1 Then the Loʀᴅ said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them:

‘ALev 19:28; Ezek 44:25

No one shall defile himself for a dead person among his people, 2 ALev 21:11except for his relatives who are nearest to him, his mother and his father and his son and his daughter and his brother, 3 also for his virgin sister, who is near to him 1Or whom no man has hadbecause she has had no husband; for her he may defile himself. 4  ‘He shall not defile himself as a 1Lit husband amongrelative by marriage among his people, and so profane himself. 5  ‘ADeut 14:1; Ezek 44:20They shall not make any baldness on their heads, BLev 19:27nor shave off the edges of their beards, CDeut 14:1nor make any cuts in their flesh. 6  ‘They shall be holy to their God and ALev 18:21not profane the name of their God, for they present the offerings by fire 1Lit ofto the Loʀᴅ, BLev 3:11the food of their God; so they shall be holy. 7  ‘ALev 21:13, 14They shall not take a woman who is profaned by harlotry, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for he is holy to his God. 8  ‘You shall consecrate him, therefore, for he offers ALev 21:6the food of your God; he shall be holy to you; for I the Loʀᴅ, who sanctifies you, am holy. 9  ‘AGen 38:24; Lev 19:29Also the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by harlotry, she profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire.

10 ‘The priest who is the highest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured and 1Lit whose hand has been filledwho has been consecrated to wear the garments, ALev 10:6shall not 2Lit unbinduncover his head nor tear his clothes; 11 ALev 19:28; Num 19:14nor shall he approach any dead person, nor defile himself even for his father or his mother; 12 ALev 10:7nor shall he go out of the sanctuary nor profane the sanctuary of his God, for BEx 29:6, 7the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him; I am the Loʀᴅ. 13  ‘He shall take a wife in her virginity. 14  ‘ALev 21:7; Ezek 44:22A widow, or a divorced woman, or one who is profaned by harlotry, these he may not take; but rather he is to 1Lit take as wifemarry a virgin of his own people, 15 so that he will not profane his 1Lit seedoffspring among his people; for I am the Loʀᴅ who sanctifies him.’ ”

16 Then the Loʀᴅ spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying, ‘No man of your 1Lit seedoffspring throughout their generations who has a defect shall approach to offer the ALev 21:6food of his God. 18  ‘ALev 22:19-25For no one who has a defect shall approach: a blind man, or a lame man, or he who has a 1Lit slitALev 22:19-25disfigured face, or any deformed limb, 19 or a man who has a broken foot or broken hand, 20 or a hunchback or a dwarf, or one who has a 1Lit obscuritydefect in his eye or eczema or scabs or ADeut 23:1; Is 56:3-5crushed testicles. 21  ‘No man among the 1Lit seeddescendants of Aaron the priest who has a defect is to come near to offer the Loʀᴅ’s offerings by fire; since he has a defect, he shall not come near to offer ALev 21:6the food of his God. 22  ‘He may eat A1 Cor 9:13the food of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy, 23 only he shall not go in to the veil or come near the altar because he has a defect, so that he will not profane My sanctuaries. For I am the Loʀᴅ who sanctifies them.’ ” 24 So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel.