Lev 21-24 | NASB2020 | STEP | Then the Lord said to Moses , “ Speak to the priests , the sons of Aaron , and say to them: ‘ No one shall defile himself for a dead person among his people ,

Leviticus 21

Regulations concerning Priests

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them:

‘ ^aNo one shall defile himself for a dead person among his people, 2 ^bexcept for his relatives who are nearest to him, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother, 3 also for his virgin sister who is near to him ^{▼▼Or who has not belonged to a man}because she has not had a husband; for her, he may defile himself. 4 He shall not defile himself as a ^{▼▼Lit husband among}relative by marriage among his people, so as to profane himself. 5 ^eThey shall not shave any area on their heads bald, ^fnor shave off the edges of their beards, ^gnor make any cuts in their flesh. 6 They shall be holy to their God and ^hnot profane the name of their God, because they present the offerings by fire ^{▼▼Lit of}to the Lord, ^jthe food of their God; so they shall be holy. 7 ^kThey shall not take a woman who is a prostitute and ^{▼▼I.e., deflowered}profaned, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for he is holy to his God. 8 You shall consecrate him, therefore, because he offers ^mthe food of your God. He shall be holy to you; for I the Lord, who sanctifies you, am holy. 9 ⁿAlso the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by prostitution, she profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire.

10 ‘The priest who is ^{▼▼I.e., the high priest}highest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured and ^{▼▼Lit whose hand has been filled}who has been consecrated to wear the garments, ^qshall not ^{▼▼Lit unbind}uncover his head nor tear his clothes; 11 ^snor shall he approach any dead person, nor defile himself even for his father or his mother; 12 ^tnor shall he leave the sanctuary nor profane the sanctuary of his God, for ^uthe consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him; I am the Lord. 13 He shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 ^vA widow, or a divorced woman, or one who is profaned by prostitution, these he shall not take; but rather he is to ^{▼▼Lit take as wife}marry a virgin of his own people, 15 so that he will not profane his ^{▼▼Lit seed}children among his people; for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.’”

16 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying, ‘None of your ^{▼▼Lit seed}descendants throughout their generations who has an impairment shall approach to offer the ^zfood of his God. 18 ^aaFor no one who has an impairment shall approach: a man who is blind, or one who limps, or one who has a ^abslit nose, or one with any conspicuous feature, 19 or someone who has a broken foot or broken hand, 20 or a contorted back, or one who is a dwarf, or has a spot in his eye, or a festering rash or scabs, or ^accrushed testicles. 21 No man among the ^{▼▼Lit seed}descendants of Aaron the priest who has an impairment is to come forward to offer the Lord’s offerings by fire; since he has an impairment, he shall not come forward to offer ^aethe food of his God. 22 He may eat ^afthe food of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy, 23 only he shall not come up to the veil or approach the altar, since he has an impairment, so that he does not profane My sanctuaries. For I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’” 24 So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel.

Leviticus 22

Various Rules for Priests

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to be careful with the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, which they dedicate to Me, so as not to profane My holy name; I am the Lord. 3 Say to them, ‘ ^agAny man among all your ^{▼▼Lit seed}descendants throughout your generations who approaches the holy gifts which the sons of Israel consecrate to the Lord, while he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from My presence; I am the Lord. 4 ^aiNo man of the ^{▼▼Lit seed}descendants of Aaron, who has ^{▼▼I.e., leprosy or another serious skin disease}leprosy or has a discharge, may eat of the holy gifts until he is clean. ^alAnd one who touches anything made unclean by a corpse, or ^ama man who has a seminal emission, 5 or ^ana man who touches any swarming things by which he is made unclean, or touches any person by whom he is made unclean, whatever his uncleanness; 6 a ^{▼▼Lit soul}person who touches any such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat of the holy gifts unless he has bathed his ^{▼▼Lit flesh}body in water. 7 But when the sun sets, he will be clean, and afterward he may eat of the holy gifts, for ^aqit is his ^{▼▼Lit bread}food. 8 He shall not eat ^asan animal which dies or is torn by animals, becoming unclean by it; I am the Lord. 9 They shall therefore perform their ^atduty to Me, so that ^authey do not bear sin because of it and die by it because they profane it; I am the Lord who sanctifies them.

10 ‘ ^avNo ^{▼▼Or unauthorized person}layman, however, is to eat the holy gift; a foreign resident with the priest or a hired worker shall not eat the holy gift. 11 ^axBut if a priest buys a ^{▼▼Lit soul}slave as his property with his money, ^{▼▼Lit he may}that person may eat of it, and those who are born in his house may eat of his ^{▼▼Lit bread}food. 12 If a priest’s daughter is married to a ^{▼▼Lit stranger}layman, she shall not eat of the ^{▼▼Or uplifted offering}offering of the holy gifts. 13 But if a priest’s daughter becomes a widow or divorced, and has no child and returns to her father’s house as in her youth, she may eat of her father’s ^{▼▼Lit bread}food; ^bebut no ^{▼▼Lit stranger}layman shall eat of it. 14 ^bgIf, however, someone eats a holy food unintentionally, then he shall add to it a fifth of it and shall give the holy food to the priest. 15 And ^bhthey shall not profane the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, which they offer to the Lord, 16 and thereby ^bibring upon them ^{▼▼Or wrongdoing requiring a guilt offering}punishment for guilt by eating their holy gifts; for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’”

Flawless Animals for Sacrifice

17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, and to all the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘ ^bkAnyone of the house of Israel or of the strangers in Israel who presents his offering, whether it is any of their ^{▼▼Or vowed offerings}vows or any of their ^{▼▼Or freewill offerings}voluntary offerings, which they present to the Lord as a burnt offering-- 19 ^bnfor you to be accepted--it must be a male without defect ^{▼▼Lit among}from the cattle, the sheep, or the goats. 20 ^bpWhatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it will not be accepted for you. 21 When someone offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord ^bqto fulfill a special vow or for a ^{▼▼Or freewill offering}voluntary offering, ^{▼▼Lit among}of the herd or ^{▼▼Lit among}of the flock, it must be without defect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it. 22 Those that are blind, fractured, maimed, or have a wart, a festering rash, or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor make of them an offering by fire on the altar to the Lord. 23 Now as for an ox or a lamb which has an ^{▼▼Or a deformed}overgrown or stunted member, you may present it as a ^{▼▼Or freewill offering}voluntary offering, but for a vow it will not be accepted. 24 Also ^bwanything with its testicles squashed, crushed, torn off, or cut off, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor ^{▼▼Lit do}sacrifice in your land, 25 nor shall you offer any of these animals taken from the hand of a ^{▼▼Lit son of a stranger}foreigner ^bzas the ^{▼▼Lit bread}food of your God; for their deformity is in them, they have an impairment. They will not be accepted for you.’”

26 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall ^{▼▼Lit be}remain ^ccseven days ^{▼▼Lit under}with its mother, and from the eighth day on it will be considered acceptable as a sacrifice of an offering by fire to the Lord. 28 ^ceBut, whether it is an ox or a sheep, you shall not slaughter both it and its young in one day. 29 When you sacrifice ^cfa sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. 30 It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall leave none of it until morning. I am the Lord. 31 ^cgSo you shall keep My commandments, and do them; I am the Lord.

32 “And you shall not profane My holy name, but I will be sanctified among the sons of Israel; I am the Lord who sanctifies you, 33 ^chwho brought you out from the land of Egypt, to be your God; I am the Lord.”

Leviticus 23

Laws of Holy Days

1 The Lord spoke again to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘ ^ciThe Lord’s appointed times which you shall ^cjproclaim as holy convocations--My appointed times are these:

3 ‘ ^ckFor six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a Sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings.

4 ‘These are the ^clappointed times of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them. 5 ^cmIn the ^{▼▼I.e., Nisan = March/April}first month, on the fourteenth day of the month ^{▼▼Lit between the two evenings}at twilight is the Lord’s Passover. 6 Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the ^cpFeast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall ^cqnot do any laborious work. 8 But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.’”

9 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and you ^crgather its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. 11 He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord for you to be accepted; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 Now on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb one year old without defect as a burnt offering to the Lord. 13 Its ^csgrain offering shall then be ^{▼▼About 0.13 cubic feet or 0.004 cubic meters}two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering by fire to the Lord for a soothing aroma, with its drink offering, a ^{▼▼About 0.25 gallon or 1 liter}fourth of a hin of wine. 14 Until this very day, until you have brought in the offering of your God, ^cvyou shall eat neither bread nor roasted grain nor new produce. It is to be a permanent statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.

15 ‘ ^cwYou shall also count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete Sabbaths. 16 You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall present a ^cxnew grain offering to the Lord. 17 You shall bring in from your dwelling places two loaves of bread as a wave offering, made of ^{▼▼About 0.13 cubic feet or 0.004 cubic meters}two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of a fine flour, baked ^czwith leaven as first fruits to the Lord. 18 Along with the bread you shall present seven one-year-old male lambs without defect, and a bull of the herd and two rams; they are to be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord. 19 You shall also offer ^daone male goat as a ^{▼▼Or purification offering}sin offering, and two male lambs one year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings. 20 The priest shall then wave them with the bread of the first fruits as a wave offering with two lambs before the Lord; they are to be holy to the Lord for the priest. 21 On this very day you shall ^dcmake a proclamation as well; you are to have a holy convocation. You shall do no laborious ^ddwork. It is to be a permanent statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.

22 ‘ ^deWhen you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the stranger. I am the Lord your God.’”

23 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘ ^dfIn the ^{▼▼I.e., Tishri = September/October}seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a ^{▼▼Lit Sabbath rest}rest, a ^direminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25 You shall ^djnot do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord.’”

The Day of Atonement

26 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “On exactly ^dkthe tenth day of this seventh month is ^dlthe Day of Atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble ^{▼▼Lit your souls}yourselves and present an offering by fire to the Lord. 28 You shall not do any work on this very day, for it is a ^dnDay of Atonement, ^doto make atonement on your behalf before the Lord your God. 29 If there is any ^{▼▼Lit soul}person who does not humble himself on this very day, ^dqhe shall be cut off from his people. 30 As for any person who does any work on this very day, that person I will eliminate from among his people. 31 You shall not do any work. It is to be a permanent statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. 32 It is to be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall humble ^{▼▼Lit your souls}yourselves; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening, you shall keep your Sabbath.”

33 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 34 “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘On ^dsthe fifteenth of this ^{▼▼I.e., Tishri = September/October}seventh month is the ^duFeast of Booths for seven days to the Lord. 35 On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall ^dvnot do any laborious work. 36 ^dwFor seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord. On ^dxthe eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the Lord; it is an assembly. You shall not do any laborious work.

37 ‘These are ^dythe appointed times of the Lord which you shall proclaim as holy convocations, to present offerings by fire to the Lord --burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, ^dzeach day’s matter on its own day-- 38 besides those of the Sabbaths of the Lord, and besides your gifts and besides all your ^{▼▼Lit vows, and besides all your}vowed and ^{▼▼Or freewill offerings}voluntary offerings, which you give to the Lord.

39 ‘On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month, ^ecwhen you have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord for seven days, with a ^{▼▼Lit Sabbath rest}rest on the first day and a ^{▼▼Lit Sabbath rest}rest on the eighth day. 40 Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the ^{▼▼Lit products; or fruit}foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and branches of trees with thick branches and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 So you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a permanent statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 You shall live ^egin booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths, 43 so that ^ehyour generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’” 44 So Moses declared to the sons of Israel ^eithe appointed times of the Lord.

Leviticus 24

The Lamp and the Bread of the Sanctuary

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the sons of Israel that they bring to you ^ejclear oil from beaten olives for the ^{▼▼Or luminary}light, to make a lamp ^{▼▼Lit ascend}burn continually. 3 Outside the veil of the testimony in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the Lord continually; it shall be a permanent statute throughout your generations. 4 He shall keep the lamps in order on the ^empure gold lampstand before the Lord continually.

5 “ ^enThen you shall take fine flour and bake twelve ^{▼▼I.e., ring-shaped bread loaves}cakes with it; ^{▼▼About 0.13 cubic feet or 0.004 cubic meters}two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake. 6 And you shall set them in two rows, six to a row, on the ^eqpure gold table before the Lord. 7 You shall put pure frankincense on each row so that it may be ^era memorial portion for the bread, an offering by fire to the Lord. 8 ^esEvery Sabbath day he shall set it in order before the Lord ^etcontinually; it is an everlasting covenant ^{▼▼Lit from}for the sons of Israel. 9 And ^evit shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the Lord’s offerings by fire, his portion forever.”

10 Now the son of an Israelite woman--his father was an Egyptian --went out among the sons of Israel; and the Israelite woman’s son and an Israelite man had a fight within the camp. 11 And the son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the ^ewName and cursed. So they brought him to Moses. (Now his mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) 12 Then they put him in custody, waiting for Moses to give them a clear decision in accordance with ^exthe command of the Lord.

13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 14 “Bring the one who has cursed outside the camp, and have all who heard him ^eylay their hands on his head; then ^ezhave all the congregation stone him. 15 You shall also speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘ ^faIf anyone curses his God, then he will bear the responsibility for his sin. 16 Moreover, the one who ^fbblasphemes the name of the Lord must be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him. The stranger as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.

An Eye for an Eye

17 ‘Now ^fcif someone ^{▼▼Lit strikes}takes any human life, he must be put to death. 18 But ^fethe one who ^{▼▼Lit strikes}takes the life of an animal shall make restitution, life for life. 19 If someone injures his neighbor, just as he has done, so shall it be done to him: 20 ^fgfracture for fracture, ^fheye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a person, so shall it be ^{▼▼Lit given}inflicted on him. 21 So the one who ^{▼▼Lit strikes down}kills an animal shall make restitution, but ^fkthe one who ^{▼▼Lit strikes down}kills a person shall be put to death. 22 There shall be only ^fmone ^{▼▼Lit judgment}standard for you; it shall be for the stranger as well as the native, for I am the Lord your God.’” 23 Then Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, and they brought the one who had cursed outside the camp, and stoned him with stones. So the sons of Israel did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.