Leviticus 21
1 Yahweh also said to Moses/me, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them,
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;
2 ‘You priests must not cause yourselves to become unfit to do my work by [touching] corpses. Priests are permitted to touch only the corpses of close relatives, such as the priest’s mother or father or his son or daughter or his brother.
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,
3 Priests are also permitted to touch the corpse of a sister if she is not married, because she has no husband [to bury her body].
And on his sister that is a virgin, that is nigh unto him, who hath had no husband: on her may he defile himself.
4 Priests must not cause themselves to become unfit to do my work [DOU] by [touching corpses of] people who were married to one of their close relatives.
The chief man among his people shall not defile himself, to be profaned thereby.
5 You priests must not shave your heads or shave the edges of your beards or cut your bodies [to show that you are mourning for someone who has died].
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.
6 You must act in ways that I, your God, consider to be holy, and not disgrace my name/reputation. You are the ones who present to me the offerings that are burned. [It is as though] those offerings are food for me, your God; so you must act in ways that are holy.
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.
7 You priests must not marry women who have been prostitutes or who have been divorced from their husbands, because you priests are (set apart for me/holy).
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.
8 You must consider that you are holy, because you offer food to me, your God. Consider yourselves to be holy because I, Yahweh, [the one who caused you to be priests and] the one who enables you to be holy, am holy.
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.
9 If a priest’s daughter disgraces herself by becoming a prostitute, she disgraces her father; and she must be killed by being burned in a fire.
And if the daughter of any priest profane herself by committing incest, her father doth she profane: with fire shall she be burnt.
10 The Supreme Priest is the one among his relatives who has been [appointed for that work] by having his head anointed with olive oil. He is also the one who has been appointed to wear the special garments that priests wear. He must not allow the hair on his [head] to remain uncombed, and he must not tear his clothes [when he is mourning for someone].
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;
11 He must not enter some place where there is a corpse. He must not do that and cause himself to become unfit for his work, even if it is his father or his mother who has died.
Neither shall he go in to any dead body; even on his father, and on his mother shall he not defile himself.
12 He must not leave the Sacred Tent [to join those who are mourning], because he would cause himself to become unfit for his work and would also defile/desecrate the Sacred Tent. He must not leave the Sacred Tent [at that time], because by being anointed with olive oil he has been (appointed/set apart) to serve his God [in the Sacred Tent]. I, Yahweh, [am the one who am commanding this].
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.
13 Women whom you priests marry must be virgins.
And he shall take a wife in her virgin state.
14 You priests must not marry widows or prostitutes or divorced women, because if you did that, [if you later have] sons, they would not be acceptable to be priests among your people. You must marry only virgins from among your own people. I am Yahweh, who sets priests apart to be holy.’”
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;
So that he may not profane his seed among his people; for I, the Lord, do sanctify him.
16 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,
17 “Say this to Aaron: 'For all future time, none of your descendants who has any defects [on his body] will be allowed to come near [the altar] to offer [sacrifices to me which will be like] [MET] my food:
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.
18 No one who is blind or lame or deformed, or whose [face is] disfigured,
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,
19 no man with a crippled foot or a crippled hand,
Or a man who hath a broken foot, or a broken hand,
20 no man who is a hunchback or a dwarf, no man whose eyes are defective, no man who has a skin disease [DOU] or whose testicles have been damaged is allowed to brings sacrifices.
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.
21 No descendant of Aaron, the [first Supreme] Priest, who has any defect is allowed to come to the altar to offer to me, his God, sacrifices that will be burned.
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.
22 Priests who have defects are permitted to eat the various kinds of holy food offered to me.
The brewed of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy things he may eat.
23 But because of their defects, they must not go near the curtain [in the Sacred Tent] or near the altar, because if they did that, they would desecrate my Sacred Tent. I am Yahweh, the one who sets those places apart as being holy.'”
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.
24 So Moses/I told this to Aaron and to his sons and to all the Israeli people.
And Moses spoke thus unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.
