148|Leviticus 21:18
18 No man who has any defect may approach—no man who is blind, lame, disfigured, or deformed; 19 no man who has a broken foot or hand, 20 or who is a hunchback or dwarf, or who has an eye defect, a festering rash, scabs, or a crushed testicle.
21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall approach to present the offerings made by fire to the LORD. Since he has a defect, he is not to come near to offer the food of his God. 22 He may eat the most holy food of his God as well as the holy food, 23 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.’”
24 Moses told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.
Restrictions against the Unclean
22 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings that the Israelites have consecrated to Me, so that they do not profane My holy name. I am the LORD.
3 Tell them that for the generations to come, if any of their descendants in a state of uncleanness approaches the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the LORD, that person must be cut off from My presence. I am the LORD.
4 If a descendant of Aaron has a skin disease [1] or a discharge, he may not eat the sacred offerings until he is clean. Whoever touches anything defiled by a corpse or by a man who has an emission of semen, 5 or whoever touches a crawling creature or a person that makes him unclean, whatever the uncleanness may be— 6 the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening. He must not eat from the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water.
7 When the sun has set, he will become clean, and then he may eat from the sacred offerings, for they are his food. 8 He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, which would make him unclean. I am the LORD. 9 The priests must keep My charge, lest they bear the guilt and die because they profane it. I am the LORD who sanctifies them.
10 No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired hand eat it. 11 But if a priest buys a slave with his own money, or if a slave is born in his household, that slave may eat his food.
12 If the priest’s daughter is married to a man other than a priest, she is not to eat of the sacred contributions. 13 But if a priest’s daughter with no children becomes widowed or divorced and returns to her father’s house, she may share her father’s food as in her youth. But no outsider may share it.
14 If anyone eats a sacred offering in error, he must add a fifth to its value and give the sacred offering to the priest. 15 The priests must not profane the sacred offerings that the Israelites present to the LORD 16 by allowing the people to eat the sacred offerings and thus to bear the punishment for guilt. For I am the LORD who sanctifies them.”
Worthy Offerings
17 Then the LORD said to Moses, 18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites and tell them, ‘Any man of the house of Israel or any foreign resident who presents a gift for a burnt offering to the LORD, whether to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, 19 must offer an unblemished male from the cattle, sheep, or
- ↑ 4 Forms of the Hebrew tzaraath, traditionally translated as leprosy, were used for various skin diseases; see Leviticus 13.
