Leviticus 22:1-16
Evangelical Heritage Version
Eating Holy Food
22 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to be very careful with the holy things of the people of Israel, which they consecrate to me, so that they may not defile my holy name. I am the Lord. 3 Tell them these things.”
In future generations, if any man among all your descendants, while he is in a state of uncleanness, approaches the holy things, which the Israelites consecrate to the Lord, that person is to be cut off from my presence. I am the Lord.
4 Any man of Aaron’s descendants who has an impure skin disease or a bodily discharge shall not eat any of the holy things until he is clean.
Any man who touches anything made unclean by a dead person, or any man from whom an emission of semen goes out, 5 or any man who touches any swarming creature that makes him unclean, or who touches any human being who makes him unclean, whatever his uncleanness might be— 6 that person who touches any of these things will be unclean until sunset and shall not eat any of the holy things unless he has washed his body with water. 7 When the sun has gone down, he will be clean. After that he may eat from the holy things, for it is his food. 8 But he shall not eat anything that has died naturally or been torn by wild animals, and so become unclean by it. I am the Lord.
9 Aaron’s descendants shall therefore keep watch for me, so that they do not become responsible for sin on account of uncleanness and die for it because they have defiled something holy. I am the Lord, who sets them apart as holy.
10 No person who is not a member of a priest’s family may eat anything holy. No guest or employee of a priest may eat anything holy. 11 But if a priest purchases anyone with his money, that person may eat from it, and those who are born into his household may eat from his food. 12 If a priest’s daughter has a husband who is not a priest, she may not eat any of the holy things that have been donated as an elevated offering. 13 But if a priest’s daughter is widowed or divorced and she has no children and returns to her father’s house as in her youth, she may eat of her father’s food. No person who is not a member of a priest’s family may eat of it.
14 If anyone eats a holy thing unintentionally, he shall add one fifth of its value to it and give the holy thing to the priest.
15 The priests shall not defile the holy things that the Israelites donate as an elevated offering to the Lord 16 by letting other people eat them and so make that person incur the penalty of a restitution offering for the holy things, because I am the Lord, who sets them apart as holy.
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Leviticus 22:1-16
Lexham English Bible
Priests and Their Food
22 Then[a] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Tell[b] Aaron and his sons[c] that[d] they must deal respectfully with the Israelites’[e] votive offerings, and they must not profane my holy name, which they are consecrating to me; I am Yahweh.
3 “Say to them, ‘Throughout your generations, any man from any of your offspring who comes near the votive offerings that the Israelites[f] consecrate to Yahweh with[g] his uncleanness on him, that person shall be cut off[h] from before me;[i] I am Yahweh.
4 “‘Anyone[j] from Aaron’s offspring, if[k] he is afflicted with a skin disease or a fluid discharge, shall not eat in the sanctuary until[l] he is clean; and the one who touches any unclean person or a man from whom an emission of semen goes out, 5 or a man who touches any swarmer that is unclean for him or who touches a person who is unclean for him due to[m] whatever his uncleanness, 6 a person who touches such a thing[n] shall be unclean until the evening, and he shall not eat from the votive offerings, except[o] when he washes[p] his body with water 7 and the sun sets,[q] and he shall be clean; then[r] afterward he may eat from the votive offerings, because it is his food. 8 He shall not eat a naturally dead body or[s] a mangled carcass, so that he becomes unclean[t] by it; I am Yahweh.
9 “‘And they shall keep my obligation, and they shall not incur guilt because of it, so that[u] they die through it, because they have profaned it; I am Yahweh who consecrates them.
10 “‘No stranger shall eat[v] the votive offering; nor shall a temporary resident with[w] a priest or[x] a hired worker eat the votive offering. 11 But[y] a priest, if with his money he buys a person as his possession,[z] that one may eat it, and the descendants of his house themselves may eat his food. 12 And a priest’s daughter, when she marries a layman,[aa] she herself may not eat the votive offering.[ab] 13 But[ac] a priest’s daughter, when she becomes a widow or[ad] divorced or there is no offspring for her, and she returns to her father’s house as in her childhood, she may eat from her father’s food, but[ae] no layman may eat it.[af] 14 And if a man eats the votive offering unintentionally, then[ag] he shall add to it a fifth of it, and he shall give the votive offering to the priest. 15 And they shall not profane the Israelites’[ah] votive offerings that they present to Yahweh, 16 and so cause them, by their eating their votive offerings, to bear guilt requiring a guilt offering, because I am Yahweh, who consecrates them.’”
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- Leviticus 22:1 Or “And”
- Leviticus 22:2 Or “Speak to”
- Leviticus 22:2 Literally “to Aaron and to his sons”
- Leviticus 22:2 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Leviticus 22:3 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Leviticus 22:3 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:3 Or “and that person shall be cut off”
- Leviticus 22:3 Literally “to the faces of me”
- Leviticus 22:4 Literally “A man a man”
- Leviticus 22:4 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:4 Literally “until which”
- Leviticus 22:5 Literally “for”
- Leviticus 22:6 Hebrew “him” or “it”
- Leviticus 22:6 Or “but if” or “but rather”
- Leviticus 22:6 Or “bathes”
- Leviticus 22:7 Literally “the sun goes” or “the sun enters”
- Leviticus 22:7 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:8 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:8 Literally “to become unclean”
- Leviticus 22:9 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:10 Literally “And any stranger shall not eat”
- Leviticus 22:10 Hebrew “of”
- Leviticus 22:10 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:11 Or “And”
- Leviticus 22:11 Literally “property of”
- Leviticus 22:12 Literally “she becomes for a strange man”
- Leviticus 22:12 Literally “the offering/lifting of the votive offering”
- Leviticus 22:13 Or “And”
- Leviticus 22:13 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:13 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:13 Literally “any stranger shall not eat it”
- Leviticus 22:14 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:15 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
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