Immerse: Beginnings Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 198
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IMMERSE
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BEGINNINGS
21:9–22:5
“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.
“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.
He must not defile himself by going near a dead body. He may not make
himself ceremonially unclean even for his father or mother. 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.
“The high priest may marry only a virgin. 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, so that he will not dishonor
his descendants among his clan, for I am the Lord who makes him holy.”
Then the Lord said to Moses, “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. No one who has a defect qualifies, whether he is blind, lame, disfigured, deformed, or has a broken foot
or arm, or is hunchbacked or dwarfed, or has a defective eye, or skin sores
or scabs, or damaged testicles. 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. However, he
may eat from the food offered to God, including the holy offerings and the
most holy offerings. 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.”
So Moses gave these instructions to Aaron and his sons and to all the
Israelites.
The Lord said to Moses, “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. 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.
“If any of Aaron’s descendants has a skin disease or any kind of discharge
that makes him ceremonially unclean, he may not eat from the sacred offerings until he has been pronounced clean. He also becomes unclean by
touching a corpse, or by having an emission of semen, or by touching a
small animal that is unclean, or by touching someone who is ceremonially
