OET-RV LEV Chapter 21

21 Then Yahweh told Mosheh:

Tell Aharon’s descendants the priests that they must not defile themselves among the Israelis, by touching anything that’s not living 2 apart from the body of a close relative like a parent, child, brother 3 or unmarried sister—the priest can become ‘unclean’ by means of one of them. 4 He must not make himself ‘unclean’ if it’s the death of a relative only by marriage. 5 They must not shave their heads or trim the edges of their beards or cut their bodies in grief.[ref]

6  The priests must stay separate for their God and they must not tarnish his reputation because they present the gifts to Yahweh—their god’s food 7 They mustn’t marry a woman who was a prostitute or who has defiled herself some other way or who is divorced from her husband, because they’re separated for their god. 8 You must treat him as set apart because he’s the one presenting your god’s food. He must be ‘holy’ for you, because I, Yahweh, am holy and I set you all apart as ‘holy’. 9 If a priest’s daughter prostituted herself, she would be profaning her father so must be burnt to death.

10 The priest who is chief of all his brothers and who had the anointing oil poured over his head, and who has the responsibility of wearing the special clothing, must not wear his hair loose, and he must not tear his clothes in grief. 11 He mustn’t approach any dead body—not even his own parents—he mustn’t make himself ‘unclean’. 12 Even for a death, he mustn’t leave his duties in the sanctuary, and he mustn’t profane the sanctuary of his god, because he’s been consecrated with the anointing oil. I am Yahweh. 13 He can only marry a virgin—14 he mustn’t take a widow or a divorced woman, or a defiled prostitute. He can only marry an unmarried, Israeli girl, 15 then he won’t profane his offspring among his relatives, because I am Yahweh who sets him apart as ‘holy’.

16 Then Yahweh told Mosheh,

17 Tell Aharon that none of his descendants who have a deformity should ever approach to present the food for his god. 18 Yes, no man who has a deformity must approach to offer a sacrifice, i.e., no one who’s blind, lame, mutilated, or with a swelling, 19 or with a broken foot or hand, 20 or a hunchback or dwarf, or with an eye defect, with a scab or rash, or anyone with a crushed testicle. 21 Any descendant of Aharon the priest with a blemish mustn’t approach to preset a gift to Yahweh—no that person mustn’t approach to present god’s food. 22 However, they can eat those gifts for God, including the sacred and very sacred portions. 23 Despite that, they mustn’t enter past the curtain or approach the altar if they have a defect on their body. They mustn’t profane my sanctuary because I am Yahweh who sets them apart as ‘holy’.

24 So Mosheh told all that to Aharon and his sons, and all the Israelis.