Leviticus 21
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Holiness of Priests
21 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them:
“No one shall defile himself for a dead person among his relatives,(A) 2 except for his nearest kin: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother; 3 likewise, for a virgin sister close to him because she has had no husband, he may defile himself for her. 4 But he shall not defile himself for those related to him by marriage and so profane himself. 5 They shall not make bald spots upon their heads or shave off the edges of their beards or make any gashes in their flesh.(B) 6 They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the Lord’s offerings by fire,[a] the food of their God; therefore they shall be holy.(C) 7 They shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled; neither shall they marry a woman divorced from her husband. For they are holy to their God,(D) 8 and you shall treat them as holy, since they offer the food of your God; they shall be holy to you, for I the Lord, I who sanctify you, am holy. 9 When the daughter of a priest profanes herself through prostitution, she profanes her father; she shall be burned to death.
10 “The priest who is exalted above his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured and who has been consecrated to wear the vestments, shall not dishevel his hair nor tear his vestments.(E) 11 He shall not go where there is a dead body; he shall not defile himself even for his father or mother.(F) 12 He shall not go outside the sanctuary and thus profane the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the Lord.(G) 13 He shall marry only a woman who is a virgin.(H) 14 A widow or a divorced woman or a woman who has been defiled, a prostitute—these he shall not marry. He shall marry a virgin of his own people, 15 that he may not profane his offspring among his people, for I am the Lord; I sanctify him.”
16 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron and say: No one of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to offer the food of his God.(I) 18 Indeed, no one who has a blemish shall draw near, one who is blind or lame, or one who is mutilated or deformed,[b](J) 19 or one who has a broken foot or a broken hand, 20 or a hunchback, or a dwarf, or a man with a defect in his eyes or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles.(K) 21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a blemish shall come near to offer the Lord’s offerings by fire;[c] since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the food of his God.(L) 22 He may eat the food of his God, of the most holy as well as of the holy. 23 But he shall not come near the curtain or approach the altar because he has a blemish, that he may not profane my sanctuaries, for I am the Lord; I sanctify them.”(M) 24 Thus Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the Israelites.
Leviticus 21
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Holiness of the Priests
21 The Lord said to Moses: “Speak to Aaron’s sons, the priests, and tell them: A priest is not to make himself ceremonially unclean for a dead person among his relatives,(A) 2 except for his immediate family: his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother. 3 He may make himself unclean for his young unmarried sister in his immediate family. 4 He is not to make himself unclean for those related to him by marriage[a] and so defile himself.
5 “Priests may not make bald spots on their heads, shave the edge of their beards, or make gashes on their bodies.(B) 6 They are to be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God.(C) For they present the fire offerings to Yahweh, the food of their God, and they must be holy. 7 They are not to marry a woman defiled by prostitution.[b](D) They are not to marry one divorced(E) by her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. 8 You are to consider him holy since he presents the food of your God. He will be holy to you because I, Yahweh who sets you apart, am holy. 9 If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by promiscuity,[c](F) she defiles her father; she must be burned up.(G)
10 “The priest who is highest among his brothers, who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been ordained[d] to wear the garments, must not dishevel his hair[e] or tear his garments.(H) 11 He must not go near any dead person or make himself unclean even for his father or mother.(I) 12 He must not leave the sanctuary or he will desecrate the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him;(J) I am Yahweh.
13 “He is to marry a woman who is a virgin. 14 He is not to marry a widow,(K) a divorced woman,(L) or one defiled by prostitution. He is to marry a virgin from his own people, 15 so that he does not corrupt his bloodline[f] among his people, for I am Yahweh who sets him apart.”
Physical Defects and Priests
16 The Lord spoke to Moses: 17 “Tell Aaron: None of your descendants throughout your generations who has a physical defect(M) is to come near to present the food(N) of his God. 18 No man who has any defect is to come near: no man who is blind, lame, facially disfigured, or deformed; 19 no man who has a broken foot or hand, 20 or who is a hunchback or a dwarf,[g](O) or who has an eye defect, a festering rash, scabs,(P) or a crushed testicle.(Q) 21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a defect is to come near to present the fire offerings to the Lord. He has a defect and is not to come near to present the food of his God. 22 He may eat the food of his God from what is especially holy as well as from what is holy. 23 But because he has a defect, he must not go near the curtain(R) or approach the altar. He is not to desecrate My sanctuaries, for I am Yahweh who sets them apart.”(S) 24 Moses said this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 21:4 Lit unclean a husband among his people
- Leviticus 21:7 Or a prostitute or a defiled woman
- Leviticus 21:9 Or prostitution
- Leviticus 21:10 Lit and one has filled his hand
- Leviticus 21:10 Or not uncover his head
- Leviticus 21:15 Lit not profane his seed
- Leviticus 21:20 Or or emaciated
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.