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(A) is to come near to present the food(B) 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,[a](C) or who has an eye defect, a festering rash, scabs,(D) or a crushed testicle.(E) 21 No descendant of the priest Aaron who has a defect is to come near to present the food 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(F) or approach the altar. He is not to desecrate my holy places, for I am the Lord who sets them apart.”(G) 24 Moses said this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.

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Footnotes

  1. 21:20 Or or emaciated

On Physical Defects

16 The Lord told Moses, 17 “Tell Aaron that whoever of your descendants throughout their generations has a bodily defect is not to approach to offer the food of his God. 18 Indeed, any person who has a defect is not to approach the Tent of Meeting—[a] the blind, the lame, one who is mutilated in the face or who has a very long limb, 19 or a person who has a fractured foot or hand, 20 has scoliosis,[b] is a dwarf, or has an eye defect, an itching disease, scabs, or a crushed testicle. 21 None of the descendants of Aaron the priest who has a defect is to approach to bring offerings of the Lord made by fire, since he has a defect. He is not to approach to offer the food of his God. 22 However, he may eat the food of his God, including the most holy and the holy offerings, 23 but he is not to enter through the curtain nor approach the altar, since he has a defect. That way, he won’t defile my sanctuary, since I am the Lord, who sets you apart.”

24 Moses told all of this[c] to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the Israelis.

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 21:18 The Heb. lacks the Tent of Meeting
  2. Leviticus 21:20 Or has a crooked back
  3. Leviticus 21:24 The Heb. lacks all of this