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Leviticus 21

The high priest has even stricter requirements: he must not uncover his head, tear his garments, or go near any dead body, even his parents.

LeviticusChapter 21 of 2724 versesBerean Standard Bible

In this passage: AaronMoses

Read Leviticus 21 and keep notes on it in Doxa's Daily Faith Steps.

1

Then 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,

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except for his immediate family—his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother,

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or his unmarried sister who is near to him, since she has no husband.

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He is not to defile himself for those related to him by marriage, and so profane himself.

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Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies.

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They 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.

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A priest must not marry a woman defiled by prostitution or divorced by her husband, for the priest is holy to his God.

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You 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.

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If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by prostituting herself, she profanes her father; she must be burned in the fire.

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The 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 loose or tear his garments.

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He must not go near any dead body; he must not defile himself, even for his father or mother.

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He 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.

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The woman he marries must be a virgin.

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He is not to marry a widow, a divorced woman, or one defiled by prostitution. He is to marry a virgin from his own people,

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so that he does not defile his offspring among his people, for I am the LORD who sanctifies him.”

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Then the LORD said to Moses,

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“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.

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No man who has any defect may approach—no man who is blind, lame, disfigured, or deformed;

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no man who has a broken foot or hand,

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or who is a hunchback or dwarf, or who has an eye defect, a festering rash, scabs, or a crushed testicle.

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No 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.

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He may eat the most holy food of his God as well as the holy food,

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but 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.’”

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Moses told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.

How to Hear God’s Voice: A Practical Guide for BelieversScripture is the record of a God who speaks. This guide covers how to hear Him today and keep what He says.

Cross-references for Leviticus 21

  • Leviticus 21:5Deuteronomy 14:1

    “You are sons of the LORD your God; do not cut yourselves or shave your foreheads on behalf of the dead,”

  • Leviticus 21:5Ezekiel 44:20

    “They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but must carefully trim their hair.”

  • Leviticus 21:8Leviticus 20:7

    “Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am the LORD your God.”

  • Leviticus 21:10Leviticus 10:6

    “Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become disheveled and do not tear your garments, or else you will die, and the LORD will be angry with the whole congregation. But your brothers, the whole house of Israel, may mourn on account of the fire that the LORD has ignited.”

  • Leviticus 21:10Leviticus 16:32

    “The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest shall make atonement. He will put on the sacred linen garments”

Cross-references from OpenBible.info, licensed CC BY.

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