21 The Lord said to Moses, ‘Say this to the priests. They must not touch a dead body. That would make them unclean. 2 It may be the body of a person from their own family. The priest can touch the dead person if it is his mother or father. He can touch the dead person if it is his son or his daughter or his brother. 3 He can touch the dead person if it is his sister. But he must not touch her if she has a husband. 4 The priest must not touch a dead person who is married to a person of his family. That would make him unclean.
5 A priest must not cut all the hair from his head. He must not cut the sides of his beard. He must not cut his body. 6 A priest must be holy. He must not speak bad words about the Lord . He is the person who sacrifices the people's burnt offerings.
7 A priest must not marry a woman who has left her husband. He must not marry a woman if men have paid her to have sex with her. He must not marry a woman whose husband has sent her away. A priest must be holy. 8 A priest is holy because he sacrifices the people's offerings to God. A priest is holy because I, the Lord , am holy.
9 A priest's daughter must not have sex with men who pay her. That would make her unclean. She would take away her father's honour. If she does not obey, you must burn her in a fire.
10 They have poured special oil on the leader of the priests' head to show that he is greater than his brothers. He must wear special clothes. He must comb his hair. He must not tear his clothes. 11 He must not go into a room where there is a dead body. Even if it is the body of his parent, he must not go in. It will make him unclean. 12 He must not leave the house of God. He has the holy oil on his head. He must be separate. I am the Lord .
13 The leader of the priests must marry a woman who has not had sex before. 14 The woman must not have had a husband who died. She must not have a husband that she has left. Men must not have paid to have sex with her. She must be a woman from Israel's people, 15 so that their children will be holy. I am the Lord . I make priests holy.’
16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 ‘Talk to Aaron. Say, “A priest who does not have a perfect body must not sacrifice the burnt offerings to God.” This rule is for now and for all time. 18 A priest who cannot see must not sacrifice the food to God. A priest who cannot walk must not sacrifice food to God. A priest with a body that is the wrong shape must not offer food to God. 19 A priest with a hand that is the wrong shape must not offer food to God. A priest with a foot that is the wrong shape must not offer food to God. 20 A priest with a back that is not straight must not offer food to God. Neither must a priest who is very small offer a food gift. A priest who has an eye disease or a skin disease must not offer food to God. Neither must a priest offer food if his testicles are spoiled. 21 If a priest's son has something wrong with his body, he must not come near to the altar. He must not give the food offering to the Lord . 22 He can eat God's holy food and God's most holy food. 23 But none of Aaron's family who is not perfect can go near the holy curtain or the altar. He would make the holy places unclean. I am the Lord . I make them holy.’
24 Moses told all these rules to Aaron, to his sons and to all Israel's people.
21 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell these things to Aaron’s sons, the priests: A priest must not make himself unclean by touching a dead person. 2 But if the dead person was one of his close relatives, he can touch the dead body. The priest can make himself unclean if the dead person is his mother or father, his son or daughter, his brother or 3 his unmarried [ a ] sister. (This sister is close to him because she has no husband. So the priest may make himself unclean for her if she dies.) 4 But a priest must not make himself unclean if the dead person was only one of his slaves. [ b ]
5 “Priests must not shave their heads bald. They must not shave off the edges of their beards. They must not make any cuts in their bodies. 6 Priests must be holy for their God. They must show respect for God’s name. They offer the bread and special gifts to the Lord , so they must be holy.
7 “A priest serves God in a special way, so he must not marry a woman who has had sexual relations with any other man. He must not marry a prostitute or a divorced woman. 8 A priest serves God in a special way. So you must treat him in a special way, because he carries holy things. He brings the holy bread to me, and I am holy. I am the Lord , and I make you holy.
9 “If a priest’s daughter becomes a prostitute, she ruins her reputation and brings shame to her father. She must be burned to death in the fire!
10 “The high priest was chosen from among his brothers. The anointing oil was poured on his head. In this way he was chosen for the special job of being high priest. He was chosen to wear the special clothes, so he must not do things to show his sadness in public. He must not let his hair grow wild. He must not tear his clothes. 11 He must not make himself unclean by touching a dead body. He must not go near a dead body, even if it is his own father or mother. 12 The high priest must not leave God’s holy place, because he might become unclean and then make God’s holy place unclean. The anointing oil was poured on the high priest’s head. This separated him from the rest of the people. I am the Lord .
13 “The high priest must marry a woman who is a virgin. 14 He must not marry a woman who has had sexual relations with any man. He must not marry a prostitute, a divorced woman, or a widow. The high priest must marry a virgin from his own people. 15 In this way people will show respect for his children. [ c ] I, the Lord , have separated the high priest for his special work.”
16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “Tell Aaron: If any of your descendants have anything wrong with them, they must not carry the special bread to God. 18 Any man who has something wrong with him must not serve as priest and bring sacrifices to me. These men cannot serve as priests: blind men, crippled men, men with bad scars on their faces, men with arms or legs that are too long, 19 men with broken feet or hands, 20 men with bent backs, men who are dwarfs, [ d ] men who are cross-eyed, men with rashes or bad skin diseases, and men with crushed testicles.
21 “If one of Aaron’s descendants has something wrong with him, he cannot approach the altar to bring gifts to the Lord . And he cannot carry the special bread to God. 22 He is from the family of priests, so he can eat the holy bread. He can also eat the very holy bread. 23 But he cannot go through the curtain into the Most Holy Place and he cannot go near the altar. This is because he has something wrong with him. He must not make my holy places unholy. I am the Lord , and I make these places holy.”
24 So Moses told these things to Aaron, Aaron’s sons, and all the Israelites.
21 And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:
2 But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother.
3 And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled.
4 But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.
5 They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.
6 They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.
7 They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy unto his God.
8 Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I the Lord , which sanctify you, am holy.
9 And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.
10 And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes;
11 Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his 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 the Lord .
13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity.
14 A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife.
15 Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the Lord do sanctify him.
16 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
17 Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.
18 For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous,
19 Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded,
20 Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken;
21 No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the Lord made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God.
22 He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.
23 Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the Lord do sanctify them.
24 And Moses told it unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.
21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them:
‘ ( A ) No one shall defile himself for a dead person among his people, 2 ( B ) except for his relatives who are nearest to him, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother, 3 also for his virgin sister who is near to him [ a ] because she has not had a husband; for her, he may defile himself. 4 He shall not defile himself as a [ b ] relative by marriage among his people, so as to profane himself. 5 ( C ) They shall not shave any area on their heads bald, ( D ) nor shave off the edges of their beards, ( E ) nor make any cuts in their flesh. 6 They shall be holy to their God and ( F ) not profane the name of their God, because they present the offerings by fire [ c ] to the Lord , ( G ) the food of their God; so they shall be holy. 7 ( H ) They shall not take a woman who is a prostitute and [ d ] profaned, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for he is holy to his God. 8 You shall consecrate him, therefore, because he offers ( I ) the food of your God. He shall be holy to you; for I the Lord , who sanctifies you, am holy. 9 ( J ) Also the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by prostitution, she profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire.
10 ‘The priest who is [ e ] highest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured and [ f ] who has been consecrated to wear the garments, ( K ) shall not [ g ] uncover his head nor tear his clothes; 11 ( L ) nor shall he approach any dead person, nor defile himself even for his father or his mother; 12 ( M ) nor shall he leave the sanctuary nor profane the sanctuary of his God, for ( N ) the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him; I am the Lord . 13 He shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 ( O ) A widow, or a divorced woman, or one who is profaned by prostitution, these he shall not take; but rather he is to [ h ] marry a virgin of his own people, 15 so that he will not profane his [ i ] children among his people; for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.’”
16 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying, ‘None of your [ j ] descendants throughout their generations who has an impairment shall approach to offer the ( P ) food of his God. 18 ( Q ) For no one who has an impairment shall approach: a man who is blind, or one who limps, or one who has a ( R ) slit nose, or one with any conspicuous feature, 19 or someone who has a broken foot or broken hand, 20 or a contorted back, or one who is a dwarf, or has a spot in his eye, or a festering rash or scabs, or ( S ) crushed testicles. 21 No man among the [ k ] descendants of Aaron the priest who has an impairment is to come forward to offer the Lord ’ s offerings by fire; since he has an impairment, he shall not come forward to offer ( T ) the food of his God. 22 He may eat ( U ) the food of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy, 23 only he shall not come up to the veil or approach the altar, since he has an impairment, so that he does not profane My sanctuaries. For I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’” 24 So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel.
21 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, ( A ) and say to them: ‘A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean ( B ) for any of his people who die, ( C ) 2 except for a close relative, such as his mother or father, ( D ) his son or daughter, his brother, 3 or an unmarried sister who is dependent on him since she has no husband—for her he may make himself unclean. ( E ) 4 He must not make himself unclean for people related to him by marriage, [ a ] and so defile himself.
5 “‘Priests must not shave ( F ) their heads or shave off the edges of their beards ( G ) or cut their bodies. ( H ) 6 They must be holy to their God ( I ) and must not profane the name of their God. ( J ) Because they present the food offerings to the Lord , ( K ) the food of their God, ( L ) they are to be holy. ( M )
7 “‘They must not marry women defiled by prostitution or divorced from their husbands, ( N ) because priests are holy to their God. ( O ) 8 Regard them as holy, ( P ) because they offer up the food of your God. ( Q ) Consider them holy, because I the Lord am holy—I who make you holy. ( R )
9 “‘If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she must be burned in the fire. ( S )
10 “‘The high priest, the one among his brothers who has had the anointing oil poured on his head ( T ) and who has been ordained to wear the priestly garments, ( U ) must not let his hair become unkempt [ b ] or tear his clothes. ( V ) 11 He must not enter a place where there is a dead body. ( W ) He must not make himself unclean, ( X ) even for his father or mother, ( Y ) 12 nor leave the sanctuary ( Z ) of his God or desecrate it, because he has been dedicated by the anointing oil ( AA ) of his God. I am the Lord .
13 “‘The woman he marries must be a virgin. ( AB ) 14 He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a woman defiled by prostitution, but only a virgin from his own people, 15 so that he will not defile his offspring among his people. I am the Lord , who makes him holy.’”
16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “Say to Aaron: ‘For the generations to come none of your descendants who has a defect ( AC ) may come near to offer the food of his God. ( AD ) 18 No man who has any defect ( AE ) may come near: no man who is blind ( AF ) or lame, ( AG ) disfigured or deformed; 19 no man with a crippled foot or hand, 20 or who is a hunchback or a dwarf, or who has any eye defect, or who has festering or running sores or damaged testicles. ( AH ) 21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any defect ( AI ) is to come near to present the food offerings to the Lord . ( AJ ) He has a defect; he must not come near to offer the food of his God. ( AK ) 22 He may eat the most holy food of his God, ( AL ) as well as the holy food; 23 yet because of his defect, ( AM ) he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar, and so desecrate my sanctuary. ( AN ) I am the Lord , who makes them holy. ( AO ) ’”
24 So Moses told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.
