Leviticus 21

Instructions for the Priests

21The 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.H3068H559H4872H559H3548H1121H175H559H2930H5315H59712The only exceptions are his closest relatives—his mother or father, son or daughter, brother,H7607H7138H517H1H1121H1323H2513or his virgin sister who depends on him because she has no husband.H269H1330H7138H376H29304But a priest must not defile himself and make himself unclean for someone who is related to him only by marriage.H2930H1167H5971H24905"The priests must not shave their heads or trim their beards or cut their bodies.H7139H7144H7218H1548H6285H2206H8295H8296H13206They must be set apart as holy to their God and must never bring shame on the name of God. They must be holy, for they are the ones who present the special gifts to the LORD, gifts of food for their God.H6944H430H2490H8034H430H801H3068H801H3899H430H7126H69187"Priests may not marry a woman defiled by prostitution, and they may not marry a woman who is divorced from her husband, for the priests are set apart as holy to their God.H3947H802H2181H2491H3947H802H1644H376H6918H4308You must treat them as holy because they offer up food to your God. You must consider them holy because I, the LORD, am holy, and I make you holy.H6942H7126H3899H430H6918H3068H6942H69189"If a priest's daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she also defiles her father's holiness, and she must be burned to death.H1323H376H3548H2490H2181H2490H1H8313H78410"The high priest has the highest rank of all the priests. The anointing oil has been poured on his head, and he has been ordained to wear the priestly garments. He must never leave his hair uncombed

or tear his clothing.H1419H3548H251H7218H4888H8081H3332H4390H3027H3847H899H6544H7218H6533H89911He must not defile himself by going near a dead body. He may not make himself ceremonially unclean even for his father or mother.H935H4191H5315H2930H1H51712He must not defile the sanctuary of his God by leaving it to attend to a dead person, for he has been made holy by the anointing oil of his God. I am the LORD.H3318H4720H2490H4720H430H5145H4888H8081H430H306813"The high priest may marry only a virgin.H3947H802H133114He may not marry a widow, a woman who is divorced, or a woman who has defiled herself by prostitution. She must be a virgin from his own clan,H490H1644H2491H2181H3947H3947H1330H5971H80215so that he will not dishonor his descendants among his clan, for I am the LORD who makes him holy."H2490H2233H5971H3068H694216Then the LORD said to Moses,H3068H1696H4872H55917"Give the following instructions to Aaron: In all future generations, none of your descendants who has any defect will qualify to offer food to his God.H1696H175H559H376H2233H1755H3971H7126H7126H3899H43018No one who has a defect qualifies, whether he is blind, lame, disfigured, deformed,H376H3971H7126H5787H376H6455H2763H831119or has a broken foot or arm,H376H7667H7272H7667H302720or is hunchbacked or dwarfed, or has a defective eye, or skin sores or scabs, or damaged testicles.H1384H1851H8400H5869H1618H3217H810H479021No descendant of Aaron who has a defect may approach the altar to present special gifts to the LORD. Since he has a defect, he may not approach the altar to offer food to his God.H376H3971H2233H175H3548H5066H7126H801H3068H801H3971H5066H7126H3899H43022However, he may eat from the food offered to God, including the holy offerings and the most holy offerings.H398H3899H430H6944H6944H694423Yet because of his physical defect, he may not enter the room behind the inner curtain or approach the altar, for this would defile my holy places. I am the LORD who makes them holy."H935H6532H5066H4196H3971H2490H4720H3068H694224So Moses gave these instructions to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.H4872H1696H175H1121H1121H3478