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;

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 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 for his closest relatives—his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his 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 virgin sister who is dependent on him, since she has no husband—for her he may make himself unclean.

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

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

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 must not shave their heads or shave off the corners of their beards, nor 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 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 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 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 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 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 And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the harlot, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.

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

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

He must not go anywhere that a dead body is present and defile himself, even for his father or his 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.

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 And he shall take a wife in her virginity.

The high priest must marry 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.

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

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

16 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:

Yahweh 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.

“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 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,

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

a man with a crippled hand or foot,

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

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

He may eat the food of his God, whether some of the most holy or some of the holy.

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.

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

So Moses spoke these words to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the people of Israel.