Leviticus 22:1-33
Rules for Priests Continued
1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings the Israelites consecrate to me, so they will not profane my holy name. I am the Lord.
3 “Say to them: ‘For the generations to come, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean and yet comes near 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 defiling skin disease or a bodily discharge, he may not eat the sacred offerings until he is cleansed. He will also be unclean if he touches something defiled by a corpse or by anyone who has an emission of semen, 5 or if he touches any crawling thing that makes him unclean, or any person who makes him unclean, whatever the uncleanness may be. 6 The one who touches any such thing will be unclean till evening. He must not eat any of the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water. 7 When the sun goes down, he will be clean, and after that he may eat the sacred offerings, for they are his food. 8 He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, and so become unclean through it. I am the Lord.
9 “‘The priests are to perform my service in such a way that they do not become guilty and die for treating it with contempt. I am the Lord, who makes them holy.
10 “‘No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired worker eat it. 11 But if a priest buys a slave with money, or if slaves are born in his household, they may eat his food. 12 If a priest’s daughter marries anyone other than a priest, she may not eat any of the sacred contributions. 13 But if a priest’s daughter becomes a widow or is divorced, yet has no children, and she returns to live in her father’s household as in her youth, she may eat her father’s food. No unauthorized person, however, may eat it.
14 “‘Anyone who eats a sacred offering by mistake must make restitution to the priest for the offering and add a fifth of the value to it. 15 The priests must not desecrate the sacred offerings the Israelites present to the Lord 16 by allowing them to eat the sacred offerings and so bring upon them guilt requiring payment. I am the Lord, who makes them holy.’”
17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘If any of you—whether an Israelite or a foreigner residing in Israel—presents a gift for a burnt offering to the Lord, either to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, 19 you must present a male without defect from the cattle, sheep or goats in order that it may be accepted on your behalf. 20 Do not bring anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf. 21 When anyone brings from the herd or flock a fellowship offering to the Lord to fulfill a special vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without defect or blemish to be acceptable. 22 Do not offer to the Lord the blind, the injured or the maimed, or anything with warts or festering or running sores. Do not place any of these on the altar as a food offering presented to the Lord. 23 You may, however, present as a freewill offering an ox or a sheep that is deformed or stunted, but it will not be accepted in fulfillment of a vow. 24 You must not offer to the Lord an animal whose testicles are bruised, crushed, torn or cut. You must not do this in your own land, 25 and you must not accept such animals from the hand of a foreigner and offer them as the food of your God. They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and have defects.’”
26 The Lord said to Moses, 27 “When a calf, a lamb or a goat is born, it is to remain with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as a food offering presented to the Lord. 28 Do not slaughter a cow or a sheep and its young on the same day.
29 “When you sacrifice a thank offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. 30 It must be eaten that same day; leave none of it till morning. I am the Lord.
31 “Keep my commands and follow them. I am the Lord. 32 Do not profane my holy name, for I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the Lord, who made you holy 33 and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord.”
The LORD God said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons: The gifts that the Israelites bring to Me become Holy...They belong to Me, so you priests must show respect for these things...If you don’t, you will show that you don’t respect My Holy Name...I AM the LORD...If any one of your descendants touches these things, that person will become unclean...That person must be separated from Me...The Israelites gave these things to Me...I AM the LORD...
“If any of Aaron’s descendants has a serious skin disease or a discharge, he cannot eat the Holy food until he becomes clean...This rule is for any priest who becomes unclean...That priest can become unclean from a dead body or from his own semen...He can also become unclean if he touches any unclean crawling animal...And he can become unclean if he touches an unclean person...It doesn’t matter what made that person unclean...If he touches any of these things, he will become unclean until evening...He must not eat any of the Holy food...Even if he washes with water, he cannot eat the Holy food...He will be clean only after the sun goes down...Then he can eat the Holy food because it is his share...
“A priest must not eat any animal that died by itself or that was killed by wild animals...If he eats that animal, he will be unclean. I am the LORD...
“The priests must be very careful when it comes time to serve M...They must be careful not to dishonor the Holy things...If they are careful, they will not die...I, the LORD, have separated them from the rest of the people for this special job...Only a priest’s family can eat the Holy food...A visitor staying with the priest or a hired worker must not eat any of the Holy food...But if the priest buys a person as a slave with his own money, that person may eat some of the Holy things...Slaves who were born in the priest’s house may also eat some of the priest’s food...A priest’s daughter might marry a man who is not a priest...If she does that, she cannot eat any of the Holy offerings...A priest’s daughter might become a widow, or she might be divorced...If she does not have any children to support her, and she goes back to her father’s house where she lived as a child, she can eat some of her father’s food...But only people from a priest’s family can eat this food...“Whoever eats some of the Holy food by mistake must give the priest the price of that food and add another one-fifth of the price as a fine...
“The Israelites will bring offerings to the LORD...These offerings become Holy, so the priests must not let them be used in a wrong way...They must not let the people eat these offerings...If they do, they are guilty of doing wrong, and they must pay for it...I AM the LORD, the One who makes these offerings Holy.”...
The LORD God said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites: A citizen of Israel or a foreigner might want to bring an offering...It might be because of a promise that person made, or it might just be a special sacrifice that person wanted to give to the LORD as a burnt offering...These are gifts that the people bring because they really want to give a gift to God...If the gift is a bull, or a sheep, or a goat, the animal must be a male...And it must not have anything wrong with it...You must not accept any offering that has anything wrong with it...I will not accept that gift...
“You might bring a fellowship offering to the LORD...That fellowship offering might be payment for a special promise that you made...Or maybe it is a special gift that you wanted to give to the LORD...It can be a bull or a sheep, but it must be healthy...There must be nothing wrong with that animal...You must not offer to the LORD any animal that is blind, that has broken bones or is crippled, or that has a discharge or a serious skin disease...You must not offer sick animals as a gift to the LORD...You must not put anything like that on His altar...
“Sometimes a bull or lamb will have a leg that is too long, or a foot that did not grow right...If you want to give that animal as a special gift to the LORD, it will be accepted...But it will not be accepted as payment for a special promise that you made...“If an animal has bruised, crushed, or torn testicles, you must not offer that animal to the LORD...You must not do this anywhere in your land...“You must not take animals from foreigners as sacrifices to your God...The animals might have been hurt in some way...They might have something wrong with them, so they will not be accepted.”...The LORD said to Moses, “When a calf, or a sheep, or a goat is born, it must stay seven days with its mother...Then from the eighth day on, this animal will be accepted as a sacrifice offered as a gift to the LORD...But you must not kill the animal and its mother on the same day...This rule is the same for cattle and sheep...“If you want to offer some special offering of thanks to the LORD, you are free to offer that gift...But you must do it in a way that pleases God...You must eat the whole animal that day...You must not leave any of the meat for the next morning...I AM the LORD...
“Remember my commands, and obey them...I AM the LORD...Show respect for My Holy Name...I must be very special to the Israelites...I, the LORD, have made you My special people...I brought you out of Egypt in order to be your God... I AM the LORD.”...