Leviticus 21

1 And the LORD said unto Moses: Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them: There shall none defile himself for the dead among his people;

The Lord also said to Moses: Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and you shall say to them: Do not allow a priest to be contaminated by the death of his citizens,

2 except for his kin, that is near unto him, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother;

except only by his blood-relatives and near-relatives, that is, by a father or mother, or by a son or daughter, or also a brother,

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

or a virgin sister, who is not married to a husband.

4 He shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.

But not even by the leader of his people shall he be contaminated.

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

Neither shall they shave their head or their beard, and they shall not make incisions in their flesh.

6 They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God; for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the bread of their God, they do offer; therefore they shall be holy.

They shall be holy to their God, and they shall not pollute his name. For they offer the incense of the Lord and the bread of their God, and because of this they shall be holy.

7 They shall not take a woman that is a harlot, or profaned; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband; for he is holy unto his God.

They shall not take as a wife a promiscuous woman, or a prostitute, or her who has been repudiated by her husband. For they are consecrated to their God,

8 Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the bread of thy God; he shall be holy unto thee; for I the LORD, who sanctify you, am holy.

and they offer the bread of the presence. Therefore, let them be holy, for I also am holy: the Lord, who sanctifies them.

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

If the daughter of a priest will have been taken into prostitution, and will have violated the name of her father, she shall be consumed by fire.

10 And the priest that is highest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil is poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not let the hair of his head go loose, nor rend his clothes;

The high priest, that is, the priest who is the greatest among his brothers, upon whose head the oil of anointing has been poured, and whose hands have been consecrated for the priesthood, and who has been vested with the holy vestments: he shall not expose his head; he shall not rend his vestments.

11 neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;

And he shall not enter to any dead body whatsoever; likewise, not even by his father or mother shall he be contaminated.

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 the LORD.

Neither shall he exit from the holy places, lest he pollute the Sanctuary of the Lord. For the oil of the holy anointing of his God is upon him. I am the Lord.

13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity.

He shall take a virgin as his wife.

14 A widow, or one divorced, or a profaned woman, or a harlot, these shall he not take; but a virgin of his own people shall he take to wife.

But a widow, or one who has been repudiated or defiled, or also a mistress, he shall not accept, but only a maiden from among his own people.

15 And he shall not profane his seed among his people; for I am the LORD who sanctify him.

He shall not mingle the stock of his family with the common people of his nation. For I am the Lord, who sanctifies him.

16 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

17 Speak unto Aaron, saying: Whosoever he be of thy seed throughout their generations that hath a blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.

Say to Aaron: A man from your offspring, throughout their families, who has a blemish, shall not offer the bread to his God.

18 For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath any thing maimed, or anything too long,

Neither shall he approach to minister to him: if he is blind, if he is lame, if he is small, or large, or has a crooked nose,

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

if his foot or hand is broken,

20 or crook-backed, or a dwarf, or that hath his eye overspread, or is scabbed, or scurvy, or hath his stones crushed;

if he has a bulging back or bleary eyes, or if he has a white spot in his eye, or a chronic scab, or a skin disease on his body, or a hernia.

21 no man of the seed of Aaron the priest, that hath a blemish, shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire; he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God.

Anyone from the offspring of Aaron, the priest, who has a blemish, shall not approach to offer sacrifices to the Lord, nor the bread to his God.

22 He may eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.

Nevertheless, he shall eat from the loaves which are offered in the Sanctuary.

23 Only he shall not go in unto the veil, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not My holy places; for I am the LORD who sanctify them.

But even so, he may not enter within the veil, nor approach to the altar. For he has a blemish, and he must not contaminate my Sanctuary. I am the Lord, who sanctifies them.

24 So Moses spoke unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.

Therefore, Moses spoke to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all of Israel, everything that had been commanded to him.