Priests and Their Food

22 The Lord spoke to Moses: “Tell Aaron and his sons to deal respectfully with the holy offerings of the Israelites that they have consecrated to me, so they do not profane my holy name;(A) I am the Lord. Say to them: If any man from any of your descendants throughout your generations is in a state of uncleanness yet approaches the holy offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the Lord, that person will be cut off from my presence; I am the Lord. No man of Aaron’s descendants who has a skin disease[a] or a discharge is to eat from the holy offerings until he is clean. Whoever touches anything made unclean by a dead person or by a man who has an emission of semen, or whoever touches any swarming creature that makes him unclean or any person who makes him unclean—whatever his uncleanness— the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening(B) and is not to eat from the holy offerings unless he has bathed his body with water. When the sun has set, he will become clean, and then he may eat from the holy offerings, for that is his food.(C) He must not eat an animal that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts,[b](D) making himself unclean by it; I am the Lord. They must keep my instruction,(E) or they will be guilty and die because they profane it; I am the Lord who sets them apart.

10 “No one outside a priest’s family[c](F) is to eat the holy offering. A foreigner staying with a priest or a hired worker is not to eat the holy offering. 11 But if a priest purchases someone with his own silver, that person may eat it, and those born in his house may eat his food. 12 If the priest’s daughter is married to a man outside a priest’s family,[d] she is not to eat from the holy contributions.[e] 13 But if the priest’s daughter becomes widowed or divorced, has no children, and returns to her father’s house as in her youth, she may share her father’s food. But no outsider may share it. 14 If anyone eats a holy offering in error,(G) he is to add a fifth to its value and give the holy offering to the priest.(H) 15 The priests must not profane the holy offerings the Israelites give to the Lord 16 by letting the people eat their holy offerings and having them bear the penalty of restitution.(I) For I am the Lord who sets them apart.”

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Footnotes

  1. 22:4 Or has leprosy or scale disease
  2. 22:8 Lit eat a carcass or a mauled beast
  3. 22:10 Lit “No stranger
  4. 22:12 Lit to a stranger
  5. 22:12 Lit the contribution of holy offerings

Various Rules for Priests

22 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Tell Aaron and his sons to be careful with the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, which they dedicate to Me, so as not to profane My holy name; I am the Lord. Say to them, ‘(A)Any man among all your [a]descendants throughout your generations who approaches the holy gifts which the sons of Israel consecrate to the Lord, while he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from My presence; I am the Lord. (B)No man of the [b]descendants of Aaron, who has [c]leprosy or has a discharge, may eat of the holy gifts until he is clean. (C)And one who touches anything made unclean by a corpse, or (D)a man who has a seminal emission, or (E)a man who touches any swarming things by which he is made unclean, or touches any person by whom he is made unclean, whatever his uncleanness; a [d]person who touches any such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat of the holy gifts unless he has bathed his [e]body in water. But when the sun sets, he will be clean, and afterward he may eat of the holy gifts, for (F)it is his [f]food. He shall not eat (G)an animal which dies or is torn by animals, becoming unclean by it; I am the Lord. They shall therefore perform their (H)duty to Me, so that (I)they do not bear sin because of it and die by it because they profane it; I am the Lord who sanctifies them.

10 (J)No [g]layman, however, is to eat the holy gift; a foreign resident with the priest or a hired worker shall not eat the holy gift. 11 (K)But if a priest buys a [h]slave as his property with his money, [i]that person may eat of it, and those who are born in his house may eat of his [j]food. 12 If a priest’s daughter is married to a [k]layman, she shall not eat of the [l]offering of the holy gifts. 13 But if a priest’s daughter becomes a widow or divorced, and has no child and returns to her father’s house as in her youth, she may eat of her father’s [m]food; (L)but no [n]layman shall eat of it. 14 (M)If, however, someone eats a holy food unintentionally, then he shall add to it a fifth of it and shall give the holy food to the priest. 15 And (N)they shall not profane the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, which they offer to the Lord, 16 and thereby (O)bring upon them [o]punishment for guilt by eating their holy gifts; for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 22:3 Lit seed
  2. Leviticus 22:4 Lit seed
  3. Leviticus 22:4 I.e., leprosy or another serious skin disease
  4. Leviticus 22:6 Lit soul
  5. Leviticus 22:6 Lit flesh
  6. Leviticus 22:7 Lit bread
  7. Leviticus 22:10 Or unauthorized person
  8. Leviticus 22:11 Lit soul
  9. Leviticus 22:11 Lit he may
  10. Leviticus 22:11 Lit bread
  11. Leviticus 22:12 Lit stranger
  12. Leviticus 22:12 Or uplifted offering
  13. Leviticus 22:13 Lit bread
  14. Leviticus 22:13 Lit stranger
  15. Leviticus 22:16 Or wrongdoing requiring a guilt offering