Leviticus 21
1 Jehovah 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;
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 relatives that are near to him: for his mother, for his father, for his son, for his daughter, for his brother,
The only exceptions are for his immediate family. This includes his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother,
3 and for his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband; for her he may 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 shave their heads, neither shall they shave off the corners of their beards, 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 to their God, and not profane the name of their God; for they offer the offerings of Jehovah made by fire, the bread of their God; 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 marry a woman who is a prostitute, or profane; neither shall they marry a woman divorced from her husband: for he is holy to 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 You shall sanctify him therefore; for he offers the bread of your God: he shall be holy to you: for I Jehovah, 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 "'The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the prostitute, she profanes her father: she shall be burned with fire.
A priest's daughter who makes herself unclean through prostitution makes her father unclean. She must be executed by burning.
10 "'He who is the high priest among his brothers, 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 hang loose, nor tear 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 Jehovah.
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 "'He shall take a wife in her virginity.
He can only marry a virgin.
14 A widow, or one divorced, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute, these he shall not marry: but a virgin of his own people shall he take as a 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 He shall not profane his offspring among his people: for I am Jehovah who sanctifies him.'"
so that he doesn't make his children unclean among his people, for I am the Lord who makes him holy.”
16 Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
The Lord told Moses,
17 "Say to Aaron, 'None of your descendants throughout their generations who has a blemish, may 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 whatever man he is that has a blemish, he shall not draw near: a blind man, or a lame, or he who has a flat nose, or any deformity,
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 has an injured foot, or an injured hand,
anyone who has a broken foot or arm,
20 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;
anyone who is a hunchback or dwarf, or who has cataracts, skin sores or scabs, or a damaged testicle.
21 no man of the descendants of Aaron the priest, who has a blemish, shall come near to present offerings to your God made by fire. Since he has a blemish, he shall not come near 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 He shall not come near to the veil, nor come near to the altar, because he has a blemish; that he may not profane my sanctuaries, for I am Jehovah who sanctifies 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 to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel.
Moses repeated this to Aaron and his sons, and to all the Israelites.
