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16 Then the Lord said to Moses, 17 “Give the following instructions to Aaron: In all future generations, none of your descendants who has any defect will qualify to offer food to his God. 18 No one who has a defect qualifies, whether he is blind, lame, disfigured, deformed, 19 or has a broken foot or arm, 20 or is hunchbacked or dwarfed, or has a defective eye, or skin sores or scabs, or damaged testicles. 21 No descendant of Aaron who has a defect may approach the altar to present special gifts to the Lord. Since he has a defect, he may not approach the altar to offer food to his God. 22 However, he may eat from the food offered to God, including the holy offerings and the most holy offerings. 23 Yet because of his physical defect, he may not enter the room behind the inner curtain or approach the altar, for this would defile my holy places. I am the Lord who makes them holy.”

24 So Moses gave these instructions to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.

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16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 Say to Aaron: None of your future descendants who have some kind of imperfection are allowed to offer their God’s food. 18 No one who has an imperfection will be allowed to make an offering: this includes anyone who is blind, crippled, disfigured, or deformed; 19 anyone who has a broken foot or hand; 20 anyone who is a hunchback or too small; anyone who has an eye disease, a rash, scabs, or a crushed testicle.[a] 21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has an imperfection will be allowed to offer the Lord’s food gifts; since he has an imperfection, he will not be allowed to offer his God’s food. 22 He may, of course, eat of his God’s most holy or holy food, 23 but since he has an imperfection, he cannot enter toward the inner curtain or officiate at the altar, making these parts of my sanctuary impure by doing so. I am the Lord, who makes them holy.

24 This is what Moses said to Aaron, his sons, and to all the Israelites.

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 21:20 The meaning of several words in 21:18-20 is uncertain.