Leviticus 21:1-15
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.’”
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- Leviticus 21:3 Or who has not belonged to a man
- Leviticus 21:4 Lit husband among
- Leviticus 21:6 Lit of
- Leviticus 21:7 I.e., deflowered
- Leviticus 21:10 I.e., the high priest
- Leviticus 21:10 Lit whose hand has been filled
- Leviticus 21:10 Lit unbind
- Leviticus 21:14 Lit take as wife
- Leviticus 21:15 Lit seed
Leviticus 21:1-15
New Living Translation
Instructions for the Priests
21 The Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
“A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean by touching the dead body of a relative. 2 The only exceptions are his closest relatives—his mother or father, son or daughter, brother, 3 or his virgin sister who depends on him because she has no husband. 4 But a priest must not defile himself and make himself unclean for someone who is related to him only by marriage.
5 “The priests must not shave their heads or trim their beards or cut their bodies. 6 They must be set apart as holy to their God and must never bring shame on the name of God. They must be holy, for they are the ones who present the special gifts to the Lord, gifts of food for their God.
7 “Priests may not marry a woman defiled by prostitution, and they may not marry a woman who is divorced from her husband, for the priests are set apart as holy to their God. 8 You must treat them as holy because they offer up food to your God. You must consider them holy because I, the Lord, am holy, and I make you holy.
9 “If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she also defiles her father’s holiness, and she must be burned to death.
10 “The high priest has the highest rank of all the priests. The anointing oil has been poured on his head, and he has been ordained to wear the priestly garments. He must never leave his hair uncombed[a] or tear his clothing. 11 He must not defile himself by going near a dead body. He may not make himself ceremonially unclean even for his father or mother. 12 He must not defile the sanctuary of his God by leaving it to attend to a dead person, for he has been made holy by the anointing oil of his God. I am the Lord.
13 “The high priest may marry only a virgin. 14 He may not marry a widow, a woman who is divorced, or a woman who has defiled herself by prostitution. She must be a virgin from his own clan, 15 so that he will not dishonor his descendants among his clan, for I am the Lord who makes him holy.”
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- 21:10 Or never uncover his head.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
