Leviticus 21

1And 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:

2But 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,

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

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

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

6They 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.

7They 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.

8Thou 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.

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

10And 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;

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

12Neither 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.

13And he shall take a wife in her virginity.

14A 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.

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

16And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

17Speak 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.footnote b

18For 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,

19Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded,

20Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken;footnote c

21No 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.

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

23Only 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.

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

Holiness Required of Priests

1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron’s sons, the priests, and tell them that a priest is not to defile himself for a dead person among his people, 2except for his immediate family—his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother, 3or his unmarried sister who is near to him, since she has no husband. 4He is not to defile himself for those related to him by marriage, and so profane himself.

5Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies. 6They must be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. Because they present to the LORD the food offerings, the food of their God, they must be holy.

7A priest must not marry a woman defiled by prostitution or divorced by her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. 8You are to regard him as holy, since he presents the food of your God. He shall be holy to you, because I the LORD am holy—I who set you apart. 9If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by prostituting herself, she profanes her father; she must be burned in the fire.

10The priest who is highest among his brothers, who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been ordained to wear the priestly garments, must not let his hair hang loosefootnote a or tear his garments. 11He must not go near any dead body; he must not defile himself, even for his father or mother. 12He must not leave or desecrate the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am the LORD.

13The woman he marries must be a virgin. 14He is not to marry a widow, a divorced woman, or one defiled by prostitution. He is to marry a virgin from his own people, 15so that he does not defile his offspring among his people, for I am the LORD who sanctifies him.”

Restrictions against Those with Blemishes

16Then the LORD said to Moses, 17“Say to Aaron, ‘For the generations to come, none of your descendants who has a physical defect may approach to offer the food of his God.

18No man who has any defect may approach—no man who is blind, lame, disfigured, or deformed; 19no man who has a broken foot or hand, 20or who is a hunchback or dwarf, or who has an eye defect, a festering rash, scabs, or a crushed testicle.

21No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall approach to present the food offerings to the LORD. Since he has a defect, he is not to come near to offer the food of his God. 22He may eat the most holy food of his God as well as the holy food, 23but because he has a defect, he must not go near the veil or approach the altar, so as not to desecrate My sanctuaries. For I am the LORD who sanctifies them.’”

24Moses told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.