Leviticus 21

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the priests the sons of Aaron, and you shall tell them [that] they shall not defile themselves in their nation for the dead,

Yahweh said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, ‘A priest shall not defile himself for the dead among his people,

2 but [they may mourn] for a relative who is very near to them, for a father and mother, and sons and daughters, for a brother,

except for his relatives that are near to him: for his mother, for his father, for his son, for his daughter, for his brother,

3 and for a virgin sister that is near to one, that is not espoused to a man; for these one shall defile himself.

and for his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband; for her he may defile himself.

4 He shall not defile himself suddenly among his people to profane himself.

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

5 And you shall not shave your head for the dead with a baldness on the top; and they shall not shave their beard, neither shall they make gashes on their flesh.

“‘They shall not shave their heads or shave off the corners of their beards or make any cuttings in their flesh.

6 They shall be holy to their God, and they shall not profane the name of their God; for they offer the sacrifices of the Lord as the gifts of their God, and they shall be holy.

They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings of Yahweh made by fire, the bread of their God. Therefore they shall be holy.

7 They shall not take a woman who is a harlot and profaned, or a woman put away from her husband; for he is holy to the Lord his God.

“‘They shall not marry a woman who is a prostitute, or profane. A priest shall not marry a woman divorced from her husband; for he is holy to his God.

8 And you shall hallow him; he offers the gifts of the Lord your God: he shall be holy, for I the Lord that sanctify them [am] holy.

Therefore you shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I Yahweh, who sanctify you, am holy.

9 And if the daughter of a priest should be profaned to go a whoring, she profanes the name of her father: she shall be burnt with fire.

“‘The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the prostitute, she profanes her father. She shall be burned with fire.

10 And the priest that is chief among his brethren, the oil having been poured upon the head of the anointed one, and he having been consecrated to put on the garments, shall not take the mitre off his head, and shall not rend his garments:

“‘He who is the high priest among his brothers, upon whose head the anointing oil is poured, and who is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not let the hair of his head hang loose, or tear his clothes.

11 neither shall he go in to any dead body, neither shall he defile himself for his father or his mother.

He must not go in to any dead body, or defile himself for his father or for his mother.

12 And he shall not go forth out of the sanctuary, and he shall not profane the sanctuary of his God, because the holy anointing oil of God [is] upon him: I [am] the Lord.

He shall not 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 Yahweh.

13 He shall take for a wife a virgin of his own tribe.

“‘He shall take a wife in her virginity.

14 But a widow, or one that is put away, or profaned, or a harlot, these he shall not take; but he shall take for a wife a virgin of his own people.

He shall not marry a widow, or one divorced, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute. He shall take a virgin of his own people as a wife.

15 And he shall not profane his seed among his people: I [am] the Lord that sanctifies him.

He shall not profane his offspring among his people, for I am Yahweh who sanctifies him.’”

16 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

17 Say to Aaron, A man of your tribe throughout your generations, who shall have a blemish on him, shall not draw near to offer the gifts of his God.

“Say to Aaron, ‘None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a defect may approach to offer the bread of his God.

18 No man who has a blemish on him shall draw near; a man blind, lame, with his nose disfigured, or his ears cut,

For whatever man he is that has a defect, he shall not draw near: a blind man, or a lame, or he who has a flat nose, or any deformity,

19 a man who has a broken hand or a broken foot,

or a man who has an injured foot, or an injured hand,

20 or humpbacked, or blear-eyed, or that has lost his eye-lashes, or a man who has a malignant ulcer, or tetter, or one that has lost a testicle.

or hunchbacked, or a dwarf, or one who has a defect in his eye, or an itching disease, or scabs, or who has damaged testicles.

21 Whoever of the seed of Aaron the priest has a blemish on him, shall not draw near to offer sacrifices to your God, because he has a blemish on him; he shall not draw near to offer the gifts of God.

No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall come near to offer the offerings of Yahweh made by fire. Since he has a defect, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God.

22 The gifts of God [are] most holy, and he shall eat of the holy things.

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

23 Only he shall not approach the veil, and he shall not draw near to the altar, because he has a blemish; and he shall not profane the sanctuary of his God, for I am the Lord that sanctifies them.

He shall not come near to the veil, nor come near to the altar, because he has a defect; that he may not profane my sanctuaries, for I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.’”

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

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