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 said to Moses: “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, 'No one among you shall make himself unclean for those who die among his people,

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

except for his closest relatives—his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother,

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

or his virgin sister who is dependent on him, since she has no husband—for her he may make himself unclean.

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

But he must not make himself unclean for other relatives and so defile himself.

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

Priests must not shave their heads or shave off the corners of their beards, nor cut their bodies.

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.

They must be holy to their God and not disgrace the name of their God, because the priests offer Yahweh's food offerings, the bread of their God. Therefore the priests must be 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.

They must not marry any woman who is a prostitute and who is defiled, and they must not marry a woman divorced from her husband, for they are separate for their God.

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 will set him apart, for he is the one who offers bread to your God. He must be holy to you, because I, Yahweh who makes you 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.

Any daughter of any priest who defiles herself by becoming a prostitute disgraces her father. She must be burned.

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 one who is the high priest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured, and who has been consecrated to wear the special garments of the high priest, must not wear his hair loose or tear his clothes.

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

He must not go anywhere that a dead body is present and defile himself, even for his father or his mother.

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.

The high priest must not leave the sanctuary area of the tabernacle or profane the sanctuary of his God, because he has been consecrated as high priest by the anointing oil of his God. I am Yahweh.

13 The woman he marries must be a virgin.

The high priest must marry a virgin as his wife.

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,

He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a woman who is a prostitute. He will not marry these kinds of women. He may only marry a virgin from his own people,

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

so he will not defile his children among his people, for I am Yahweh, who makes him holy.'”

16 Then the LORD said to Moses,

Yahweh 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.

“Speak to Aaron and tell him, 'Whoever of your descendants throughout their generations has a bodily defect, he must not approach to offer the food to his God.

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

Any man who has a bodily defect must not approach Yahweh, such as a blind man or a man who is unable to walk, one who is disfigured or deformed,

19 no man who has a broken foot or hand,

a man with a crippled hand or foot,

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

a man who has a hump in his back or is abnormally thin or short, or a man with a defect in his eyes, or with a disease, sore, scabs, or whose testicles have been crushed.

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 man among the descendants of Aaron the priest with a bodily defect may come near to perform the offerings made by fire for Yahweh. Such a man has a bodily defect; he must not come near to offer the bread of his God.

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

He may eat the food of his God, whether some of the most holy or some of the holy.

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.’”

However, he must not enter inside the curtain or come near the altar, because he has a bodily defect, so that he does not defile my holy place, for I am Yahweh, who makes them holy.'”

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

So Moses spoke these words to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the people of Israel.