Leviticus 21–22: The Holiness of the Priests, and the Offerings They Receive

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron’s sons, the priests, and tell them that a priest is not to defile himself for a dead person among his people, except for his immediate family—his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother, or his unmarried sister who is near to him, since she has no husband. He is not to defile himself for those related to him by marriage, and so profane himself.

Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies. They must be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. Because they present to the LORD the offerings made by fire, the food of their God, they must be holy.

A priest must not marry a woman defiled by prostitution or divorced by her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. You are to regard him as holy, since he presents the food of your God. He shall be holy to you, because I the LORD am holy—I who set you apart. If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by prostituting herself, she profanes her father; she must be burned in the fire.

The priest who is highest among his brothers, who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been ordained to wear the priestly garments, must not let his hair hang loose or tear his garments. He must not go near any dead body; he must not defile himself, even for his father or mother. He must not leave or desecrate the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am the LORD.

The woman he marries must be a virgin. He is not to marry a widow, a divorced woman, or one defiled by prostitution. He is to marry a virgin from his own people, so that he does not defile his offspring among his people, for I am the LORD who sanctifies him.”

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘For the generations to come, none of your descendants who has a physical defect may approach to offer the food of his God.

No man who has any defect may approach—no man who is blind, lame, disfigured, or deformed; no man who has a broken foot or hand, or who is a hunchback or dwarf, or who has an eye defect, a festering rash, scabs, or a crushed testicle.

No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall approach to present the offerings made by fire to the LORD. Since he has a defect, he is not to come near to offer the food of his God. He may eat the most holy food of his God as well as the holy food, but because he has a defect, he must not go near the veil or approach the altar, so as not to desecrate my sanctuaries. For I am the LORD who sanctifies them.’ ”

Moses told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings that the Israelites have consecrated to me, so that they do not profane my holy name. I am the LORD.

Tell them that for the generations to come, if any of their descendants in a state of uncleanness approaches the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the LORD, that person must be cut off from my presence. I am the LORD.

If a descendant of Aaron has a skin disease or a discharge, he may not eat the sacred offerings until he is clean. Whoever touches anything defiled by a corpse or by a man who has an emission of semen, or whoever touches a crawling creature or a person that makes him unclean, whatever the uncleanness may be— the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening. He must not eat from the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water.

When the sun has set, he will become clean, and then he may eat from the sacred offerings, for they are his food. He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, which would make him unclean. I am the LORD. The priests must keep my charge, lest they bear the guilt and die because they profane it. I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired hand eat it. But if a priest buys a slave with his own money, or if a slave is born in his household, that slave may eat his food.

If the priest’s daughter is married to a man other than a priest, she is not to eat of the sacred contributions. But if a priest’s daughter with no children becomes widowed or divorced and returns to her father’s house, she may share her father’s food as in her youth. But no outsider may share it.

If anyone eats a sacred offering in error, he must add a fifth to its value and give the sacred offering to the priest. The priests must not profane the sacred offerings that the Israelites present to the LORD by allowing the people to eat the sacred offerings and thus to bear the punishment for guilt. For I am the LORD who sanctifies them.”

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites and tell them, ‘Any man of the house of Israel or any foreign resident who presents a gift for a burnt offering to the LORD, whether to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, must offer an unblemished male from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for it to be accepted on your behalf. You must not present anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.

When a man presents a peace offering to the LORD from the herd or flock to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without blemish or defect to be acceptable. You are not to present to the LORD any animal that is blind, injured, or maimed, or anything with a running sore, a festering rash, or a scab; you must not put any of these on the altar as an offering made by fire to the LORD.

You may present as a freewill offering an ox or sheep that has a deformed or stunted limb, but it is not acceptable in fulfillment of a vow. You are not to present to the LORD an animal whose testicles are bruised, crushed, torn, or cut; you are not to sacrifice them in your land. Neither you nor a foreigner shall present food to your God from any such animal. They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and flawed.’ ”

Then the LORD said to Moses, “When an ox, a sheep, or a goat is born, it must remain with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as an offering made by fire to the LORD. But you must not slaughter an ox or a sheep on the same day as its young.

When you sacrifice a thank offering to the LORD, offer it so that it may be acceptable on your behalf. It must be eaten that same day. Do not leave any of it until morning. I am the LORD.

You are to keep my commandments and practice them. I am the LORD. You must not profane my holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy among the Israelites. I am the LORD who sanctifies you, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD.”