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Leviticus 21
New American Standard Bible
Leviticus 21
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.’”
16 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying, ‘None of your [j]descendants throughout their generations who has an impairment shall approach to offer the (P)food of his God. 18 (Q)For no one who has an impairment shall approach: a man who is blind, or one who limps, or one who has a (R)slit nose, or one with any conspicuous feature, 19 or someone who has a broken foot or broken hand, 20 or a contorted back, or one who is a dwarf, or has a spot in his eye, or a festering rash or scabs, or (S)crushed testicles. 21 No man among the [k]descendants of Aaron the priest who has an impairment is to come forward to offer the Lord’s offerings by fire; since he has an impairment, he shall not come forward to offer (T)the food of his God. 22 He may eat (U)the food of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy, 23 only he shall not come up to the veil or approach the altar, since he has an impairment, so that he does not profane My sanctuaries. For I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’” 24 So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel.
Footnotes
- 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 21:17 Lit seed
- Leviticus 21:21 Lit seed
Leviticus 21
International Standard Version
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
Leviticus 21
New International Version
Leviticus 21
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.’”
16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “Say to Aaron: ‘For the generations to come none of your descendants who has a defect(AC) may come near to offer the food of his God.(AD) 18 No man who has any defect(AE) may come near: no man who is blind(AF) or lame,(AG) disfigured or deformed; 19 no man with a crippled foot or hand, 20 or who is a hunchback or a dwarf, or who has any eye defect, or who has festering or running sores or damaged testicles.(AH) 21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any defect(AI) is to come near to present the food offerings to the Lord.(AJ) He has a defect; he must not come near to offer the food of his God.(AK) 22 He may eat the most holy food of his God,(AL) as well as the holy food; 23 yet because of his defect,(AM) he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar, and so desecrate my sanctuary.(AN) I am the Lord, who makes them holy.(AO)’”
24 So Moses told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 21:4 Or unclean as a leader among his people
- Leviticus 21:10 Or not uncover his head
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