Leviticus 22

Various Rules for Priests

1Then 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. 3Say to them, ‘1Any man among all your 2descendants 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. 43No man of the 4descendants of Aaron, who has 5leprosy or has a discharge, may eat of the holy gifts until he is clean. 6And one who touches anything made unclean by a corpse, or 7a man who has a seminal emission, 5or 8a 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; 6a 9person who touches any such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat of the holy gifts unless he has bathed his 10body in water. 7But when the sun sets, he will be clean, and afterward he may eat of the holy gifts, for 11it is his 12food. 8He shall not eat 13an animal which dies or is torn by animals, becoming unclean by it; I am the Lord. 9They shall therefore perform their 14duty to Me, so that 15they do not bear sin because of it and die by it because they profane it; I am the Lord who sanctifies them.

10‘16No 17layman, however, is to eat the holy gift; a foreign resident with the priest or a hired worker shall not eat the holy gift. 1118But if a priest buys a 19slave as his property with his money, 20that person may eat of it, and those who are born in his house may eat of his 21food. 12If a priest’s daughter is married to a 22layman, she shall not eat of the 23offering of the holy gifts. 13But 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 24food; 25but no 26layman shall eat of it. 1427If, 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. 15And 28they shall not profane the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, which they offer to the Lord, 16and thereby 29bring upon them 30punishment for guilt by eating their holy gifts; for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’”

Flawless Animals for Sacrifice

17Then 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, ‘31Anyone of the house of Israel or of the strangers in Israel who presents his offering, whether it is any of their 32vows or any of their 33voluntary offerings, which they present to the Lord as a burnt offering-- 1934for you to be accepted--it must be a male without defect 35from the cattle, the sheep, or the goats. 2036Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it will not be accepted for you. 21When someone offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord 37to fulfill a special vow or for a 38voluntary offering, 39of the herd or 40of the flock, it must be without defect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it. 22Those 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. 23Now as for an ox or a lamb which has an 41overgrown or stunted member, you may present it as a 42voluntary offering, but for a vow it will not be accepted. 24Also 43anything with its testicles squashed, crushed, torn off, or cut off, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor 44sacrifice in your land, 25nor shall you offer any of these animals taken from the hand of a 45foreigner 46as the 47food of your God; for their deformity is in them, they have an impairment. They will not be accepted for you.’”

26Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27“When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall 48remain 49seven days 50with its mother, and from the eighth day on it will be considered acceptable as a sacrifice of an offering by fire to the Lord. 2851But, whether it is an ox or a sheep, you shall not slaughter both it and its young in one day. 29When you sacrifice 52a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. 30It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall leave none of it until morning. I am the Lord. 3153So 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, 3354who brought you out from the land of Egypt, to be your God; I am the Lord.”