Leviticus 21

1 And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, None [of them] shall defile himself on the dead, among his people;

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 But on his kin, that is near unto him, [that is, ] on his mother, and on his father, and on his son, and on his daughter, and on his 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 And on his sister that is a virgin, that is nigh unto him, who hath had no husband: on her may he defile himself.

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

4 The chief man among his people shall not defile himself, to be profaned thereby.

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

5 They shall not make any baldness upon their head, and the corner of their beard shall they not shave off, and in their flesh shall they not make any incision.

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

6 Holy shall they be unto their God, and they shall not profane the name of their God; for the fire-offerings of the Lord, the bread of their God, do they offer, they shall therefore 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 woman that is a harlot, or one profaned, shall they not take; and a woman put away from her husband shall they not take; for holy is he unto 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 And thou shalt sanctify him; for the bread of thy God doth he offer: holy shall he be unto thee; for I the Lord, who sanctify you, am holy.

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

9 And if the daughter of any priest profane herself by committing incest, her father doth she profane: with fire shall she be burnt.

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 And the priest that is highest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil hath been poured, and who hath been consecrated to put on the garments, shall not let the hair of his head grow long, and his garments shall he not rend;

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 Neither shall he go in to any dead body; even on his father, and on his mother shall he not defile himself.

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

12 And out of the sanctuary shall he not go, that he may not profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: 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 And he shall take a wife in her virgin state.

He shall take a virgin as his wife.

14 A widow, and a divorced woman, and one profaned, [and] a harlot, these shall he not take; but a virgin of his own people shall he take for wife;

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 may not profane his seed among his people; for I, the Lord, do sanctify him.

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 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

17 Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever of thy seed in their generations it be on whom there is any blemish, shall not approach to offer the bread 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 For whatsoever man it be on whom there is a blemish, shall not approach: a blind, or a lame man, or one that hath a flattened nose, or a man one of whose limbs is too long,

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 Or a man who hath a broken foot, or a broken hand,

if his foot or hand is broken,

20 Or a crookbacked, or a dwarf, or one that hath a blemish in his eye, or the itch, or the scurvy, or the testicles broken.

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 Every man on whom there is a blemish, of the seed of Aaron the priest, shall not come nigh to offer the fire-offerings of the Lord: there is a blemish on him; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread 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 The brewed of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy things he may eat.

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

23 Only unto the vail, and unto the altar shall he not come nigh, because there is a blemish on him; that he profane not my holy things; for I the Lord do sanctify them.

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 And Moses spoke thus unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.

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