And the LORD said to Moses, Speak to the priests the sons of Aaron, and say to them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:
But for his kin, that is near to him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother.
And for his sister a virgin, that is near to him, which has had no husband; for her may he be defiled.
But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.
They shall not make baldness on their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.
They shall be holy to 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 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 to his God.
You shall sanctify him therefore; for he offers the bread of your God: he shall be holy to you: for I the LORD, which sanctify you, am holy.
And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profanes her father: she shall be burnt with fire.
And he that is the high priest among his brothers, on 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;
Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;
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 on him: I am the LORD.
And he shall take a wife in her virginity.
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.
Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD do sanctify him.
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
Speak to Aaron, saying, Whoever he be of your seed in their generations that has any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.
For whatever man he be that has a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that has a flat nose, or any thing superfluous,
Or a man that is broken footed, or broken handed,
Or hunch back, or a dwarf, or that has a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or has his stones broken;
No man that has a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come near to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he has a blemish; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God.
He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.
Only he shall not go in to the veil, nor come near to the altar, because he has a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them.
And Moses told it to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel.
Canonical academic citations for Leviticus 21 (AKJV) — copy in your preferred format.
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Priestly purity: ordinary priests avoid corpse defilement except close kin, may not shave bald patches or marry a divorcee or harlot. High priest must not leave sanctuary or tear garments and must marry a virgin. Priests with physical defects may eat holy food but cannot approach the altar.
Religious laws and guidelines for worship.
Leviticus 21 is presented with the full Hebrew interlinear, Strong's numbers, and verse-by-verse cross-references on Prime Bible — a free, nonprofit Bible study platform.