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 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 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;
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, that hath had no husband, for her may he defile himself.
or his unmarried sister since she is a close relative because she doesn't have a husband.
4 He shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, 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 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 the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the bread of their God, they do offer; therefore they shall 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 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.
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 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.
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 harlot, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt 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 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 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 go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or 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 the LORD.
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 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.
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 people; for I am the LORD who sanctify him.
so that he doesn't make his children unclean among his people, for I am the Lord who makes him holy.”
16 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:
The Lord told Moses,
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.
“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 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,
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 crook-backed, or a dwarf, or that hath his eye overspread, or is scabbed, or scurvy, or hath his stones crushed;
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 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.
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 He may eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.
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 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 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 So Moses spoke unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.
Moses repeated this to Aaron and his sons, and to all the Israelites.
