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Leviticus 21:1-15
Modern English Version
Leviticus 21:1-15
Modern English Version
Rules for Priestly Conduct
21 Then the Lord said to Moses: Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: None shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people, 2 but for his closest relatives, that is, for his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3 and his virgin sister (who is near him because she has not had a husband), for her he may be made unclean. 4 And he shall not make himself unclean as a husband among his people because of the dead and so defile himself.
5 They shall not make bald areas on their heads, nor shall they shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts in their flesh. 6 They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God; for they offer the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and the food of their God. Therefore they shall be holy.
7 They shall not take a wife who is a whore or has been defiled, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband, for he is holy unto his God. 8 You shall sanctify him, for he offers the food of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I the Lord, who sanctifies you, am holy.
9 The daughter of any priest, if she defiles herself by being a whore, she also defiles her father. She shall be burned with fire.
10 He who is the high priest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil was poured and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not dishevel his hair, nor tear his clothes; 11 nor shall he approach any dead body, nor make himself unclean, even for his father or his mother; 12 nor shall he go out of the sanctuary, so as not to defile the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the Lord.
13 He shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow, or a divorced woman, or a defiled woman, or a prostitute, these he shall not marry. But he shall take for a wife a virgin of his own people, 15 so that he does not defile his offspring among his people, for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.
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Leviticus 21:1-15
Lexham English Bible
Leviticus 21:1-15
Lexham English Bible
Regulations Concerning Priests
21 Then[a] Yahweh said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, Aaron’s sons, and say to them, ‘One must not make himself unclean for a dead person among his own people, 2 except for his direct relative closest to him: his mother and his father, and his son and his daughter, and his brother, 3 and for his sister, a virgin, who is closest to him, who has not had a husband[b]—for her he may defile himself. 4 He must not make himself unclean as a kinsman by marriage,[c] defiling himself.
5 “‘And they shall not shave bald patches on their head, and they shall not shave off the corner of their beard, and they shall not make a cut in their body. 6 They shall be holy to their God, and they shall not profane the name of their God, because they are bringing near the offerings made by fire to[d] Yahweh—their God’s food—and they shall be holy.
7 “‘They shall not marry[e] a woman who is a prostitute and defiled, nor shall they marry[f] a woman divorced from her husband, because each priest[g] is holy for his God. 8 And you shall consecrate him, because he is bringing near your God’s food; he shall be holy to you, since I, Yahweh, who consecrates you, am holy.
9 “‘As for[h] the daughter of any priest, if she is defiled by prostituting, she is disgracing her father—she shall be burned in the fire.
10 “‘As for[i] the priest who is higher than his brothers, on whose head the oil of anointment is poured and he was ordained[j] to wear the garments, he shall not dishevel his head, and he shall not tear his garments. 11 And he shall not go near any dead person, nor shall he make himself unclean for his father or[k] for his mother. 12 And he shall not go out from the sanctuary, and he shall not profane his God’s sanctuary, because the dedication of his God’s oil of anointment is on him; I am Yahweh.
13 “‘And he himself must take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow or[l] a divorced woman or[m] a defiled woman, a prostitute—these he must not take; he shall take only[n] a virgin from his people as wife. 15 And he shall not profane his offspring among his people, because I am Yahweh, who consecrates him.’”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Leviticus 21:1 Or “And”
- Leviticus 21:3 Literally “who is not for a man/husband”
- Leviticus 21:4 Literally “a husband among his people”
- Leviticus 21:6 Hebrew “of”
- Leviticus 21:7 Literally “take”
- Leviticus 21:7 Literally “take”
- Leviticus 21:7 Hebrew “he”; singular antecedent specified from the context
- Leviticus 21:9 Or “And”
- Leviticus 21:10 Or “And”
- Leviticus 21:10 Literally “he has filled up his hand”
- Leviticus 21:11 Or “and”
- Leviticus 21:14 Or “and”
- Leviticus 21:14 Or “and”
- Leviticus 21:14 Or “instead”
Leviticus 21:1-15
New International Version
Leviticus 21:1-15
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.’”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 21:4 Or unclean as a leader among his people
- Leviticus 21:10 Or not uncover his head
Modern English Version (MEV)
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
Lexham English Bible (LEB)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.