Leviticus 21: Rules for the priests

In plain English: Yahweh said to Moses, "Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and tell them, 'A priest must not make himself unclean for a dead person among his people,

The Hebrew word: "The dead" here is nephesh, the word this Bible often gives as "soul" or "life" (see Genesis 2:7). Here it means a dead person, as in verse 11.

In plain English: except for his close relatives: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother,

In plain English: and his sister who is a virgin, who is close to him and has had no husband. For her he may make himself unclean.

In plain English: He must not make himself unclean as a chief man (or: as a husband) among his people, and so make himself unholy.

The Hebrew word: "A chief man" is ba'al. The dictionary gives it as "a master; hence, a husband, or (figuratively) owner".

How it is translated: This Bible says "chief" for ba'al in only 1 verse, this one. The word-by-word meaning here is "a husband".

What changes: Read as "a husband", readers often take the verse to mean that a priest must not make himself unclean for the family he has married into. Read as "a chief man", he must not do it because he is a leader among his people. The verse is short, and readers take it both ways.

In plain English: "'Priests must not shave bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make any cuts in their bodies.

Good to know: Leviticus 19:27 and 28 give rules like these to all Israel. Here they are given to the priests.

In plain English: They are to be holy to their God and must not make the name of their God unholy, because they offer Yahweh's offerings made by fire, the bread (or: food) of their God. So they must be holy.

The Hebrew word: "Bread" is lechem. The dictionary gives it as "food (for man or beast), especially bread".

How it is translated: In Leviticus this Bible says "bread" in 20 of the 22 verses that use the word and "food" in 2.

What changes: Read as "food", the offerings are called the food of their God in general, not only loaves of bread.

In plain English: "'They must not marry a woman who is a prostitute or who has been dishonored (or: made unholy). A priest must not marry a woman divorced from her husband, because he is holy to his God.

In plain English: So you are to treat him as holy, because he offers the bread of your God. He is to be holy to you, because I, Yahweh, who make you holy, am holy.

In plain English: "'If a priest's daughter makes herself unholy by acting as a prostitute, she makes her father unholy. She is to be burned with fire.

In plain English: "'The high priest (literally: the priest who is greater than his brothers), on whose head the anointing oil has been poured, and who has been set apart (literally: whose hand has been filled) to wear the garments, must not let the hair of his head hang loose or tear his clothes.

The Hebrew words: "Consecrated" is literally "filled his hand". The same words are used for setting the priests apart in Exodus 29:9 and Leviticus 8:33.

Good to know: In Leviticus 10:6 Moses tells Aaron and his sons the same: not to let their hair hang loose or tear their clothes.

In plain English: He must not go in to any dead body, and he must not make himself unclean even for his father or his mother.

In plain English: He must not leave the sanctuary or make the sanctuary of his God unholy, because the crown (or: the setting apart) of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am Yahweh.

The Hebrew word: "Crown" is nezer. The dictionary gives it as "properly, something set apart, i.e. dedication (of a priest or Nazirite)", and also a crown.

How it is translated: This Bible says "crown" in 11 of the 22 verses that use the word and "separation" or a similar word in 10. In Numbers 6:7 it is the Nazirite's "separation to God".

What changes: Read as "the setting apart", the verse says the anointing oil has set the high priest apart, rather than that he wears it like a crown.

In plain English: "'He is to marry a woman who is a virgin.

In plain English: He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, a woman who has been dishonored, or a prostitute. He is to marry a virgin from his own people.

In plain English: He must not make his children (literally: his seed) unholy among his people, because I am Yahweh who makes him holy.'"

In plain English: Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

In plain English: "Tell Aaron, 'None of your descendants, in any generation, who has a defect may come near to offer the bread of his God.

The Hebrew word: "Defect" is mum. The dictionary gives it as "a blemish (physically or morally)".

How it is translated: In Leviticus this Bible says "defect" in 7 of the 9 verses that use the word. The same word is used for animals that may not be offered in Leviticus 22:20, and for an injury in 24:19 and 20.

In plain English: No man who has a defect may come near: a man who is blind or lame, or who has a flat (or: split) nose, or any deformity (or: a limb too long),

In plain English: or a man who has a broken foot or a broken hand,

In plain English: or who has a hunched back, or is a dwarf (or: thin), or has a defect in his eye, or an itching disease, or scabs, or damaged testicles.

The Hebrew words: Several words in verses 18 to 20 are rare, and their exact meaning is not certain. "A dwarf" is daq, which the dictionary gives as "small or thin". "A defect in his eye" is teballul, which the dictionary gives as "a cataract".

What changes: Read as "thin", the verse speaks of a man who is very thin, rather than one who is very short.

In plain English: No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a defect may come near to offer Yahweh's offerings made by fire. He has a defect, so he must not come near to offer the bread of his God.

In plain English: He may eat the bread of his God, both the most holy food and the holy food.

In plain English: But he must not go in to the veil (the curtain) or come near the altar, because he has a defect, so that he does not make my holy places unholy. For I am Yahweh who makes them holy.'"

Good to know: The veil is the curtain in front of the Most Holy Place, described in Exodus 26:31 to 33.

In plain English: So Moses told this to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the Israelites.