Leviticus 22
Regulations for the Eating of Priestly Stipends
22:1 The Lord spoke to Moses:
22:2 “Tell Aaron and his sons that they must deal respectfully with the holy offerings1 of the Israelites, which they consecrate to me, so that they do not profane my holy name.2 I am the Lord.
22:3 Say to them, ‘Throughout your generations,3 if any man from all your descendants approaches the holy offerings which the Israelites consecrate4 to the Lord while he is impure,5 that person must be cut off from before me.6 I am the Lord.
22:4 No man7 from the descendants of Aaron who is diseased or has a discharge8 may eat the holy offerings until he becomes clean. The one9 who touches anything made unclean by contact with a dead person,10 or a man who has a seminal emission,11
22:5 or a man who touches a swarming thing by which he becomes unclean,12 or touches a person13 by which he becomes unclean, whatever that person’s impurity14 –
22:6 the person who touches any of these15 will be unclean until evening and must not eat from the holy offerings unless he has bathed his body in water.
22:7 When the sun goes down he will be clean, and afterward he may eat from the holy offerings, because they are his food.
22:8 He must not eat an animal that has died of natural causes16 or an animal torn by beasts and thus become unclean by it. I am the Lord.
22:9 They must keep my charge so that they do not incur sin on account of it17 and therefore die18 because they profane it. I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
22:10 “‘No lay person19 may eat anything holy. Neither a priest’s lodger20 nor a hired laborer may eat anything holy,
22:11 but if a priest buys a person with his own money,21 that person22 may eat the holy offerings,23 and those born in the priest’s24 own house may eat his food.25
22:12 If a priest’s daughter marries a lay person,26 she may not eat the holy contribution offerings,27
22:13 but if a priest’s daughter is a widow or divorced, and she has no children so that she returns to live in28 her father’s house as in her youth,29 she may eat from her father’s food, but no lay person may eat it.
22:14 “‘If a man eats a holy offering by mistake,30 he must add one fifth to it and give the holy offering to the priest.31
22:15 They32 must not profane the holy offerings which the Israelites contribute33 to the Lord,34
22:16 and so cause them to incur a penalty for guilt35 when they eat their holy offerings,36 for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’”
Regulations for Offering Votive and Freewill Offerings
22:17 The Lord spoke to Moses:
22:18 “Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them, ‘When any man37 from the house of Israel or from the foreigners in Israel38 presents his offering for any of the votive or freewill offerings which they present to the Lord as a burnt offering,
22:19 if it is to be acceptable for your benefit39 it must be a flawless male from the cattle, sheep, or goats.
22:20 You must not present anything that has a flaw,40 because it will not be acceptable for your benefit.41
22:21 If a man presents a peace offering sacrifice to the Lord for a special votive offering42 or for a freewill offering from the herd or the flock, it must be flawless to be acceptable;43 it must have no flaw.44
22:22 “‘You must not present to the Lord something blind, or with a broken bone, or mutilated, or with a running sore,45 or with a festering eruption, or with a feverish rash.46 You must not give any of these as a gift47 on the altar to the Lord.
22:23 As for an ox48 or a sheep with a limb too long or stunted,49 you may present it as a freewill offering, but it will not be acceptable for a votive offering.50
22:24 You must not present to the Lord something with testicles that are bruised, crushed, torn, or cut off;51 you must not do this in your land.
22:25 Even from a foreigner52 you must not present the food of your God from such animals as these, for they are ruined and flawed;53 they will not be acceptable for your benefit.’”
22:26 The Lord spoke to Moses:
22:27 “When an ox, lamb, or goat is born, it must be under the care of54 its mother seven days, but from the eighth day onward it will be acceptable as an offering gift55 to the Lord.
22:28 You must not slaughter an ox or a sheep and its young56 on the same day.57
22:29 When you sacrifice a thanksgiving offering to the Lord, you must sacrifice it so that it is acceptable for your benefit.58
22:30 On that very day59 it must be eaten; you must not leave any part of it60 over until morning. I am the Lord.
22:31 “You must be sure to do my commandments.61 I am the Lord.
22:32 You must not profane my holy name, and I will be sanctified in the midst of the Israelites. I am the Lord who sanctifies you,
22:33 the one who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God.62 I am the Lord.”
Next Chapter