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.

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 The only exceptions are for his immediate family. This includes 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 since she is a close relative because she doesn't have a husband.

or his virgin sister who is dependent on him, since she has no 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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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 He can only marry a virgin.

The high priest must marry a virgin as his wife.

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,

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

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

16 The Lord told Moses,

Yahweh 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.

“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 is allowed to do this if he has any defects, including anyone who is blind, crippled, facially disfigured, or has deformities,

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 anyone who has a broken foot or arm,

a man with a crippled hand or foot,

20 anyone who is a hunchback or dwarf, or who has cataracts, skin sores or scabs, or a damaged 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 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 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 is still allowed to eat the food from the Most Holy Place of his God and also from the sanctuary,

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 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.”

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 repeated 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.