Leviticus 21
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.’”
16 Then[o] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying, ‘A man from your offspring throughout their generations, in whom is a physical defect, shall not come near to present your God’s food. 18 Indeed,[p] any man in whom is a physical defect shall not come near: a blind man or lame or disfigured or deformed, 19 or a man in whom is a broken foot or a broken hand, 20 or a hunchback or a dwarf, or a spot in his eye or a skin disorder or a skin eruption or a crushed testicle. 21 Any man from Aaron the priest’s offspring in whom is a physical defect shall not come near to present offerings made by fire to[q] Yahweh; a physical defect is in him; he shall not come near to present his God’s food. 22 He may eat his God’s food, from the most holy things[r] and from the holy things. 23 But he must not enter the curtain, and he must not come near to the altar, because a physical defect is in him, and he must not profane my sanctuary, because I am Yahweh, who consecrates them.’”
24 Thus[s] Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the Israelites.[t]
Footnotes
- 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 21:16 Or “And”
- Leviticus 21:18 Or “For”
- Leviticus 21:21 Hebrew “of”
- Leviticus 21:22 Literally “the holy things of the holy things”
- Leviticus 21:24 Or “And”
- Leviticus 21:24 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
Leviticus 21
International Standard Version
Priestly Holiness
21 The Lord told Moses, “Speak to the priests, Aaron’s sons, and tell them that no priest is to defile himself on account of the dead among his people, 2 except his close relatives—his mother, father, son, daughter, brother, or 3 virgin sister (who is a near relative of him and did not have a husband—[a] he may defile himself for her). 4 Because he is a husband among his people, he is not to defile himself, thereby polluting himself.
5 “They are not to cut their hair in ritualistic patterns[b] on their heads, deface the edges of their beards, or make incisions in their flesh. 6 They are to be holy to their God. They are not to defile the name of their God, because they’re the ones who bring the offerings of the Lord made by fire—the food of their God—so they are to be holy.
7 “They are not to marry[c] a prostitute or a woman who has been dishonored or who was divorced from her husband, because the priest[d] is holy to his God. 8 Consecrate him, because he’s the one who offers the food of your God. He is to be holy for you, because I, the Lord, the one who sanctifies you, am holy.
9 “Now if the daughter of any priest defiles herself by being a prostitute, she defiles her father. She is to be incinerated.
10 “The high priest among his relatives—whose head has been anointed with oil and who has been consecrated to put on the priestly clothing—is not to let his hair hang loose or to tear his clothes. 11 He is not to come near any dead body—whether the deceased[e] is his father or his mother—so as not to defile himself. 12 He is not to go out of the sanctuary or defile the sanctuary of his God, because his God’s consecrating oil of anointing rests on him. I am the Lord.
13 “Furthermore, he is to marry a true virgin.[f] 14 He is not to marry a widow or one who has been divorced, has been defiled, or has been a prostitute. Instead, he is to take a virgin from among his people as his wife.
15 “He is not to defile his children[g] among his people, because I am the Lord, who sets him apart.”
On Physical Defects
16 The Lord told Moses, 17 “Tell Aaron that whoever of your descendants throughout their generations has a bodily defect is not to approach to offer the food of his God. 18 Indeed, any person who has a defect is not to approach the Tent of Meeting—[h] the blind, the lame, one who is mutilated in the face or who has a very long limb, 19 or a person who has a fractured foot or hand, 20 has scoliosis,[i] is a dwarf, or has an eye defect, an itching disease, scabs, or a crushed testicle. 21 None of the descendants of Aaron the priest who has a defect is to approach to bring offerings of the Lord made by fire, since he has a defect. He is not to approach to offer the food of his God. 22 However, he may eat the food of his God, including the most holy and the holy offerings, 23 but he is not to enter through the curtain nor approach the altar, since he has a defect. That way, he won’t defile my sanctuary, since I am the Lord, who sets you apart.”
24 Moses told all of this[j] to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the Israelis.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 21:3 Lit. hasn’t had a man
- Leviticus 21:5 Lit. cut the sides of their hair; i.e. as a sign of affiliation
- Leviticus 21:7 Or take
- Leviticus 21:7 Lit. he
- Leviticus 21:11 The Heb. lacks the deceased
- Leviticus 21:13 Lit. a wife in her virginity
- Leviticus 21:15 Or offspring
- Leviticus 21:18 The Heb. lacks the Tent of Meeting
- Leviticus 21:20 Or has a crooked back
- Leviticus 21:24 The Heb. lacks all of this
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