forbid seeking out occult practitioners; it warns against turning to them, highlighting that the real danger is adopting a mindset that looks to anything other than God for answers. The emphasis on "making yourselves unclean" reveals that these practices are seen not just as superstition, but as a spiritual defilement that separates God's people from Him.
The chapter is packed with instructions on how the Israelites should live a holy life, separating them from the surrounding nations. This verse immediately follows commands about treating others with justice and not spreading slander, emphasizing the importance of upright conduct in all relationships. The prohibition against consulting mediums and wizards, found here and elsewhere, highlights a crucial boundary: their guidance and power were meant to come solely from God, not from forbidden spiritual sources.
The chapter is packed with instructions on how the Israelites should live a holy life, separating them from the surrounding nations. This verse immediately follows commands about treating others with justice and not spreading slander, emphasizing the importance of upright conduct in all relationships. The prohibition against consulting mediums and wizards, found here and elsewhere, highlights a crucial boundary: their guidance and power were meant to come solely from God, not from forbidden spiritual sources.
"“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." — This verse doesn't just forbid seeking out occult practitioners; it warns against turning to them, highlighting that the real danger is adopting a mindset that looks to anything other than God for…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026
