Leviticus 22
22
1The Lord said to Moses, 2“Tell Aaron and his sons to be very careful with the sacred gifts that the Israelites set apart for me, so they do not bring shame on my holy name. I am the Lord. 3Give them the following instructions.
“In all future generations, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean when he approaches the sacred offerings that the people of Israel consecrate to the Lord, he must be cut off from my presence. I am the Lord.
4“If any of Aaron’s descendants has a skin disease#22:4 Traditionally rendered leprosy; see note on 13:2a. or any kind of discharge that makes him ceremonially unclean, he may not eat from the sacred offerings until he has been pronounced clean. He also becomes unclean by touching a corpse, or by having an emission of semen, 5or by touching a small animal that is unclean, or by touching someone who is ceremonially unclean for any reason. 6The man who is defiled in any of these ways will remain unclean until evening. He may not eat from the sacred offerings until he has bathed himself in water. 7When the sun goes down, he will be ceremonially clean again and may eat from the sacred offerings, for this is his food. 8He may not eat an animal that has died a natural death or has been torn apart by wild animals, for this would defile him. I am the Lord.
9“The priests must follow my instructions carefully. Otherwise they will be punished for their sin and will die for violating my instructions. I am the Lord who makes them holy.
10“No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offerings. Even guests and hired workers in a priest’s home are not allowed to eat them. 11However, if the priest buys a slave for himself, the slave may eat from the sacred offerings. And if his slaves have children, they also may share his food. 12If a priest’s daughter marries someone outside the priestly family, she may no longer eat the sacred offerings. 13But if she becomes a widow or is divorced and has no children to support her, and she returns to live in her father’s home as in her youth, she may eat her father’s food again. Otherwise, no one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offerings.
14“Any such person who eats the sacred offerings without realizing it must pay the priest for the amount eaten, plus an additional 20 percent. 15The priests must not let the Israelites defile the sacred offerings brought to the Lord 16by allowing unauthorized people to eat them. This would bring guilt upon them and require them to pay compensation. I am the Lord who makes them holy.”
Worthy and Unworthy Offerings
17And the Lord said to Moses, 18“Give Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites these instructions, which apply both to native Israelites and to the foreigners living among you.
“If you present a gift as a burnt offering to the Lord, whether it is to fulfill a vow or is a voluntary offering, 19you#22:19 Or it. will be accepted only if your offering is a male animal with no defects. It may be a bull, a ram, or a male goat. 20Do not present an animal with defects, because the Lord will not accept it on your behalf.
21“If you present a peace offering to the Lord from the herd or the flock, whether it is to fulfill a vow or is a voluntary offering, you must offer a perfect animal. It may have no defect of any kind. 22You must not offer an animal that is blind, crippled, or injured, or that has a wart, a skin sore, or scabs. Such animals must never be offered on the altar as special gifts to the Lord. 23If a bull#22:23 Or cow. or lamb has a leg that is too long or too short, it may be offered as a voluntary offering, but it may not be offered to fulfill a vow. 24If an animal has damaged testicles or is castrated, you may not offer it to the Lord. You must never do this in your own land, 25and you must not accept such an animal from foreigners and then offer it as a sacrifice to your God. Such animals will not be accepted on your behalf, for they are mutilated or defective.”
26And the Lord said to Moses, 27“When a calf or lamb or goat is born, it must be left with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as a special gift to the Lord. 28But you must not slaughter a mother animal and her offspring on the same day, whether from the herd or the flock. 29When you bring a thanksgiving offering to the Lord, sacrifice it properly so you will be accepted. 30Eat the entire sacrificial animal on the day it is presented. Do not leave any of it until the next morning. I am the Lord.
31“You must faithfully keep all my commands by putting them into practice, for I am the Lord. 32Do not bring shame on my holy name, for I will display my holiness among the people of Israel. I am the Lord who makes you holy. 33It was I who rescued you from the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. I am the Lord.”
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Leviticus 22: NLT
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Leviticus 22
22
1The Lord said to Moses, 2“Tell Aaron and his sons: ‘The people of Israel will give offerings to me. These offerings are holy, and they are mine. So you must respect these offerings. This will show that you respect my holy name. I am the Lord. 3The people of Israel made the offerings holy for me. One of your descendants might be unclean and touch the offerings. From now on, anyone who does must be separated from appearing before me. I am the Lord.
4“‘One of Aaron’s descendants might have one of the harmful skin diseases. Or he might discharge a body fluid. He cannot eat the holy offerings until he becomes clean. He can become unclean from touching a dead body or from his own semen.# A man’s body fluid by which he can make a woman pregnant. 5He will become unclean if he touches any unclean crawling animal. He will become unclean if he touches an unclean person. It doesn’t matter what made him unclean. 6Anyone who touches those things will become unclean until evening. That person must not eat the holy offerings. But if he washes with water, he may eat the holy offerings. 7He will be clean only after the sun goes down. Then he may eat the holy offerings. The offerings are his food.
8“‘A priest might find an animal that died by itself. Or he might find one that was killed by some other animal. He must not eat that dead animal. If he eats it, he will become unclean. I am the Lord.
9“‘The priests must keep all the rules I have given. That way they will not become guilty. If they are careful, they will not die. I am the Lord. I have made them holy. 10Only people in a priest’s family may eat the holy offerings. A visitor staying with the priest must not eat it. A hired worker must not eat it. 11But the priest might buy a slave with his own money. If he does, that slave may eat the holy offerings. Slaves who were born in the priest’s house may also eat the priest’s food. 12A priest’s daughter might marry a person who is not a priest. If she does, she must not eat any of the holy offerings. 13The husband of a priest’s daughter might die. Or the daughter might become divorced. She might not have children to support her. So she might go back to her father’s house where she lived as a child. If this happens, she may eat some of her father’s food. But only people from a priest’s family may eat this food.
14“‘Someone might eat some of the holy offering by mistake. That person must pay back the priest for that holy food. He must also pay the priest another one-fifth of the price of that food.
15“‘The people of Israel will give offerings to the Lord. These gifts become holy. So the priest must not treat these holy things as though they were not holy. 16The priests might allow someone who is not a priest to eat the holy offerings. If they do, they are treating those offerings as though they were not holy. The person who eats will become guilty. He will have to pay for it. I am the Lord. I make them holy.’”
17The Lord said to Moses, 18“Tell Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel: ‘A citizen of Israel or a foreigner living in Israel might want to bring a whole burnt offering. It might be for some special promise he has made. Or it might be a special gift he wanted to give to the Lord. 19If he does, he must bring a male animal. It must have nothing wrong with it. The gift might be a bull, a sheep or a goat. This is so it might be accepted for him. 20He must not bring an animal that has something wrong with it. It will not be accepted for him.
21“‘Someone might bring a fellowship offering to the Lord. That offering might be payment for a special promise the person made. Or it may be a special gift the person wanted to give the Lord. It might be a bull or a sheep. But it must be healthy. There must be nothing wrong with it. This is so it might be accepted for him. 22You must not offer to the Lord any animal that is blind. It must not have broken bones or be crippled. It must not have running sores or any sort of skin disease. You must not offer any animals like these on the altar. They cannot be used as an offering by fire to the Lord.
23“‘Sometimes a bull or lamb is smaller than normal. Or it may not be perfectly formed. If someone wants to give that animal as a special gift to the Lord, it will be accepted. But it will not be accepted as payment for a special promise the person made.
24“‘An animal might have bruised, crushed, torn or cut sex glands. If it does, you must not offer that animal to the Lord in your own land. 25You must not take such animals from foreigners as sacrifices to the Lord. This is because the animals have been hurt in some way. They have something wrong with them. They will not be accepted for you.’”
26The Lord said to Moses, 27“When an ox, a sheep or a goat is born, it must stay seven days with its mother. But from the eighth day on, this animal will be accepted as a sacrifice. It may be offered by fire to the Lord. 28But you must not kill the animal and its mother on the same day. This rule is the same for an ox or a sheep.
29“You might want to offer some special offering of thanks to the Lord. But you must do it in a way that pleases the Lord. 30You must eat the whole animal that same day. You must not leave any of the meat for the next morning. I am the Lord.
31“Remember my commands and obey them. I am the Lord. 32Show respect for my holy name. You Israelites must remember that I am holy. I am the Lord. I have made you holy. 33I brought you out of Egypt. I became your God. I am the Lord.”
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