Leviticus 21:1-15
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.’”
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- 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 21:1-15
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.”
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- 21.6 Or the Lord’s gifts
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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.