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Leviticus 21-25
New King James Version

Regulations for Conduct of Priests(A)

21 And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: (B)‘None shall defile himself for the dead among his people, 2 except for his relatives who are nearest to him: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother; 3 also his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband, for her he may defile himself. 4 Otherwise he shall not defile himself, being a [a]chief man among his people, to profane himself.

5 (C)‘They shall not make any bald place on their heads, nor shall they shave the edges of their beards nor make any cuttings in their flesh. 6 They shall be (D)holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and the (E)bread of their God; (F)therefore they shall be holy. 7 (G)They shall not take a wife who is a harlot or a defiled woman, nor shall they take a woman (H)divorced from her husband; for [b]the priest is holy to his God. 8 Therefore you shall [c]consecrate him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for (I)I the Lord, who (J)sanctify you, am holy. 9 The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the harlot, she profanes her father. She shall be (K)burned with fire.

10 ‘He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was (L)poured and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not (M)uncover[d] his head nor tear his clothes; 11 nor shall he go (N)near any dead body, nor defile himself for his father or his mother; 12 (O)nor shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the (P)consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the Lord. 13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow or a divorced woman or a defiled woman or a harlot—these he shall not marry; but he shall take a virgin of his own people as wife. 15 Nor shall he profane his posterity among his people, for I the Lord sanctify him.’ ”

16 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying: ‘No man of your descendants in succeeding generations, who has any defect, may approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For any man who has a (Q)defect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb (R)too long, 19 a man who has a broken foot or broken hand, 20 or is a hunchback or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab, or is a eunuch. 21 No man of the descendants of Aaron the priest, who has a defect, shall come near to offer the offerings made by fire to the Lord. He has a defect; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. 22 He may eat the bread of his God, both the most holy and the holy; 23 only he shall not go near the (S)veil or approach the altar, because he has a defect, lest (T)he profane My sanctuaries; for I the Lord sanctify them.’ ”

24 And Moses told it to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel.

The Holiness of the Offerings

22 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, that they (U)separate[e] themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they (V)do not profane My holy name by what they (W)dedicate to Me: I am the Lord. 3 Say to them: ‘Whoever of all your descendants throughout your generations, who goes near the holy things which the children of Israel dedicate to the Lord, (X)while he has [f]uncleanness upon him, that person shall be cut off from My presence: I am the Lord.

4 ‘Whatever man of the descendants of Aaron, who is a (Y)leper or has (Z)a discharge, shall not eat the holy offerings (AA)until he is clean. And (AB)whoever touches anything made unclean by a corpse, or (AC)a man who has had an emission of semen, 5 or (AD)whoever touches any creeping thing by which he would be made unclean, or (AE)any person by whom he would become unclean, whatever his uncleanness may be— 6 the person who has touched any such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat the holy offerings unless he (AF)washes his body with water. 7 And when the sun goes down he shall be clean; and afterward he may eat the holy offerings, because (AG)it is his food. 8 (AH)Whatever dies naturally or is torn by beasts he shall not eat, to defile himself with it: I am the Lord.

9 ‘They shall therefore keep (AI)My [g]ordinance, (AJ)lest they bear sin for it and die thereby, if they profane it: I the Lord sanctify them.

10 (AK)‘No outsider shall eat the holy offering; one who [h]dwells with the priest, or a hired servant, shall not eat the holy thing. 11 But if the priest (AL)buys a person with his money, he may eat it; and one who is born in his house may eat his food. 12 If the priest’s daughter is married to an outsider, she may not eat of the holy offerings. 13 But if the priest’s daughter is a widow or divorced, and has no child, and has returned to her father’s house as in her youth, she may eat her father’s food; but no outsider shall eat it.

14 ‘And if a man eats the holy offering unintentionally, then he shall restore a holy offering to the priest, and add one-fifth to it. 15 They shall not profane the (AM)holy offerings of the children of Israel, which they offer to the Lord, 16 or allow them to bear the guilt of trespass when they eat their holy offerings; for I the Lord sanctify them.’ ”

Offerings Accepted and Not Accepted

17 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them: (AN)‘Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, who [i]offers his sacrifice for any of his vows or for any of his freewill offerings, which they offer to the Lord as a burnt offering— 19 (AO)you shall offer of your own free will a male without blemish from the cattle, from the sheep, or from the goats. 20 (AP)Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it shall not be acceptable on your behalf. 21 And (AQ)whoever offers a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, (AR)to fulfill his vow, or a freewill offering from the cattle or the sheep, it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it. 22 (AS)Those that are blind or broken or maimed, or have an [j]ulcer or eczema or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor make (AT)an offering by fire of them on the altar to the Lord. 23 Either a bull or a lamb that has any limb (AU)too long or too short you may offer as a freewill offering, but for a vow it shall not be accepted.

24 ‘You shall not offer to the Lord what is bruised or crushed, or torn or cut; nor shall you make any offering of them in your land. 25 Nor (AV)from a foreigner’s hand shall you offer any of these as (AW)the bread of your God, because their (AX)corruption is in them, and defects are in them. They shall not be accepted on your behalf.’ ”

26 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 27 (AY)“When a bull or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall be seven days with its mother; and from the eighth day and thereafter it shall be accepted as an offering made by fire to the Lord. 28 Whether it is a cow or ewe, do not kill both her (AZ)and her young on the same day. 29 And when you (BA)offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, offer it of your own free will. 30 On the same day it shall be eaten; you shall leave (BB)none of it until morning: I am the Lord.

31 (BC)“Therefore you shall keep My commandments, and perform them: I am the Lord. 32 (BD)You shall not profane My holy name, but (BE)I will be [k]hallowed among the children of Israel. I am the Lord who (BF)sanctifies you, 33 (BG)who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord.”

Feasts of the Lord

23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be (BH)holy convocations, these are My feasts.

The Sabbath

3 (BI)‘Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.

The Passover and Unleavened Bread(BJ)

4 (BK)‘These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. 5 (BL)On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord’s Passover. 6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. 7 (BM)On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no [l]customary work on it. 8 But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.’ ”

The Feast of Firstfruits

9 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: (BN)‘When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of (BO)the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. 11 He shall (BP)wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 And you shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering to the Lord. 13 Its grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the Lord, for a [m]sweet aroma; and its drink offering shall be of wine, one-fourth of a hin. 14 You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your God; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

The Feast of Weeks(BQ)

15 ‘And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. 16 Count (BR)fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer (BS)a new grain offering to the Lord. 17 You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are (BT)the firstfruits to the Lord. 18 And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year, without blemish, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be as a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the Lord. 19 Then you shall sacrifice (BU)one kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a (BV)peace offering. 20 The priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the Lord, with the two lambs. (BW)They shall be holy to the Lord for the priest. 21 And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

22 (BX)‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the Lord your God.’ ”

The Feast of Trumpets(BY)

23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the (BZ)seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, (CA)a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25 You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.’ ”

The Day of Atonement(CB)

26 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 27 (CC)“Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. 28 And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, (CD)to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. 29 For any person who is not (CE)afflicted in soul on that same day (CF)shall be cut off from his people. 30 And any person who does any work on that same day, (CG)that person I will destroy from among his people. 31 You shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32 It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall [n]afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall [o]celebrate your sabbath.”

The Feast of Tabernacles(CH)

33 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 34 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: (CI)‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord. 35 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. 36 For seven days you shall offer an (CJ)offering made by fire to the Lord. (CK)On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. It is a (CL)sacred[p] assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it.

37 (CM)‘These are the feasts of the Lord which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day— 38 (CN)besides the Sabbaths of the Lord, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you give to the Lord.

39 ‘Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have (CO)gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the Lord for seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest. 40 And (CP)you shall take for yourselves on the first day the [q]fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; (CQ)and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 (CR)You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 (CS)You shall dwell in [r]booths for seven days. (CT)All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 (CU)that your generations may (CV)know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when (CW)I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.’ ”

44 So Moses (CX)declared to the children of Israel the feasts of the Lord.

Care of the Tabernacle Lamps(CY)

24 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 (CZ)“Command the children of Israel that they bring to you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to make the lamps burn continually. 3 Outside the veil of the Testimony, in the tabernacle of meeting, Aaron shall be in charge of it from evening until morning before the Lord continually; it shall be a statute forever in your generations. 4 He shall [s]be in charge of the lamps on (DA)the pure gold lampstand before the Lord continually.

The Bread of the Tabernacle

5 “And you shall take fine flour and bake twelve (DB)cakes with it. Two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake. 6 You shall set them in two rows, six in a row, (DC)on the pure gold table before the Lord. 7 And you shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be on the bread for a (DD)memorial, an offering made by fire to the Lord. 8 (DE)Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. 9 And (DF)it shall be for Aaron and his sons, (DG)and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the offerings of the Lord made by fire, by a perpetual statute.”

The Penalty for Blasphemy

10 Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and this Israelite woman’s son and a man of Israel fought each other in the camp. 11 And the Israelite woman’s son (DH)blasphemed the name of the Lord and (DI)cursed; and so they (DJ)brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) 12 Then they (DK)put him [t]in custody, (DL)that [u]the mind of the Lord might be shown to them.

13 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 14 “Take outside the camp him who has cursed; then let all who heard him (DM)lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.

15 “Then you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Whoever curses his God (DN)shall [v]bear his sin. 16 And whoever (DO)blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the Lord, he shall be put to death.

17 (DP)‘Whoever kills any man shall surely be put to death. 18 (DQ)Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, animal for animal.

19 ‘If a man causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as (DR)he has done, so shall it be done to him— 20 fracture for (DS)fracture, (DT)eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him. 21 And whoever kills an animal shall restore it; but whoever kills a man shall be put to death. 22 You shall have (DU)the[w] same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am the Lord your God.’ ”

23 Then Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and they took outside the camp him who had cursed, and stoned him with stones. So the children of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Sabbath of the Seventh Year(DV)

25 And the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount (DW)Sinai, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall (DX)keep a sabbath to the Lord. 3 Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit; 4 but in the (DY)seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn (DZ)rest for the land, a sabbath to the Lord. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. 5 (EA)What grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine, for it is a year of rest for the land. 6 And the sabbath produce of the land shall be food for you: for you, your male and female servants, your hired man, and the stranger who dwells with you, 7 for your livestock and the beasts that are in your land—all its produce shall be for food.

The Year of Jubilee

8 ‘And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years. 9 Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; (EB)on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land. 10 And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and (EC)proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; (ED)and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. 11 That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee to you; in it (EE)you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of its own accord, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine. 12 For it is the Jubilee; it shall be holy to you; (EF)you shall eat its produce from the field.

13 (EG)‘In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his possession. 14 And if you sell anything to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor’s hand, you shall not (EH)oppress one another. 15 (EI)According to the number of years after the Jubilee you shall buy from your neighbor, and according to the number of years of crops he shall sell to you. 16 According to the multitude of years you shall increase its price, and according to the fewer number of years you shall diminish its price; for he sells to you according to the number of the years of the crops. 17 Therefore (EJ)you shall not [x]oppress one another, (EK)but you shall fear your God; for I am the Lord your God.

Provisions for the Seventh Year

18 (EL)‘So you shall observe My statutes and keep My judgments, and perform them; (EM)and you will dwell in the land in safety. 19 Then the land will yield its fruit, and (EN)you will eat your fill, and dwell there in safety.

20 ‘And if you say, (EO)“What shall we eat in the seventh year, since (EP)we shall not sow nor gather in our produce?” 21 Then I will (EQ)command My blessing on you in the (ER)sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years. 22 (ES)And you shall sow in the eighth year, and eat (ET)old produce until the ninth year; until its produce comes in, you shall eat of the old harvest.

Redemption of Property

23 ‘The land shall not be sold permanently, for (EU)the land is Mine; for you are (EV)strangers and sojourners with Me. 24 And in all the land of your possession you shall grant redemption of the land.

25 (EW)‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and has sold some of his possession, and if (EX)his redeeming relative comes to redeem it, then he may redeem what his brother sold. 26 Or if the man has no one to redeem it, but he himself becomes able to redeem it, 27 then (EY)let him count the years since its sale, and restore the remainder to the man to whom he sold it, that he may return to his possession. 28 But if he is not able to have it restored to himself, then what was sold shall remain in the hand of him who bought it until the Year of Jubilee; (EZ)and in the Jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his possession.

29 ‘If a man sells a house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year he may redeem it. 30 But if it is not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house in the walled city shall belong permanently to him who bought it, throughout his generations. It shall not be released in the Jubilee. 31 However the houses of villages which have no wall around them shall be counted as the fields of the country. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the Jubilee. 32 Nevertheless (FA)the cities of the Levites, and the houses in the cities of their possession, the Levites may redeem at any time. 33 And if a man purchases a house from the Levites, then the house that was sold in the city of his possession shall be released in the Jubilee; for the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. 34 But (FB)the field of the common-land of their cities may not be (FC)sold, for it is their perpetual possession.

Lending to the Poor

35 ‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and [y]falls into poverty among you, then you shall (FD)help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. 36 (FE)Take no usury or interest from him; but (FF)fear your God, that your brother may live with you. 37 You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit. 38 (FG)I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

The Law Concerning Slavery

39 ‘And if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave. 40 As a hired servant and a sojourner he shall be with you, and shall serve you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 And then he shall depart from you—he and his children (FH)with him—and shall return to his own family. He shall return to the possession of his fathers. 42 For they are (FI)My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. 43 (FJ)You shall not rule over him (FK)with [z]rigor, but you (FL)shall fear your God. 44 And as for your male and female slaves whom you may have—from the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves. 45 Moreover you may buy (FM)the children of the strangers who dwell among you, and their families who are with you, which they beget in your land; and they shall become your property. 46 And (FN)you may take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them as a possession; they shall be your permanent slaves. But regarding your brethren, the children of Israel, you shall not rule over one another with rigor.

47 ‘Now if a sojourner or stranger close to you becomes rich, and one of your brethren who dwells by him becomes poor, and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner close to you, or to a member of the stranger’s family, 48 after he is sold he may be redeemed again. One of his brothers may redeem him; 49 or his uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him; or anyone who is near of kin to him in his family may redeem him; or if he is able he may redeem himself. 50 Thus he shall reckon with him who bought him: The price of his release shall be according to the number of years, from the year that he was sold to him until the Year of Jubilee; it shall be (FO)according to the time of a hired servant for him. 51 If there are still many years remaining, according to them he shall repay the price of his redemption from the money with which he was bought. 52 And if there remain but a few years until the Year of Jubilee, then he shall reckon with him, and according to his years he shall repay him the price of his redemption. 53 He shall be with him as a yearly hired servant, and he shall not rule with rigor over him in your sight. 54 And if he is not redeemed in these years, then he shall be released in the Year of Jubilee—he and his children with him. 55 For the children of Israel are servants to Me; they are My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 21:4 Lit. master or husband
  2. Leviticus 21:7 Lit. he
  3. Leviticus 21:8 set him apart
  4. Leviticus 21:10 In mourning
  5. Leviticus 22:2 keep themselves apart from
  6. Leviticus 22:3 defilement
  7. Leviticus 22:9 charge
  8. Leviticus 22:10 As a visitor
  9. Leviticus 22:18 brings his offering
  10. Leviticus 22:22 running sore
  11. Leviticus 22:32 treated as holy
  12. Leviticus 23:7 occupational
  13. Leviticus 23:13 pleasing
  14. Leviticus 23:32 humble yourselves
  15. Leviticus 23:32 observe your sabbath
  16. Leviticus 23:36 solemn
  17. Leviticus 23:40 foliage
  18. Leviticus 23:42 tabernacles; shelters made of boughs
  19. Leviticus 24:4 arrange or set in order
  20. Leviticus 24:12 under guard
  21. Leviticus 24:12 Lit. it might be declared to them from the mouth of the Lord
  22. Leviticus 24:15 be responsible for
  23. Leviticus 24:22 one standard of judgment
  24. Leviticus 25:17 mistreat
  25. Leviticus 25:35 Lit. his hand fails
  26. Leviticus 25:43 severity
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Leviticus 21-25
New International Version

Rules for Priests

21 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron,(A) and say to them: ‘A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean(B) for any of his people who die,(C) 2 except for a close relative, such as his mother or father,(D) his son or daughter, his brother, 3 or an unmarried sister who is dependent on him since she has no husband—for her he may make himself unclean.(E) 4 He must not make himself unclean for people related to him by marriage,[a] and so defile himself.

5 “‘Priests must not shave(F) their heads or shave off the edges of their beards(G) or cut their bodies.(H) 6 They must be holy to their God(I) and must not profane the name of their God.(J) Because they present the food offerings to the Lord,(K) the food of their God,(L) they are to be holy.(M)

7 “‘They must not marry women defiled by prostitution or divorced from their husbands,(N) because priests are holy to their God.(O) 8 Regard them as holy,(P) because they offer up the food of your God.(Q) Consider them holy, because I the Lord am holy—I who make you holy.(R)

9 “‘If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she must be burned in the fire.(S)

10 “‘The high priest, the one among his brothers who has had the anointing oil poured on his head(T) and who has been ordained to wear the priestly garments,(U) must not let his hair become unkempt[b] or tear his clothes.(V) 11 He must not enter a place where there is a dead body.(W) He must not make himself unclean,(X) even for his father or mother,(Y) 12 nor leave the sanctuary(Z) of his God or desecrate it, because he has been dedicated by the anointing oil(AA) of his God. I am the Lord.

13 “‘The woman he marries must be a virgin.(AB) 14 He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a woman defiled by prostitution, but only a virgin from his own people, 15 so that he will not defile his offspring among his people. I am the Lord, who makes him holy.’”

16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “Say to Aaron: ‘For the generations to come none of your descendants who has a defect(AC) may come near to offer the food of his God.(AD) 18 No man who has any defect(AE) may come near: no man who is blind(AF) or lame,(AG) disfigured or deformed; 19 no man with a crippled foot or hand, 20 or who is a hunchback or a dwarf, or who has any eye defect, or who has festering or running sores or damaged testicles.(AH) 21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any defect(AI) is to come near to present the food offerings to the Lord.(AJ) He has a defect; he must not come near to offer the food of his God.(AK) 22 He may eat the most holy food of his God,(AL) as well as the holy food; 23 yet because of his defect,(AM) he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar, and so desecrate my sanctuary.(AN) I am the Lord, who makes them holy.(AO)’”

24 So Moses told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.

22 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings(AP) the Israelites consecrate to me, so they will not profane my holy name.(AQ) I am the Lord.(AR)

3 “Say to them: ‘For the generations to come, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean and yet comes near the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the Lord,(AS) that person must be cut off from my presence.(AT) I am the Lord.

4 “‘If a descendant of Aaron has a defiling skin disease[c] or a bodily discharge,(AU) he may not eat the sacred offerings until he is cleansed. He will also be unclean if he touches something defiled by a corpse(AV) or by anyone who has an emission of semen, 5 or if he touches any crawling thing(AW) that makes him unclean, or any person(AX) who makes him unclean, whatever the uncleanness may be. 6 The one who touches any such thing will be unclean(AY) till evening.(AZ) He must not eat any of the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water.(BA) 7 When the sun goes down, he will be clean, and after that he may eat the sacred offerings, for they are his food.(BB) 8 He must not eat anything found dead(BC) or torn by wild animals,(BD) and so become unclean(BE) through it. I am the Lord.(BF)

9 “‘The priests are to perform my service(BG) in such a way that they do not become guilty(BH) and die(BI) for treating it with contempt. I am the Lord, who makes them holy.(BJ)

10 “‘No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired worker eat it.(BK) 11 But if a priest buys a slave with money, or if slaves are born in his household, they may eat his food.(BL) 12 If a priest’s daughter marries anyone other than a priest, she may not eat any of the sacred contributions. 13 But if a priest’s daughter becomes a widow or is divorced, yet has no children, and she returns to live in her father’s household as in her youth, she may eat her father’s food. No unauthorized person, however, may eat it.

14 “‘Anyone who eats a sacred offering by mistake(BM) must make restitution to the priest for the offering and add a fifth of the value(BN) to it. 15 The priests must not desecrate the sacred offerings(BO) the Israelites present to the Lord(BP) 16 by allowing them to eat(BQ) the sacred offerings and so bring upon them guilt(BR) requiring payment.(BS) I am the Lord, who makes them holy.(BT)’”

Unacceptable Sacrifices

17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘If any of you—whether an Israelite or a foreigner residing in Israel(BU)—presents a gift(BV) for a burnt offering to the Lord, either to fulfill a vow(BW) or as a freewill offering,(BX) 19 you must present a male without defect(BY) from the cattle, sheep or goats in order that it may be accepted on your behalf.(BZ) 20 Do not bring anything with a defect,(CA) because it will not be accepted on your behalf.(CB) 21 When anyone brings from the herd or flock(CC) a fellowship offering(CD) to the Lord to fulfill a special vow or as a freewill offering,(CE) it must be without defect or blemish(CF) to be acceptable.(CG) 22 Do not offer to the Lord the blind, the injured or the maimed, or anything with warts or festering or running sores. Do not place any of these on the altar as a food offering presented to the Lord. 23 You may, however, present as a freewill offering an ox[d] or a sheep that is deformed or stunted, but it will not be accepted in fulfillment of a vow. 24 You must not offer to the Lord an animal whose testicles are bruised, crushed, torn or cut.(CH) You must not do this in your own land, 25 and you must not accept such animals from the hand of a foreigner and offer them as the food of your God.(CI) They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and have defects.(CJ)’”

26 The Lord said to Moses, 27 “When a calf, a lamb or a goat(CK) is born, it is to remain with its mother for seven days.(CL) From the eighth day(CM) on, it will be acceptable(CN) as a food offering presented to the Lord. 28 Do not slaughter a cow or a sheep and its young on the same day.(CO)

29 “When you sacrifice a thank offering(CP) to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. 30 It must be eaten that same day; leave none of it till morning.(CQ) I am the Lord.(CR)

31 “Keep(CS) my commands and follow them.(CT) I am the Lord. 32 Do not profane my holy name,(CU) for I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites.(CV) I am the Lord, who made you holy(CW) 33 and who brought you out of Egypt(CX) to be your God.(CY) I am the Lord.”

The Appointed Festivals

23 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘These are my appointed festivals,(CZ) the appointed festivals of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.(DA)

The Sabbath

3 “‘There are six days when you may work,(DB) but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest,(DC) a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work;(DD) wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord.

The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread(DE)

4 “‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times:(DF) 5 The Lord’s Passover(DG) begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.(DH) 6 On the fifteenth day of that month the Lord’s Festival of Unleavened Bread(DI) begins; for seven days(DJ) you must eat bread made without yeast. 7 On the first day hold a sacred assembly(DK) and do no regular work. 8 For seven days present a food offering to the Lord.(DL) And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.’”

Offering the Firstfruits

9 The Lord said to Moses, 10 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you(DM) and you reap its harvest,(DN) bring to the priest a sheaf(DO) of the first grain you harvest.(DP) 11 He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord(DQ) so it will be accepted(DR) on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. 12 On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the Lord a lamb a year old(DS) without defect,(DT) 13 together with its grain offering(DU) of two-tenths of an ephah[e](DV) of the finest flour mixed with olive oil—a food offering presented to the Lord, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering(DW) of a quarter of a hin[f] of wine.(DX) 14 You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain,(DY) until the very day you bring this offering to your God.(DZ) This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come,(EA) wherever you live.(EB)

The Festival of Weeks(EC)

15 “‘From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. 16 Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath,(ED) and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. 17 From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah(EE) of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits(EF) to the Lord. 18 Present with this bread seven male lambs, each a year old and without defect, one young bull and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the Lord, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings(EG)—a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 19 Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering[g] and two lambs, each a year old, for a fellowship offering. 20 The priest is to wave the two lambs before the Lord as a wave offering,(EH) together with the bread of the firstfruits. They are a sacred offering to the Lord for the priest. 21 On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly(EI) and do no regular work.(EJ) This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.

22 “‘When you reap the harvest(EK) of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.(EL) Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you.(EM) I am the Lord your God.’”

The Festival of Trumpets(EN)

23 The Lord said to Moses, 24 “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly(EO) commemorated with trumpet blasts.(EP) 25 Do no regular work,(EQ) but present a food offering to the Lord.(ER)’”

The Day of Atonement(ES)

26 The Lord said to Moses, 27 “The tenth day of this seventh month(ET) is the Day of Atonement.(EU) Hold a sacred assembly(EV) and deny yourselves,[h] and present a food offering to the Lord. 28 Do not do any work(EW) on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God. 29 Those who do not deny themselves on that day must be cut off from their people.(EX) 30 I will destroy from among their people(EY) anyone who does any work on that day. 31 You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance(EZ) for the generations to come, wherever you live. 32 It is a day of sabbath rest(FA) for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath.”(FB)

The Festival of Tabernacles(FC)

33 The Lord said to Moses, 34 “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh(FD) month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles(FE) begins, and it lasts for seven days. 35 The first day is a sacred assembly;(FF) do no regular work.(FG) 36 For seven days present food offerings to the Lord, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly(FH) and present a food offering to the Lord.(FI) It is the closing special assembly; do no regular work.

37 (“‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing food offerings to the Lord—the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings(FJ) required for each day. 38 These offerings(FK) are in addition to those for the Lord’s Sabbaths(FL) and[i] in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offerings(FM) you give to the Lord.)

39 “‘So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival(FN) to the Lord for seven days;(FO) the first day is a day of sabbath rest, and the eighth day also is a day of sabbath rest. 40 On the first day you are to take branches(FP) from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees(FQ)—and rejoice(FR) before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 Live in temporary shelters(FS) for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters 43 so your descendants will know(FT) that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”

44 So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed festivals of the Lord.

Olive Oil and Bread Set Before the Lord(FU)

24 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning continually. 3 Outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps before the Lord from evening till morning, continually. This is to be a lasting ordinance(FV) for the generations to come. 4 The lamps on the pure gold lampstand(FW) before the Lord must be tended continually.

5 “Take the finest flour and bake twelve loaves of bread,(FX) using two-tenths of an ephah[j](FY) for each loaf. 6 Arrange them in two stacks, six in each stack, on the table of pure gold(FZ) before the Lord. 7 By each stack put some pure incense(GA) as a memorial[k] portion(GB) to represent the bread and to be a food offering presented to the Lord. 8 This bread is to be set out before the Lord regularly,(GC) Sabbath after Sabbath,(GD) on behalf of the Israelites, as a lasting covenant. 9 It belongs to Aaron and his sons,(GE) who are to eat it in the sanctuary area,(GF) because it is a most holy(GG) part of their perpetual share of the food offerings presented to the Lord.”

A Blasphemer Put to Death

10 Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. 11 The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name(GH) with a curse;(GI) so they brought him to Moses.(GJ) (His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri the Danite.)(GK) 12 They put him in custody until the will of the Lord should be made clear to them.(GL)

13 Then the Lord said to Moses: 14 “Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him.(GM) 15 Say to the Israelites: ‘Anyone who curses their God(GN) will be held responsible;(GO) 16 anyone who blasphemes(GP) the name of the Lord is to be put to death.(GQ) The entire assembly must stone them. Whether foreigner or native-born, when they blaspheme the Name they are to be put to death.

17 “‘Anyone who takes the life of a human being is to be put to death.(GR) 18 Anyone who takes the life of someone’s animal must make restitution(GS)—life for life. 19 Anyone who injures their neighbor is to be injured in the same manner: 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth.(GT) The one who has inflicted the injury must suffer the same injury. 21 Whoever kills an animal must make restitution,(GU) but whoever kills a human being is to be put to death.(GV) 22 You are to have the same law for the foreigner(GW) and the native-born.(GX) I am the Lord your God.’”

23 Then Moses spoke to the Israelites, and they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him.(GY) The Israelites did as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Sabbath Year

25 The Lord said to Moses at Mount Sinai,(GZ) 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the Lord. 3 For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops.(HA) 4 But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of sabbath rest,(HB) a sabbath to the Lord. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards.(HC) 5 Do not reap what grows of itself(HD) or harvest the grapes(HE) of your untended vines.(HF) The land is to have a year of rest. 6 Whatever the land yields during the sabbath year(HG) will be food for you—for yourself, your male and female servants, and the hired worker and temporary resident who live among you, 7 as well as for your livestock and the wild animals(HH) in your land. Whatever the land produces may be eaten.

The Year of Jubilee(HI)(HJ)

8 “‘Count off seven sabbath years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbath years amount to a period of forty-nine years. 9 Then have the trumpet(HK) sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month;(HL) on the Day of Atonement(HM) sound the trumpet throughout your land. 10 Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty(HN) throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee(HO) for you; each of you is to return to your family property(HP) and to your own clan. 11 The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee(HQ) for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines.(HR) 12 For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields.

13 “‘In this Year of Jubilee(HS) everyone is to return to their own property.

14 “‘If you sell land to any of your own people or buy land from them, do not take advantage of each other.(HT) 15 You are to buy from your own people on the basis of the number of years(HU) since the Jubilee. And they are to sell to you on the basis of the number of years left for harvesting crops. 16 When the years are many, you are to increase the price, and when the years are few, you are to decrease the price,(HV) because what is really being sold to you is the number of crops. 17 Do not take advantage of each other,(HW) but fear your God.(HX) I am the Lord your God.(HY)

18 “‘Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws,(HZ) and you will live safely in the land.(IA) 19 Then the land will yield its fruit,(IB) and you will eat your fill and live there in safety.(IC) 20 You may ask, “What will we eat in the seventh year(ID) if we do not plant or harvest our crops?” 21 I will send you such a blessing(IE) in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years.(IF) 22 While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.(IG)

23 “‘The land(IH) must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine(II) and you reside in my land as foreigners(IJ) and strangers. 24 Throughout the land that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption(IK) of the land.

25 “‘If one of your fellow Israelites becomes poor and sells some of their property, their nearest relative(IL) is to come and redeem(IM) what they have sold. 26 If, however, there is no one to redeem it for them but later on they prosper(IN) and acquire sufficient means to redeem it themselves, 27 they are to determine the value for the years(IO) since they sold it and refund the balance to the one to whom they sold it; they can then go back to their own property.(IP) 28 But if they do not acquire the means to repay, what was sold will remain in the possession of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee. It will be returned(IQ) in the Jubilee, and they can then go back to their property.(IR)

29 “‘Anyone who sells a house in a walled city retains the right of redemption a full year after its sale. During that time the seller may redeem it. 30 If it is not redeemed before a full year has passed, the house in the walled city shall belong permanently to the buyer and the buyer’s descendants. It is not to be returned in the Jubilee. 31 But houses in villages without walls around them are to be considered as belonging to the open country. They can be redeemed, and they are to be returned in the Jubilee.

32 “‘The Levites always have the right to redeem their houses in the Levitical towns,(IS) which they possess. 33 So the property of the Levites is redeemable—that is, a house sold in any town they hold—and is to be returned in the Jubilee, because the houses in the towns of the Levites are their property among the Israelites. 34 But the pastureland belonging to their towns must not be sold; it is their permanent possession.(IT)

35 “‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor(IU) and are unable to support themselves among you, help them(IV) as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you. 36 Do not take interest(IW) or any profit from them, but fear your God,(IX) so that they may continue to live among you. 37 You must not lend them money at interest(IY) or sell them food at a profit. 38 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan(IZ) and to be your God.(JA)

39 “‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves.(JB) 40 They are to be treated as hired workers(JC) or temporary residents among you; they are to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 Then they and their children are to be released, and they will go back to their own clans and to the property(JD) of their ancestors.(JE) 42 Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt,(JF) they must not be sold as slaves. 43 Do not rule over them ruthlessly,(JG) but fear your God.(JH)

44 “‘Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. 45 You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. 46 You can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly.

47 “‘If a foreigner residing among you becomes rich and any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves(JI) to the foreigner or to a member of the foreigner’s clan, 48 they retain the right of redemption(JJ) after they have sold themselves. One of their relatives(JK) may redeem them: 49 An uncle or a cousin or any blood relative in their clan may redeem them. Or if they prosper,(JL) they may redeem themselves. 50 They and their buyer are to count the time from the year they sold themselves up to the Year of Jubilee.(JM) The price for their release is to be based on the rate paid to a hired worker(JN) for that number of years. 51 If many years remain, they must pay for their redemption a larger share of the price paid for them. 52 If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, they are to compute that and pay for their redemption accordingly.(JO) 53 They are to be treated as workers hired from year to year; you must see to it that those to whom they owe service do not rule over them ruthlessly.(JP)

54 “‘Even if someone is not redeemed in any of these ways, they and their children are to be released in the Year of Jubilee, 55 for the Israelites belong to me as servants. They are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt.(JQ) I am the Lord your God.(JR)

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 21:4 Or unclean as a leader among his people
  2. Leviticus 21:10 Or not uncover his head
  3. Leviticus 22:4 The Hebrew word for defiling skin disease, traditionally translated “leprosy,” was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
  4. Leviticus 22:23 The Hebrew word can refer to either male or female.
  5. Leviticus 23:13 That is, probably about 7 pounds or about 3.2 kilograms; also in verse 17
  6. Leviticus 23:13 That is, about 1 quart or about 1 liter
  7. Leviticus 23:19 Or purification offering
  8. Leviticus 23:27 Or and fast; similarly in verses 29 and 32
  9. Leviticus 23:38 Or These festivals are in addition to the Lord’s Sabbaths, and these offerings are
  10. Leviticus 24:5 That is, probably about 7 pounds or about 3.2 kilograms
  11. Leviticus 24:7 Or representative
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