Leviticus 21

The Holiness of the Priests

21The Lord said to Moses: “Speak to Aaron’s sons, the priests, and tell them: A priest is not to make himself ceremonially unclean for a dead person among his relatives, ^e2except for his immediate family: his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother. ³He may make himself unclean for his young unmarried sister in his immediate family. ⁴He is not to make himself unclean for those related to him by marriage ^fand so defile himself.

⁵“Priests may not make bald spots on their heads, shave the edge of their beards, or make gashes on their bodies. ^g6They are to be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. ^hFor they present the fire offerings to Yahweh, the food of their God, and they must be holy. ⁷They are not to marry a woman defiled by prostitution. ^ijThey are not to marry one divorced ^kby her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. ⁸You are to consider him holy since he presents the food of your God. He will be holy to you because I, Yahweh who sets you apart, am holy. ⁹If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by promiscuity, ^lmshe defiles her father; she must be burned up. ⁿ

¹⁰“The priest who is highest among his brothers, who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been ordained ^oto wear the garments, must not dishevel his hair ^por tear his garments. ^q11He must not go near any dead person or make himself unclean even for his father or mother. ^r12He must not leave the sanctuary or he will desecrate the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him; ^sI am Yahweh.

¹³“He is to marry a woman who is a virgin. ¹⁴He is not to marry a widow, ^ta divorced woman, ^uor one defiled by prostitution. He is to marry a virgin from his own people, ¹⁵so that he does not corrupt his bloodline ^vamong his people, for I am Yahweh who sets him apart.”

Physical Defects and Priests

¹⁶The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹⁷“Tell Aaron: None of your descendants throughout your generations who has a physical defect ^wis to come near to present the food ^xof his God. ¹⁸No man who has any defect is to come near: no man who is blind, lame, facially disfigured, or deformed; ¹⁹no man who has a broken foot or hand, ²⁰or who is a hunchback or a dwarf, ^yzor who has an eye defect, a festering rash, scabs, ^aor a crushed testicle. ^b21No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a defect is to come near to present the fire offerings to the Lord. He has a defect and is not to come near to present the food of his God. ²²He may eat the food of his God from what is especially holy as well as from what is holy. ²³But because he has a defect, he must not go near the curtain ^cor approach the altar. He is not to desecrate My sanctuaries, for I am Yahweh who sets them apart.” ^d24Moses said this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.