Leviticus 22

Restrictions against the Unclean

¹ Then the LORD said to Moses, ² “Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings that the Israelites have consecrated to Me, so that they do not profane My holy name. I am the LORD.

³ Tell them that for the generations to come, if any of their descendants in a state of uncleanness approaches 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 skin disease^a or a discharge, he may not eat the sacred offerings until he is clean. Whoever touches anything defiled by a corpse or by a man who has an emission of semen, ⁵ or whoever touches a crawling creature or a person that makes him unclean, whatever the uncleanness may be— ⁶ the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening. He must not eat from the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water.

⁷ When the sun has set, he will become clean, and then he may eat from the sacred offerings, for they are his food. ⁸ He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, which would make him unclean. I am the LORD. ⁹ The priests must keep My charge, lest they bear the guilt and die because they profane it. I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

¹⁰ No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired hand eat it. ¹¹ But if a priest buys a slave with his own money, or if a slave is born in his household, that slave may eat his food.

¹² If the priest’s daughter is married to a man other than a priest, she is not to eat of the sacred contributions. ¹³ But if a priest’s daughter with no children becomes widowed or divorced and returns to her father’s house, she may share her father’s food as in her youth. But no outsider may share it.

¹⁴ If anyone eats a sacred offering in error, he must add a fifth to its value and give the sacred offering to the priest. ¹⁵ The priests must not profane the sacred offerings that the Israelites present to the LORD ¹⁶ by allowing the people to eat the sacred offerings and thus to bear the punishment for guilt. For I am the LORD who sanctifies them.”

Worthy Offerings

¹⁷ Then the LORD said to Moses, ¹⁸ “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites and tell them, ‘Any man of the house of Israel or any foreign resident who presents a gift for a burnt offering to the LORD, whether to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, ¹⁹ must offer an unblemished male from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for it to be accepted on your behalf. ²⁰ You must not present anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.

²¹ When a man presents a peace offering to the LORD from the herd or flock to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without blemish or defect to be acceptable. ²² You are not to present to the LORD any animal that is blind, injured, or maimed, or anything with a running sore, a festering rash, or a scab; you must not put any of these on the altar as an offering made by fire to the LORD.

²³ You may present as a freewill offering an ox^b or sheep that has a deformed or stunted limb, but it is not acceptable in fulfillment of a vow. ²⁴ You are not to present to the LORD an animal whose testicles are bruised, crushed, torn, or cut; you are not to sacrifice them in your land. ²⁵ Neither you nor a foreigner shall present food to your God from any such animal. They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and flawed.’”

²⁶ Then the LORD said to Moses, ²⁷ “When an ox,^c a sheep, or a goat is born, it must remain with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as an offering made by fire to the LORD. ²⁸ But you must not slaughter an ox^d or a sheep on the same day as its young.

²⁹ When you sacrifice a thank offering to the LORD, offer it so that it may be acceptable on your behalf. ³⁰ It must be eaten that same day. Do not leave any of it until morning. I am the LORD.

³¹ You are to keep My commandments and practice them. I am the LORD. ³² You must not profane My holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy among the Israelites. I am the LORD who sanctifies you, ³³ who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD.”