Leviticus 22

1 Then the LORD said to Moses,

The Lord also spoke to Moses saying:

2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings that the Israelites have consecrated to Me, so that they do not profane My holy name. I am the LORD.

Speak to Aaron and to his sons, so that they may be careful of those things which have been consecrated for the sons of Israel, and so that they may not contaminate the name of the things sanctified to me, which they offer. I am the Lord.

3 Tell them that for the generations to come, if any of their descendants in a state of uncleanness approaches the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the LORD, that person must be cut off from My presence. I am the LORD.

Say to them and to their posterity: Every man of your stock, who approaches toward those things which have been consecrated, and which the sons of Israel have brought forward to the Lord, in whom there is uncleanness, shall perish before the Lord. I am the Lord.

4 If a descendant of Aaron has a skin disease or a discharge, he may not eat the sacred offerings until he is clean. Whoever touches anything defiled by a corpse or by a man who has an emission of semen,

The man of the offspring of Aaron, who is a leper or who is suffering a flow of seed, shall not eat of those things which have been sanctified to me, until he is healed. Whoever will have touched what is unclean because of the dead, and he whose seed goes out from him, as if from sexual intercourse,

5 or whoever touches a crawling creature or a person that makes him unclean, whatever the uncleanness may be—

and whoever has touched a creeping thing, or any kind of unclean thing, the touching of which is filthy,

6 the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening. He must not eat from the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water.

shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat those things which have been sanctified. But when he has washed his flesh with water,

7 When the sun has set, he will become clean, and then he may eat from the sacred offerings, for they are his food.

and the sun has set, then, having been purified, he shall eat from what has been sanctified, because it is his food.

8 He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, which would make him unclean. I am the LORD.

Whatever dies on its own, and whatever has been seized by a wild beast, they shall not eat, nor shall they be polluted by these. I am the Lord.

9 The priests must keep My charge, lest they bear the guilt and die because they profane it. I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

Let them observe my precepts, so that they may not fall under sin, and die in the Sanctuary, when they will have defiled it. I am the Lord, who sanctifies them.

10 No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired hand eat it.

No foreigner shall eat from what has been sanctified; a guest of the priests and a hired servant shall not eat from them.

11 But if a priest buys a slave with his own money, or if a slave is born in his household, that slave may eat his food.

But whomever the priest has bought, and whoever has been born into his house, these shall eat from them.

12 If the priest’s daughter is married to a man other than a priest, she is not to eat of the sacred contributions.

If the daughter of a priest has been married to any of the people, she shall not eat from what has been sanctified, nor from the first-fruits.

13 But if a priest’s daughter with no children becomes widowed or divorced and returns to her father’s house, she may share her father’s food as in her youth. But no outsider may share it.

But if she is a widow or divorced, and, being without children, she returns to her father’s house, she shall be nourished by her father’s foods, just as she was accustomed to do as a girl. No foreigner shall have the authority to eat from them.

14 If anyone eats a sacred offering in error, he must add a fifth to its value and give the sacred offering to the priest.

Whoever, through ignorance, eats from what has been sanctified shall add a fifth part to that which he ate, and he shall give it to the priest at the Sanctuary.

15 The priests must not profane the sacred offerings that the Israelites present to the LORD

And they shall not contaminate what has been sanctified from the sons of Israel, which they offer to the Lord,

16 by allowing the people to eat the sacred offerings and thus to bear the punishment for guilt. For I am the LORD who sanctifies them.”

lest perhaps they may suffer the iniquity of their offense, when they will have eaten what has been sanctified. I am the Lord, who sanctifies them.

17 Then the LORD said to Moses,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites and tell them, ‘Any man of the house of Israel or any foreign resident who presents a gift for a burnt offering to the LORD, whether to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering,

Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: The man from the house of Israel, or from the newcomers who live with you, who would bring forward his oblation, either fulfilling his vows or offering spontaneously, whatever he brings forward as a holocaust for the Lord,

19 must offer an unblemished male from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for it to be accepted on your behalf.

in order to be offered through you, shall offer an immaculate male from the oxen, or from the sheep, or from the goats.

20 You must not present anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.

If it has a blemish, you shall not offer it, and it shall not be acceptable.

21 When a man presents a peace offering to the LORD from the herd or flock to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without blemish or defect to be acceptable.

The man who will have offered a victim of peace offerings to the Lord, either fulfilling his vows or offering spontaneously, whether of oxen, or of sheep, shall offer what is immaculate, so that it may be acceptable. There shall be no blemish in it.

22 You are not to present to the LORD any animal that is blind, injured, or maimed, or anything with a running sore, a festering rash, or a scab; you must not put any of these on the altar as an offering made by fire to the LORD.

If it is blind, or if it is broken, or if it has a scar, or if it is has a boil, or a skin disease or infection, you shall not offer these to the Lord, nor shall you burn any of these upon the altar of the Lord.

23 You may present as a freewill offering an ox or sheep that has a deformed or stunted limb, but it is not acceptable in fulfillment of a vow.

An ox or a sheep, having an amputated ear or tail, you are able to offer voluntarily, but a vow is not able to be fulfilled by these.

24 You are not to present to the LORD an animal whose testicles are bruised, crushed, torn, or cut; you are not to sacrifice them in your land.

You shall not offer to the Lord any animal which has the testicles bruised, or crushed, or cut and taken away, and you shall not cause any of these things in your land.

25 Neither you nor a foreigner shall present food to your God from any such animal. They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and flawed.’”

From the hand of a foreigner, you shall not offer bread to your God, nor anything else that he would choose to give; for all this has been corrupted and blemished. You shall not accept them.

26 Then the LORD said to Moses,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

27 “When an ox, a sheep, or a goat is born, it must remain with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as an offering made by fire to the LORD.

An ox, a sheep, or a goat, when they have been born, shall be under the udder of their mother for seven days. But on the eighth day and thereafter, they are able to be offered to the Lord.

28 But you must not slaughter an ox or a sheep on the same day as its young.

Whether it is an ox, or a sheep, they shall not be immolated on the same day with their newborns.

29 When you sacrifice a thank offering to the LORD, offer it so that it may be acceptable on your behalf.

If you immolate a victim as an act of thanksgiving to the Lord, so that he may be pleased,

30 It must be eaten that same day. Do not leave any of it until morning. I am the LORD.

you shall eat it on the same day; none of it shall remain until morning on the next day. I am the Lord.

31 You are to keep My commandments and practice them. I am the LORD.

Observe my commandments, and do them. I am the Lord.

32 You must not profane My holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy among the Israelites. I am the LORD who sanctifies you,

Do not pollute my holy name, so that I may be sanctified in the midst of the sons of Israel. I am the Lord, who sanctifies you,

33 who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD.”

and who led you away from the land of Egypt, so that I may be to you as God. I am the Lord.