Leviticus 22:17-25
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Unacceptable Victims. 17 [a]The Lord said to Moses: 18 Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites, and tell them: When anyone of the house of Israel, or any alien residing in Israel, who presents an offering, brings a burnt offering(A) as a votive offering or as a voluntary offering to the Lord, 19 if it is to be acceptable for you, it must be an unblemished male of the herd, of the sheep or of the goats.(B) 20 You shall not offer one that has any blemish, for such a one would not be acceptable on your behalf.(C) 21 When anyone presents a communion sacrifice(D) to the Lord from the herd or the flock in fulfillment of a vow, or as a voluntary offering, if it is to find acceptance, it must be unblemished; it shall not have any blemish. 22 One that is blind or lame or maimed, or one that has running lesions or sores or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord; do not put such an animal on the altar as an oblation to the Lord. 23 [b]An ox or a sheep that has a leg that is too long or is stunted you may indeed present as a voluntary offering, but it will not be acceptable as a votive offering. 24 One that has its testicles bruised or crushed or torn out or cut off you shall not offer to the Lord. You shall neither do this in your own land 25 nor receive from a foreigner any such animals to offer up as the food of your God; since they are deformed or blemished, they will not be acceptable on your behalf.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 22:17–25 This passage complements the section on the bodily imperfections of priests in 21:16–23. The laws taken together indicate that whoever and whatever approaches and contacts the altar needs to be physically unimpaired.
- 22:23 Burnt offerings and communion sacrifices brought as voluntary offerings may have slight defects, probably because they are freely given and do not depend upon a prior promise as do votive offerings.
Leviticus 22:17-25
New King James Version
Offerings Accepted and Not Accepted
17 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them: (A)‘Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, who [a]offers his sacrifice for any of his vows or for any of his freewill offerings, which they offer to the Lord as a burnt offering— 19 (B)you shall offer of your own free will a male without blemish from the cattle, from the sheep, or from the goats. 20 (C)Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it shall not be acceptable on your behalf. 21 And (D)whoever offers a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, (E)to fulfill his vow, or a freewill offering from the cattle or the sheep, it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it. 22 (F)Those that are blind or broken or maimed, or have an [b]ulcer or eczema or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor make (G)an offering by fire of them on the altar to the Lord. 23 Either a bull or a lamb that has any limb (H)too long or too short you may offer as a freewill offering, but for a vow it shall not be accepted.
24 ‘You shall not offer to the Lord what is bruised or crushed, or torn or cut; nor shall you make any offering of them in your land. 25 Nor (I)from a foreigner’s hand shall you offer any of these as (J)the bread of your God, because their (K)corruption is in them, and defects are in them. They shall not be accepted on your behalf.’ ”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Leviticus 22:18 brings his offering
- Leviticus 22:22 running sore
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
