The Holiness of the Offerings

22 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “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. 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.

‘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, 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— 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. And when the sun goes down he shall be clean; and afterward he may eat the holy offerings, because (M)it is his food. (N)Whatever dies naturally or is torn by beasts he shall not eat, to defile himself with it: I am the Lord.

‘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.”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 22:2 keep themselves apart from
  2. Leviticus 22:3 defilement
  3. Leviticus 22:9 charge
  4. Leviticus 22:10 As a visitor
  5. Leviticus 22:18 brings his offering
  6. Leviticus 22:22 running sore
  7. Leviticus 22:32 treated as holy

Eating the Priests’ Share of the Sacrifice

22 The Lord spoke to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons that they must respect the holy offerings which the Israelites set apart for me. In this way they will not dishonor my holy name. I am the Lord.

“Tell them: In future generations if any of your descendants, while unclean, comes near the holy offerings the Israelites set apart for the Lord, that person must be excluded from my presence. I am the Lord.

“No descendant of Aaron who has a skin disease or a discharge may eat any of the holy offerings until he is clean. Any person who has an emission of semen or touches a dead body, an unclean swarming creature or an unclean person will be unclean until evening. He must not eat any of the holy offerings unless he has washed himself. When the sun has set, he will be clean. Then he may eat the holy offerings because they are his food. He must never eat the meat of an animal that dies naturally or is killed by wild animals. It will make him unclean. I am the Lord. The priests must do what I order, or their sin will bring them death because they dishonored a holy offering. I am the Lord, who sets them apart as holy.

10 “Laypeople must never eat any holy offering, even if they are visiting a priest or are working for him. 11 But if a priest buys a slave, the slave and anyone born in his household may eat the priest’s food. 12 However, if a priest’s daughter marries a layman, she must never eat the food taken from the holy contributions. 13 If a priest’s daughter is widowed or divorced, doesn’t have any children, and comes back to live in her father’s home, she may eat her father’s food. But a layperson must never eat it.

14 “Those who eat a holy offering by mistake must give another holy offering to the priest and add one-fifth more to it. 15 Priests must not dishonor the holy offerings that the Israelites contribute to the Lord. 16 They must make those people pay the penalty for their guilt because they have eaten the priests’ holy offerings. I am the Lord, who sets them apart as holy.”

Animals Accepted for Sacrifice

17 The Lord spoke to Moses, 18 “Tell Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites: Israelites or foreigners may bring burnt offerings to the Lord for anything they vowed or as freewill offerings. 19 The offering must be a male that has no defects from your cattle, sheep, or goats in order to be accepted. 20 Never bring any animal with a physical defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf. 21 A person may bring the Lord a fellowship offering to fulfill a vow or for a freewill offering. Whether it is from the cattle, sheep, or goats, it must be an animal that has no defects in order to be accepted. It must never be an animal that has defects. 22 Never bring the Lord an animal that is blind, has broken bones, cuts, warts, scabs, or ringworm. Never give the Lord any of these in a sacrifice by fire on the altar. 23 You may use a bull or a sheep with a deformity or one that is stunted in growth as a freewill offering. However, it will not be accepted for a vow. 24 Never bring the Lord an animal that has bruised, crushed, torn out, or cut out testicles. Never do any of these things to an animal in your land. 25 Never bring any kind of castrated animal received from a foreigner as a food offering for your God. A castrated animal will not be accepted on your behalf because castration is a physical defect.”

26 The Lord spoke to Moses, 27 “When a calf, a lamb, or a goat is born, it must stay with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on it may be accepted as a sacrifice by fire to the Lord. 28 Never slaughter a cow or a sheep and its young the same day.

29 “When you sacrifice a thank offering to the Lord, do it in the proper way. 30 Eat it the same day. Never leave any of it until morning. I am the Lord.

31 “Carefully obey my commands. I am the Lord. 32 Never dishonor my holy name. I will show my holiness among the Israelites. I am the Lord, who sets you apart as holy. 33 I brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord.”

Leyes sobre la pureza sacerdotal

22 Entonces el Señor habló a Moisés: «Dile a Aarón y a sus hijos que tengan cuidado con las cosas sagradas que los israelitas me consagran, para que no profanen Mi santo nombre. Yo soy el Señor. Diles: “Si alguien de entre sus descendientes en todas sus generaciones, se acerca a las cosas sagradas que los israelitas consagran al Señor, estando inmundo(A), esa persona será eliminada de Mi presencia. Yo soy el Señor. Ningún varón de los descendientes de Aarón que sea leproso, o que tenga flujo, podrá comer de las cosas sagradas hasta que sea limpio(B). Y si alguien toca alguna cosa contaminada por un cadáver(C), o si un hombre tiene una emisión seminal(D), si alguien toca ciertos animales(E) por los cuales se pueda contaminar, o a cualquier hombre que lo contamine, cualquiera que sea su inmundicia. La persona que toque a cualquiera de estos quedará inmunda hasta el atardecer; no comerá de las cosas sagradas a menos que haya lavado su cuerpo con agua. Cuando el sol se ponga quedará limpio, y después comerá de las cosas sagradas, porque son su alimento(F). No comerá animal que muera o sea despedazado por fieras, contaminándose por ello(G); Yo soy el Señor. Guardarán, pues, Mi ordenanza(H) para que no se carguen de pecado por ello, y mueran porque la profanen. Yo soy el Señor que los santifico(I).

10 ”Ningún extraño comerá cosa sagrada(J); ni huésped del sacerdote, ni jornalero comerán cosa sagrada. 11 Pero si un sacerdote compra con su dinero un esclavo como propiedad suya, este sí puede comer de ella, y también los nacidos en su casa podrán comer de su alimento(K). 12 Y si la hija del sacerdote se casa con un extraño, ella no comerá de la ofrenda de las cosas sagradas. 13 Pero si la hija del sacerdote queda viuda o se divorcia, y no tiene hijo y regresa a la casa de su padre como en su juventud, podrá comer del alimento de su padre; pero ningún extraño comerá de él(L). 14 Y si un hombre come inadvertidamente cosa sagrada, entonces añadirá a ella una quinta parte(M) y restituirá la cosa sagrada al sacerdote. 15 Los sacerdotes no profanarán las cosas sagradas que los israelitas(N) ofrecen al Señor, 16 causándoles así sufrir castigo por la culpa al comer sus cosas sagradas; porque Yo soy el Señor que los santifico(O)”».

Animales para el sacrificio

17 También el Señor le dijo a Moisés: 18 «Habla a Aarón y a sus hijos y a todos los israelitas: “Cualquier hombre de la casa de Israel o de los extranjeros en Israel, que presente su ofrenda, ya sea de sus ofrendas votivas[a] o de sus ofrendas voluntarias, las cuales presenta al Señor como holocausto(P), 19 para que les sea aceptada, esta debe ser macho sin defecto(Q) del ganado, de los corderos o de las cabras. 20 Lo que tenga defecto, no lo ofrecerán, porque no les será aceptado(R). 21 Cuando alguien ofrezca sacrificio de ofrenda de paz al Señor para cumplir un voto especial o como ofrenda voluntaria, del ganado o del rebaño(S), tiene que ser sin defecto para ser aceptado; no habrá imperfección en él. 22 Los que estén ciegos, quebrados, mutilados, o con llagas purulentas, sarna o roña, no los ofrecerán al Señor, ni harán de ellos una ofrenda encendida sobre el altar al Señor. 23 En cuanto al buey o carnero que tenga un miembro deformado o atrofiado, podrán presentarlo como ofrenda voluntaria, pero por voto no será aceptado. 24 También cualquier animal con sus testículos magullados, aplastados(T), rasgados o cortados, no lo ofrecerán al Señor ni lo sacrificarán en su tierra; 25 tampoco aceptarán tales animales de mano de un extranjero por ofrenda como alimento para su Dios(U); porque su corrupción está en ellos, tienen defecto y no les serán aceptados”».

26 El Señor habló a Moisés: 27 «Cuando nazca un ternero, un cordero o un cabrito, quedará siete días con su madre, y desde el octavo día(V) en adelante será aceptable como sacrificio de ofrenda encendida al Señor. 28 Pero, ya sea vaca u oveja, no matarán a ella y a su cría(W) en el mismo día. 29 Y cuando ofrezcan sacrificio de acción de gracias(X) al Señor, lo sacrificarán para que sean aceptados. 30 Lo comerán en el mismo día, no dejarán nada de él para la mañana siguiente. Yo soy el Señor. 31 Así, pues, guardarán Mis mandamientos y los cumplirán(Y). Yo soy el Señor. 32 No profanarán Mi santo nombre, sino que seré santificado entre los israelitas. Yo soy el Señor que los santifico, 33 que los saqué de la tierra de Egipto(Z) para ser su Dios. Yo soy el Señor».

Footnotes

  1. 22:18 Lit. de sus votos.