Leviticus 21

1 The Lord told Moses, “Tell Aaron's sons, the priests: A priest is not to make himself unclean by touching the dead body of any of his relatives.

The Lord also said to Moses: Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and you shall say to them: Do not allow a priest to be contaminated by the death of his citizens,

2 The only exceptions are for his immediate family. This includes his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother,

except only by his blood-relatives and near-relatives, that is, by a father or mother, or by a son or daughter, or also a brother,

3 or his unmarried sister since she is a close relative because she doesn't have a husband.

or a virgin sister, who is not married to a husband.

4 He must not make himself unclean for those only related to him by marriage—he is not to make himself ceremonially impure.

But not even by the leader of his people shall he be contaminated.

5 Priests are not to shave bald spots on their heads, trim the sides of their beards, or cut their bodies.

Neither shall they shave their head or their beard, and they shall not make incisions in their flesh.

6 They must be holy to their God and not disgrace their God's reputation. They are the one who present the food offerings to the Lord, the food of their God. Consequently they must be holy.

They shall be holy to their God, and they shall not pollute his name. For they offer the incense of the Lord and the bread of their God, and because of this they shall be holy.

7 A priest is not to marry a woman made unclean through prostitution or who is divorced by her husband, for the priest must be holy to his God.

They shall not take as a wife a promiscuous woman, or a prostitute, or her who has been repudiated by her husband. For they are consecrated to their God,

8 You shall consider him holy because he presents the food offerings to your God. He shall be holy to you, because I am holy. I am the Lord, and I chose you as my special people.

and they offer the bread of the presence. Therefore, let them be holy, for I also am holy: the Lord, who sanctifies them.

9 A priest's daughter who makes herself unclean through prostitution makes her father unclean. She must be executed by burning.

If the daughter of a priest will have been taken into prostitution, and will have violated the name of her father, she shall be consumed by fire.

10 The high priest has the highest place among the other priests. He has been anointed with olive oil poured on his head and has been ordained to wear the priestly clothing. He must not leave his hair uncombed or tear his clothes.

The high priest, that is, the priest who is the greatest among his brothers, upon whose head the oil of anointing has been poured, and whose hands have been consecrated for the priesthood, and who has been vested with the holy vestments: he shall not expose his head; he shall not rend his vestments.

11 He is not to go near any dead body. He must not make himself unclean, even it is for his own father or mother.

And he shall not enter to any dead body whatsoever; likewise, not even by his father or mother shall he be contaminated.

12 He must not leave to deal with someone who has died or make the sanctuary of his God unclean because he has been dedicated by the anointing oil of his God. I am the Lord.

Neither shall he exit from the holy places, lest he pollute the Sanctuary of the Lord. For the oil of the holy anointing of his God is upon him. I am the Lord.

13 He can only marry a virgin.

He shall take a virgin as his wife.

14 He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or one made unclean through prostitution. He has to marry a virgin from his own people,

But a widow, or one who has been repudiated or defiled, or also a mistress, he shall not accept, but only a maiden from among his own people.

15 so that he doesn't make his children unclean among his people, for I am the Lord who makes him holy.”

He shall not mingle the stock of his family with the common people of his nation. For I am the Lord, who sanctifies him.

16 The Lord told Moses,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

17 “Tell Aaron: These rules apply for all future generations. If any of your descendants has a physical defect, he is not allowed to come and present the food offerings of his God.

Say to Aaron: A man from your offspring, throughout their families, who has a blemish, shall not offer the bread to his God.

18 No man is allowed to do this if he has any defects, including anyone who is blind, crippled, facially disfigured, or has deformities,

Neither shall he approach to minister to him: if he is blind, if he is lame, if he is small, or large, or has a crooked nose,

19 anyone who has a broken foot or arm,

if his foot or hand is broken,

20 anyone who is a hunchback or dwarf, or who has cataracts, skin sores or scabs, or a damaged testicle.

if he has a bulging back or bleary eyes, or if he has a white spot in his eye, or a chronic scab, or a skin disease on his body, or a hernia.

21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a defect is allowed to come and present the food offerings to the Lord. Because he has a defect, he must not come and offer the food of his God.

Anyone from the offspring of Aaron, the priest, who has a blemish, shall not approach to offer sacrifices to the Lord, nor the bread to his God.

22 He is still allowed to eat the food from the Most Holy Place of his God and also from the sanctuary,

Nevertheless, he shall eat from the loaves which are offered in the Sanctuary.

23 but because he has a defect, he is not allowed to go near the curtain or the altar, so that my sanctuary and everything in it are not made unclean, because I am the Lord who makes them holy.”

But even so, he may not enter within the veil, nor approach to the altar. For he has a blemish, and he must not contaminate my Sanctuary. I am the Lord, who sanctifies them.

24 Moses repeated this to Aaron and his sons, and to all the Israelites.

Therefore, Moses spoke to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all of Israel, everything that had been commanded to him.