Leviticus 21

1 Yahweh said to Moses: “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, 'No one among you shall make himself unclean for those who die among his people,

Yahweh also said to Moses/me, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them,

2 except for his closest relatives—his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother,

‘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.

3 or his virgin sister who is dependent on him, since she has no husband—for her he may make himself unclean.

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].

4 But he must not make himself unclean for other relatives and so defile himself.

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.

5 Priests must not shave their heads or shave off the corners of their beards, nor cut their bodies.

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].

6 They must be holy to their God and not disgrace the name of their God, because the priests offer Yahweh's food offerings, the bread of their God. Therefore the priests must be holy.

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.

7 They must not marry any woman who is a prostitute and who is defiled, and they must not marry a woman divorced from her husband, for they are separate for their God.

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).

8 You will set him apart, for he is the one who offers bread to your God. He must be holy to you, because I, Yahweh who makes you holy, am holy.

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.

9 Any daughter of any priest who defiles herself by becoming a prostitute disgraces her father. She must be burned.

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.

10 The one who is the high priest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured, and who has been consecrated to wear the special garments of the high priest, must not wear his hair loose or tear his clothes.

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].

11 He must not go anywhere that a dead body is present and defile himself, even for his father or his mother.

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.

12 The high priest must not leave the sanctuary area of the tabernacle or profane the sanctuary of his God, because he has been consecrated as high priest by the anointing oil of his God. I am Yahweh.

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].

13 The high priest must marry a virgin as his wife.

Women whom you priests marry must be virgins.

14 He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a woman who is a prostitute. He will not marry these kinds of women. He may only marry a virgin from his own people,

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.’”

15 so he will not defile his children among his people, for I am Yahweh, who makes him holy.'”

16 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Yahweh also said to Moses/me,

17 “Speak to Aaron and tell him, 'Whoever of your descendants throughout their generations has a bodily defect, he must not approach to offer the food to his God.

“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:

18 Any man who has a bodily defect must not approach Yahweh, such as a blind man or a man who is unable to walk, one who is disfigured or deformed,

No one who is blind or lame or deformed, or whose [face is] disfigured,

19 a man with a crippled hand or foot,

no man with a crippled foot or a crippled hand,

20 a man who has a hump in his back or is abnormally thin or short, or a man with a defect in his eyes, or with a disease, sore, scabs, or whose testicles have been crushed.

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.

21 No man among the descendants of Aaron the priest with a bodily defect may come near to perform the offerings made by fire for Yahweh. Such a man has a bodily defect; he must not come near to offer the bread of his God.

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.

22 He may eat the food of his God, whether some of the most holy or some of the holy.

Priests who have defects are permitted to eat the various kinds of holy food offered to me.

23 However, he must not enter inside the curtain or come near the altar, because he has a bodily defect, so that he does not defile my holy place, for I am Yahweh, who makes them holy.'”

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.'”

24 So Moses spoke these words to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the people of Israel.

So Moses/I told this to Aaron and to his sons and to all the Israeli people.