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Leviticus 21:1–5

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The Holiness of the Priests

1Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them:

‘aNo one shall defile himself for a dead person among his people,

2aexcept for his 1blood relatives who are nearest to him, his mother and his father and his son and his daughter and his brother,

3also for his virgin sister, who is near to him 1because she has had no husband; for her he may defile himself.

4‘He shall not defile himself as a 1relative by marriage among his people, and so profane himself.

5‘aThey shall not make any baldness on their heads bnor shave off the edges of their beards cnor make any cuts in their flesh.

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Footnotes

  1. 1Lit flesh
  2. 1Or whom no man has had
  3. 1Lit husband among

Cross references

  1. aLev 19:28; Ezek 44:25
  2. aLev 21:11
  3. aDeut 14:1; Ezek 44:20
  4. bLev 19:27
  5. cDeut 14:1

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, No one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people, except for his closest relatives, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, or his virgin sister (who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may make himself unclean). He shall not make himself unclean as a husband among his people and so profane himself. They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: ‘A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean for any of his people who die, except for a close relative, such as his mother or father, his son or daughter, his brother, or an unmarried sister who is dependent on him since she has no husband—for her he may make himself unclean. He must not make himself unclean for people related to him by marriage, and so defile himself.

“ ‘Priests must not shave their heads or shave off the edges of their beards or cut their bodies.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

The 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, except for his immediate family: his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother. He may make himself unclean for his unmarried virgin sister in his immediate family. He is not to make himself unclean for those related to him by marriage and so defile himself.

“Priests may not make bald spots on their heads, shave the edge of their beards, or make gashes on their bodies.

NLTNew Living Translation

The Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

“A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean by touching the dead body of a relative. The only exceptions are his closest relatives—his mother or father, son or daughter, brother, or his virgin sister who depends on him because she has no husband. But a priest must not defile himself and make himself unclean for someone who is related to him only by marriage.

“The priests must not shave their heads or trim their beards or cut their bodies.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, Aaron’s sons, and say to them, ‘One must not make himself unclean for a dead person among his own people, except for his direct relative closest to him: his mother and his father, and his son and his daughter, and his brother, and for his sister, a virgin, who is closest to him, who has not had a husband—for her he may defile himself. He must not make himself unclean as a kinsman by marriage, defiling himself.

“ ‘And they shall not shave bald patches on their head, and they shall not shave off the corner of their beard, and they shall not make a cut in their body.

KJV 1900King James Version

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: 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, And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled. But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself. 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.