Leviticus 22

Restrictions against the Uncleanⓘ

Priests must guard the holy offerings¹Then the Lord said to Moses, ²“Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings that the Israelites have consecrated to Me, so that they do not profane My holy name. I am the Lord.

³Tell them that for the generations to come, if any of their descendants in a state of uncleanness approaches the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the Lord, that person must be cut off from My presence. I am the Lord.

⁴If a descendant of Aaron has a skin disease^a or a discharge, he may not eat the sacred offerings until he is clean. Whoever touches anything defiled by a corpse or by a man who has an emission of semen, ⁵or whoever touches a crawling creature or a person that makes him unclean, whatever the uncleanness may be— ⁶the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening. He must not eat from the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water.

⁷When the sun has set, he will become clean, and then he may eat from the sacred offerings, for they are his food. ⁸He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, which would make him unclean. I am the Lord. ⁹The priests must keep My charge, lest they bear the guilt and die because they profane it. I am the Lord who sanctifies them.

Who in the household may eat¹⁰No one outside a priestʼs family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired hand eat it. ¹¹But if a priest buys a slave with his own money, or if a slave is born in his household, that slave may eat his food.

¹²If the priestʼs daughter is married to a man other than a priest, she is not to eat of the sacred contributions. ¹³But if a priestʼs daughter with no children becomes widowed or divorced and returns to her fatherʼs house, she may share her fatherʼs food as in her youth. But no outsider may share it.

¹⁴If anyone eats a sacred offering in error, he must add a fifth to its value and give the sacred offering to the priest. ¹⁵The priests must not profane the sacred offerings that the Israelites present to the Lord ¹⁶by allowing the people to eat the sacred offerings and thus to bear the punishment for guilt. For I am the Lord who sanctifies them.”

Worthy Offeringsⓘ

Only unblemished animals for the altar¹⁷Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸“Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites and tell them, ‘Any man of the house of Israel or any foreign resident who presents a gift for a burnt offering to the Lord, whether to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, ¹⁹must offer an unblemished male from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for it to be accepted on your behalf. ²⁰You must not present anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.

²¹When a man presents a peace offering to the Lord from the herd or flock to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without blemish or defect to be acceptable. ²²You are not to present to the Lord any animal that is blind, injured, or maimed, or anything with a running sore, a festering rash, or a scab; you must not put any of these on the altar as a food offering to the Lord.

²³You may present as a freewill offering an ox^b or sheep that has a deformed or stunted limb, but it is not acceptable in fulfillment of a vow. ²⁴You are not to present to the Lord an animal whose testicles are bruised, crushed, torn, or cut; you are not to sacrifice them in your land. ²⁵Neither you nor a foreigner shall present food to your God from any such animal. They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and flawed.’”

Timing of offerings and holy living²⁶Then the Lord said to Moses, ²⁷“When an ox,^c a sheep, or a goat is born, it must remain with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as a food offering presented to the Lord. ²⁸But you must not slaughter an ox^d or a sheep on the same day as its young.

²⁹When you sacrifice a thank offering to the Lord, offer it so that it may be acceptable on your behalf. ³⁰It must be eaten that same day. Do not leave any of it until morning. I am the Lord.

³¹You are to keep My commandments and practice them. I am the Lord. ³²You must not profane My holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy among the Israelites. I am the Lord who sanctifies you, ³³who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord.”