Leviticus 22
22
Priestly Purity.#While priests with bodily imperfections may eat the holy sacrifices (21:16–23), those impure and those not of the priestly household may not. 1The Lord said to Moses: 2Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings which the Israelites consecrate to me; otherwise they will profane my holy name. I am the Lord.
3#On uncleanness, see chaps. 11–15 and notes there. Tell them: If any one of you, or of your descendants in any future generation, dares, while he is in a state of uncleanness, to draw near the sacred offerings which the Israelites consecrate to the Lord, such a one shall be cut off from my presence.#Lv 7:20–21. I am the Lord.
4No descendant of Aaron who is stricken with a scaly infection,#Lv 13–14. or who suffers from a genital discharge,#Lv 15:2–18. may eat of the sacred offerings, until he again becomes clean. Moreover, if anyone touches a person who has become unclean by contact with a corpse,#Nm 19:14–22. or if anyone has had an emission of semen,#Lv 15:16. 5or if anyone touches any swarming creature#Lv 11:29–31. whose uncleanness is contagious or any person whose uncleanness, of whatever kind it may be, is contagious—#Lv 15:2–12, 18–27. 6the one who touches such as these shall be unclean until evening and may not eat of the sacred portions until he has first bathed his body in water.#Lv 17:15; Nm 19:7–8, 19; Heb 10:22. 7Then, when the sun sets, he shall be clean.#Dt 23:12. Only then may he eat of the sacred offerings, for they are his food. 8#See note on 11:39–40. He shall not make himself unclean by eating of any animal that has died of itself or has been killed by wild beasts.#Lv 11:39–40; Ez 44:31. I am the Lord.
9They shall keep my charge so that they will not bear the punishment in this matter and die#Lv 15:31. for their profanation. I am the Lord who makes them holy.
10Neither an unauthorized person nor a priest’s tenant or laborer may eat of any sacred offering.#Mt 12:4. 11But a slave#Slave: in contrast to the tenant or hired worker of v. 10, the slave, who is by definition a foreigner, is part of the priest’s household and therefore may eat of sacrifices. whom a priest acquires by purchase or who is born in his house may eat of his food. 12#A priest’s daughter, when a dependent of her father, may eat of the lesser holy offerings. A priest’s daughter who is married to an unauthorized person may not eat of the sacred contributions. 13But if a priest’s daughter is widowed or divorced and, having no children, returns to her father’s house, she may then eat of her father’s food as in her youth. No unauthorized person, however, may eat of it. 14#Lv 5:15–16. If such a one eats of a sacred offering through inadvertence, that person shall make restitution to the priest for the sacred offering, with an increment of one fifth of the amount. 15The priests shall not allow the sacred offerings which the Israelites contribute to the Lord to be profaned#Lv 19:8; Nm 18:32. 16nor make them incur a penalty when they eat their sacred offerings. For I, the Lord, make them holy.
Unacceptable Victims. 17#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. The Lord said to Moses: 18Speak 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#Lv 1:3. as a votive offering or as a voluntary offering to the Lord, 19if it is to be acceptable for you, it must be an unblemished male of the herd, of the sheep or of the goats.#Lv 21:16–23. 20You shall not offer one that has any blemish, for such a one would not be acceptable on your behalf.#Dt 15:21; 17:1; Mal 1:7–14. 21When anyone presents a communion sacrifice#Lv 3:1; 7:11. 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. 22One 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#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. 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. 24One 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 25nor 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.
26#Other activities and procedures that would impair sacrifice are appended here. The rules in vv. 27–28 are reminiscent of the rule not to boil a young goat in its mother’s milk (Ex 23:19; 34:26; Dt 14:21) and not to take a bird and its eggs (Dt 22:6–7), all of which have a humanitarian tenor. The Lord said to Moses: 27When an ox or a lamb or a goat is born, it shall remain with its mother for seven days; only from the eighth day onward will it be acceptable, to be offered as an oblation to the Lord.#Ex 22:29; 23:19. 28You shall not slaughter an ox or a sheep on one and the same day with its young. 29Whenever you offer a thanksgiving sacrifice to the Lord, so offer it that it may be acceptable on your behalf; 30it must be eaten on the same day; none of it shall be left over until morning.#Lv 7:15. I am the Lord.
31Be careful to observe my commandments. I am the Lord. 32Do not profane my holy name, that in the midst of the Israelites I may be hallowed. I, the Lord, make you holy, 33who led you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord.
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Leviticus 22: NABRE
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Leviticus 22
22
1The Lord said to Moses, 2“Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings the Israelites consecrate to me, so they will not profane my holy name. I am the Lord.
3“Say to them: ‘For the generations to come, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean and yet comes near the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the Lord, that person must be cut off from my presence. I am the Lord.
4“ ‘If a descendant of Aaron has a defiling skin disease#22:4 The Hebrew word for defiling skin disease, traditionally translated “leprosy,” was used for various diseases affecting the skin. or a bodily discharge, he may not eat the sacred offerings until he is cleansed. He will also be unclean if he touches something defiled by a corpse or by anyone who has an emission of semen, 5or if he touches any crawling thing that makes him unclean, or any person who makes him unclean, whatever the uncleanness may be. 6The one who touches any such thing will be unclean till evening. He must not eat any of the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water. 7When the sun goes down, he will be clean, and after that he may eat the sacred offerings, for they are his food. 8He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, and so become unclean through it. I am the Lord.
9“ ‘The priests are to perform my service in such a way that they do not become guilty and die for treating it with contempt. I am the Lord, who makes them holy.
10“ ‘No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired worker eat it. 11But if a priest buys a slave with money, or if slaves are born in his household, they may eat his food. 12If a priest’s daughter marries anyone other than a priest, she may not eat any of the sacred contributions. 13But if a priest’s daughter becomes a widow or is divorced, yet has no children, and she returns to live in her father’s household as in her youth, she may eat her father’s food. No unauthorized person, however, may eat it.
14“ ‘Anyone who eats a sacred offering by mistake must make restitution to the priest for the offering and add a fifth of the value to it. 15The priests must not desecrate the sacred offerings the Israelites present to the Lord 16by allowing them to eat the sacred offerings and so bring upon them guilt requiring payment. I am the Lord, who makes them holy.’ ”
Unacceptable Sacrifices
17The Lord said to Moses, 18“Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘If any of you—whether an Israelite or a foreigner residing in Israel—presents a gift for a burnt offering to the Lord, either to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, 19you must present a male without defect from the cattle, sheep or goats in order that it may be accepted on your behalf. 20Do not bring anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf. 21When anyone brings from the herd or flock a fellowship offering to the Lord to fulfill a special vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without defect or blemish to be acceptable. 22Do not offer to the Lord the blind, the injured or the maimed, or anything with warts or festering or running sores. Do not place any of these on the altar as a food offering presented to the Lord. 23You may, however, present as a freewill offering an ox#22:23 The Hebrew word can refer to either male or female. or a sheep that is deformed or stunted, but it will not be accepted in fulfillment of a vow. 24You must not offer to the Lord an animal whose testicles are bruised, crushed, torn or cut. You must not do this in your own land, 25and you must not accept such animals from the hand of a foreigner and offer them as the food of your God. They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and have defects.’ ”
26The Lord said to Moses, 27“When a calf, a lamb or a goat is born, it is to remain with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as a food offering presented to the Lord. 28Do not slaughter a cow or a sheep and its young on the same day.
29“When you sacrifice a thank offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. 30It must be eaten that same day; leave none of it till morning. I am the Lord.
31“Keep my commands and follow them. I am the Lord. 32Do not profane my holy name, for I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the Lord, who made you holy 33and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord.”
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