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Leviticus 21-22
New American Standard Bible

Regulations concerning Priests

21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them:

‘(A)No one shall defile himself for a dead person among his people, 2 (B)except for his relatives who are nearest to him, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother, 3 also for his virgin sister who is near to him [a]because she has not had a husband; for her, he may defile himself. 4 He shall not defile himself as a [b]relative by marriage among his people, so as to profane himself. 5 (C)They shall not shave any area on their heads bald, (D)nor shave off the edges of their beards, (E)nor make any cuts in their flesh. 6 They shall be holy to their God and (F)not profane the name of their God, because they present the offerings by fire [c]to the Lord, (G)the food of their God; so they shall be holy. 7 (H)They shall not take a woman who is a prostitute and [d]profaned, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for he is holy to his God. 8 You shall consecrate him, therefore, because he offers (I)the food of your God. He shall be holy to you; for I the Lord, who sanctifies you, am holy. 9 (J)Also the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by prostitution, she profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire.

10 ‘The priest who is [e]highest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured and [f]who has been consecrated to wear the garments, (K)shall not [g]uncover his head nor tear his clothes; 11 (L)nor shall he approach any dead person, nor defile himself even for his father or his mother; 12 (M)nor shall he leave the sanctuary nor profane the sanctuary of his God, for (N)the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him; I am the Lord. 13 He shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 (O)A widow, or a divorced woman, or one who is profaned by prostitution, these he shall not take; but rather he is to [h]marry a virgin of his own people, 15 so that he will not profane his [i]children among his people; for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.’”

16 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying, ‘None of your [j]descendants throughout their generations who has an impairment shall approach to offer the (P)food of his God. 18 (Q)For no one who has an impairment shall approach: a man who is blind, or one who limps, or one who has a (R)slit nose, or one with any conspicuous feature, 19 or someone who has a broken foot or broken hand, 20 or a contorted back, or one who is a dwarf, or has a spot in his eye, or a festering rash or scabs, or (S)crushed testicles. 21 No man among the [k]descendants of Aaron the priest who has an impairment is to come forward to offer the Lord’s offerings by fire; since he has an impairment, he shall not come forward to offer (T)the food of his God. 22 He may eat (U)the food of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy, 23 only he shall not come up to the veil or approach the altar, since he has an impairment, so that he does not profane My sanctuaries. For I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’” 24 So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel.

Various Rules for Priests

22 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to be careful with the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, which they dedicate to Me, so as not to profane My holy name; I am the Lord. 3 Say to them, ‘(V)Any man among all your [l]descendants throughout your generations who approaches the holy gifts which the sons of Israel consecrate to the Lord, while he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from My presence; I am the Lord. 4 (W)No man of the [m]descendants of Aaron, who has [n]leprosy or has a discharge, may eat of the holy gifts until he is clean. (X)And one who touches anything made unclean by a corpse, or (Y)a man who has a seminal emission, 5 or (Z)a man who touches any swarming things by which he is made unclean, or touches any person by whom he is made unclean, whatever his uncleanness; 6 a [o]person who touches any such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat of the holy gifts unless he has bathed his [p]body in water. 7 But when the sun sets, he will be clean, and afterward he may eat of the holy gifts, for (AA)it is his [q]food. 8 He shall not eat (AB)an animal which dies or is torn by animals, becoming unclean by it; I am the Lord. 9 They shall therefore perform their (AC)duty to Me, so that (AD)they do not bear sin because of it and die by it because they profane it; I am the Lord who sanctifies them.

10 ‘(AE)No [r]layman, however, is to eat the holy gift; a foreign resident with the priest or a hired worker shall not eat the holy gift. 11 (AF)But if a priest buys a [s]slave as his property with his money, [t]that person may eat of it, and those who are born in his house may eat of his [u]food. 12 If a priest’s daughter is married to a [v]layman, she shall not eat of the [w]offering of the holy gifts. 13 But if a priest’s daughter becomes a widow or divorced, and has no child and returns to her father’s house as in her youth, she may eat of her father’s [x]food; (AG)but no [y]layman shall eat of it. 14 (AH)If, however, someone eats a holy food unintentionally, then he shall add to it a fifth of it and shall give the holy food to the priest. 15 And (AI)they shall not profane the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, which they offer to the Lord, 16 and thereby (AJ)bring upon them [z]punishment for guilt by eating their holy gifts; for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’”

Flawless Animals for Sacrifice

17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, and to all the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘(AK)Anyone of the house of Israel or of the strangers in Israel who presents his offering, whether it is any of their [aa]vows or any of their [ab]voluntary offerings, which they present to the Lord as a burnt offering— 19 (AL)for you to be accepted—it must be a male without defect [ac]from the cattle, the sheep, or the goats. 20 (AM)Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it will not be accepted for you. 21 When someone offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord (AN)to fulfill a special vow or for a [ad]voluntary offering, [ae]of the herd or [af]of the flock, it must be without defect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it. 22 Those that are blind, fractured, maimed, or have a wart, a festering rash, or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor make of them an offering by fire on the altar to the Lord. 23 Now as for an ox or a lamb which has an [ag]overgrown or stunted member, you may present it as a [ah]voluntary offering, but for a vow it will not be accepted. 24 Also (AO)anything with its testicles squashed, crushed, torn off, or cut off, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor [ai]sacrifice in your land, 25 nor shall you offer any of these animals taken from the hand of a [aj]foreigner (AP)as the [ak]food of your God; for their deformity is in them, they have an impairment. They will not be accepted for you.’”

26 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall [al]remain (AQ)seven days [am]with its mother, and from the eighth day on it will be considered acceptable as a sacrifice of an offering by fire to the Lord. 28 (AR)But, whether it is an ox or a sheep, you shall not slaughter both it and its young in one day. 29 When you sacrifice (AS)a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. 30 It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall leave none of it until morning. I am the Lord. 31 (AT)So you shall keep My commandments, and do them; I am the Lord.

32 “And you shall not profane My holy name, but I will be sanctified among the sons of Israel; I am the Lord who sanctifies you, 33 (AU)who brought you out from the land of Egypt, to be your God; I am the Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 21:3 Or who has not belonged to a man
  2. Leviticus 21:4 Lit husband among
  3. Leviticus 21:6 Lit of
  4. Leviticus 21:7 I.e., deflowered
  5. Leviticus 21:10 I.e., the high priest
  6. Leviticus 21:10 Lit whose hand has been filled
  7. Leviticus 21:10 Lit unbind
  8. Leviticus 21:14 Lit take as wife
  9. Leviticus 21:15 Lit seed
  10. Leviticus 21:17 Lit seed
  11. Leviticus 21:21 Lit seed
  12. Leviticus 22:3 Lit seed
  13. Leviticus 22:4 Lit seed
  14. Leviticus 22:4 I.e., leprosy or another serious skin disease
  15. Leviticus 22:6 Lit soul
  16. Leviticus 22:6 Lit flesh
  17. Leviticus 22:7 Lit bread
  18. Leviticus 22:10 Or unauthorized person
  19. Leviticus 22:11 Lit soul
  20. Leviticus 22:11 Lit he may
  21. Leviticus 22:11 Lit bread
  22. Leviticus 22:12 Lit stranger
  23. Leviticus 22:12 Or uplifted offering
  24. Leviticus 22:13 Lit bread
  25. Leviticus 22:13 Lit stranger
  26. Leviticus 22:16 Or wrongdoing requiring a guilt offering
  27. Leviticus 22:18 Or vowed offerings
  28. Leviticus 22:18 Or freewill offerings
  29. Leviticus 22:19 Lit among
  30. Leviticus 22:21 Or freewill offering
  31. Leviticus 22:21 Lit among
  32. Leviticus 22:21 Lit among
  33. Leviticus 22:23 Or a deformed
  34. Leviticus 22:23 Or freewill offering
  35. Leviticus 22:24 Lit do
  36. Leviticus 22:25 Lit son of a stranger
  37. Leviticus 22:25 Lit bread
  38. Leviticus 22:27 Lit be
  39. Leviticus 22:27 Lit under
Listen to Leviticus 21-22
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Leviticus 21-22
New International Version

Rules for Priests

21 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron,(A) and say to them: ‘A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean(B) for any of his people who die,(C) 2 except for a close relative, such as his mother or father,(D) his son or daughter, his brother, 3 or an unmarried sister who is dependent on him since she has no husband—for her he may make himself unclean.(E) 4 He must not make himself unclean for people related to him by marriage,[a] and so defile himself.

5 “‘Priests must not shave(F) their heads or shave off the edges of their beards(G) or cut their bodies.(H) 6 They must be holy to their God(I) and must not profane the name of their God.(J) Because they present the food offerings to the Lord,(K) the food of their God,(L) they are to be holy.(M)

7 “‘They must not marry women defiled by prostitution or divorced from their husbands,(N) because priests are holy to their God.(O) 8 Regard them as holy,(P) because they offer up the food of your God.(Q) Consider them holy, because I the Lord am holy—I who make you holy.(R)

9 “‘If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she must be burned in the fire.(S)

10 “‘The high priest, the one among his brothers who has had the anointing oil poured on his head(T) and who has been ordained to wear the priestly garments,(U) must not let his hair become unkempt[b] or tear his clothes.(V) 11 He must not enter a place where there is a dead body.(W) He must not make himself unclean,(X) even for his father or mother,(Y) 12 nor leave the sanctuary(Z) of his God or desecrate it, because he has been dedicated by the anointing oil(AA) of his God. I am the Lord.

13 “‘The woman he marries must be a virgin.(AB) 14 He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a woman defiled by prostitution, but only a virgin from his own people, 15 so that he will not defile his offspring among his people. I am the Lord, who makes him holy.’”

16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “Say to Aaron: ‘For the generations to come none of your descendants who has a defect(AC) may come near to offer the food of his God.(AD) 18 No man who has any defect(AE) may come near: no man who is blind(AF) or lame,(AG) disfigured or deformed; 19 no man with a crippled foot or hand, 20 or who is a hunchback or a dwarf, or who has any eye defect, or who has festering or running sores or damaged testicles.(AH) 21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any defect(AI) is to come near to present the food offerings to the Lord.(AJ) He has a defect; he must not come near to offer the food of his God.(AK) 22 He may eat the most holy food of his God,(AL) as well as the holy food; 23 yet because of his defect,(AM) he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar, and so desecrate my sanctuary.(AN) I am the Lord, who makes them holy.(AO)’”

24 So Moses told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.

22 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings(AP) the Israelites consecrate to me, so they will not profane my holy name.(AQ) I am the Lord.(AR)

3 “Say to them: ‘For the generations to come, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean and yet comes near the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the Lord,(AS) that person must be cut off from my presence.(AT) I am the Lord.

4 “‘If a descendant of Aaron has a defiling skin disease[c] or a bodily discharge,(AU) he may not eat the sacred offerings until he is cleansed. He will also be unclean if he touches something defiled by a corpse(AV) or by anyone who has an emission of semen, 5 or if he touches any crawling thing(AW) that makes him unclean, or any person(AX) who makes him unclean, whatever the uncleanness may be. 6 The one who touches any such thing will be unclean(AY) till evening.(AZ) He must not eat any of the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water.(BA) 7 When the sun goes down, he will be clean, and after that he may eat the sacred offerings, for they are his food.(BB) 8 He must not eat anything found dead(BC) or torn by wild animals,(BD) and so become unclean(BE) through it. I am the Lord.(BF)

9 “‘The priests are to perform my service(BG) in such a way that they do not become guilty(BH) and die(BI) for treating it with contempt. I am the Lord, who makes them holy.(BJ)

10 “‘No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired worker eat it.(BK) 11 But if a priest buys a slave with money, or if slaves are born in his household, they may eat his food.(BL) 12 If a priest’s daughter marries anyone other than a priest, she may not eat any of the sacred contributions. 13 But if a priest’s daughter becomes a widow or is divorced, yet has no children, and she returns to live in her father’s household as in her youth, she may eat her father’s food. No unauthorized person, however, may eat it.

14 “‘Anyone who eats a sacred offering by mistake(BM) must make restitution to the priest for the offering and add a fifth of the value(BN) to it. 15 The priests must not desecrate the sacred offerings(BO) the Israelites present to the Lord(BP) 16 by allowing them to eat(BQ) the sacred offerings and so bring upon them guilt(BR) requiring payment.(BS) I am the Lord, who makes them holy.(BT)’”

Unacceptable Sacrifices

17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘If any of you—whether an Israelite or a foreigner residing in Israel(BU)—presents a gift(BV) for a burnt offering to the Lord, either to fulfill a vow(BW) or as a freewill offering,(BX) 19 you must present a male without defect(BY) from the cattle, sheep or goats in order that it may be accepted on your behalf.(BZ) 20 Do not bring anything with a defect,(CA) because it will not be accepted on your behalf.(CB) 21 When anyone brings from the herd or flock(CC) a fellowship offering(CD) to the Lord to fulfill a special vow or as a freewill offering,(CE) it must be without defect or blemish(CF) to be acceptable.(CG) 22 Do not offer to the Lord the blind, the injured or the maimed, or anything with warts or festering or running sores. Do not place any of these on the altar as a food offering presented to the Lord. 23 You may, however, present as a freewill offering an ox[d] or a sheep that is deformed or stunted, but it will not be accepted in fulfillment of a vow. 24 You must not offer to the Lord an animal whose testicles are bruised, crushed, torn or cut.(CH) You must not do this in your own land, 25 and you must not accept such animals from the hand of a foreigner and offer them as the food of your God.(CI) They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and have defects.(CJ)’”

26 The Lord said to Moses, 27 “When a calf, a lamb or a goat(CK) is born, it is to remain with its mother for seven days.(CL) From the eighth day(CM) on, it will be acceptable(CN) as a food offering presented to the Lord. 28 Do not slaughter a cow or a sheep and its young on the same day.(CO)

29 “When you sacrifice a thank offering(CP) to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. 30 It must be eaten that same day; leave none of it till morning.(CQ) I am the Lord.(CR)

31 “Keep(CS) my commands and follow them.(CT) I am the Lord. 32 Do not profane my holy name,(CU) for I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites.(CV) I am the Lord, who made you holy(CW) 33 and who brought you out of Egypt(CX) to be your God.(CY) I am the Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 21:4 Or unclean as a leader among his people
  2. Leviticus 21:10 Or not uncover his head
  3. Leviticus 22:4 The Hebrew word for defiling skin disease, traditionally translated “leprosy,” was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
  4. Leviticus 22:23 The Hebrew word can refer to either male or female.
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Leviticus 20
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