Leviticus 22:1-16

New King James Version

The Holiness of the Offerings

22 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to Aaron and his sons, that they ^(A)separate^[a] themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they ^(B)do not profane My holy name by what they ^(C)dedicate to Me: I am the Lord. ³ Say to them: ‘Whoever of all your descendants throughout your generations, who goes near the holy things which the children of Israel dedicate to the Lord, ^(D)while he has ^[b]uncleanness upon him, that person shall be cut off from My presence: I am the Lord.

⁴ ‘Whatever man of the descendants of Aaron, who is a ^(E)leper or has ^(F)a discharge, shall not eat the holy offerings ^(G)until he is clean. And ^(H)whoever touches anything made unclean by a corpse, or ^(I)a man who has had an emission of semen, ⁵ or ^(J)whoever touches any creeping thing by which he would be made unclean, or ^(K)any person by whom he would become unclean, whatever his uncleanness may be— ⁶ the person who has touched any such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat the holy offerings unless he ^(L)washes his body with water. ⁷ And when the sun goes down he shall be clean; and afterward he may eat the holy offerings, because ^(M)it is his food. ^8 (N)Whatever dies naturally or is torn by beasts he shall not eat, to defile himself with it: I am the Lord.

⁹ ‘They shall therefore keep ^(O)My ^[c]ordinance, ^(P)lest they bear sin for it and die thereby, if they profane it: I the Lord sanctify them.

^10 (Q)‘No outsider shall eat the holy offering; one who ^[d]dwells with the priest, or a hired servant, shall not eat the holy thing. ¹¹ But if the priest ^(R)buys a person with his money, he may eat it; and one who is born in his house may eat his food. ¹² If the priest’s daughter is married to an outsider, she may not eat of the holy offerings. ¹³ But if the priest’s daughter is a widow or divorced, and has no child, and has returned to her father’s house as in her youth, she may eat her father’s food; but no outsider shall eat it.

¹⁴ ‘And if a man eats the holy offering unintentionally, then he shall restore a holy offering to the priest, and add one-fifth to it. ¹⁵ They shall not profane the ^(S)holy offerings of the children of Israel, which they offer to the Lord, ¹⁶ or allow them to bear the guilt of trespass when they eat their holy offerings; for I the Lord sanctify them.’ ”