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Leviticus 21
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.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 21:4 Or unclean as a leader among his people
  2. Leviticus 21:10 Or not uncover his head
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Leviticus 21
King James Version

21 And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:

2 But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother.

3 And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled.

4 But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.

5 They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.

6 They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.

7 They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy unto his God.

8 Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I the Lord, which sanctify you, am holy.

9 And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.

10 And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes;

11 Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;

12 Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the Lord.

13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity.

14 A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife.

15 Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the Lord do sanctify him.

16 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

17 Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.

18 For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous,

19 Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded,

20 Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken;

21 No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the Lord made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God.

22 He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.

23 Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the Lord do sanctify them.

24 And Moses told it unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.

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Leviticus 21
Common English Bible

Rules for priests

21 The Lord said to Moses, Say to the priests, Aaron’s sons: None of you are allowed to make yourselves unclean by any dead person among your community 2 except for your closest relatives: for your mother, father, son, daughter, brother; 3 also for your unmarried sister, who is close to you because she isn’t married—you may be polluted for her sake. 4 You must not make yourself unclean for in-laws, defiling yourself by doing so.

5 Priests must not shave bald patches on their heads or cut off the ends of their beards or make gashes in their bodies. 6 They must be holy to their God so that they do not make their God’s name impure. They must be holy because they offer the Lord’s food gifts, their God’s food. 7 Priests must not marry a woman who is promiscuous and defiled, nor can they marry a woman divorced from her husband, because priests must be[a] holy to their God. 8 You will treat the priests as holy, because they offer your God’s food. The priests will be holy to you, because I am the holy Lord, who makes you holy. 9 If the daughter of a priest defiles herself by being promiscuous, she defiles her father. She must be burned with fire.

10 The high priest[b]—the one whose head has been anointed with the anointing oil and who is ordained to dress in the priestly clothing—must not dishevel his hair or tear his clothing. 11 He must not go near any dead bodies and cannot make himself unclean even for his father or mother. 12 He must not exit the sanctuary, making his God’s sanctuary impure by doing so, because his God’s anointing oil, which separates,[c] is upon him; I am the Lord. 13 The high priest must marry a woman who is a virgin. 14 He cannot marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a woman defiled by promiscuity. He can only marry a virgin from his own people 15 so that he doesn’t make his children impure among his people, because I am the Lord, who makes him holy.

16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 Say to Aaron: None of your future descendants who have some kind of imperfection are allowed to offer their God’s food. 18 No one who has an imperfection will be allowed to make an offering: this includes anyone who is blind, crippled, disfigured, or deformed; 19 anyone who has a broken foot or hand; 20 anyone who is a hunchback or too small; anyone who has an eye disease, a rash, scabs, or a crushed testicle.[d] 21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has an imperfection will be allowed to offer the Lord’s food gifts; since he has an imperfection, he will not be allowed to offer his God’s food. 22 He may, of course, eat of his God’s most holy or holy food, 23 but since he has an imperfection, he cannot enter toward the inner curtain or officiate at the altar, making these parts of my sanctuary impure by doing so. I am the Lord, who makes them holy.

24 This is what Moses said to Aaron, his sons, and to all the Israelites.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 21:7 Or are
  2. Leviticus 21:10 Or the priest who is greater than his brothers
  3. Leviticus 21:12 Or consecrates
  4. Leviticus 21:20 The meaning of several words in 21:18-20 is uncertain.
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Leviticus 21
Good News Translation

The Holiness of the Priests

21 The Lord commanded Moses to tell the Aaronite priests, “No priest is to make himself ritually unclean by taking part in the funeral ceremonies when a relative dies, 2 unless it is his mother, father, son, daughter, brother, 3 or unmarried sister living in his house. 4 He shall not make himself unclean at the death of those related to him by marriage.[a]

5 (A)“No priest shall shave any part of his head or trim his beard or cut gashes on his body to show that he is in mourning. 6 He must be holy and must not disgrace my name. He offers food offerings to me, and he must be holy. 7 A priest shall not marry a woman who has been a prostitute or a woman who is not a virgin or who is divorced; he is holy. 8 The people must consider the priest holy, because he presents the food offerings to me. I am the Lord; I am holy and I make my people holy. 9 If a priest's daughter becomes a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she shall be burned to death.

10 “The High Priest has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been consecrated to wear the priestly garments, so he must not leave his hair uncombed or tear his clothes to show that he is in mourning. 11-12 He has been dedicated to me and is not to make himself ritually unclean nor is he to defile my sacred Tent by leaving it and entering a house where there is a dead person, even if it is his own father or mother. 13 He shall marry a virgin, 14 not a widow or a divorced woman or a woman who has been a prostitute. He shall marry only a virgin from his own clan. 15 Otherwise, his children, who ought to be holy, will be ritually unclean. I am the Lord and I have set him apart as the High Priest.”

16 The Lord commanded Moses 17 to tell Aaron, “None of your descendants who has any physical defects may present the food offering to me. This applies for all time to come. 18 No man with any physical defects may make the offering: no one who is blind, lame, disfigured, or deformed; 19 no one with a crippled hand or foot; 20 no one who is a hunchback or a dwarf; no one with any eye or skin disease; and no eunuch. 21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any physical defects may present the food offering to me. 22 Such a man may eat the food offered to me, both the holy food offering and the very holy food offering, 23 but because he has a physical defect, he shall not come near the sacred curtain or approach the altar. He must not profane these holy things, because I am the Lord and I make them holy.”

24 This, then, is what Moses said to Aaron, the sons of Aaron, and to all the people of Israel.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 21:4 Verse 4 in Hebrew is unclear.
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Vayikra 21
Orthodox Jewish Bible

[EMOR]

21 And Hashem said unto Moshe, Speak unto the kohanim the Bnei Aharon, and say unto them, There shall none be made tamei for the dead among his people;

2 But for his close kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his em, and for his av, and for his ben, and for his bat, and for his ach.

3 And for his betulah achot (virgin sister), that is close unto him, which hath had no ish (husband); for her may he be made tamei.

4 But he shall not make himself tamei, being a ba’al (leader, chief man) among his people, to profane himself.

5 They shall not shave their head bald, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their basar.

6 They shall be kedoshim unto Eloheihem, and not commit Chillul ha-shem against the Shem of Eloheihem; for the offerings of Hashem made by eish and the lechem of Eloheihem they do offer; therefore they shall be kodesh.

7 They shall not take an isha that is a zonah, or chalalah (desecrated woman) neither shall they take an isha gerusha (divorced woman) from her ish; for he is kadosh unto Elohav.

8 Thou shalt set him apart as kodesh therefore; for he offereth the lechem of Eloheicha; he shall be makriv kadosh (holy offering) unto thee: for I, Hashem, the One setting you apart as kodesh, am kadosh.

9 And the bat of any kohen, if she profane herself by playing the zonah, she profaneth her av; she shall be burned with eish.

10 And he that is the Kohen HaGadol among his brethren, upon whose head the Shemen Hamishchah (Anointing Oil) was poured, and that is ordained to put on the garments, shall not in mourning uncover his head, nor rend his garments;

11 Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor make himself tamei for his av, or for his em;

12 Neither shall he go out of the Mikdash, nor profane the Mikdash Elohav; for the nezer shemen mishchat Elohav (consecration of the anointing oil of his G-d) is upon him: I am Hashem.

13 And he shall take an isha in her virginity.

14 An almanah, or a gerusha, or chalalah, or a zonah, these shall he not take; but he shall take a betulah of his own people to wife.

15 Neither shall he profane his zera among his people; for I Hashem do set him apart as kodesh.

16 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,

17 Speak unto Aharon, saying, Whosoever he be of thy zera in their dorot that hath any defect, let him not approach to offer the lechem of Elohav.

18 For whatsoever ish he be that hath a mum, he shall not approach; an ish ivver, or a pise’ach (lame), or he who is disfigured or malformed,

19 Or an ish that has a crippled regel or a crippled yad,

20 Or hunchback, or a dwarf, or that hath a defect in his eye, or festering, or running sores, or damaged of testicle;

21 No ish that hath a mum of the zera Aharon HaKohen shall come near to offer the offerings of Hashem made by eish; he hath a mum; he shall not come near to offer the lechem Elohav.

22 He shall eat the lechem Elohav, both of the kodshei hakodashim, and of hakodashim.

23 Only he shall not go near unto the Parochet (curtain), nor come near unto the Mizbe’ach, because he hath a mum on him; that he profane not My Mikdash; for I Hashem do set them apart as kodesh.

24 And Moshe told it unto Aharon, and to his Banim, and unto all the Bnei Yisroel.

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