The Holiness of the Offerings

22 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to Aaron and his sons, that they ^(A)separate^[a] themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they ^(B)do not profane My holy name by what they ^(C)dedicate to Me: I am the Lord. ³ Say to them: ‘Whoever of all your descendants throughout your generations, who goes near the holy things which the children of Israel dedicate to the Lord, ^(D)while he has ^[b]uncleanness upon him, that person shall be cut off from My presence: I am the Lord.

⁴ ‘Whatever man of the descendants of Aaron, who is a ^(E)leper or has ^(F)a discharge, shall not eat the holy offerings ^(G)until he is clean. And ^(H)whoever touches anything made unclean by a corpse, or ^(I)a man who has had an emission of semen, ⁵ or ^(J)whoever touches any creeping thing by which he would be made unclean, or ^(K)any person by whom he would become unclean, whatever his uncleanness may be— ⁶ the person who has touched any such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat the holy offerings unless he ^(L)washes his body with water. ⁷ And when the sun goes down he shall be clean; and afterward he may eat the holy offerings, because ^(M)it is his food. ^8 (N)Whatever dies naturally or is torn by beasts he shall not eat, to defile himself with it: I am the Lord.

⁹ ‘They shall therefore keep ^(O)My ^[c]ordinance, ^(P)lest they bear sin for it and die thereby, if they profane it: I the Lord sanctify them.

^10 (Q)‘No outsider shall eat the holy offering; one who ^[d]dwells with the priest, or a hired servant, shall not eat the holy thing. ¹¹ But if the priest ^(R)buys a person with his money, he may eat it; and one who is born in his house may eat his food. ¹² If the priest’s daughter is married to an outsider, she may not eat of the holy offerings. ¹³ But if the priest’s daughter is a widow or divorced, and has no child, and has returned to her father’s house as in her youth, she may eat her father’s food; but no outsider shall eat it.

¹⁴ ‘And if a man eats the holy offering unintentionally, then he shall restore a holy offering to the priest, and add one-fifth to it. ¹⁵ They shall not profane the ^(S)holy offerings of the children of Israel, which they offer to the Lord, ¹⁶ or allow them to bear the guilt of trespass when they eat their holy offerings; for I the Lord sanctify them.’ ”

Offerings Accepted and Not Accepted

¹⁷ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁸ “Speak to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them: ^(T)‘Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, who ^[e]offers his sacrifice for any of his vows or for any of his freewill offerings, which they offer to the Lord as a burnt offering— ^19 (U)you shall offer of your own free will a male without blemish from the cattle, from the sheep, or from the goats. ^20 (V)Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it shall not be acceptable on your behalf. ²¹ And ^(W)whoever offers a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, ^(X)to fulfill his vow, or a freewill offering from the cattle or the sheep, it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it. ^22 (Y)Those that are blind or broken or maimed, or have an ^[f]ulcer or eczema or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor make ^(Z)an offering by fire of them on the altar to the Lord. ²³ Either a bull or a lamb that has any limb ^(AA)too long or too short you may offer as a freewill offering, but for a vow it shall not be accepted.

²⁴ ‘You shall not offer to the Lord what is bruised or crushed, or torn or cut; nor shall you make any offering of them in your land. ²⁵ Nor ^(AB)from a foreigner’s hand shall you offer any of these as ^(AC)the bread of your God, because their ^(AD)corruption is in them, and defects are in them. They shall not be accepted on your behalf.’ ”

²⁶ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ^27 (AE)“When a bull or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall be seven days with its mother; and from the eighth day and thereafter it shall be accepted as an offering made by fire to the Lord. ²⁸ Whether it is a cow or ewe, do not kill both her ^(AF)and her young on the same day. ²⁹ And when you ^(AG)offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, offer it of your own free will. ³⁰ On the same day it shall be eaten; you shall leave ^(AH)none of it until morning: I am the Lord.

^31 (AI)“Therefore you shall keep My commandments, and perform them: I am the Lord. ^32 (AJ)You shall not profane My holy name, but ^(AK)I will be ^[g]hallowed among the children of Israel. I am the Lord who ^(AL)sanctifies you, ^33 (AM)who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord.”