God’s Word Translation
Leviticus 21:9
9When a priest’s daughter dishonors herself by becoming a prostitute, she dishonors her father. She must be burned.
Leviticus 21:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.
- New International Version (NIV)“ ‘If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she must be burned in the fire.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by whoring, profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the harlot, she profanes her father. She shall be burned with fire.
Context of Leviticus 21:9
7You should never marry prostitutes, those who have lost their virginity, or divorced women because a priest is God’s holy man. 8Be holy because you offer the food of your God. Be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. I set you apart as holy. When a priest’s daughter dishonors herself by becoming a prostitute, she dishonors her father. She must be burned. 10“The priest who is anointed with oil and wears the chief priest’s clothes is chief over his brothers. He must never mourn by leaving his hair uncombed or by tearing his clothes. 11He must never go near any dead bodies or become unclean, even for his father or mother.
Read all of Leviticus 21Leviticus 21:9 word by word
וּבַת֙ אִ֣ישׁ כֹּהֵ֔ן כִּ֥י תֵחֵ֖ל לִזְנ֑וֹת אֶת־אָבִ֙יהָ֙ הִ֣יא מְחַלֶּ֔לֶת בָּאֵ֖שׁ תִּשָּׂרֵֽף׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the daughterבַּתbath · daughterH1323
- of anyאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- priestכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
- if she profaneחָלַלchâlal · to profane/begin: profaneH2490
- herself by playing the whoreזָנָהzânâh · to fornicateH2181
- her fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
- she shall be burntשָׂרַףώâraph · to burnH8313
- with fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
Cross-references for Leviticus 21:9
- 1 Samuel 2:17The sin of Eli’s sons was a serious matter to the Lord, because these men were treating the offerings made to the Lord with contempt.
- 1 Samuel 3:13I told him that I would hand down a permanent judgment against his household because he knew about his sons’ sin—that they were cursing God —but he didn’t try to stop them.
- Ezekiel 9:6Kill old men, young men, old women, young women, and children. But don’t come near anyone who has a mark on him. Start with my holy place.” So they started with the old men in front of the temple.
- Malachi 2:3“I’m going to punish your descendants. I’m going to spread excrement on your faces, the excrement from your festival sacrifices. You will be discarded with it.
- Matthew 11:20Then Jesus denounced the cities where he had worked most of his miracles because they had not changed the way they thought and acted.
- 1 Timothy 3:4He must manage his own family well. His children should respectfully obey him.
- Leviticus 20:14When a man marries a woman and her mother, they have done a perverted thing. The man and the two women must be burned. Never do this perverted thing.
- Genesis 38:24About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has been acting like a prostitute. What’s more, because of it she’s pregnant.” Judah ordered, “Bring her out to be burned.”
- Joshua 7:15The man who is selected, along with everything he has, must be burned because he has ⌞stolen⌟ what the Lord has claimed. He has ignored the Lord’s requirements and done a godless thing in Israel.’ ”
- Isaiah 33:14The sinners in Zion are terrified. Trembling seizes the ungodly. Can any of us live through a fire that destroys? Can any of us live through a fire that burns forever?
Commentaries on Leviticus 21:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9She shall be burnt with fire - Probably not burnt alive, but strangled first, and then burnt afterward. Though it is barely possible that some kind of branding may be intended.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9burnt with fire - See the Leviticus 20:14 note.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-24This section, which discusses priestly rules, six times repeats the phrase I am the Lord who sanctifies (Leviticus 21:15, 23; 22:9, 16, 32; see also 21:8). These words emphasize the link between God's holiness and the holiness expected of priests. This extended to all of Israel (see 8:10; 11:44–45; 19:2). The text specifically addresses priests in 21:1–22:16, while including both clergy and common people in 22:17–33.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-97-9. They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane--Private individuals might form several connections, which were forbidden as inexpedient or improper in priests. The respectability of their office, and the honor of religion, required unblemished sanctity in their families as well as themselves, and departures from it in their case were visited with severer punishment than in that of others.Read the comment
Topics related to Leviticus 21:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Leviticus 21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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