Leviticus 22


Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, that they aseparate1 themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they bdo not profane My holy name by what they cdedicate to Me: I am the Lord. 3 Say to them: ‘Whoever of all your descendants throughout your generations, who goes near the holy things which the children of Israel dedicate to the Lord, awhile he has 1uncleanness upon him, that person shall be cut off from My presence: I am the Lord.
4 ‘Whatever man of the descendants of Aaron, who is a aleper or has ba discharge, shall not eat the holy offerings cuntil he is clean. And dwhoever touches anything made unclean by a corpse, or ea man who has had an emission of semen,
5 or awhoever touches any creeping thing by which he would be made unclean, or bany person by whom he would become unclean, whatever his uncleanness may be— 6 the person who has touched any such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat the holy offerings unless he awashes his body with water. 7 And when the sun goes down he shall be clean; and afterward he may eat the holy offerings, because ait is his food. 8 aWhatever dies naturally or is torn by beasts he shall not eat, to defile himself with it: I am the Lord.
9 ‘They shall therefore keep aMy 1ordinance, blest they bear sin for it and die thereby, if they profane it: I the Lord sanctify them.

10 a‘No outsider shall eat the holy offering; one who 1dwells with the priest, or a hired servant, shall not eat the holy thing.
11 But if the priest abuys a person with his money, he may eat it; and one who is born in his house may eat his food. 12 If the priest’s daughter is married to an outsider, she may not eat of the holy offerings. 13 But if the priest’s daughter is a widow or divorced, and has no child, and has returned to her father’s house as in her youth, she may eat her father’s food; but no outsider shall eat it.
14 ‘And if a man eats the holy offering unintentionally, then he shall restore a holy offering to the priest, and add one-fifth to it.
15 They shall not profane the aholy offerings of the children of Israel, which they offer to the Lord, 16 or allow them to bear the guilt of trespass when they eat their holy offerings; for I the Lord sanctify them.’ ”

Offerings Accepted and Not Accepted

17 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them: a‘Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, who 1offers his sacrifice for any of his vows or for any of his freewill offerings, which they offer to the Lord as a burnt offering— 19 ayou shall offer of your own free will a male without blemish from the cattle, from the sheep, or from the goats. 20 aWhatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it shall not be acceptable on your behalf. 21 And awhoever offers a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, bto fulfill his vow, or a freewill offering from the cattle or the sheep, it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it. 22 aThose that are blind or broken or maimed, or have an 1ulcer or eczema or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor make ban offering by fire of them on the altar to the Lord. 23 Either a bull or a lamb that has any limb atoo long or too short you may offer as a freewill offering, but for a vow it shall not be accepted.
24 ‘You shall not offer to the Lord what is bruised or crushed, or torn or cut; nor shall you make any offering of them in your land.
25 Nor afrom a foreigner’s hand shall you offer any of these as bthe bread of your God, because their ccorruption is in them, and defects are in them. They shall not be accepted on your behalf.’ ”
26 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
27 a“When a bull or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall be seven days with its mother; and from the eighth day and thereafter it shall be accepted as an offering made by fire to the Lord. 28 Whether it is a cow or ewe, do not kill both her aand her young on the same day. 29 And when you aoffer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, offer it of your own free will. 30 On the same day it shall be eaten; you shall leave anone of it until morning: I am the Lord.
31 a“Therefore you shall keep My commandments, and perform them: I am the Lord.
32 aYou shall not profane My holy name, but bI will be 1hallowed among the children of Israel. I am the Lord who csanctifies you, 33 awho brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord.”
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson.
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