Leviticus 21
1 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.
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the priests the sons of Aaron, and you shall tell them [that] they shall not defile themselves in their nation for the dead,
2 The only exceptions are for his immediate family. This includes his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother,
but [they may mourn] for a relative who is very near to them, for a father and mother, and sons and daughters, for a brother,
3 or his unmarried sister since she is a close relative because she doesn't have a husband.
and for a virgin sister that is near to one, that is not espoused to a man; for these one shall defile himself.
4 He must not make himself unclean for those only related to him by marriage—he is not to make himself ceremonially impure.
He shall not defile himself suddenly amongst his people to profane himself.
5 Priests are not to shave bald spots on their heads, trim the sides of their beards, or cut their bodies.
And you shall not shave your head for the dead with a baldness on the top; and they shall not shave their beard, neither shall they make gashes on their flesh.
6 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.
They shall be holy to their God, and they shall not profane the name of their God; for they offer the sacrifices of the Lord as the gifts of their God, and they shall be holy.
7 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.
They shall not take a woman who is a harlot and profaned, or a woman put away from her husband; for he is holy to the Lord his God.
8 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.
And you shall hallow him; he offers the gifts of the Lord your God: he shall be holy, for I the Lord that sanctify them [am] holy.
9 A priest's daughter who makes herself unclean through prostitution makes her father unclean. She must be executed by burning.
And if the daughter of a priest should be profaned to go a whoring, she profanes the name of her father: she shall be burnt with fire.
10 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.
And the priest that is chief amongst his brethren, the oil having been poured upon the head of the anointed one, and he having been consecrated to put on the garments, shall not take the mitre off his head, and shall not rend his garments:
11 He is not to go near any dead body. He must not make himself unclean, even it is for his own father or mother.
neither shall he go in to any dead body, neither shall he defile himself for his father or his mother.
12 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.
And he shall not go forth out of the sanctuary, and he shall not profane the sanctuary of his God, because the holy anointing oil of God [is] upon him: I [am] the Lord.
13 He can only marry a virgin.
He shall take for a wife a virgin of his own tribe.
14 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,
But a widow, or one that is put away, or profaned, or a harlot, these he shall not take; but he shall take for a wife a virgin of his own people.
15 so that he doesn't make his children unclean among his people, for I am the Lord who makes him holy.”
And he shall not profane his seed amongst his people: I [am] the Lord that sanctifies him.
16 The Lord told Moses,
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
17 “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.
Say to Aaron, A man of your tribe throughout your generations, who shall have a blemish on him, shall not draw near to offer the gifts of his God.
18 No man is allowed to do this if he has any defects, including anyone who is blind, crippled, facially disfigured, or has deformities,
No man who has a blemish on him shall draw near; a man blind, lame, with his nose disfigured, or his ears cut,
19 anyone who has a broken foot or arm,
a man who has a broken hand or a broken foot,
20 anyone who is a hunchback or dwarf, or who has cataracts, skin sores or scabs, or a damaged testicle.
or humpbacked, or blear-eyed, or that has lost his eye-lashes, or a man who has a malignant ulcer, or tetter, or one that has lost a testicle.
21 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.
Whoever of the seed of Aaron the priest has a blemish on him, shall not draw near to offer sacrifices to your God, because he has a blemish on him; he shall not draw near to offer the gifts of God.
22 He is still allowed to eat the food from the Most Holy Place of his God and also from the sanctuary,
The gifts of God [are] most holy, and he shall eat of the holy things.
23 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.”
Only he shall not approach the veil, and he shall not draw near to the altar, because he has a blemish; and he shall not profane the sanctuary of his God, for I am the Lord that sanctifies them.
24 Moses repeated this to Aaron and his sons, and to all the Israelites.
And Moses spoke to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel.
