Leviticus 21
21
Holiness Code for Kohanim
1Then Adonai said to Moses, “Speak to the kohanim, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: A kohen is not to allow himself to become unclean for the dead among his people,
2except for his relatives that are nearest to him—his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother,
3or his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband. For her he may allow himself to become unclean.
4But he is not to defile himself—a husband among his people—and so profane himself.
5“Kohanim are not to shave their heads, nor shave off the corners of their beards, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.
6They are to be holy to their God, and not profane the Name of their God, for they present the offerings of Adonai made by fire, the bread of their God. Therefore they are to be holy.
7They are not to marry women who are defiled as prostitutes, or profane. Neither shall they marry women divorced from their husbands, for a kohen is holy to his God.
8Therefore you are to sanctify him, because he offers the bread of your God. He should be holy to you, for I, Adonai, who sanctifies you, am holy.
9“The daughter of any kohen, if she profanes herself by playing the prostitute, profanes her father. She is to be burned with fire.
10“He who is the kohen gadol among his brothers, upon whose head the anointing oil is poured and is consecrated to put on the garments, is not to let the hair of his head hang loose or tear his clothes,
11nor shall he go near any dead person, defiling himself, even for his father or his mother.
12He is not to go out of the Sanctuary or profane the Sanctuary of his God—for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him. I am Adonai.
13“He shall take a wife in her virginity.
14A widow, or one divorced, or one who has been defiled as a prostitute, he is not to marry. He is to take a virgin from his own people as a wife,
15so as not to corrupt his offspring among his people. For I am Adonai who sanctifies him.”
16Adonai spoke to Moses saying:
17“Say to Aaron: None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a defect may approach to offer the food of his God.
18Any man who has a defect is not to draw near: no one blind or lame or disfigured or deformed,
19or a man who has a crippled foot or crippled hand
20or a hunchback or dwarf, or who has an eye defect or a rash or scabs, or who has damaged testicles.
21None of the offspring of Aaron the kohen who has a defect shall come near to present the offerings of Adonai made by fire. Since he has a defect, he is not to come near to offer the food of his God.
22He may eat the food of his God, both from the most holy and the holy.
23But he is not to approach the curtain or come near the altar, because of the defect on him, so that he may not desecrate My sanctuaries, for I am Adonai who sanctifies them.”
24So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons, and to all Bnei-Yisrael.
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
Leviticus 21
21
How Priests Must Behave
1The Lord said to Moses, “Tell these things to Aaron’s sons, the priests: ‘A priest must not make himself unclean by touching a dead person. 2But if the dead person was one of his close relatives, he may touch him. The priest may make himself unclean if the dead person is his mother or father, son or daughter, brother or 3unmarried sister. This sister is close to him because she has no husband. So the priest may make himself unclean for her if she dies. 4But a priest must not make himself unclean if the dead person was only related to him by marriage.
5“‘Priests must not shave their heads. They must not shave off the edges of their beards. They must not cut their bodies. 6Priests must be holy to their God. They must show respect for God’s name. This is because they present the offerings made by fire to the Lord. This is the food of their God. So they must be holy.
7“‘A priest serves God in a special way. So he must not marry an unclean prostitute or a divorced woman. 8Treat the priest in a special way. Think of him as holy. This is because he offers up the food of your God. I am the Lord. I make you holy. And I am holy.
9“‘If a priest’s daughter makes herself unclean by becoming a prostitute, she shames her father. She must be burned with fire.
10“‘The high priest was chosen from among his brothers. The special olive oil used in appointing people and things to the service of the Lord was poured on his head. He was appointed to wear the priestly clothes. So he must not do things to show his sadness in public. He must not let his hair go uncombed. He must not tear his clothes. 11He must not go into a house where there is a dead body. He must not make himself unclean, even if it is his own father or mother. 12The high priest must not go out of the Holy Place. If he does and becomes unclean, he would make God’s Holy Place unclean. The special oil used in appointing priests was poured on the high priest’s head. This separated him from the rest of the people. I am the Lord.
13“‘The high priest must marry a woman who is a virgin. 14He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman or a prostitute. He must marry a virgin from his own people. 15This is so the people will respect his children as his own. I am the Lord. I have set the high priest apart for his special job.’”
16The Lord said to Moses, 17“Tell Aaron: ‘Some of your descendants might have something wrong with them. If they do, they must never offer the special food of their God. 18Anyone who has something wrong with him must not serve as priest. And he must not bring sacrifices to me. These people cannot serve as priests: blind men, crippled men, men with damaged faces, deformed men, 19men with a crippled foot or hand, 20hunchbacks, dwarfs, men who have something wrong with their eyes, men who have an itching disease or a skin disease or men who have damaged sex glands.
21“‘One of Aaron’s descendants might have something wrong with him. If he does, he cannot make the offerings made by fire to the Lord. He has something wrong with him. He cannot offer the food of his God. 22But he is from the family of priests. So he may eat the most holy food. He may also eat the holy food. 23But he may not go through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. He may not go near the altar. He has something wrong with him. He must not make my Holy Place unfit. I am the Lord. I make these things holy.’”
24So Moses told these things to Aaron, Aaron’s sons and all the people of Israel.
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