Mi Yodeya is a question and answer site for those who base their lives on Jewish law and tradition and anyone interested in learning more. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
Are non-Jews punished for not keeping the 7 Noahide Laws?
If yes:
Yes, they are punishable for violating any of these seven mitzvos; none of them are more or less severe than the others. The punishment for each of them is decapitation (Rambam, Hilchos Melachim 9:14).
No warning is needed, but there needs to be at least one male witness and at least one male judge (ibid.). The judge can be either a Jew or a non-Jew (ibid. 10:11).
If he committed the violation in error, he's not punished. "Error" here means that he was unaware that the object is a forbidden one (for example, having relations with a woman under the impression that she's unmarried or is his own wife, when in fact she's married to someone else), but ignorance of the law is no excuse (ibid. 10:1).
Avodah Zara 2b Seems that nowadays they're not punished
דתני רב יוסף (חבקוק ג, ו) עמד וימודד ארץ ראה ויתר גוים מאי ראה ראה ז' מצות שקבלו עליהן בני נח ולא קיימום כיון שלא קיימום עמד והתירן להן
As Rav Yosef teaches: “He stands, and shakes the earth, He sees, and makes the nations tremble” (Habakkuk 3:6). What did God see? He saw the seven mitzvot that the descendants of Noah accepted upon themselves, and He saw that they did not fulfill them. Since they did not fulfill them, He arose and nullified for them.
ראה ויתר גוים - נראה בעיניו וישר להתירן
But if they do the mitzvot they have a praise as who must not to do and do, a littler praise (from the next Gemara)
