| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1And the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: ‘None shall defile himself for the dead among his people, | 1Then 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, |
| 2except for his relatives who are nearest to him: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother; | 2except for his immediate family—his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother, |
| 3also his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband, for her he may defile himself. | 3or his unmarried sister who is near to him, since she has no husband. |
| 4Otherwise he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself. | 4He is not to defile himself for those related to him by marriage, and so profane himself. |
| 5‘They shall not make any bald place on their heads, nor shall they shave the edges of their beards nor make any cuttings in their flesh. | 5Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies. |
| 6They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy. | 6They must be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. Because they present to the LORD the offerings made by fire, the food of their God, they must be holy. |
| 7They shall not take a wife who is a harlot or a defiled woman, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for the priest is holy to his God. | 7A priest must not marry a woman defiled by prostitution or divorced by her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. |
| 8Therefore you shall consecrate him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I the LORD, who sanctify you, am holy. | 8You 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. |
| 9The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the harlot, she profanes her father. She shall be burned with fire. | 9If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by prostituting herself, she profanes her father; she must be burned in the fire. |
| 10‘He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes; | 10The 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. |
| 11nor shall he go near any dead body, nor defile himself for his father or his mother; | 11He must not go near any dead body; he must not defile himself, even for his father or mother. |
| 12nor shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD. | 12He 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. |
| 13And he shall take a wife in her virginity. | 13The woman he marries must be a virgin. |
| 14A widow or a divorced woman or a defiled woman or a harlot—these he shall not marry; but he shall take a virgin of his own people as wife. | 14He is not to marry a widow, a divorced woman, or one defiled by prostitution. He is to marry a virgin from his own people, |
| 15Nor shall he profane his posterity among his people, for I the LORD sanctify him.’ ” | 15so that he does not defile his offspring among his people, for I am the LORD who sanctifies him.” |
| 16And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, | 16Then the LORD said to Moses, |
| 17“Speak to Aaron, saying: ‘No man of your descendants in succeeding generations, who has any defect, may approach to offer the bread of his God. | 17“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. |
| 18For any man who has a defect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb too long, | 18No man who has any defect may approach—no man who is blind, lame, disfigured, or deformed; |
| 19a man who has a broken foot or broken hand, | 19no man who has a broken foot or hand, |
| 20or is a hunchback or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab, or is a eunuch. | 20or who is a hunchback or dwarf, or who has an eye defect, a festering rash, scabs, or a crushed testicle. |
| 21No man of the descendants of Aaron the priest, who has a defect, shall come near to offer the offerings made by fire to the LORD. He has a defect; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. | 21No 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. |
| 22He may eat the bread of his God, both the most holy and the holy; | 22He may eat the most holy food of his God as well as the holy food, |
| 23only he shall not go near the veil or approach the altar, because he has a defect, lest he profane My sanctuaries; for I the LORD sanctify them.’ ” | 23but 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.’ ” |
| 24And Moses told it to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel. | 24Moses told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites. |
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