Leviticus 22
Lexham English Bible
Priests and Their Food
22 Then[a] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Tell[b] Aaron and his sons[c] that[d] they must deal respectfully with the Israelites’[e] votive offerings, and they must not profane my holy name, which they are consecrating to me; I am Yahweh.
3 “Say to them, ‘Throughout your generations, any man from any of your offspring who comes near the votive offerings that the Israelites[f] consecrate to Yahweh with[g] his uncleanness on him, that person shall be cut off[h] from before me;[i] I am Yahweh.
4 “‘Anyone[j] from Aaron’s offspring, if[k] he is afflicted with a skin disease or a fluid discharge, shall not eat in the sanctuary until[l] he is clean; and the one who touches any unclean person or a man from whom an emission of semen goes out, 5 or a man who touches any swarmer that is unclean for him or who touches a person who is unclean for him due to[m] whatever his uncleanness, 6 a person who touches such a thing[n] shall be unclean until the evening, and he shall not eat from the votive offerings, except[o] when he washes[p] his body with water 7 and the sun sets,[q] and he shall be clean; then[r] afterward he may eat from the votive offerings, because it is his food. 8 He shall not eat a naturally dead body or[s] a mangled carcass, so that he becomes unclean[t] by it; I am Yahweh.
9 “‘And they shall keep my obligation, and they shall not incur guilt because of it, so that[u] they die through it, because they have profaned it; I am Yahweh who consecrates them.
10 “‘No stranger shall eat[v] the votive offering; nor shall a temporary resident with[w] a priest or[x] a hired worker eat the votive offering. 11 But[y] a priest, if with his money he buys a person as his possession,[z] that one may eat it, and the descendants of his house themselves may eat his food. 12 And a priest’s daughter, when she marries a layman,[aa] she herself may not eat the votive offering.[ab] 13 But[ac] a priest’s daughter, when she becomes a widow or[ad] divorced or there is no offspring for her, and she returns to her father’s house as in her childhood, she may eat from her father’s food, but[ae] no layman may eat it.[af] 14 And if a man eats the votive offering unintentionally, then[ag] he shall add to it a fifth of it, and he shall give the votive offering to the priest. 15 And they shall not profane the Israelites’[ah] votive offerings that they present to Yahweh, 16 and so cause them, by their eating their votive offerings, to bear guilt requiring a guilt offering, because I am Yahweh, who consecrates them.’”
Acceptable Offerings
17 Then[ai] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the Israelites,[aj] and say to them, ‘Anyone from the house of Israel or[ak] from the alien in Israel who presents his offering for any of their vows or[al] for any of their freewill offerings that they present to Yahweh as a burnt offering, 19 it must be without defect to be acceptable for you:[am] a male among the cattle, among the sheep, or[an] among the goats. 20 You shall not present any animal in which is a physical defect, because it shall not be acceptable[ao] for you. 21 And if anyone brings a sacrifice of fellowship offerings for Yahweh to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from[ap] the cattle or from[aq] the flock,[ar] it must be without defect to be acceptable;[as] there must not be any physical defect in it. 22 The blind or the injured or the maimed or the seeping or one with a skin disorder or one with a skin eruption—these you shall not present to Yahweh, nor shall you give from them an offering made by fire on the altar for Yahweh. 23 As for[at] an ox or sheep that is deformed or[au] that is stunted, you may present it as a freewill offering, but[av] for a vow it will not be accepted. 24 And you shall not present anything for Yahweh with bruised or[aw] shattered or[ax] torn or[ay] cut-off testicles, and you shall not sacrifice[az] such in your land. 25 And you shall not present your God’s food from any of these by the hand of a foreigner,[ba] because their deformity is in them; a physical defect is in them; they shall not be accepted for you.’”
26 Then[bb] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, then[bc] it shall be under its mother for seven days, and from the eighth day and beyond it is acceptable as an offering made by fire for Yahweh. 28 And you shall not slaughter an ox or a sheep and its young[bd] on the same day.[be] 29 And when you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Yahweh, you must sacrifice it to be acceptable for you. 30 It must be eaten on that day; you must not leave over anything from it until morning; I am Yahweh.
31 “Thus[bf] you shall keep my commands, and you shall do them; I am Yahweh.
32 “And you shall not profane my holy name, so that I may be consecrated in the midst of the Israelites;[bg] I am Yahweh, who consecrates you, 33 the one who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be as God for you; I am Yahweh.”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 22:1 Or “And”
- Leviticus 22:2 Or “Speak to”
- Leviticus 22:2 Literally “to Aaron and to his sons”
- Leviticus 22:2 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Leviticus 22:3 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Leviticus 22:3 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:3 Or “and that person shall be cut off”
- Leviticus 22:3 Literally “to the faces of me”
- Leviticus 22:4 Literally “A man a man”
- Leviticus 22:4 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:4 Literally “until which”
- Leviticus 22:5 Literally “for”
- Leviticus 22:6 Hebrew “him” or “it”
- Leviticus 22:6 Or “but if” or “but rather”
- Leviticus 22:6 Or “bathes”
- Leviticus 22:7 Literally “the sun goes” or “the sun enters”
- Leviticus 22:7 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:8 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:8 Literally “to become unclean”
- Leviticus 22:9 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:10 Literally “And any stranger shall not eat”
- Leviticus 22:10 Hebrew “of”
- Leviticus 22:10 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:11 Or “And”
- Leviticus 22:11 Literally “property of”
- Leviticus 22:12 Literally “she becomes for a strange man”
- Leviticus 22:12 Literally “the offering/lifting of the votive offering”
- Leviticus 22:13 Or “And”
- Leviticus 22:13 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:13 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:13 Literally “any stranger shall not eat it”
- Leviticus 22:14 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:15 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Leviticus 22:17 Or “And”
- Leviticus 22:18 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Leviticus 22:18 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:18 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:19 Literally “for your acceptance”
- Leviticus 22:19 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:20 Literally “for acceptance”
- Leviticus 22:21 Or “among”
- Leviticus 22:21 Or “among”
- Leviticus 22:21 The Hebrew term refers collectively to both sheep and goats (small livestock animals)
- Leviticus 22:21 Literally “for acceptance”
- Leviticus 22:23 Or “And”
- Leviticus 22:23 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:23 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:24 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:24 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:24 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:24 Literally “do” or “make”
- Leviticus 22:25 Literally “a son of a foreign land”
- Leviticus 22:26 Or “And”
- Leviticus 22:27 Or “and”
- Leviticus 22:28 Literally “his son” or “his child”
- Leviticus 22:28 Literally “on day one” or “in one day”
- Leviticus 22:31 Or “And”
- Leviticus 22:32 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
Leviticus 22
New King James Version
The Holiness of the Offerings
22 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, that they (A)separate[a] themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they (B)do not profane My holy name by what they (C)dedicate to Me: I am the Lord. 3 Say to them: ‘Whoever of all your descendants throughout your generations, who goes near the holy things which the children of Israel dedicate to the Lord, (D)while he has [b]uncleanness upon him, that person shall be cut off from My presence: I am the Lord.
4 ‘Whatever man of the descendants of Aaron, who is a (E)leper or has (F)a discharge, shall not eat the holy offerings (G)until he is clean. And (H)whoever touches anything made unclean by a corpse, or (I)a man who has had an emission of semen, 5 or (J)whoever touches any creeping thing by which he would be made unclean, or (K)any person by whom he would become unclean, whatever his uncleanness may be— 6 the person who has touched any such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat the holy offerings unless he (L)washes his body with water. 7 And when the sun goes down he shall be clean; and afterward he may eat the holy offerings, because (M)it is his food. 8 (N)Whatever dies naturally or is torn by beasts he shall not eat, to defile himself with it: I am the Lord.
9 ‘They shall therefore keep (O)My [c]ordinance, (P)lest they bear sin for it and die thereby, if they profane it: I the Lord sanctify them.
10 (Q)‘No outsider shall eat the holy offering; one who [d]dwells with the priest, or a hired servant, shall not eat the holy thing. 11 But if the priest (R)buys a person with his money, he may eat it; and one who is born in his house may eat his food. 12 If the priest’s daughter is married to an outsider, she may not eat of the holy offerings. 13 But if the 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 her father’s food; but no outsider shall eat it.
14 ‘And if a man eats the holy offering unintentionally, then he shall restore a holy offering to the priest, and add one-fifth to it. 15 They shall not profane the (S)holy offerings of the children of Israel, which they offer to the Lord, 16 or allow them to bear the guilt of trespass when they eat their holy offerings; for I the Lord sanctify them.’ ”
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: (T)‘Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, who [e]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 (U)you shall offer of your own free will a male without blemish from the cattle, from the sheep, or from the goats. 20 (V)Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it shall not be acceptable on your behalf. 21 And (W)whoever offers a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, (X)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 (Y)Those that are blind or broken or maimed, or have an [f]ulcer or eczema or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor make (Z)an offering by fire of them on the altar to the Lord. 23 Either a bull or a lamb that has any limb (AA)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 (AB)from a foreigner’s hand shall you offer any of these as (AC)the bread of your God, because their (AD)corruption is in them, and defects are in them. They shall not be accepted on your behalf.’ ”
26 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 27 (AE)“When a bull or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall be seven days with its mother; and from the eighth day and thereafter it shall be accepted as an offering made by fire to the Lord. 28 Whether it is a cow or ewe, do not kill both her (AF)and her young on the same day. 29 And when you (AG)offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, offer it of your own free will. 30 On the same day it shall be eaten; you shall leave (AH)none of it until morning: I am the Lord.
31 (AI)“Therefore you shall keep My commandments, and perform them: I am the Lord. 32 (AJ)You shall not profane My holy name, but (AK)I will be [g]hallowed among the children of Israel. I am the Lord who (AL)sanctifies you, 33 (AM)who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 22:2 keep themselves apart from
- Leviticus 22:3 defilement
- Leviticus 22:9 charge
- Leviticus 22:10 As a visitor
- Leviticus 22:18 brings his offering
- Leviticus 22:22 running sore
- Leviticus 22:32 treated as holy
Leviticus 22
English Standard Version
22 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons so that they (A)abstain from the holy things of the people of Israel, which they (B)dedicate to me, so that they do not (C)profane my holy name: I am the Lord. 3 Say to them, ‘If any one of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the holy things that the people of Israel dedicate to the Lord, while (D)he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from my presence: I am the Lord. 4 None of the offspring of Aaron who has a leprous disease or a (E)discharge may eat of the holy things (F)until he is clean. (G)Whoever touches anything that is unclean through contact with the dead or (H)a man who has had an emission of semen, 5 and (I)whoever touches a swarming thing by which he may be made unclean or (J)a person from whom he may take uncleanness, whatever his uncleanness may be— 6 the person who touches such a thing shall be unclean until the evening and shall not eat of the holy things unless he has (K)bathed his body in water. 7 When the sun goes down he shall be clean, and afterward he may eat of the holy things, because (L)they are his food. 8 (M)He shall not eat what dies of itself or is torn by beasts, and so make himself unclean by it: I am the Lord.’ 9 They shall therefore keep my charge, (N)lest they bear sin for it and die thereby when they profane it: (O)I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
10 (P)“A lay person shall not eat of a holy thing; no foreign guest of the priest or hired worker shall eat of a holy thing, 11 but if a priest buys a slave[a] as his property for money, the slave[b] may eat of it, and (Q)anyone born in his house may eat of his food. 12 If a priest's daughter marries a layman, she shall not eat of the contribution of the holy things. 13 But if a priest's daughter is widowed or divorced and has no child and (R)returns to her father's house, (S)as in her youth, she may eat of her father's food; yet no lay person shall eat of it. 14 (T)And if anyone eats of a holy thing unintentionally, he shall add (U)the fifth of its value to it and give the holy thing to the priest. 15 They (V)shall not profane the holy things of the people of Israel, which they contribute to the Lord, 16 and so cause them (W)to bear iniquity and guilt, by eating their holy things: (X)for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.”
Acceptable Offerings
17 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel and say to them, (Y)When any one of the house of Israel or of the sojourners in Israel presents a burnt offering as his offering, for any of their vows or freewill offerings that they offer to the Lord, 19 if it is to be accepted for you it shall be a (Z)male without blemish, of the bulls or the sheep or the goats. 20 (AA)You shall not offer anything that has a blemish, for it will not be acceptable for you. 21 And when anyone (AB)offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord (AC)to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from the herd or from the flock, to be accepted it must be perfect; there shall be no blemish in it. 22 Animals (AD)blind or disabled or mutilated or having a discharge or (AE)an itch or scabs you shall not offer to the Lord or give them to the Lord as a food (AF)offering on the altar. 23 You may present a bull or a lamb that has a part (AG)too long or too short for a freewill offering, but for a vow offering it cannot be accepted. 24 Any animal that has its testicles bruised or crushed or torn or cut you shall not offer to the Lord; you shall not do it within your land, 25 neither shall you offer as (AH)the bread of your God any such animals gotten from a foreigner. Since there is a (AI)blemish in them, because of their mutilation, they will not be accepted for you.”
26 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27 (AJ)“When an ox or sheep or goat is born, it shall remain seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day on it shall be acceptable as a food offering to the Lord. 28 But you shall not kill an ox or a sheep (AK)and her young in one day. 29 And when you sacrifice a (AL)sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. 30 It shall be eaten on the same day; (AM)you shall leave none of it until morning: I am the Lord.
31 (AN)“So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the Lord. 32 (AO)And you shall not profane my holy name, that (AP)I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. (AQ)I am the Lord who sanctifies you, 33 who brought you out of the land of Egypt (AR)to be your God: I am the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 22:11 Or servant; twice in this verse
- Leviticus 22:11 Hebrew he
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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