How the Religious Leaders Should Live

21 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the religious leaders, the sons of Aaron, ‘No one should make himself unclean for a dead person among his people, ² except for his own family, his mother, father, son, daughter and brother, ³ or his young sister who is near to him because she has had no husband. For her he may make himself unclean. ⁴ He should not make himself unclean as a husband among his people, and so make himself sinful. ⁵ They should not cut all the hair from any part on their heads, or cut part of the hair off their face, or make cuts in their flesh. ⁶ They should be holy to their God and not put the name of their God to shame. For they give the gifts by fire to the Lord, the bread of their God. So they must be holy. ⁷ They should not take a woman who is unclean because of selling the use of her body. They should not take a woman who is divorced from her husband. For the religious leader is holy to his God. ⁸ So you must set him apart, for he gives the bread of your God. He will be holy to you. For I, the Lord Who sets you apart, am holy. ⁹ If the daughter of any religious leader makes herself sinful by selling the use of her body, she puts her father to shame. She will be burned with fire.

¹⁰ ‘The head religious leader on whose head the holy oil has been poured, and who has been set apart to wear the clothing, must not take the covering off his head or tear his clothes. ¹¹ He must not go near any dead person or make himself unclean even for his father or mother. ¹² He must not go out of the holy place or sin against the holy place of his God. For the crown of the holy oil of his God is on him. I am the Lord. ¹³ He should take a wife who has never had a man before. ¹⁴ He should not marry a woman whose husband has died, or a divorced woman, or one who has made herself sinful by selling the use of her body. But he should marry a woman from his own people, who has never had a man. ¹⁵ By doing this he will not sin against his children among his people. For I am the Lord Who makes him holy.’”

¹⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁷ “Say to Aaron, ‘None of your children or their children who has something wrong with his body should go near to give the bread as a gift to his God. ¹⁸ For no one whose body is not perfect should come near, no blind man, or man who cannot walk, or one with a marked face, or a bad arm or leg, ¹⁹ or a man who has a broken foot or hand, ²⁰ or a man with a crooked upper back from birth, or a very little man, or one who has a bad eye or skin trouble or sores, or one whose sex parts have been crushed. ²¹ No man among the children of Aaron the religious leader, who has something wrong with his body, should come near to give the Lord’s gifts by fire. He should not come near to give the bread of his God, because he has something wrong with him. ²² He may eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy. ²³ But he should not come near the curtain or the altar, because he has something wrong with him, and so he may not sin against My holy places. For I am the Lord Who makes them holy.’” ²⁴ So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the people of Israel.

22 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell Aaron and his sons to be careful with the holy gifts that the people of Israel set apart for Me. So they will not sin against My holy name. I am the Lord. ³ Say to them, ‘If any one of all your children comes near the holy gifts that the people of Israel set apart for the Lord, while he is unclean, he will be cut off from My holy place. I am the Lord. ⁴ None of the children of Aaron who has a bad skin disease or something flowing from his body may eat of the holy gifts until he is clean. If one touches anything that is unclean because of a dead body, or has had his seed come from his sex part, ⁵ or touches anything that is unclean that moves on the ground, or touches any man who makes him unclean, for whatever reason, ⁶ the man who touches any such thing will be unclean until evening. He must not eat of the holy gifts unless he has washed his body in water. ⁷ When the sun has gone down, he will be clean. After that he may eat of the holy gifts, for they are his food. ⁸ He should not eat an animal that dies of itself or is killed by wild animals. He will be unclean if he does. I am the Lord. ⁹ The religious leaders must obey My Law, so they will not be sinful because of it and die because they sin against My Law. I am the Lord Who makes them holy.

¹⁰ ‘But no one who is not a religious leader may eat the holy gift. One who is visiting the religious leader or working for him must not eat of the holy gift. ¹¹ But a person whom the religious leader buys to work for him with his own money may eat of it. And those who are born in his house may eat of his food. ¹² If a religious leader’s daughter is married to a man who is not a religious leader, she must not eat of the holy gifts. ¹³ But if a religious leader’s daughter loses her husband by death or divorce, and has no child and returns to her father’s house as when she was young, she may eat of her father’s food. But no stranger may eat of it. ¹⁴ If a man eats a holy gift by mistake, he must add a fifth of its worth to it and give the holy gift to the religious leader. ¹⁵ The religious leaders must not make the holy gifts unclean that the people of Israel give to the Lord. ¹⁶ This would bring sin upon them when they eat their holy gifts. For I am the Lord Who makes them holy.’”

Gifts That Are Not Good Enough

¹⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸ “Say to Aaron and to his sons and to all the people of Israel, ‘When any man of the house of Israel or of the strangers in Israel gives his gift for a burnt gift to the Lord, to pay a promise or as a free-will gift ¹⁹ to please the Lord, it must be a male that is perfect from the cattle, sheep or goats. ²⁰ Do not give anything that is not perfect, for you will not please the Lord. ²¹ When a man gives a peace gift to the Lord to keep a special promise or for a free-will gift from the cattle or the flock, it must be perfect to be received. It must have nothing wrong with it. ²² You must not give to the Lord or make a gift by fire on the altar to the Lord any animals that are blind or broken or hurt or have a flowing sore or a skin disease. ²³ You may give for a free-will gift a bull or lamb which has some part too long or too short. But it will not be received if it is to pay a promise. ²⁴ Do not give to the Lord any animal with its sex parts hurt or crushed or torn or cut. Do not give such animals on the altar in your land. ²⁵ And do not receive such animals from a man from another land to give as the food of your God. For they are unclean. They are not perfect. They will not be received from you.’”

²⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁷ “When a bull or sheep or goat is born, it must stay seven days with its mother. After that it will be received as a gift by fire to the Lord. ²⁸ But do not kill a cow or female sheep and her young on the same day. ²⁹ When you give thanks to the Lord by giving a gift in worship, give it the right way so you will be received. ³⁰ It must be eaten on the same day. Do not leave any of it until morning. I am the Lord.

³¹ “So keep My Laws and obey them. I am the Lord. ³² Do not sin against My holy name. I will be honored among the people of Israel. I am the Lord Who makes you holy. ³³ I brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord.”