Leviticus 21
1 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Speak unto the priests, sons of Aaron, and thou hast said unto them, For [any] person [a priest] is not defiled 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 relation who [is] near unto him — for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for 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 and for his sister, the virgin, who is near unto him, who hath not been to a man; for her he is defiled.
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 'A master [priest] doth not defile himself among his people — to pollute 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 they do not make baldness on their head, and the corner of their beard they do not shave, and in their flesh they do not make a cutting;
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 are holy to their God, and they pollute not the name of their God, for the fire-offerings of Jehovah, bread of their God, they are bringing near, and have been 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 'A woman, a harlot, or polluted, they do not take, and a woman cast out from her husband they do not take, for he [is] holy to his 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 and thou hast sanctified him, for the bread of thy God he is bringing near; he is holy to thee; for holy [am] I, Jehovah, sanctifying you.
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 'And a daughter of any priest when she polluteth herself by going a-whoring — her father she is polluting; with fire she is burnt.
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 'And the high priest of his brethren, on whose head is poured the anointing oil, and hath consecrated his hand to put on the garments, his head doth not uncover, nor rend his garments,
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 nor beside any dead person doth he come; for his father and for his mother he doth not defile himself;
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 nor from the sanctuary doth he go out, nor doth he pollute the sanctuary of his God, for the separation of the anointing oil of his God [is] on him; I [am] Jehovah.
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 'And he taketh a wife in her virginity;
Women whom you priests marry must be virgins.
14 widow, or cast out, or polluted one — a harlot — these he doth not take, but a virgin of his own people he doth take [for] a wife,
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 and he doth not pollute his seed among his people; for I [am] Jehovah, sanctifying him.'
16 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
17 'Speak unto Aaron, saying, No man of thy seed to their generations in whom there is blemish doth draw near to bring near the bread of 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 for no man in whom [is] blemish doth draw near — a man blind, or lame or dwarfed, or enlarged,
No one who is blind or lame or deformed, or whose [face is] disfigured,
19 or a man in whom there is a breach in the foot, or a breach in the hand,
no man with a crippled foot or a crippled hand,
20 or hump-backed, or a dwarf, or with a mixture in his eye, or a scurvy person, or scabbed, or broken-testicled.
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 in whom is blemish (of the seed of Aaron the priest) doth come nigh to bring near the fire-offerings of Jehovah; blemish [is] in him; the bread of his God he doth not come nigh to bring near.
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 'Bread of his God — of the most holy things, and of the holy things — he doth eat;
Priests who have defects are permitted to eat the various kinds of holy food offered to me.
23 only, unto the vail he doth not enter, and unto the altar he doth not draw nigh; for blemish [is] in him; and he doth not pollute My sanctuaries; for I [am] Jehovah, sanctifying them.'
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 And Moses speaketh unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the sons of Israel.
So Moses/I told this to Aaron and to his sons and to all the Israeli people.
