Leviticus 22:1-16
Lexham English Bible
Priests and Their Food
22 Then[a] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Tell[b] Aaron and his sons[c] that[d] they must deal respectfully with the Israelites’[e] votive offerings, and they must not profane my holy name, which they are consecrating to me; I am Yahweh.
3 “Say to them, ‘Throughout your generations, any man from any of your offspring who comes near the votive offerings that the Israelites[f] consecrate to Yahweh with[g] his uncleanness on him, that person shall be cut off[h] from before me;[i] I am Yahweh.
4 “‘Anyone[j] from Aaron’s offspring, if[k] he is afflicted with a skin disease or a fluid discharge, shall not eat in the sanctuary until[l] he is clean; and the one who touches any unclean person or a man from whom an emission of semen goes out, 5 or a man who touches any swarmer that is unclean for him or who touches a person who is unclean for him due to[m] whatever his uncleanness, 6 a person who touches such a thing[n] shall be unclean until the evening, and he shall not eat from the votive offerings, except[o] when he washes[p] his body with water 7 and the sun sets,[q] and he shall be clean; then[r] afterward he may eat from the votive offerings, because it is his food. 8 He shall not eat a naturally dead body or[s] a mangled carcass, so that he becomes unclean[t] by it; I am Yahweh.
9 “‘And they shall keep my obligation, and they shall not incur guilt because of it, so that[u] they die through it, because they have profaned it; I am Yahweh who consecrates them.
10 “‘No stranger shall eat[v] the votive offering; nor shall a temporary resident with[w] a priest or[x] a hired worker eat the votive offering. 11 But[y] a priest, if with his money he buys a person as his possession,[z] that one may eat it, and the descendants of his house themselves may eat his food. 12 And a priest’s daughter, when she marries a layman,[aa] she herself may not eat the votive offering.[ab] 13 But[ac] a priest’s daughter, when she becomes a widow or[ad] divorced or there is no offspring for her, and she returns to her father’s house as in her childhood, she may eat from her father’s food, but[ae] no layman may eat it.[af] 14 And if a man eats the votive offering unintentionally, then[ag] he shall add to it a fifth of it, and he shall give the votive offering to the priest. 15 And they shall not profane the Israelites’[ah] votive offerings that they present to Yahweh, 16 and so cause them, by their eating their votive offerings, to bear guilt requiring a guilt offering, because I am Yahweh, who consecrates them.’”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Leviticus 22:1 Or “And”
- Leviticus 22:2 Or “Speak to”
- Leviticus 22:2 Literally “to Aaron and to his sons”
- Leviticus 22:2 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Leviticus 22:3 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Leviticus 22:3 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:3 Or “and that person shall be cut off”
- Leviticus 22:3 Literally “to the faces of me”
- Leviticus 22:4 Literally “A man a man”
- Leviticus 22:4 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:4 Literally “until which”
- Leviticus 22:5 Literally “for”
- Leviticus 22:6 Hebrew “him” or “it”
- Leviticus 22:6 Or “but if” or “but rather”
- Leviticus 22:6 Or “bathes”
- Leviticus 22:7 Literally “the sun goes” or “the sun enters”
- Leviticus 22:7 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:8 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:8 Literally “to become unclean”
- Leviticus 22:9 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:10 Literally “And any stranger shall not eat”
- Leviticus 22:10 Hebrew “of”
- Leviticus 22:10 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:11 Or “And”
- Leviticus 22:11 Literally “property of”
- Leviticus 22:12 Literally “she becomes for a strange man”
- Leviticus 22:12 Literally “the offering/lifting of the votive offering”
- Leviticus 22:13 Or “And”
- Leviticus 22:13 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:13 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:13 Literally “any stranger shall not eat it”
- Leviticus 22:14 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:15 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
Leviticus 22:1-16
New Living Translation
22 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to be very careful with the sacred gifts that the Israelites set apart for me, so they do not bring shame on my holy name. I am the Lord. 3 Give them the following instructions.
“In all future generations, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean when he approaches the sacred offerings that the people of Israel consecrate to the Lord, he must be cut off from my presence. I am the Lord.
4 “If any of Aaron’s descendants has a skin disease[a] or any kind of discharge that makes him ceremonially unclean, he may not eat from the sacred offerings until he has been pronounced clean. He also becomes unclean by touching a corpse, or by having an emission of semen, 5 or by touching a small animal that is unclean, or by touching someone who is ceremonially unclean for any reason. 6 The man who is defiled in any of these ways will remain unclean until evening. He may not eat from the sacred offerings until he has bathed himself in water. 7 When the sun goes down, he will be ceremonially clean again and may eat from the sacred offerings, for this is his food. 8 He may not eat an animal that has died a natural death or has been torn apart by wild animals, for this would defile him. I am the Lord.
9 “The priests must follow my instructions carefully. Otherwise they will be punished for their sin and will die for violating my instructions. I am the Lord who makes them holy.
10 “No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offerings. Even guests and hired workers in a priest’s home are not allowed to eat them. 11 However, if the priest buys a slave for himself, the slave may eat from the sacred offerings. And if his slaves have children, they also may share his food. 12 If a priest’s daughter marries someone outside the priestly family, she may no longer eat the sacred offerings. 13 But if she becomes a widow or is divorced and has no children to support her, and she returns to live in her father’s home as in her youth, she may eat her father’s food again. Otherwise, no one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offerings.
14 “Any such person who eats the sacred offerings without realizing it must pay the priest for the amount eaten, plus an additional 20 percent. 15 The priests must not let the Israelites defile the sacred offerings brought to the Lord 16 by allowing unauthorized people to eat them. This would bring guilt upon them and require them to pay compensation. I am the Lord who makes them holy.”
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