Leviticus

1The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, ‘A priest shall not defile himself for the dead among his people,

2except for his relatives that are near to him: for his mother, for his father, for his son, for his daughter, for his brother,

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

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

5“‘They shall not shave their heads or shave off the corners of their beards or make any cuttings in their flesh.

6They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the bread of their God. Therefore they shall be holy.

7“‘They shall not marry a woman who is a prostitute, or profane. A priest shall not marry a woman divorced from her husband; for he is holy to his God.

8Therefore you shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I the LORD, who sanctify you, am holy.

9“‘The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the prostitute, she profanes her father. She shall be burned with fire.

10“‘He who is the high priest among his brothers, upon whose head the anointing oil is poured, and who is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not let the hair of his head hang loose, or tear his clothes.

11He must not go in to any dead body, or defile himself for his father or for his mother.

12He shall not 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“‘He shall take a wife in her virginity.

14He shall not marry a widow, or one divorced, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute. He shall take a virgin of his own people as a wife.

15He shall not profane his offspring among his people, for I am the LORD who sanctifies him.’”

16The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

17“Say to Aaron, ‘None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a defect may approach to offer the bread of his God.

18For whatever man he is that has a defect, he shall not draw near: a blind man, or a lame, or he who has a flat nose, or any deformity,

19or a man who has an injured foot, or an injured hand,

20or hunchbacked, or a dwarf, or one who has a defect in his eye, or an itching disease, or scabs, or who has damaged testicles.

21No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall come near to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire. Since he has a defect, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God.

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

23He shall not come near to the veil, nor come near to the altar, because he has a defect; that he may not profane my sanctuaries, for I am the LORD who sanctifies them.’”

24So Moses spoke to Aaron, and to his sons, and to 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 looseor 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.