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Regulations Concerning Priests

21 Then[a] Yahweh said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, Aaron’s sons, and say to them, ‘One must not make himself unclean for a dead person among his own people, except for his direct relative closest to him: his mother and his father, and his son and his daughter, and his brother, and for his sister, a virgin, who is closest to him, who has not had a husband[b]—for her he may defile himself. He must not make himself unclean as a kinsman by marriage,[c] defiling himself.

“‘And they shall not shave bald patches on their head, and they shall not shave off the corner of their beard, and they shall not make a cut in their body. They shall be holy to their God, and they shall not profane the name of their God, because they are bringing near the offerings made by fire to[d] Yahweh—their God’s food—and they shall be holy.

“‘They shall not marry[e] a woman who is a prostitute and defiled, nor shall they marry[f] a woman divorced from her husband, because each priest[g] is holy for his God. And you shall consecrate him, because he is bringing near your God’s food; he shall be holy to you, since I, Yahweh, who consecrates you, am holy.

“‘As for[h] the daughter of any priest, if she is defiled by prostituting, she is disgracing her father—she shall be burned in the fire.

10 “‘As for[i] the priest who is higher than his brothers, on whose head the oil of anointment is poured and he was ordained[j] to wear the garments, he shall not dishevel his head, and he shall not tear his garments. 11 And he shall not go near any dead person, nor shall he make himself unclean for his father or[k] for his mother. 12 And he shall not go out from the sanctuary, and he shall not profane his God’s sanctuary, because the dedication of his God’s oil of anointment is on him; I am Yahweh.

13 “‘And he himself must take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow or[l] a divorced woman or[m] a defiled woman, a prostitute—these he must not take; he shall take only[n] a virgin from his people as wife. 15 And he shall not profane his offspring among his people, because I am Yahweh, who consecrates him.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 21:1 Or “And”
  2. Leviticus 21:3 Literally “who is not for a man/husband”
  3. Leviticus 21:4 Literally “a husband among his people”
  4. Leviticus 21:6 Hebrew “of”
  5. Leviticus 21:7 Literally “take”
  6. Leviticus 21:7 Literally “take”
  7. Leviticus 21:7 Hebrew “he”; singular antecedent specified from the context
  8. Leviticus 21:9 Or “And”
  9. Leviticus 21:10 Or “And”
  10. Leviticus 21:10 Literally “he has filled up his hand”
  11. Leviticus 21:11 Or “and”
  12. Leviticus 21:14 Or “and”
  13. Leviticus 21:14 Or “and”
  14. Leviticus 21:14 Or “instead”

Holiness and the Priests

21 And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, (A)No one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people, except for his closest relatives, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, or his virgin sister (who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may make himself unclean). He shall not make himself unclean as a husband among his people and so profane himself. (B)They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body. They shall be holy to their God and (C)not profane the name of their God. For they offer the Lord's food offerings, (D)the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy. (E)They shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled, neither shall they marry a woman (F)divorced from her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. You shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for (G)I, the Lord, who sanctify you, (H)am holy. And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by whoring, profanes her father; (I)she shall be burned with fire.

10 (J)“The priest who is chief among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured and who has been consecrated to wear the garments, (K)shall not let the hair of his head hang loose nor tear his clothes. 11 He shall not (L)go in to any dead bodies nor make himself unclean, even for his father or for his mother. 12 (M)He shall not go out of the sanctuary, lest he (N)profane the sanctuary of his God, for the (O)consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him: I am the Lord. 13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity.[a] 14 A widow, (P)or a divorced woman, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute, these he shall not marry. But he shall take as his wife a virgin[b] of his own people, 15 that he may not profane his offspring among his people, for (Q)I am the Lord who sanctifies him.”

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 21:13 Or a young wife
  2. Leviticus 21:14 Hebrew young woman