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Leviticus 21:1-3
New English Translation
Leviticus 21:1-3
New English Translation
Rules for the Priests
21 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the priests, the sons of Aaron—say to them: ‘For a dead person[a] no priest[b] is to defile himself among his people,[c] 2 except for his close relative who is near to him[d]—his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3 and his virgin sister who is near to him,[e] who has no husband—he may defile himself for her.
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- Leviticus 21:1 tn The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul, person, life”) can sometimes refer to a “dead person” (cf. Lev 19:28 above and the literature cited there).
- Leviticus 21:1 tn Heb “no one,” but “priest” has been used in the translation to clarify that these restrictions are limited to the priests, not to the Israelites in general (note the introductory formula, “say to the priests, the sons of Aaron”).
- Leviticus 21:1 tc The MT has “in his peoples,” but Smr, LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “in his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole.
- Leviticus 21:2 tn Heb “except for his flesh, the one near to him.”
- Leviticus 21:3 tn Cf. v. 2a.
Leviticus 21:1-3
New International Version
Leviticus 21:1-3
New International Version
Rules for Priests
21 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron,(A) and say to them: ‘A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean(B) for any of his people who die,(C) 2 except for a close relative, such as his mother or father,(D) his son or daughter, his brother, 3 or an unmarried sister who is dependent on him since she has no husband—for her he may make himself unclean.(E)
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