Leviticus 21

1 And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, None [of them] shall defile himself on 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 on his kin, that is near unto him, [that is, ] on his mother, and on his father, and on his son, and on his daughter, and on his brother,

The only exceptions are for his immediate family. This includes his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother,

3 And on his sister that is a virgin, that is nigh unto him, who hath had no husband: on her may he defile himself.

or his unmarried sister since she is a close relative because she doesn't have a husband.

4 The chief man among his people shall not defile himself, to be profaned thereby.

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 any baldness upon their head, and the corner of their beard shall they not shave off, and in their flesh shall they not make any incision.

Priests are not to shave bald spots on their heads, trim the sides of their beards, or cut their bodies.

6 Holy shall they be unto their God, and they shall not profane the name of their God; for the fire-offerings of the Lord, the bread of their God, do they offer, they shall therefore 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 A woman that is a harlot, or one profaned, shall they not take; and a woman put away from her husband shall they not take; for holy is he 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 And thou shalt sanctify him; for the bread of thy God doth he offer: holy shall he be 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 if the daughter of any priest profane herself by committing incest, her father doth she profane: with fire shall she be burnt.

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 hath been poured, and who hath been consecrated to put on the garments, shall not let the hair of his head grow long, and his garments shall he not rend;

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; even on his father, and on his mother shall he not defile himself.

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 And out of the sanctuary shall he not go, that he may not profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown 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 virgin state.

He can only marry a virgin.

14 A widow, and a divorced woman, and one profaned, [and] a harlot, these shall he not take; but a virgin of his own people shall he take for 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 So that he may not profane his seed among his people; for I, the Lord, 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 the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

The Lord told Moses,

17 Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever of thy seed in their generations it be on whom there is any blemish, shall 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 it be on whom there is a blemish, shall not approach: a blind, or a lame man, or one that hath a flattened nose, or a man one of whose limbs is 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 who hath a broken foot, or a broken hand,

anyone who has a broken foot or arm,

20 Or a crookbacked, or a dwarf, or one that hath a blemish in his eye, or the itch, or the scurvy, or the testicles broken.

anyone who is a hunchback or dwarf, or who has cataracts, skin sores or scabs, or a damaged testicle.

21 Every man on whom there is a blemish, of the seed of Aaron the priest, shall not come nigh to offer the fire-offerings of the Lord: there is a blemish on him; 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 The brewed of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy things he may eat.

He is still allowed to eat the food from the Most Holy Place of his God and also from the sanctuary,

23 Only unto the vail, and unto the altar shall he not come nigh, because there is a blemish on him; that he profane not my holy things; for I the Lord 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 spoke thus 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.