Leviticus 21

Modern

Literal

Holiness Required of Priests

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron’s sons, the priests, and tell them that a priest is not to defile himself for a dead person among his people,

¹And YHWH said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: No one shall defile himself for the dead among his people,

²except for his immediate family—his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother,

²except for his close relative who are near to him—his mother, and his father, and his son, and his daughter, and his brother,

³or his unmarried sister who is near to him, since she has no husband.

³and his sister, the virgin, who is near to him, who has not had a husband. He may defile himself for her.

⁴He is not to defile himself for those related to him by marriage, and so profane himself.

⁴As a chief man he shall not defile himself among his people, to profane himself.

⁵Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies.

⁵They shall not make baldness on their heads, and they shall not shave the edges of their beards, and they shall not make a cutting in their flesh.

⁶They must be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. Because they present to the LORD the food offerings, the food of their God, they must be holy.

⁶They shall be Holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. For they offer the fire offerings of YHWH, the bread of their God; and they shall be holy.

⁷A priest must not marry a woman defiled by prostitution or divorced by her husband, for the priest is holy to his God.

⁷And they shall not take a woman, a prostitute or defiled, or a woman cast out from her husband they shall not take, for he is holy to his God.

⁸You are to regard him as holy, since he presents the food of your God. He shall be holy to you, because I the LORD am holy—I who set you apart.

⁸And you shall consecrate him, for he offers the bread of your God. He is Holy to you, for holy am I, YHWH, sanctifying you.

⁹If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by prostituting herself, she profanes her father; she must be burned in the fire.

⁹And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the prostitute, she profanes her father; she shall be burned with the fire.

¹⁰The priest who is highest among his brothers, who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been ordained to wear the priestly garments, must not let his hair hang loose^a or tear his garments.

¹⁰And the high priest among his brothers, on whose head is poured the anointing oil and who has consecrated his hand to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head and not tear his clothes.

¹¹He must not go near any dead body; he must not defile himself, even for his father or mother.

¹¹And he shall not go near any dead body; he shall not defile himself for his father or his mother.

¹²He must not leave or desecrate the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am the LORD.

¹²And he shall not go out of the sanctuary nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am YHWH.

¹³The woman he marries must be a virgin.

¹³And he shall take a wife in her virginity.

¹⁴He is not to marry a widow, a divorced woman, or one defiled by prostitution. He is to marry a virgin from his own people,

¹⁴A widow or a divorced woman or a defiled woman—a prostitute—these he shall not marry; for rather he shall take a virgin of his own people as wife.

¹⁵so that he does not defile his offspring among his people, for I am the LORD who sanctifies him.”

¹⁵He shall not profane his posterity among his people. For I am YHWH, sanctifying him.”

Restrictions against Those with Blemishes

¹⁶Then the LORD said to Moses,

¹⁶And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying,

¹⁷“Say to Aaron, ‘For the generations to come, none of your descendants who has a physical defect may approach to offer the food of his God.

¹⁷“Speak to Aaron, saying, ‘No man of your seed to their generations who has a blemish in him shall draw near to bring near the bread of his God.

¹⁸No man who has any defect may approach—no man who is blind, lame, disfigured, or deformed;

¹⁸For any man who has a blemish in him shall not approach—a man blind, or lame, or disfigured, or deformed,

¹⁹no man who has a broken foot or hand,

¹⁹or a man who has in him a breach in the foot, or a breach in the hand,

²⁰or who is a hunchback or dwarf, or who has an eye defect, a festering rash, scabs, or a crushed testicle.

²⁰or a hunchback, or dwarfed, or a man who has a blemish in his eye, or itch, or scab, or a crushed testicle.

²¹No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall approach to present the food offerings to the LORD. Since he has a defect, he is not to come near to offer the food of his God.

²¹Any man of the seed of Aaron the priest who has a blemish in him shall not come near to offer the fire offerings to YHWH; he has a blemish in him. He shall not come near to offer the bread of his God.

²²He may eat the most holy food of his God as well as the holy food,

²²He may eat the bread of his God from the holies of holies, and from the holies.

²³but because he has a defect, he must not go near the veil or approach the altar, so as not to desecrate My sanctuaries. For I am the LORD who sanctifies them.’”

²³Only he shall not go near the veil. And he shall not approach the altar, because he has a blemish in him. And he shall not profane My sanctuaries, for I am YHWH, sanctifying them.’”

²⁴Moses told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.

²⁴And Moses told it to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the sons of Israel.