Leviticus 22
Christian Standard Bible
Priests and Their Food
22 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to deal respectfully with the holy offerings of the Israelites that they have consecrated to me, so they do not profane my holy name;(A) I am the Lord. 3 Say to them: If any man from any of your descendants throughout your generations is in a state of uncleanness yet approaches the holy offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the Lord, that person will be cut off from my presence; I am the Lord. 4 No man of Aaron’s descendants who has a skin disease[a] or a discharge is to eat from the holy offerings until he is clean. Whoever touches anything made unclean by a dead person or by a man who has an emission of semen, 5 or whoever touches any swarming creature that makes him unclean or any person who makes him unclean—whatever his uncleanness— 6 the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening(B) and is not to eat from the holy offerings unless he has bathed his body with water. 7 When the sun has set, he will become clean, and then he may eat from the holy offerings, for that is his food.(C) 8 He must not eat an animal that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts,[b](D) making himself unclean by it; I am the Lord. 9 They must keep my instruction,(E) or they will be guilty and die because they profane it; I am the Lord who sets them apart.
10 “No one outside a priest’s family[c](F) is to eat the holy offering. A foreigner staying with a priest or a hired worker is not to eat the holy offering. 11 But if a priest purchases someone with his own silver, that person may eat it, and those born in his house may eat his food. 12 If the priest’s daughter is married to a man outside a priest’s family,[d] she is not to eat from the holy contributions.[e] 13 But if the priest’s daughter becomes widowed or divorced, has no children, and returns to her father’s house as in her youth, she may share her father’s food. But no outsider may share it. 14 If anyone eats a holy offering in error,(G) he is to add a fifth to its value and give the holy offering to the priest.(H) 15 The priests must not profane the holy offerings the Israelites give to the Lord 16 by letting the people eat their holy offerings and having them bear the penalty of restitution.(I) For I am the Lord who sets them apart.”
Acceptable Sacrifices
17 The Lord spoke to Moses: 18 “Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them: Any man of the house of Israel or of the resident aliens(J) in Israel who presents his offering(K)—whether they present payment of vows or freewill gifts to the Lord as burnt offerings— 19 must offer an unblemished male(L) from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for you to be accepted. 20 You are not to present anything that has a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.
21 “When a man presents a fellowship sacrifice to the Lord to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from the herd or flock, it has to be unblemished to be acceptable; there must be no defect in it. 22 You are not to present any animal to the Lord that is blind, injured, maimed, or has a running sore, festering rash,(M) or scabs; you may not put any of them on the altar as a food offering to the Lord.(N) 23 You may sacrifice as a freewill offering any animal from the herd or flock that has an elongated or stunted limb, but it is not acceptable as a vow offering. 24 You are not to present to the Lord anything that has bruised, crushed, torn, or severed testicles;(O) you must not sacrifice them in your land. 25 Neither you nor[f] a foreigner are to present food to your God from any of these animals. They will not be accepted for you because they are deformed and have a defect.”(P)
26 The Lord spoke to Moses: 27 “When an ox, sheep, or goat is born, it is to remain with[g] its mother for seven days; from the eighth day(Q) on, it will be acceptable as an offering, a food offering to the Lord. 28 But you are not to slaughter an animal from the herd or flock on the same day as its young.(R) 29 When you offer a thanksgiving sacrifice(S) to the Lord, offer it so that you may be accepted. 30 It is to be eaten on the same day.(T) Do not let any of it remain until morning; I am the Lord.
31 “You are to keep my commands and do them; I am the Lord. 32 You must not profane my holy name; I must be treated as holy(U) among the Israelites. I am the Lord who sets you apart, 33 the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord.”
Leviticus 22
Common English Bible
Priestly uncleanness
22 The Lord said to Moses: 2 Tell Aaron and his sons to be very careful how they treat the holy things that the Israelites devote to me so that they do not make my holy name impure: I am the Lord. 3 Say to them: If any descendant of yours should ever come near the holy things that the Israelites have dedicated to the Lord while he is in an unclean state, he will be cut off from before me; I am the Lord. 4 Any descendant of Aaron who is afflicted with skin disease[a] or has a discharge cannot eat of the holy things until he is clean. Anyone who touches anything made unclean by a dead body, or who has an emission of semen, 5 or who touches any swarming creature or another person who makes him unclean—whatever the uncleanness might be— 6 the person who touches these things will be unclean until evening. He must not eat of the holy things unless he has bathed his body in water. 7 Once the sun has set and he has become clean again, he may eat of the holy things, for that is his food. 8 He must not eat an animal that has died naturally or that was killed by another animal, becoming unclean by doing so; I am the Lord. 9 The priests must keep my requirement so that they don’t become liable to punishment and die for having made it impure.[b] I am the Lord, who makes them holy.
Unauthorized eating
10 No layperson is allowed to eat the holy offerings. No foreign guest or hired laborer of a priest can eat it. 11 But if a priest purchases a servant, that person can eat it, and servants born into the priest’s household can also eat his food. 12 If a priest’s daughter marries a layman, she is not allowed to eat the holy offerings. 13 But if a priest’s daughter is a widow or divorced and has no children and so returns to her father’s household as when she was young, she can eat her father’s food. But, again, no layperson is allowed to eat it. 14 If someone eats a holy offering unintentionally, they must provide the priest with an equal item, plus one-fifth. 15 The Israelites must not make the holy offerings impure that they offer up to the Lord 16 or make themselves liable to punishment requiring compensation by eating their own holy offerings. I am the Lord, who makes them holy.
Unacceptable animal offerings
17 The Lord said to Moses: 18 Tell Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites: Whenever someone from Israel’s house or from the immigrants in Israel presents their offering to the Lord as an entirely burned offering—whether it is payment for a solemn promise or a spontaneous gift— 19 for it to be acceptable on your behalf, it must be a flawless male from the herd, the sheep, or the goats. 20 You must not present anything that has an imperfection, because it will not be acceptable on your behalf. 21 Whenever someone presents a communal sacrifice of well-being to the Lord from the herd or flock—whether it is payment for a solemn promise or a spontaneous gift—it must be flawless to be acceptable; it must not have any imperfection. 22 You must not present to the Lord anything that is blind or that has an injury, mutilation, warts, a rash, or scabs. You must not put any such animal on the altar as a food gift for the Lord. 23 You can, however, offer an ox or sheep that is deformed or stunted as a spontaneous gift, but it will not be acceptable as payment for a solemn promise. 24 You must not offer to the Lord anything with bruised, crushed, torn, or cut-off testicles. You must not do that in your land. 25 You are not allowed to offer such animals as your God’s food even if they come from a foreigner. Because these animals have blemishes and imperfections in them, they will not be acceptable on your behalf.
Additional rules for sacrifice
26 The Lord said to Moses: 27 When an ox or sheep or goat is born, it must remain with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on it will be acceptable as an offering, a food gift for the Lord. 28 But you will not slaughter an ox or sheep and its offspring on the same day. 29 When you sacrifice a communal sacrifice of thanksgiving for the Lord, you must sacrifice it so that it will be acceptable on your behalf. 30 It must be eaten on the same day; you must not leave any of it until morning; I am the Lord. 31 You must keep my commands and do them; I am the Lord. 32 You must not make my holy name impure so that I will be treated as holy by the Israelites. I am the Lord—the one who makes you holy 33 and who is bringing you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 22:4 The precise meaning is uncertain; traditionally leprosy—a term used for several different skin diseases.
- Leviticus 22:9 Vulg; MT and die in it
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