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
Vayikra 21
Orthodox Jewish Bible
[EMOR]
21 And Hashem said unto Moshe, Speak unto the kohanim the Bnei Aharon, and say unto them, There shall none be made tamei for the dead among his people;
2 But for his close kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his em, and for his av, and for his ben, and for his bat, and for his ach.
3 And for his betulah achot (virgin sister), that is close unto him, which hath had no ish (husband); for her may he be made tamei.
4 But he shall not make himself tamei, being a ba’al (leader, chief man) among his people, to profane himself.
5 They shall not shave their head bald, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their basar.
6 They shall be kedoshim unto Eloheihem, and not commit Chillul ha-shem against the Shem of Eloheihem; for the offerings of Hashem made by eish and the lechem of Eloheihem they do offer; therefore they shall be kodesh.
7 They shall not take an isha that is a zonah, or chalalah (desecrated woman) neither shall they take an isha gerusha (divorced woman) from her ish; for he is kadosh unto Elohav.
8 Thou shalt set him apart as kodesh therefore; for he offereth the lechem of Eloheicha; he shall be makriv kadosh (holy offering) unto thee: for I, Hashem, the One setting you apart as kodesh, am kadosh.
9 And the bat of any kohen, if she profane herself by playing the zonah, she profaneth her av; she shall be burned with eish.
10 And he that is the Kohen HaGadol among his brethren, upon whose head the Shemen Hamishchah (Anointing Oil) was poured, and that is ordained to put on the garments, shall not in mourning uncover his head, nor rend his garments;
11 Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor make himself tamei for his av, or for his em;
12 Neither shall he go out of the Mikdash, nor profane the Mikdash Elohav; for the nezer shemen mishchat Elohav (consecration of the anointing oil of his G-d) is upon him: I am Hashem.
13 And he shall take an isha in her virginity.
14 An almanah, or a gerusha, or chalalah, or a zonah, these shall he not take; but he shall take a betulah of his own people to wife.
15 Neither shall he profane his zera among his people; for I Hashem do set him apart as kodesh.
16 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,
17 Speak unto Aharon, saying, Whosoever he be of thy zera in their dorot that hath any defect, let him not approach to offer the lechem of Elohav.
18 For whatsoever ish he be that hath a mum, he shall not approach; an ish ivver, or a pise’ach (lame), or he who is disfigured or malformed,
19 Or an ish that has a crippled regel or a crippled yad,
20 Or hunchback, or a dwarf, or that hath a defect in his eye, or festering, or running sores, or damaged of testicle;
21 No ish that hath a mum of the zera Aharon HaKohen shall come near to offer the offerings of Hashem made by eish; he hath a mum; he shall not come near to offer the lechem Elohav.
22 He shall eat the lechem Elohav, both of the kodshei hakodashim, and of hakodashim.
23 Only he shall not go near unto the Parochet (curtain), nor come near unto the Mizbe’ach, because he hath a mum on him; that he profane not My Mikdash; for I Hashem do set them apart as kodesh.
24 And Moshe told it unto Aharon, and to his Banim, and unto all the Bnei Yisroel.
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