Leviticus 21:1-15
Legacy Standard Bible
The Holiness of the Priests
21 Then Yahweh 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 [a]blood relatives who are nearest to him, his mother and his father and his son and his daughter and his brother, 3 also for his virgin sister, who is near to him [b]because she has had no husband; for her he may defile himself. 4 He shall not defile himself as a [c]relative by marriage among his people, and so profane himself. 5 (C)They shall not make any baldness on their heads (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, for they bring near the offerings [d]to Yahweh by fire, (G)the food of their God; so they shall be holy. 7 (H)They shall not take a woman who is profaned by harlotry, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for he is holy to his God. 8 Therefore, you shall set him apart as holy, for he brings near (I)the food of your God; he shall be holy to you; for I Yahweh, who makes you holy, am holy. 9 (J)Also the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by harlotry, she profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire.
10 ‘And the priest who is the highest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured and [e]who has been ordained to wear the garments, (K)shall not [f]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 go out of the sanctuary nor profane the sanctuary of his God, for (N)the dedication of the anointing oil of his God is on him; I am Yahweh. 13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 (O)A widow or a divorced woman or one who is profaned by harlotry, these he may not take; but rather he shall take a virgin of his own people as a wife, 15 so that he will not profane his seed among his people; for I am Yahweh who makes him holy.’”
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- Leviticus 21:2 Lit flesh
- Leviticus 21:3 Or whom no man has had
- Leviticus 21:4 Lit husband among
- Leviticus 21:6 Lit of
- Leviticus 21:10 Lit whose hand has been filled
- Leviticus 21:10 Lit unbind
Leviticus 21:1-15
Common English Bible
Rules for priests
21 The Lord said to Moses, Say to the priests, Aaron’s sons: None of you are allowed to make yourselves unclean by any dead person among your community 2 except for your closest relatives: for your mother, father, son, daughter, brother; 3 also for your unmarried sister, who is close to you because she isn’t married—you may be polluted for her sake. 4 You must not make yourself unclean for in-laws, defiling yourself by doing so.
5 Priests must not shave bald patches on their heads or cut off the ends of their beards or make gashes in their bodies. 6 They must be holy to their God so that they do not make their God’s name impure. They must be holy because they offer the Lord’s food gifts, their God’s food. 7 Priests must not marry a woman who is promiscuous and defiled, nor can they marry a woman divorced from her husband, because priests must be[a] holy to their God. 8 You will treat the priests as holy, because they offer your God’s food. The priests will be holy to you, because I am the holy Lord, who makes you holy. 9 If the daughter of a priest defiles herself by being promiscuous, she defiles her father. She must be burned with fire.
10 The high priest[b]—the one whose head has been anointed with the anointing oil and who is ordained to dress in the priestly clothing—must not dishevel his hair or tear his clothing. 11 He must not go near any dead bodies and cannot make himself unclean even for his father or mother. 12 He must not exit the sanctuary, making his God’s sanctuary impure by doing so, because his God’s anointing oil, which separates,[c] is upon him; I am the Lord. 13 The high priest must marry a woman who is a virgin. 14 He cannot marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a woman defiled by promiscuity. He can only marry a virgin from his own people 15 so that he doesn’t make his children impure among his people, because I am the Lord, who makes him holy.
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- Leviticus 21:7 Or are
- Leviticus 21:10 Or the priest who is greater than his brothers
- Leviticus 21:12 Or consecrates
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