Lev 21 | NASB1995 | STEP | Then the Lord said to Moses , “ Speak to the priests , the sons of Aaron , and say to them: ‘ No one shall defile himself for a dead person among his people ,

Leviticus 21

Regulations concerning Priests

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them:

‘ ^aNo one shall defile himself for a dead person among his people, 2 ^bexcept for his relatives who are nearest to him, his mother and his father and his son and his daughter and his brother, 3 also for his virgin sister, who is near to him ^{▼▼ Or whom no man has had}because she has had no husband; for her he may defile himself. 4 ‘He shall not defile himself as a ^{▼▼ Lit husband among}relative by marriage among his people, and so profane himself. 5 ‘ ^eThey shall not make any baldness on their heads, ^fnor shave off the edges of their beards, ^gnor make any cuts in their flesh. 6 ‘They shall be holy to their God and ^hnot profane the name of their God, for they present the offerings by fire ^{▼▼ Lit of}to the Lord, ^jthe food of their God; so they shall be holy. 7 ‘ ^kThey shall not take a woman who is profaned by harlotry, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for he is holy to his God. 8 ‘You shall consecrate him, therefore, for he offers ^lthe food of your God; he shall be holy to you; for I the Lord, who sanctifies you, am holy. 9 ‘ ^mAlso the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by harlotry, she profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire.

10 ‘The priest who is the highest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured and ^{▼▼ Lit whose hand has been filled}who has been consecrated to wear the garments, ^oshall not ^{▼▼ Lit unbind}uncover his head nor tear his clothes; 11 ^qnor shall he approach any dead person, nor defile himself even for his father or his mother; 12 ^rnor shall he go out of the sanctuary nor profane the sanctuary of his God, for ^sthe 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 ‘ ^tA widow, or a divorced woman, or one who is profaned by harlotry, these he may not take; but rather he is to ^{▼▼ Lit take as wife}marry a virgin of his own people, 15 so that he will not profane his ^{▼▼ Lit seed}offspring among his people; for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.’”

16 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying, ‘No man of your ^{▼▼ Lit seed}offspring throughout their generations who has a defect shall approach to offer the ^xfood of his God. 18 ‘ ^yFor no one who has a defect shall approach: a blind man, or a lame man, or he who has a ^{▼▼ Lit slit
,} ^aadisfigured face, or any deformed limb, 19 or a man who has a broken foot or broken hand, 20 or a hunchback or a dwarf, or one who has a ^{▼▼ Lit obscurity}defect in his eye or eczema or scabs or ^accrushed testicles. 21 ‘No man among the ^{▼▼ Lit seed}descendants of Aaron the priest who has a defect is to come near to offer the Lord’s offerings by fire; since he has a defect, he shall not come near to offer ^aethe food of his God. 22 ‘He may eat ^afthe food of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy, 23 only he shall not go in to the veil or come near the altar because he has a defect, so that he will 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.