Leviticus 21

1 And Jehovah said to Moses, Speak unto the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none make himself unclean for a dead person among his peoples,

The Lord told Moses, “Tell Aaron's sons, the priests: A priest is not to make himself unclean by touching the dead body of any of his relatives.

2 except for his immediate relation, who is near unto him — for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother;

The only exceptions are for his immediate family. This includes his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother,

3 and for his sister, a virgin, that is near unto him, who hath had no husband, for her may he make himself unclean.

or his unmarried sister since she is a close relative because she doesn't have a husband.

4 He shall not make himself unclean [who is] a chief among his peoples, to profane himself.

He must not make himself unclean for those only related to him by marriage—he is not to make himself ceremonially impure.

5 They shall not make any baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corners of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.

Priests are not to shave bald spots on their heads, trim the sides of their beards, or cut their bodies.

6 They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God; for they present Jehovah's offerings by fire, the bread of their God; therefore shall they be holy.

They must be holy to their God and not disgrace their God's reputation. They are the one who present the food offerings to the Lord, the food of their God. Consequently they must be holy.

7 They shall not take as wife a whore, or a dishonoured woman; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband; for he is holy unto his God.

A priest is not to marry a woman made unclean through prostitution or who is divorced by her husband, for the priest must be holy to his God.

8 And thou shalt hallow him; for the bread of thy God doth he present: he shall be holy unto thee; for I, Jehovah, who hallow you am holy.

You shall consider him holy because he presents the food offerings to your God. He shall be holy to you, because I am holy. I am the Lord, and I chose you as my special people.

9 And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burned with fire.

A priest's daughter who makes herself unclean through prostitution makes her father unclean. She must be executed by burning.

10 And the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured, and who is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his garments.

The high priest has the highest place among the other priests. He has been anointed with olive oil poured on his head and has been ordained to wear the priestly clothing. He must not leave his hair uncombed or tear his clothes.

11 Neither shall he come near any person dead, nor make himself unclean for his father and for his mother;

He is not to go near any dead body. He must not make himself unclean, even it is for his own father or mother.

12 neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am Jehovah.

He must not leave to deal with someone who has died or make the sanctuary of his God unclean because he has been dedicated by the anointing oil of his God. I am the Lord.

13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity.

He can only marry a virgin.

14 A widow, or a divorced woman, or a dishonoured one, a harlot, these shall he not take; but he shall take as wife a virgin from among his peoples.

He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or one made unclean through prostitution. He has to marry a virgin from his own people,

15 And he shall not profane his seed among his peoples; for I am Jehovah who do hallow him.

so that he doesn't make his children unclean among his people, for I am the Lord who makes him holy.”

16 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

The Lord told Moses,

17 Speak unto Aaron, saying, Any of thy seed throughout their generations that hath any defect, shall not approach to present the bread of his God;

“Tell Aaron: These rules apply for all future generations. If any of your descendants has a physical defect, he is not allowed to come and present the food offerings of his God.

18 for whatever man hath a defect, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or one limb longer than the other,

No man is allowed to do this if he has any defects, including anyone who is blind, crippled, facially disfigured, or has deformities,

19 or a man that is broken-footed, or broken-handed,

anyone who has a broken foot or arm,

20 or hump-backed, or withered, or that hath a spot in his eye, or hath the itch, or scabs, or his testicles broken.

anyone who is a hunchback or dwarf, or who has cataracts, skin sores or scabs, or a damaged testicle.

21 No man of the seed of Aaron the priest that hath defect shall come near to present Jehovah's offerings by fire: he hath a defect; he shall not come near to present the bread of his God.

No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a defect is allowed to come and present the food offerings to the Lord. Because he has a defect, he must not come and offer the food of his God.

22 The bread of his God, of the most holy and of the holy, shall he eat;

He is still allowed to eat the food from the Most Holy Place of his God and also from the sanctuary,

23 only he shall not come in unto the veil, nor shall he draw near unto the altar; for he hath a defect: that he profane not my sanctuaries; for I am Jehovah who do hallow them.

but because he has a defect, he is not allowed to go near the curtain or the altar, so that my sanctuary and everything in it are not made unclean, because I am the Lord who makes them holy.”

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

Moses repeated this to Aaron and his sons, and to all the Israelites.