Leviticus 21

Chapter 21

Instructions for the Priests

1 The LORD said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

“A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean by touching the dead body of a relative.2 The only exceptions are his closest relatives—his mother or father, son or daughter, brother,3 or his virgin sister who depends on him because she has no husband.

4 But a priest must not defile himself and make himself unclean for someone who is related to him only by marriage.
5 “The priests must not shave their heads or trim their beards or cut their bodies.

6 They must be set apart as holy to their God and must never bring shame on the name of God. They must be holy, for they are the ones who present the special gifts to the LORD, gifts of food for their God.
7 “Priests may not marry a woman defiled by prostitution, and they may not marry a woman who is divorced from her husband, for the priests are set apart as holy to their God.

8 You must treat them as holy because they offer up food to your God. You must consider them holy because I, the LORD, am holy, and I make you holy.

9 “If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she also defiles her father’s holiness, and she must be burned to death.
10 “The high priest has the highest rank of all the priests. The anointing oil has been poured on his head, and he has been ordained to wear the priestly garments. He must never leave his hair uncombedt or tear his clothing.11 He must not defile himself by going near a dead body. He may not make himself ceremonially unclean even for his father or mother.

12 He must not defile the sanctuary of his God by leaving it to attend to a dead person, for he has been made holy by the anointing oil of his God. I am the LORD.
13 “The high priest may marry only a virgin.14 He may not marry a widow, a woman who is divorced, or a woman who has defiled herself by prostitution. She must be a virgin from his own clan,

15 so that he will not dishonor his descendants among his clan, for I am the LORD who makes him holy.”
16 Then the LORD said to Moses,17 “Give the following instructions to Aaron: In all future generations, none of your descendants who has any defect will qualify to offer food to his God.18 No one who has a defect qualifies, whether he is blind, lame, disfigured, deformed,19 or has a broken foot or arm,20 or is hunchbacked or dwarfed, or has a defective eye, or skin sores or scabs, or damaged testicles.21 No descendant of Aaron who has a defect may approach the altar to present special gifts to the LORD. Since he has a defect, he may not approach the altar to offer food to his God.22 However, he may eat from the food offered to God, including the holy offerings and the most holy offerings.

23 Yet because of his physical defect, he may not enter the room behind the inner curtain or approach the altar, for this would defile my holy places. I am the LORD who makes them holy.”

24 So Moses gave these instructions to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.

LEVITICUS 21

Instructions for Priests

1 The [Lord] gave Moses these instructions for Aaron's sons, the priests:
Touching a dead body will make you unclean. So don't go near a dead relative, 2 except your mother, father, son, daughter, brother, 3 or an unmarried sister, who has no husband to take care of her. 4 Don't make yourself unclean by attending the funeral of someone related to you by marriage.t 5 t Don't shave any part of your head or trim your beard or cut yourself to show that you are mourning. 6 I am the [Lord] your God, and I have chosen you alone to offer sacrifices of food to me on the altar. That's why you must keep yourselves holy. 7 Don't marry a divorced woman or a woman who has served as a temple prostitute. You are holy,

8 because I am holy. And so, you must be treated with proper respect, since you offer food sacrifices to me, the God of holiness.

9 If any of you priests has a daughter who disgraces you by serving as a temple prostitute, she must be burned to death.
10 If you are the high priest, you must not mess up your hair or tear your clothes in order to mourn for the dead. 11 Don't make yourself unclean by going near a dead body, not even that of your own father or mother.

12 If you leave the sacred place to attend a funeral, both you and the sacred place become unclean, because you are the high priest.
13 If you are the high priest, you must marry only a virgin 14 from your own tribe. Don't marry a divorced woman or any other woman who has already had sex, including a temple prostitute.

15 In this way, your descendants will be qualified to serve me. Remember—I am the [Lord], and I have chosen you.
16 The [Lord] told Moses

17-18 to say to Aaron:
No descendant of yours can ever serve as my priest if he is blind or lame, if his face is disfigured, if one leg is shorter than the other, 19 if either a foot or a hand is paralyzed, 20 if he is a hunchback or a dwarf, if an eye or his skin is diseased, or if his testicles have been damaged. 21 These men may not serve as my priests and burn sacrifices to me. 22 They may eat the food offerings presented to me,

23 but they may not enter the sacred place or serve me at the altar. Remember—I am the [Lord], the one who makes a priest holy.
24 Moses told all of this to Aaron, his sons, and the people of Israel.