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.’”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Holiness of the Priests
21 The Lord said to Moses: “Speak to Aaron’s sons, the priests, and tell them: A priest is not to make himself ceremonially unclean for a dead person among his relatives,(A) 2 except for his immediate family: his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother. 3 He may make himself unclean for his young unmarried sister in his immediate family. 4 He is not to make himself unclean for those related to him by marriage[a] and so defile himself.
5 “Priests may not make bald spots on their heads, shave the edge of their beards, or make gashes on their bodies.(B) 6 They are to be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God.(C) For they present the fire offerings to Yahweh, the food of their God, and they must be holy. 7 They are not to marry a woman defiled by prostitution.[b](D) They are not to marry one divorced(E) by her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. 8 You are to consider him holy since he presents the food of your God. He will be holy to you because I, Yahweh who sets you apart, am holy. 9 If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by promiscuity,[c](F) she defiles her father; she must be burned up.(G)
10 “The priest who is highest among his brothers, who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been ordained[d] to wear the garments, must not dishevel his hair[e] or tear his garments.(H) 11 He must not go near any dead person or make himself unclean even for his father or mother.(I) 12 He must not leave the sanctuary or he will desecrate the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him;(J) I am Yahweh.
13 “He is to marry a woman who is a virgin. 14 He is not to marry a widow,(K) a divorced woman,(L) or one defiled by prostitution. He is to marry a virgin from his own people, 15 so that he does not corrupt his bloodline[f] among his people, for I am Yahweh who sets him apart.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Leviticus 21:4 Lit unclean a husband among his people
- Leviticus 21:7 Or a prostitute or a defiled woman
- Leviticus 21:9 Or prostitution
- Leviticus 21:10 Lit and one has filled his hand
- Leviticus 21:10 Or not uncover his head
- Leviticus 21:15 Lit not profane his seed
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