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Leviticus 21
New International Version
Leviticus 21
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) 4 He must not make himself unclean for people related to him by marriage,[a] and so defile himself.
5 “‘Priests must not shave(F) their heads or shave off the edges of their beards(G) or cut their bodies.(H) 6 They must be holy to their God(I) and must not profane the name of their God.(J) Because they present the food offerings to the Lord,(K) the food of their God,(L) they are to be holy.(M)
7 “‘They must not marry women defiled by prostitution or divorced from their husbands,(N) because priests are holy to their God.(O) 8 Regard them as holy,(P) because they offer up the food of your God.(Q) Consider them holy, because I the Lord am holy—I who make you holy.(R)
9 “‘If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she must be burned in the fire.(S)
10 “‘The high priest, the one among his brothers who has had the anointing oil poured on his head(T) and who has been ordained to wear the priestly garments,(U) must not let his hair become unkempt[b] or tear his clothes.(V) 11 He must not enter a place where there is a dead body.(W) He must not make himself unclean,(X) even for his father or mother,(Y) 12 nor leave the sanctuary(Z) of his God or desecrate it, because he has been dedicated by the anointing oil(AA) of his God. I am the Lord.
13 “‘The woman he marries must be a virgin.(AB) 14 He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a woman defiled by prostitution, but only a virgin from his own people, 15 so that he will not defile his offspring among his people. I am the Lord, who makes him holy.’”
16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “Say to Aaron: ‘For the generations to come none of your descendants who has a defect(AC) may come near to offer the food of his God.(AD) 18 No man who has any defect(AE) may come near: no man who is blind(AF) or lame,(AG) disfigured or deformed; 19 no man with a crippled foot or hand, 20 or who is a hunchback or a dwarf, or who has any eye defect, or who has festering or running sores or damaged testicles.(AH) 21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any defect(AI) is to come near to present the food offerings to the Lord.(AJ) He has a defect; he must not come near to offer the food of his God.(AK) 22 He may eat the most holy food of his God,(AL) as well as the holy food; 23 yet because of his defect,(AM) he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar, and so desecrate my sanctuary.(AN) I am the Lord, who makes them holy.(AO)’”
24 So Moses told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 21:4 Or unclean as a leader among his people
- Leviticus 21:10 Or not uncover his head
Leviticus 21
New King James Version
Leviticus 21
New King James Version
Regulations for Conduct of Priests(A)
21 And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: (B)‘None shall defile himself for the dead among his people, 2 except for his relatives who are nearest to him: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother; 3 also his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband, for her he may defile himself. 4 Otherwise he shall not defile himself, being a [a]chief man among his people, to profane himself.
5 (C)‘They shall not make any bald place on their heads, nor shall they shave the edges of their beards nor make any cuttings in their flesh. 6 They shall be (D)holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and the (E)bread of their God; (F)therefore they shall be holy. 7 (G)They shall not take a wife who is a harlot or a defiled woman, nor shall they take a woman (H)divorced from her husband; for [b]the priest is holy to his God. 8 Therefore you shall [c]consecrate him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for (I)I the Lord, who (J)sanctify you, am holy. 9 The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the harlot, she profanes her father. She shall be (K)burned with fire.
10 ‘He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was (L)poured and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not (M)uncover[d] his head nor tear his clothes; 11 nor shall he go (N)near any dead body, nor defile himself for his father or his mother; 12 (O)nor shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the (P)consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the Lord. 13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow or a divorced woman or a defiled woman or a harlot—these he shall not marry; but he shall take a virgin of his own people as wife. 15 Nor shall he profane his posterity among his people, for I the Lord sanctify him.’ ”
16 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying: ‘No man of your descendants in succeeding generations, who has any defect, may approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For any man who has a (Q)defect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb (R)too long, 19 a man who has a broken foot or broken hand, 20 or is a hunchback or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab, or is a eunuch. 21 No man of the descendants of Aaron the priest, who has a defect, shall come near to offer the offerings made by fire to the Lord. He has a defect; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. 22 He may eat the bread of his God, both the most holy and the holy; 23 only he shall not go near the (S)veil or approach the altar, because he has a defect, lest (T)he profane My sanctuaries; for I the Lord sanctify them.’ ”
24 And Moses told it to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 21:4 Lit. master or husband
- Leviticus 21:7 Lit. he
- Leviticus 21:8 set him apart
- Leviticus 21:10 In mourning
Leviticus 21
English Standard Version
Leviticus 21
English Standard Version
Holiness and the Priests
21 And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, (A)No one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people, 2 except for his closest relatives, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3 or his virgin sister (who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may make himself unclean). 4 He shall not make himself unclean as a husband among his people and so profane himself. 5 (B)They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body. 6 They shall be holy to their God and (C)not profane the name of their God. For they offer the Lord's food offerings, (D)the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy. 7 (E)They shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled, neither shall they marry a woman (F)divorced from her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. 8 You shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for (G)I, the Lord, who sanctify you, (H)am holy. 9 And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by whoring, profanes her father; (I)she shall be burned with fire.
10 (J)“The priest who is chief among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured and who has been consecrated to wear the garments, (K)shall not let the hair of his head hang loose nor tear his clothes. 11 He shall not (L)go in to any dead bodies nor make himself unclean, even for his father or for his mother. 12 (M)He shall not go out of the sanctuary, lest he (N)profane the sanctuary of his God, for the (O)consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him: I am the Lord. 13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity.[a] 14 A widow, (P)or a divorced woman, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute, these he shall not marry. But he shall take as his wife a virgin[b] of his own people, 15 that he may not profane his offspring among his people, for (Q)I am the Lord who sanctifies him.”
16 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying, None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may (R)approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man (S)blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face (T)or a limb too long, 19 or a man who has an injured foot or an injured hand, 20 or a hunchback or a dwarf or a man with a (U)defect in his sight or an itching disease or scabs or (V)crushed testicles. 21 No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a blemish shall come near to (W)offer the Lord's food offerings; since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. 22 He may eat the bread of his God, both of (X)the most holy and of the (Y)holy things, 23 but he shall not go through the veil or approach the altar, because he has a blemish, that he may not (Z)profane my sanctuaries,[c] (AA)for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.” 24 So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the people of Israel.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 21:13 Or a young wife
- Leviticus 21:14 Hebrew young woman
- Leviticus 21:23 Or my holy precincts
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.