Leviticus 21
1 And Yhwh said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled 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 But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, 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 nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled.
or his unmarried sister since she is a close relative because she doesn't have a husband.
4 But 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 corner 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 Yhwh made by fire, and 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 wife that is a whore, or profane; 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 Yhwh, which 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 whore, 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 he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, 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 crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am Yhwh.
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 a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people 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 Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I Yhwh do 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 Yhwh spake unto Moses, saying,
The Lord told Moses,
17 Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any 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 a flat nose, or any thing superfluous,
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 brokenfooted, or brokenhanded,
anyone who has a broken foot or arm,
20 Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken;
anyone who is a hunchback or dwarf, or who has cataracts, skin sores or scabs, or a damaged testicle.
21 No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of Yhwh 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 shall 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 vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I Yhwh do 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 And Moses told it 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.
