Leviticus 21

1 Then 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,

Yahweh also said to Moses/me, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them,

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

‘You priests must not cause yourselves to become unfit to do my work by [touching] corpses. Priests are permitted to touch only the corpses of close relatives, such as the priest’s mother or father or his son or daughter or his brother.

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

Priests are also permitted to touch the corpse of a sister if she is not married, because she has no husband [to bury her body].

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

Priests must not cause themselves to become unfit to do my work [DOU] by [touching corpses of] people who were married to one of their close relatives.

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

You priests must not shave your heads or shave the edges of your beards or cut your bodies [to show that you are mourning for someone who has died].

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

You must act in ways that I, your God, consider to be holy, and not disgrace my name/reputation. You are the ones who present to me the offerings that are burned. [It is as though] those offerings are food for me, your God; so you must act in ways that are holy.

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

You priests must not marry women who have been prostitutes or who have been divorced from their husbands, because you priests are (set apart for me/holy).

8 You 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.

You must consider that you are holy, because you offer food to me, your God. Consider yourselves to be holy because I, Yahweh, [the one who caused you to be priests and] the one who enables you to be holy, am holy.

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

If a priest’s daughter disgraces herself by becoming a prostitute, she disgraces her father; and she must be killed by being burned in a fire.

10 The 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 or tear his garments.

The Supreme Priest is the one among his relatives who has been [appointed for that work] by having his head anointed with olive oil. He is also the one who has been appointed to wear the special garments that priests wear. He must not allow the hair on his [head] to remain uncombed, and he must not tear his clothes [when he is mourning for someone].

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

He must not enter some place where there is a corpse. He must not do that and cause himself to become unfit for his work, even if it is his father or his mother who has died.

12 He 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.

He must not leave the Sacred Tent [to join those who are mourning], because he would cause himself to become unfit for his work and would also defile/desecrate the Sacred Tent. He must not leave the Sacred Tent [at that time], because by being anointed with olive oil he has been (appointed/set apart) to serve his God [in the Sacred Tent]. I, Yahweh, [am the one who am commanding this].

13 The woman he marries must be a virgin.

Women whom you priests marry must be virgins.

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

You priests must not marry widows or prostitutes or divorced women, because if you did that, [if you later have] sons, they would not be acceptable to be priests among your people. You must marry only virgins from among your own people. I am Yahweh, who sets priests apart to be holy.’”

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

16 Then the LORD said to Moses,

Yahweh also said to Moses/me,

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.

“Say this to Aaron: 'For all future time, none of your descendants who has any defects [on his body] will be allowed to come near [the altar] to offer [sacrifices to me which will be like] [MET] my food:

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

No one who is blind or lame or deformed, or whose [face is] disfigured,

19 no man who has a broken foot or hand,

no man with a crippled foot or a crippled hand,

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

no man who is a hunchback or a dwarf, no man whose eyes are defective, no man who has a skin disease [DOU] or whose testicles have been damaged is allowed to brings sacrifices.

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

No descendant of Aaron, the [first Supreme] Priest, who has any defect is allowed to come to the altar to offer to me, his God, sacrifices that will be burned.

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

Priests who have defects are permitted to eat the various kinds of holy food offered to me.

23 but 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.’”

But because of their defects, they must not go near the curtain [in the Sacred Tent] or near the altar, because if they did that, they would desecrate my Sacred Tent. I am Yahweh, the one who sets those places apart as being holy.'”

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

So Moses/I told this to Aaron and to his sons and to all the Israeli people.