HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 481
L EVITICUS 22
page 111
be cut off from the community, for together they
have exposed the source of her blood flow.
19 “Do not have sexual relations with your
aunt, whether your mother’s sister or your
father’s sister. This would dishonor a close
relative. Both parties are guilty and will be punished for their sin.
20 “If a man has sex with his uncle’s wife,
he has violated his uncle. Both the man and
woman will be punished for their sin, and they
will die childless.
21 “If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an
act of impurity. He has violated his brother, and
the guilty couple will remain childless.
22 “You must keep all my decrees and regulations by putting them into practice; otherwise the land to which I am bringing you as
your new home will vomit you out. 23 Do not
live according to the customs of the people I
am driving out before you. It is because they do
these shameful things that I detest them. 24 But
I have promised you, ‘You will possess their
land because I will give it to you as your possession—a land flowing with milk and honey.’
I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart
from all other people.
25 “You must therefore make a distinction between ceremonially clean and unclean animals,
and between clean and unclean birds. You must
not defile yourselves by eating any unclean animal or bird or creature that scurries along the
ground. I have identified them as being unclean
for you. 26 You must be holy because I, the Lord,
am holy. I have set you apart from all other
people to be my very own.
27 “Men and women among you who act as
mediums or who consult the spirits of the dead
must be put to death by stoning. They are guilty
of a capital offense.”
Instructions for the Priests
The Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the priests, the
descendants of Aaron.
“A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean by touching the dead body of a
relative. 2 The only exceptions are his closest
relatives—his mother or father, son or daughter, brother, 3 or his virgin sister who depends on
him because she has no husband. 4 But a priest
must not defile himself and make himself unclean for someone who is related to him only
by marriage.
5 “The priests must not shave their heads or
trim their beards or cut their bodies. 6 They must
be set apart as holy to their God and must never
bring shame on the name of God. They must be
holy, for they are the ones who present the special gifts to the Lord, gifts of food for their God.
7 “Priests may not marry a woman defiled by
21
21:10 Or never uncover his head.
prostitution, and they may not marry a woman
who is divorced from her husband, for the priests
are set apart as holy to their God. 8 You must treat
them as holy because they offer up food to your
God. You must consider them holy because I, the
Lord, am holy, and I make you holy.
9 “If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she also defiles her father’s
holiness, and she must be burned to death.
10 “The high priest has the highest rank of all
the priests. The anointing oil has been poured
on his head, and he has been ordained to wear
the priestly garments. He must never leave his
hair uncombed* or tear his clothing. 11 He must
not defile himself by going near a dead body.
He may not make himself ceremonially unclean
even for his father or mother. 12 He must not defile
the sanctuary of his God by leaving it to attend to
a dead person, for he has been made holy by the
anointing oil of his God. I am the Lord.
13 “The high priest may marry only a virgin.
14 He may not marry a widow, a woman who is
divorced, or a woman who has defiled herself by
prostitution. She must be a virgin from his own
clan, 15 so that he will not dishonor his descendants among his clan, for I am the Lord who
makes him holy.”
16 Then the Lord said to Moses, 17 “Give the
following instructions to Aaron: In all future
generations, none of your descendants who has
any defect will qualify to offer food to his God.
18 No one who has a defect qualifies, whether he
is blind, lame, disfigured, deformed, 19 or has
a broken foot or arm, 20 or is hunchbacked or
dwarfed, or has a defective eye, or skin sores or
scabs, or damaged testicles. 21 No descendant of
Aaron who has a defect may approach the altar
to present special gifts to the Lord. Since he has
a defect, he may not approach the altar to offer
food to his God. 22 However, he may eat from the
food offered to God, including the holy offerings
and the most holy offerings. 23 Yet because of his
physical defect, he may not enter the room behind the inner curtain or approach the altar, for
this would defile my holy places. I am the Lord
who makes them holy.”
24 So Moses gave these instructions to Aaron
and his sons and to all the Israelites.
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The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell Aaron
and his sons to be very careful with
the sacred gifts that the Israelites set apart for
me, so they do not bring shame on my holy
name. I am the Lord. 3 Give them the following
instructions.
“In all future generations, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean when he approaches the sacred offerings that the people of
Israel consecrate to the Lord, he must be cut off
from my presence. I am the Lord.