Holiness and the Priests

Leviticus 21

1 And the Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: a No one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people, 2 except for his closest relatives, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3 or his virgin sister (who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may make himself unclean). 4 He shall not make himself unclean as a husband among his people and so profane himself. 5 b They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body. 6 They shall be holy to their God and c not profane the name of their God. For they offer the Lord's food offerings, d the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy. 7 e They shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled, neither shall they marry a woman f divorced from her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. 8 You shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for g I, the Lord, who sanctify you, h am holy. 9 And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by whoring, profanes her father; i she shall be burned with fire.

10 j "The priest who is chief among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured and who has been consecrated to wear the garments, k shall not let the hair of his head hang loose nor tear his clothes. 11 He shall not l go in to any dead bodies nor make himself unclean, even for his father or for his mother. 12 m He shall not go out of the sanctuary, lest he n profane the sanctuary of his God, for the o consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him: I am the Lord. 13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity. 1 14 A widow, p or a divorced woman, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute, these he shall not marry. But he shall take as his wife a virgin 2 of his own people, 15 that he may not profane his offspring among his people, for g I am the Lord who sanctifies him."

16 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 "Speak to Aaron, saying, None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may q approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man r blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face s or a limb too long, 19 or a man who has an injured foot or an injured hand, 20 or a hunchback or a dwarf or a man with a r defect in his sight or an itching disease or scabs or t crushed testicles. 21 No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a blemish shall come near to u offer the Lord's food offerings; since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. 22 He may eat the bread of his God, both of v the most holy and of the w holy things, 23 but he shall not go through the veil or approach the altar, because he has a blemish, that he may not x profane my sanctuaries, y for I am the Lord who sanctifies them." 24 So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the people of Israel.

Leviticus 22

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Speak to Aaron and his sons so that they z abstain from the holy things of the people of Israel, which they a dedicate to me, so that they do not b profane my holy name: I am the Lord. 3 Say to them, 'If any one of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the holy things that the people of Israel dedicate to the Lord, while c he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from my presence: I am the Lord. 4 None of the offspring of Aaron who has a leprous disease or a d discharge may eat of the holy things e until he is clean. f Whoever touches anything that is unclean through contact with the dead or g a man who has had an emission of semen, 5 and h whoever touches a swarming thing by which he may be made unclean or i a person from whom he may take uncleanness, whatever his uncleanness may be - 6 the person who touches such a thing shall be unclean until the evening and shall not eat of the holy things unless he has j bathed his body in water. 7 When the sun goes down he shall be clean, and afterward he may eat of the holy things, because k they are his food. 8 l He shall not eat what dies of itself or is torn by beasts, and so make himself unclean by it: I am the Lord.' 9 They shall therefore keep my charge, m lest they bear sin for it and die thereby when they profane it: n I am the Lord who sanctifies them.

10 o "A lay person shall not eat of a holy thing; no foreign guest of the priest or hired servant shall eat of a holy thing, 11 but if a priest buys a slave as his property for money, the slave 3 may eat of it, and p anyone born in his house may eat of his food. 12 If a priest's daughter marries a layman, she shall not eat of the contribution of the holy things. 13 But if a priest's daughter is widowed or divorced and has no child and q returns to her father's house, r as in her youth, she may eat of her father's food; yet no lay person shall eat of it. 14 s And if anyone eats of a holy thing unintentionally, he shall add t the fifth of its value to it and give the holy thing to the priest. 15 They u shall not profane the holy things of the people of Israel, which they contribute to the Lord, 16 and so cause them m to bear iniquity and guilt, by eating their holy things: n for I am the Lord who sanctifies them."

  1. Cross References
    Ezekiel 44:25
    They shall not defile themselves by going near to a dead person. However, for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister they may defile themselves.
  2. Cross References
    Ezekiel 44:20
    They shall not shave their heads or let their locks grow long; they shall surely trim the hair of their heads.
    Leviticus 19:27 - 28
    You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard.
    Deuteronomy 14:1
    You are the sons of the Lord your God. You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead.
  3. Cross References
    Leviticus 18:21
    You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.
  4. Cross References
    Leviticus 3:11
    And the priest shall burn it on the altar as a food offering to the Lord.
  5. Cross References
    Leviticus 21:13 - 14
    And he shall take a wife in her virginity.
    Ezekiel 44:22
    They shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but only virgins of the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest.
  6. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 24:1 - 4
    When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house.
  7. Cross References
    Leviticus 22:9
    They shall therefore keep my charge, lest they bear sin for it and die thereby when they profane it: I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
    Leviticus 22:16
    And so cause them to bear iniquity and guilt, by eating their holy things: for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
  8. Cross References
    Leviticus 11:44
    For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground.
  9. Cross References
    Genesis 38:24
    About three months later Judah was told, "Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality." And Judah said, "Bring her out, and let her be burned.
  10. Cross References
    Leviticus 8:12
    And he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him to consecrate him.
    Leviticus 16:32
    And the priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his father's place shall make atonement, wearing the holy linen garments.
    Exodus 29:29 - 30
    The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him; they shall be anointed in them and ordained in them.
    Numbers 35:25
    And the congregation shall rescue the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.
  11. Cross References
    Leviticus 10:6
    And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, "Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning that the Lord has kindled.
  12. Cross References
    Numbers 19:14
    This is the law when someone dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent shall be unclean seven days.
    Leviticus 21:1 - 2
    And the Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: No one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people.
  13. Cross References
    Leviticus 10:7
    And do not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you." And they did according to the word of Moses.
  14. Cross References
    Leviticus 21:23
    But he shall not go through the veil or approach the altar, because he has a blemish, that he may not profane my sanctuaries, for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
  15. Cross References
    Leviticus 8:9
    And he set the turban on his head, and on the turban, in front, he set the golden plate, the holy crown, as the Lord commanded Moses.
    Leviticus 8:12
    And he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him to consecrate him.
    Leviticus 8:30
    Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled it on Aaron and his garments, and also on his sons and his sons' garments. So he consecrated Aaron and his garments, and his sons and his sons' garments with him.
  16. Cross References
    Leviticus 21:7
    They shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled, neither shall they marry a woman divorced from her husband, for the priest is holy to his God.
    Ezekiel 44:22
    They shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but only virgins of the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest.
  17. Cross References
    Leviticus 21:8
    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.
  18. Cross References
    Leviticus 10:3
    Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord has said, 'Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.'" And Aaron held his peace.
    Numbers 16:5
    And he said to Korah and all his company, "In the morning the Lord will show who is his, and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one whom he chooses he will bring near to him.
    Psalms 65:4
    Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!
  19. Cross References
    Leviticus 22:22
    Animals blind or disabled or mutilated or having a discharge or an itch or scabs you shall not offer to the Lord or give them to the Lord as a food offering on the altar.
  20. Cross References
    Leviticus 22:23
    You may present a bull or a lamb that has a part too long or too short for a freewill offering, but for a vow offering it cannot be accepted.
  21. Cross References
    Leviticus 21:18
    For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long.
  22. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 23:1
    No one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord.
  23. Cross References
    Leviticus 21:6
    They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. For they offer the Lord 's food offerings, the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy.
  24. Cross References
    Leviticus 2:3
    But the rest of the grain offering shall be for...
    Leviticus 2:10
    But the rest of the grain offering shall be for...
    Leviticus 6:17
    It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given...
    Leviticus 6:25
    Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, This is th...
    Leviticus 7:1
    This is the law of the guilt offering. It is mo...
    Leviticus 10:12
    Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar...
    Leviticus 10:17
    Why have you not eaten the sin offering in the ...
    Leviticus 14:13
    And he shall kill the lamb in the place where t...
    Leviticus 24:9
    And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and the...
    Numbers 18:9
    This shall be yours of the most holy things, re...
  25. Cross References
    Leviticus 22:10
    A lay person shall not eat of a holy thing; no foreign guest of the priest or hired servant shall eat of a holy thing.
    Leviticus 22:12
    If a priest's daughter marries a layman, she shall not eat of the contribution of the holy things.
  26. Cross References
    Leviticus 21:12
    He shall not go out of the sanctuary, lest he profane the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him: I am the Lord.
  27. Cross References
    Leviticus 22:9
    They shall therefore keep my charge, lest they bear sin for it and die thereby when they profane it: I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
    Leviticus 22:16
    And so cause them to bear iniquity and guilt, by eating their holy things: for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
  28. Cross References
    Numbers 6:3
    He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried.
  29. Cross References
    Leviticus 22:3
    Say to them, 'If any one of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the holy things that the people of Israel dedicate to the Lord, while he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from my presence: I am the Lord.
    Exodus 28:38
    It shall be on Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.
    Deuteronomy 15:19
    All the firstborn males that are born of your herd and flock you shall dedicate to the Lord your God. You shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock.
  30. Cross References
    Numbers 18:32
    And you shall bear no sin by reason of it, when you have contributed the best of it. But you shall not profane the holy things of the people of Israel, lest you die.'
    Leviticus 18:21
    You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.
  31. Cross References
    Leviticus 7:20
    But the person who eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of the Lord 's peace offerings while an uncleanness is on him, that person shall be cut off from his people.
  32. Cross References
    Leviticus 15:2
    Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean.
  33. Cross References
    Leviticus 14:2
    This shall be the law of the leprous person for the day of his cleansing. He shall be brought to the priest.
    Leviticus 15:13
    And when the one with a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, then he shall count for himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes. And he shall bathe his body in fresh water and shall be clean.
  34. Cross References
    Numbers 19:11
    Whoever touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days.
  35. Cross References
    Leviticus 15:16
    If a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole body in water and be unclean until the evening.
  36. Cross References
    Leviticus 11:24
    And by these you shall become unclean. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening.
    Leviticus 11:43 - 44
    You shall not make yourselves detestable with any swarming thing that swarms, and you shall not defile yourselves with them, and become unclean through them.
  37. Cross References
    Leviticus 15:7
    And whoever touches the body of the one with the discharge shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening.
    Leviticus 15:19
    When a woman has a discharge, and the discharge in her body is blood, she shall be in her menstrual impurity for seven days, and whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening.
  38. Cross References
    Hebrews 10:22
    Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
    Leviticus 15:5 - 11
    And anyone who touches his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening.
  39. Cross References
    Leviticus 21:22
    He may eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy things.
    Numbers 18:11
    This also is yours: the contribution of their gift, all the wave offerings of the people of Israel. I have given them to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.
    Numbers 18:13
    The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.
    Leviticus 3:11
    And the priest shall burn it on the altar as a food offering to the Lord.
  40. Cross References
    Leviticus 7:24
    The fat of an animal that dies of itself and the fat of one that is torn by beasts may be put to any other use, but on no account shall you eat it.
  41. Cross References
    Exodus 28:43
    And they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they go into the tent of meeting or when they come near the altar to minister in the Holy Place, lest they bear guilt and die. This shall be a statute forever for him and for his offspring after him.
    Leviticus 19:17
    You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.
  42. Cross References
    Leviticus 21:8
    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.
    Leviticus 21:15
    That he may not profane his offspring among his people, for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.
    Leviticus 21:23
    But he shall not go through the veil or approach the altar, because he has a blemish, that he may not profane my sanctuaries, for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
  43. Cross References
    Leviticus 24:9
    And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place, since it is for him a most holy portion out of the Lord 's food offerings, a perpetual due.
    1 Samuel 21:6
    So the priest gave him the holy bread, for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the Lord, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away.
    Matthew 12:4
    How he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
    Mark 2:26
    How he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?
    Luke 6:4
    How he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?
  44. Cross References
    Numbers 18:11
    This also is yours: the contribution of their gift, all the wave offerings of the people of Israel. I have given them to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.
    Numbers 18:13
    The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.
  45. Cross References
    Genesis 38:11
    Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, "Remain a widow in your father's house, till Shelah my son grows up" - for he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and remained in her father's house.
    Ruth 1:8
    But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.
  46. Cross References
    Leviticus 10:14
    But the breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed you shall eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you, for they are given as your due and your sons' due from the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the people of Israel.
    Numbers 18:11
    This also is yours: the contribution of their gift, all the wave offerings of the people of Israel. I have given them to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.
    Numbers 18:19
    All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the Lord I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. It is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and for your offspring with you.
  47. Cross References
    Leviticus 4:2
    Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If anyone sins unintentionally in any of the Lord 's commandments about things not to be done, and does any one of them.
    Leviticus 5:15 - 16
    If anyone commits a breach of faith and sins unintentionally in any of the holy things of the Lord, he shall bring to the Lord as his compensation, a ram without blemish out of the flock, valued in silver shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for a guilt offering.
    Leviticus 5:18
    He shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent for a guilt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for him for the mistake that he made unintentionally, and he shall be forgiven.
  48. Cross References
    Leviticus 27:13
    But if he wishes to redeem it, he shall add a fifth to the valuation.
    Leviticus 27:15
    And if the donor wishes to redeem his house, he shall add a fifth to the valuation price, and it shall be his.
    Leviticus 27:19
    And if he who dedicates the field wishes to redeem it, then he shall add a fifth to its valuation price, and it shall remain his.
  49. Cross References
    Leviticus 19:8
    And everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned what is holy to the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from his people.
    Numbers 18:32
    And you shall bear no sin by reason of it, when you have contributed the best of it. But you shall not profane the holy things of the people of Israel, lest you die.
  50. Cross References
    Leviticus 22:9
    They shall therefore keep my charge, lest they bear sin for it and die thereby when they profane it: I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
  51. Cross References
    Leviticus 22:9
    They shall therefore keep my charge, lest they bear sin for it and die thereby when they profane it: I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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