Leviticus 21

King James Version (KJV)

1 Ref And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:

2 Ref But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother.

3 And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled.

4 Ref But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.

5 Ref They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.

6 Ref They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.

7 Ref They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy unto his God.

8 Ref Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I the LORD, which sanctify you, am holy.

9 Ref And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.

10 Ref And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes;

11 Ref Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;

12 Ref Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD.

13 Ref And he shall take a wife in her virginity.

14 Ref A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife.

15 Ref Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD do sanctify him.

16 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

17 Ref Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.

18 Ref For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous,

19 Or a man that is broken-footed, or broken-handed,

20 Ref Or crookbacked, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken;

21 Ref No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God.

22 Ref He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.

23 Ref Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them.

24 Ref And Moses told it unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.

Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 Ref And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Speak unto the priests, sons of Aaron, and thou hast said unto them, For `any' person `a priest' is not defiled among his people,

2 Ref except for his relation who `is' near unto him -- for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother.

3 and for his sister, the virgin, who is near unto him, who hath not been to a man; for her he is defiled.

4 Ref `A master `priest' doth not defile himself among his people -- to pollute himself;

5 Ref they do not make baldness on their head, and the corner of their beard they do not shave, and in their flesh they do not make a cutting;

6 Ref they are holy to their God, and they pollute not the name of their God, for the fire-offerings of Jehovah, bread of their God, they are bringing near, and have been holy.

7 Ref `A woman, a harlot, or polluted, they do not take, and a woman cast out from her husband they do not take, for he `is' holy to his God;

8 Ref and thou hast sanctified him, for the bread of thy God he is bringing near; he is holy to thee; for holy `am' I, Jehovah, sanctifying you.

9 Ref `And a daughter of any priest when she polluteth herself by going a-whoring -- her father she is polluting; with fire she is burnt.

10 Ref `And the high priest of his brethren, on whose head is poured the anointing oil, and hath consecrated his hand to put on the garments, his head doth not uncover, nor rend his garments,

11 Ref nor beside any dead person doth he come; for his father and for his mother he doth not defile himself;

12 Ref nor from the sanctuary doth he go out, nor doth he pollute the sanctuary of his God, for the separation of the anointing oil of his God `is' on him; I `am' Jehovah.

13 Ref `And he taketh a wife in her virginity;

14 Ref widow, or cast out, or polluted one -- a harlot -- these he doth not take, but a virgin of his own people he doth take `for' a wife,

15 Ref and he doth not pollute his seed among his people; for I `am' Jehovah, sanctifying him.'

16 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

17 Ref `Speak unto Aaron, saying, No man of thy seed to their generations in whom there is blemish doth draw near to bring near the bread of his God,

18 Ref for no man in whom `is' blemish doth draw near -- a man blind, or lame or dwarfed, or enlarged,

19 or a man in whom there is a breach in the foot, or a breach in the hand,

20 Ref or hump-backed, or a dwarf, or with a mixture in his eye, or a scurvy person, or scabbed, or broken-testicled.

21 Ref `No man in whom is blemish (of the seed of Aaron the priest) doth come nigh to bring near the fire-offerings of Jehovah; blemish `is' in him; the bread of his God he doth not come nigh to bring near.

22 Ref `Bread of his God -- of the most holy things, and of the holy things -- he doth eat;

23 Ref only, unto the vail he doth not enter, and unto the altar he doth not draw nigh; for blemish `is' in him; and he doth not pollute My sanctuaries; for I `am' Jehovah, sanctifying them.'

24 Ref And Moses speaketh unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the sons of Israel.

Bible in Basic English (BBE)

1 Ref And the Lord said to Moses, Say to the priests, the sons of Aaron, Let no man make himself unclean for the dead among his people;

2 Ref But only for his near relations, for his mother or his father, his son or his daughter, and his brother;

3 And for his sister, a virgin, for she is his near relation and has had no husband, he may make himself unclean.

4 Ref But let him, being a chief among his people, not make himself unclean in such a way as to put shame on himself.

5 Ref They are not to have their hair cut off for the dead, or the hair on their chins cut short, or make cuts in their flesh.

6 Ref Let them be holy to their God and not make the name of their God common; for the fire offerings of the Lord and the bread of their God are offered by them, and they are to be holy.

7 Ref They may not take as wife a loose or common woman, or one who has been put away by her husband: for the priest is holy to his God.

8 Ref And he is to be holy in your eyes, for by him the bread of your God is offered; he is to be holy in your eyes, for I the Lord, who make you holy, am holy.

9 Ref And if the daughter of a priest makes herself common and by her loose behaviour puts shame on her father, let her be burned with fire.

10 Ref And he who is the chief priest among his brothers, on whose head the holy oil has been put, who is marked out to put on the holy robes, may not let his hair go loose or have his clothing out of order as a sign of sorrow.

11 Ref He may not go near any dead body or make himself unclean for his father or his mother;

12 Ref He may not go out of the holy place or make the holy place of his God common; for the crown of the holy oil of his God is on him: I am the Lord.

13 Ref And let him take as his wife one who has not had relations with a man.

14 Ref A widow, or one whose husband has put her away, or a common woman of loose behaviour, may not be the wife of a priest; but let him take a virgin from among his people.

15 Ref And he may not make his seed unclean among his people, for I the Lord have made him holy.

16 And the Lord said to Moses,

17 Ref Say to Aaron, If a man of your family, in any generation, is damaged in body, let him not come near to make the offering of the bread of his God.

18 Ref For any man whose body is damaged may not come near: one who is blind, or has not the use of his legs, or one who has a broken nose or any unnatural growth,

19 Or a man with broken feet or hands,

20 Ref Or one whose back is bent, or one who is unnaturally small, or one who has a damaged eye, or whose skin is diseased, or whose sex parts are damaged;

21 Ref No man of the offspring of Aaron whose body is damaged in any way may come near to give the fire offerings of the Lord: he is damaged, he may not come near to make the offerings.

22 Ref He may take of the bread of God, the holy and the most holy;

23 Ref But he may not go inside the veil or come near the altar, because he is damaged; and he may not make my holy places common; for I the Lord have made them holy.

24 Ref These are the words which Moses said to Aaron and to his sons and to all the children of Israel.

Chapter 21 of 27

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