Leviticus 21
New Living Translation
Instructions for the Priests
21 The Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
“A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean by touching the dead body of a relative. 2 The only exceptions are his closest relatives—his mother or father, son or daughter, brother, 3 or his virgin sister who depends on him because she has no husband. 4 But a priest must not defile himself and make himself unclean for someone who is related to him only by marriage.
5 “The priests must not shave their heads or trim their beards or cut their bodies. 6 They must be set apart as holy to their God and must never bring shame on the name of God. They must be holy, for they are the ones who present the special gifts to the Lord, gifts of food for their God.
7 “Priests may not marry a woman defiled by prostitution, and they may not marry a woman who is divorced from her husband, for the priests are set apart as holy to their God. 8 You must treat them as holy because they offer up food to your God. You must consider them holy because I, the Lord, am holy, and I make you holy.
9 “If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she also defiles her father’s holiness, and she must be burned to death.
10 “The high priest has the highest rank of all the priests. The anointing oil has been poured on his head, and he has been ordained to wear the priestly garments. He must never leave his hair uncombed[a] or tear his clothing. 11 He must not defile himself by going near a dead body. He may not make himself ceremonially unclean even for his father or mother. 12 He must not defile the sanctuary of his God by leaving it to attend to a dead person, for he has been made holy by the anointing oil of his God. I am the Lord.
13 “The high priest may marry only a virgin. 14 He may not marry a widow, a woman who is divorced, or a woman who has defiled herself by prostitution. She must be a virgin from his own clan, 15 so that he will not dishonor his descendants among his clan, for I am the Lord who makes him holy.”
16 Then the Lord said to Moses, 17 “Give the following instructions to Aaron: In all future generations, none of your descendants who has any defect will qualify to offer food to his God. 18 No one who has a defect qualifies, whether he is blind, lame, disfigured, deformed, 19 or has a broken foot or arm, 20 or is hunchbacked or dwarfed, or has a defective eye, or skin sores or scabs, or damaged testicles. 21 No descendant of Aaron who has a defect may approach the altar to present special gifts to the Lord. Since he has a defect, he may not approach the altar to offer food to his God. 22 However, he may eat from the food offered to God, including the holy offerings and the most holy offerings. 23 Yet because of his physical defect, he may not enter the room behind the inner curtain or approach the altar, for this would defile my holy places. I am the Lord who makes them holy.”
24 So Moses gave these instructions to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.
Footnotes
- 21:10 Or never uncover his head.
Leviticus 21
Living Bible
21 The Lord said to Moses: “Tell the priests never to defile themselves by touching a dead person, 2-3 unless it is a near relative—a mother, father, son, daughter, brother, or unmarried[a] sister for whom he has special responsibility since she has no husband. 4 For the priest is a leader among his people, and he may not ceremonially defile himself as an ordinary person can.
5 “The priests shall not clip bald spots in their hair or beards, nor cut their flesh. 6 They shall be holy unto their God and shall not dishonor and profane his name; otherwise they will be unfit to make food offerings by fire to the Lord their God. 7 A priest shall not marry a prostitute, nor a woman of another tribe, and he shall not marry a divorced woman, for he is a holy man of God. 8 The priest is set apart to offer the sacrifices of your God; he is holy, for I, the Lord who sanctifies you, am holy. 9 The daughter of any priest who becomes a prostitute, thus violating her father’s holiness as well as her own, shall be burned alive.
10 “The High Priest—anointed with the special anointing oil and wearing the special garments—must not let his hair hang loose in mourning, nor tear his clothing, 11 nor be in the presence of any dead person—not even his father or mother.[b] 12 He shall not leave the sanctuary when on duty,[c] nor treat my Tabernacle like an ordinary house, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him; I am Jehovah. 13 He must marry a virgin. 14-15 He may not marry a widow, nor a woman who is divorced, nor a prostitute. She must be a virgin from his own tribe, for he must not be the father of children of mixed blood—half priestly and half ordinary.”[d]
16-17 And the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron that any of his descendants from generation to generation who have any bodily defect may not offer the sacrifices to God. 18 For instance, if a man is blind or lame, or has a broken nose or any extra fingers or toes, 19 or has a broken foot or hand, 20 or has a humped back, or is a dwarf, or has a defect in his eye, or has pimples or scabby skin, or has imperfect testicles— 21 although he is a descendant of Aaron—he is not permitted to offer the fire sacrifices to the Lord because of his physical defect. 22 However, he shall be fed with the food of the priests from the offerings sacrificed to God, both from the holy and most holy offerings. 23 But he shall not go in behind the veil, nor come near the altar, because of the physical defect; this would defile my sanctuary, for it is Jehovah who sanctifies it.”
24 So Moses gave these instructions to Aaron and his sons and to all the people of Israel.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 21:2 unmarried, literally, “a virgin.”
- Leviticus 21:11 not even his father or mother. Note this rule applied to the High Priest, while the contrary instructions in v. 1 applied to ordinary priests.
- Leviticus 21:12 when on duty, implied.
- Leviticus 21:14 for he must not be the father of children of mixed blood—half priestly and half ordinary, literally, “he must not profane his offspring among his people.”
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.