Leviticus Chapter 21
Showing all 24 verses for Leviticus Chapter 21.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people: "
"The LORD said to Moses: Speak to the priests, Aaron's sons, and tell them: A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean for a dead person among his people,"
God speaks personally into the priests' specific calling, showing that He cares about the particular pressures and duties of each role, not just general rules for everyone. Jesus calls you to trust that God is attentive to the unique demands of your own calling, and speaks into it with care.
"But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother, "
"except for his close relatives - his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother."
Even amid strict boundaries, close family - mother, father, child, sibling - were the named exceptions where grief was honoured, not restricted. Jesus calls you to make space for real grief with those closest to you, because mourning the ones you love deeply is never something to suppress.
"And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled. "
"and for his virgin sister who is close to him, since she has no husband, he may attend to her."
Naming an unmarried sister among those a priest could properly mourn shows care for someone who might otherwise have no one else to grieve for her. Jesus calls you to notice who might be overlooked in a moment of loss, and to make sure they are grieved for and remembered.
"But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself. "
"He must not make himself unclean for people related to him only by marriage, since that would dishonour him as a leader among his people."
The priest's role called him to a visible consistency before the whole community, so his personal grief didn't compromise the service he owed to everyone he represented before God. Jesus calls you to hold your public responsibilities with integrity, even while your heart carries private sorrow.
"They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh. "
"Priests must not shave bald patches on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or cut their bodies."
These grooming restrictions distanced the priests from pagan mourning rituals, keeping their identity clearly devoted to God rather than blended with surrounding idol worship. Jesus calls you to let your life be recognisably devoted to Him, not shaped by whatever practices happen to surround you.
"They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy. "
"They must be holy to their God and not dishonour God's name, because they present the offerings made by fire to the LORD, the food of their God; so they must be holy."
The priests' holiness mattered because they represented God's own offerings to the people - their lives were meant to point towards Him, not obscure Him. Jesus calls you to remember that how you live points others towards God or away from Him, so let your life represent Him well.
"They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy unto his God. "
"They must not marry a woman defiled by prostitution, nor a divorced woman, because a priest is holy to his God."
This marriage restriction protected the priest's household from being entangled in situations that would undermine the trust his role required - the concern was integrity, not contempt for the women named. Jesus calls you to build relationships of genuine trust and integrity, especially where your choices carry weight for others who depend on you.
"Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I the LORD, which sanctify you, am holy. "
"You must treat him as holy, because he offers the food of your God; he is to be holy to you, because I, the LORD, who makes you holy, am holy."
The community was told to actively sanctify the priest, showing that holiness in a leader is upheld partly by the honour and support of the people around him, not just his own effort alone. Jesus calls you to help build up the integrity of those who lead and serve you, rather than only criticising or standing apart.
"And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire. "
"If a priest's daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she must be burned to death."
This harsh penalty reflects how seriously that ancient culture weighed a priest's household integrity; the deeper heart-principle is that those closest to sacred trust bear real responsibility for how their lives reflect on it. Jesus calls you to remember that grace, not harsh punishment, is how He deals with failure - He met the woman caught in this very sin with mercy, not condemnation.
"And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes; "
"The high priest, who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been consecrated to wear the priestly garments, must not leave his hair unkempt or tear his clothes in mourning."
The high priest's anointing set him apart with such weight that even his own grief couldn't interrupt his consecrated role - a picture of a devotion that doesn't waver even under personal pain. Jesus calls you to see in this a shadow of His own unwavering faithfulness to His calling, even through suffering, on your behalf.
"Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother; "
"He must not go near any dead body, not even for his own father or mother, to avoid becoming unclean."
Even the high priest's love for his own parents had to yield to his consecrated role, showing how completely his life was given over to sacred service. Jesus calls you to see how much greater His own devotion was, that He gave up everything, even His own comfort and life, fully consecrated for your sake.
"Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD. "
"He must not leave the sanctuary or treat it as common, because the crown of his God's anointing oil is on him. I am the LORD."
The high priest could not leave the sanctuary even for his own family's grief, because the whole nation depended on his unbroken service before God. Jesus calls you to trust that He, as your true High Priest, never leaves His post interceding for you, whatever storms come.
"And he shall take a wife in her virginity. "
"He must marry a woman who is a virgin."
This requirement reflects that ancient culture's specific expectations for the high priest's household; today, the deeper principle is that those in significant spiritual responsibility are called to build relationships marked by integrity and care. Jesus calls you to bring wholehearted faithfulness into your closest relationships, whatever your particular calling looks like.
"A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife. "
"He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, a defiled woman, or a prostitute; he may only marry a virgin from his own people."
This restriction reflects ancient cultural expectations placed on the highest office; it is not a verdict on the worth or dignity of widowed, divorced, or previously exploited women; God's heart throughout Scripture is full acceptance and honour for exactly such women. Jesus calls you to see and value every person by their character and God-given worth, never by past circumstances that were often not even their fault.
"Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD do sanctify him. "
"He must not have children who are defiled among his people, because I am the LORD who sanctifies him."
Preserving the high priest's lineage from being 'profaned' reflects that ancient community's concern for an unbroken, clearly consecrated priestly line. Jesus calls you to see how He, as the perfect and final High Priest, needed no such lineage requirement, because His own holiness fulfils and completes what this system was pointing towards.
"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, "
"The LORD spoke to Moses and said:"
God speaking again to Moses about Aaron's family shows how personally He was involved in shaping this priesthood's every detail. Jesus calls you to trust that God is just as personally involved in shaping the details of your life and calling today.
"Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God. "
"Tell Aaron: none of your descendants, in any future generation, who has a physical defect may come near to offer the food of his God."
This law reflects an ancient symbolic system where outward physical wholeness pictured the perfection of the sacrifice being offered - it was never a statement about the worth of a person with a disability, only a ceremonial picture later fulfilled completely in Christ. Jesus calls you to see every person, whatever their body or ability, as fully valuable and loved, since He Himself, not any priest's body, is the one perfect sacrifice.
"For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous, "
"No man who is blind or lame, disfigured or deformed,"
This list of specific conditions belonged to a ceremonial system requiring symbolic physical wholeness in that one specific role - it never reflected God's view of a person's dignity or standing before Him. Jesus calls you to remember that He touched and healed exactly such people with tenderness, never treating their bodies as lesser.
"Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, "
"or a man with a broken foot or a broken hand,"
Even this specific ceremonial detail was about maintaining a symbolic picture of unblemished sacrifice, not a judgement on anyone's worth. Jesus calls you to see clearly that physical limitation never diminishes a person's value in God's eyes, and shouldn't in yours either.
"Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken; "
"or a man who is hunchbacked or a dwarf, or has a defect in his eye, or has a skin disease, or has damaged testicles."
This harsh-sounding list belonged entirely to the ceremonial requirements of the ancient sacrificial system, not to how God actually regards people with these conditions - Scripture elsewhere shows His special tenderness towards exactly such people. Jesus calls you to actively include and honour anyone whose body or appearance differs from the norm, following His own example of compassion towards the overlooked.
"No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God. "
"No man among Aaron's descendants who has a physical defect may come near to present the offerings made by fire to the LORD; he has a defect, so he must not come near to offer the food of his God."
Being kept from this one ceremonial role never meant being kept from God's love or provision, as the following verses make clear. Jesus calls you to remember that a role or task being closed to someone is never the same as being excluded from belonging or being loved.
"He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy. "
"He may still eat the food of his God, both the most holy and the holy portions."
Crucially, this priest was still fed fully from the holy bread - excluded from one function, but never from provision, belonging, or care. Jesus calls you to notice this detail and imitate it: even when someone can't do every task, make sure they are always fully fed, included, and cared for.
"Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them. "
"But he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar, because he has a defect, so that he does not treat my sanctuaries as common; for I am the LORD who makes them holy."
The restriction here was narrowly about one specific, symbolic ceremonial function - approaching the innermost holy space - not about the value of the person himself. Jesus calls you to remember that He tore the veil completely, opening full access to God for everyone, so that no ceremonial barrier like this remains between you and Him.
"And Moses told it unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel. "
"So Moses told all this to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites."
Moses faithfully passing this word on to Aaron, his sons, and the whole nation shows how God's instruction was meant to reach and shape an entire community together, not stay hidden with a few. Jesus calls you to pass on what you've learned of God's heart faithfully to those around you, so His truth keeps reaching further.