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 Yahweh said unto Moses, Say unto the priests, the sons of Aaron, —yea thou shalt say unto them, For a dead person, shall no one make himself unclean among his people:

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

Saving for his kin, that are near unto him, for his mother or for his father, or for his son or for his daughter, or for his brother;

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

or for his sister, a virgin who is near unto him, who belongeth not unto a husband, —for her, he may make himself unclean:

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 make himself unclean being a chief among his people, —by profaning himself:

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

They shall not make a baldness behind in their head, And the border of their beard, shall they not cut off, —And, in their flesh, shall they not make incisions.

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.

Holy persons, shall they be unto their God, and not profane the name of their God, —for, the altar-flames of Yahweh, the food of their God, do they bring near—Therefore shall they 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.

A woman that is unchaste or dishonoured, shall they not take, And a woman divorced from her husband, shall they not take, —For holy, he is unto 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.

Therefore shalt thou hold him as holy, for the food of thy God, doth he bring near, —Holy, shall he be to thee, For, holy, am I—Yahweh, who am making you holy.

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

And, the daughter of any priest, when she profaneth herself by unchastity, Her father, she, doth profane, with fire, shall she be consumed.

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, as for the high priest from among his brethren upon whose head is poured the anointing oil, and who is installed, by putting on the garments, His head, shall he not bare, And, his garments, shall he not rend;

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.

And, unto no persons of the dead, shall he go in, —For his father or for his mother, shall he not make himself unclean;

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, out of the sanctuary, shall he not go forth, so shall he not profane the sanctuary of his God, —for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him—I, am Yahweh.

13 He can only marry a virgin.

But, he, shall take a woman in her virginity:

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,

A widow or a divorced woman or one dishonoured—an unchaste woman, these, shall he not take, But, a virgin from among his own kinsfolk, shall he take to wife;

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

So shall he not profane his seed, among his kinsfolk, —For I—Yahweh, do hallow him.

16 The Lord told Moses,

And Yahweh spake unto 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.

Speak unto Aaron, saying, —No man of thy seed, unto their generations in whom shall be any blemish, shall come near, to present the food 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,

Surely, no man in whom is any blemish, shall come near, —No man who is blind or lame, or hath a flat nose, or is lanky;

19 anyone who has a broken foot or arm,

nor any man who hath a broken foot, —or a broken hand;

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

or is hump-backed or a dwarf, or hath defective vision, —or hath scurvy or scab, or is crushed in the stones:

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.

No, man in whom is a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest, shall approach, to bring near the altar-flames of Yahweh, —a blemish, is in him, the food of his God, shall he not approach to bring near:

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

Of the food of his God, both of the most holy, —and the holy, may he eat:

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, unto the veil, shall he not come in and unto the altar, shall he not approach—because, a blemish, is in him, so shall he not profane my sanctuaries, For, I—Yahweh, am hallowing them.

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

And Moses spake [these things] unto Aaron, and unto his sons, —and unto all the sons of Israel.