Leviticus 21 - NKJV Bible Online

Leviticus 21

Regulations for Conduct of Priests

And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: ^a‘None shall defile himself for the dead among his people, 2 except for his relatives who are nearest to him: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother; 3 also his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband, for her he may defile himself. 4 Otherwise he shall not defile himself, being a ¹chief man among his people, to profane himself.
5 ^a‘They shall not make any bald place on their heads, nor shall they shave the edges of their beards nor make any cuttings in their flesh. 6 They shall be ^aholy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and the ^bbread of their God; ^ctherefore they shall be holy. 7 ^aThey shall not take a wife who is a harlot or a defiled woman, nor shall they take a woman ^bdivorced from her husband; for ¹the priest is holy to his God. 8 Therefore you shall ¹consecrate him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for ^aI the Lord, who ^bsanctify you, am holy. 9 The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the harlot, she profanes her father. She shall be ^aburned with fire.
10 ‘He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was ^apoured and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not ^buncover¹ his head nor tear his clothes; 11 nor shall he go ^anear any dead body, nor defile himself for his father or his mother; 12 ^anor shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the ^bconsecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the Lord. 13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow or a divorced woman or a defiled woman or a harlot—these he shall not marry; but he shall take a virgin of his own people as wife. 15 Nor shall he profane his posterity among his people, for I the Lord sanctify him.’ ”
16 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying: ‘No man of your descendants in succeeding generations, who has any defect, may approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For any man who has a ^adefect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb ^btoo long, 19 a man who has a broken foot or broken hand, 20 or is a hunchback or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab, or is a eunuch. 21 No man of the descendants of Aaron the priest, who has a defect, shall come near to offer the offerings made by fire to the Lord. He has a defect; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. 22 He may eat the bread of his God, both the most holy and the holy; 23 only he shall not go near the ^aveil or approach the altar, because he has a defect, lest ^bhe profane My sanctuaries; for I the Lord sanctify them.’ ”
24 And Moses told it to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel.

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