Leviticus 22
1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, which they make holy to me, and that they not profane my holy name. I am the LORD.
“Tell Aaron and his sons to greatly respect the sacred offerings that the Israeli people bring to me; by doing that you will respect me [MTY], Yahweh.
3 “Tell them, ‘If anyone of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the holy things which the children of Israel make holy to the LORD, having his uncleanness on him, that soul shall be cut off from before me. I am the LORD.
“Tell them that for all future time, if any of their descendants comes near to the sacred offerings that the Israeli people dedicate to me while he is unfit to work for me, that person will no longer be allowed to work for me. I, Yahweh, [am commanding this].
4 “‘Whoever of the offspring of Aaron is a leper or has a discharge shall not eat of the holy things until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is unclean by the dead, or a man who has a seminal emission,
“If any descendant of Aaron has a contagious skin disease or a discharge from his sexual organs, he is not allowed to eat any of the sacred offerings until he is cured. He will also be unfit for his work if he touches anything which has become unacceptable to me because it has touched a corpse, or if he touches anyone who as an emission of semen,
5 or whoever touches any creeping thing by which he may be made unclean, or a man from whom he may become unclean, whatever uncleanness he has—
or if he touches anything that crawls on the ground, or if he touches any person who causes him to be unfit for his work.
6 the person that touches any such shall be unclean until the evening, and shall not eat of the holy things unless he bathes his body in water.
Any priest who touches such things must bathe, and he must not touch anyone else until that evening.
7 When the sun is down, he shall be clean; and afterward he shall eat of the holy things, because it is his bread.
After the sun sets, he will be permitted to eat some of the sacred offerings that are for him to eat.
8 He shall not eat that which dies of itself or is torn by animals, defiling himself by it. I am the LORD.
He must not eat anything that is found dead or that has been killed by wild animals, because if he did that, he would be unfit to work for me. I, Yahweh [am commanding those things].
9 “‘They shall therefore follow my commandment, lest they bear sin for it and die in it, if they profane it. I am the LORD who sanctifies them.
“The priests must obey my commandments in order that they will not become guilty and die as a result of (despising/not obeying) them.
10 “‘No stranger shall eat of the holy thing: a foreigner living with the priests, or a hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing.
“Anyone who is not a member of a priest’s family is not permitted to eat any of a sacred offering, and no one who is visiting the priest or whom the priest has hired is permitted to eat it.
11 But if a priest buys a slave, purchased by his money, he shall eat of it; and those who are born in his house shall eat of his bread.
But if a priest buys a slave, or if a slave is born in his house, that slave is permitted to eat such food.
12 If a priest’s daughter is married to an outsider, she shall not eat of the heave offering of the holy things.
If a priest’s daughter marries a man who is not a priest, she no longer is permitted to eat the sacred food.
13 But if a priest’s daughter is a widow, or divorced, and has no child, and has returned to her father’s house as in her youth, she may eat of her father’s bread; but no stranger shall eat any of it.
But if a priest’s daughter who has no children becomes a widow or becomes divorced, if she returns to her father’s house to live there like she did when she was young, she may eat the same food that her father eats. But no other person is permitted to eat any of it.
14 “‘If a man eats something holy unwittingly, then he shall add the fifth part of its value to it, and shall give the holy thing to the priest.
“If anyone who is not permitted to eat a sacred offering eats it without realizing that it is sacred, he must pay the priest for the offering, and pay him an extra one-fifth of its value.
15 The priests shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer to the LORD,
When the priests bring offerings to me, the sacred offerings that the Israeli people bring to them, they must not treat those offerings as though they are not sacred
16 and so cause them to bear the iniquity that brings guilt when they eat their holy things; for I am the LORD who sanctifies them.’”
by allowing those who are not priests to eat any of those offerings. If they did that, they would become guilty and must make a payment. I am Yahweh, the one who causes those offerings to be sacred.”
17 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
18 “Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘Whoever is of the house of Israel, or of the foreigners in Israel, who offers his offering, whether it is any of their vows or any of their free will offerings, which they offer to the LORD for a burnt offering:
“Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israeli people and tell them that I command this: ‘If any of you Israelis or foreigners who live in Israel brings to me an animal that will be completely burned [on the altar], either as a result of a solemn promise that you made to me or to be an offering that is given voluntarily,
19 that you may be accepted, you shall offer a male without defect, of the bulls, of the sheep, or of the goats.
it must be an animal that has no defects, in order that it will be accepted by me.
20 But you shall not offer whatever has a defect, for it shall not be acceptable for you.
Do not bring any animals that have defects, because I will not accept them as an offering from you.
21 Whoever offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD to accomplish a vow, or for a free will offering of the herd or of the flock, it shall be perfect to be accepted. It shall have no defect.
[Similarly], when someone brings from his cattle or sheep or goats an offering to maintain fellowship with me, either to fulfill a promise that he made to me or to be a voluntary offering, in order that I will accept it, it must have no defects [DOU] or blemishes.
22 You shall not offer what is blind, is injured, is maimed, has a wart, is festering, or has a running sore to the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them on the altar to the LORD.
Do not offer to me animals that are blind or injured or maimed/crippled, or any animal that has warts or a festering sore [DOU].
23 Either a bull or a lamb that has any deformity or lacking in his parts, that you may offer for a free will offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted.
You may present to me to be a voluntary offering an ox or a sheep that is injured or stunted, but it will not be accepted to fulfill a promise made to me.
24 You must not offer to the LORD that which has its testicles bruised, crushed, broken, or cut. You must not do this in your land.
You must not offer to me animals whose testicles are bruised or crushed or torn or cut. You must not injure the testicles of any animal in your land,
25 You must not offer any of these as the bread of your God from the hand of a foreigner, because their corruption is in them. There is a defect in them. They shall not be accepted for you.’”
and you must not accept such animals that are sold/given to you by a foreigner. You must not offer them to me as a sacrifice for me. Such animals will not be accepted by me, because they are deformed or have defects.’”
26 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
27 “When a bull, a sheep, or a goat is born, it shall remain seven days with its mother. From the eighth day on it shall be accepted for the offering of an offering made by fire to the LORD.
“When a calf or lamb or goat is born, it must remain with its mother for seven days. After that, it will be acceptable as an offering to me that will be burned.
28 Whether it is a cow or ewe, you shall not kill it and its young both in one day.
Do not slaughter a cow or a sheep and its baby on the same day.
29 “When you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the LORD, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted.
“Then you sacrifice an animal to thank [me for what I have done], sacrifice it in a way that is acceptable to me.
30 It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall leave none of it until the morning. I am the LORD.
The meat must be eaten on that day; do not leave any of it until the next morning. I, Yahweh, [am the one who am commanding this].
31 “Therefore you shall keep my commandments, and do them. I am the LORD.
“Obey all my commands [DOU]. I, Yahweh, [am commanding them];
32 You shall not profane my holy name, but I will be made holy amongst the children of Israel. I am the LORD who makes you holy,
do not dishonor me [MTY] [by disobeying them]. You Israeli people must acknowledge that I, Yahweh, am holy, and I am the one who causes you to be holy.
33 who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. I am the LORD.”
And I am the one who brought you out of Egypt in order to show that that I, Yahweh, am [and will always be] your God.”
