Leviticus 22
Nothing Defective May Be Offered
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Priestly Purity and Access to Holy Food
22:1The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
22:2Tell Aaron and his sons to exercise care concerning the holy things of the sons of Israel, which they consecrate to Me, and not profane My holy name. I am the Lord.
22:3Say to them: Throughout your generations, any man among all your offspring who approaches the holy things that the sons of Israel consecrate to the Lord while his uncleanness is upon him—that person shall be destroyed from Me. I am the Lord your God.
22:4Any man among the offspring of Aaron the priest who has leprosy or a seminal discharge shall not eat the holy things until he is cleansed. Nor shall one who touches any uncleanness of a person, or a man from whom an emission of semen goes out,
22:5or anyone who touches any unclean creeping creature that defiles him, or a human being who defiles him through any uncleanness of his.
22:6A person who touches these things shall be unclean until evening. He shall not eat the holy things unless he has washed his body with water.
22:7When the sun sets, he shall be clean; afterward he may eat the holy things, for they are his bread.
22:8He shall not eat an animal found dead or torn by beasts, becoming unclean through them. I am the Lord.
22:9They shall keep My requirements, so that they do not incur sin through them and die through them if they profane them. I am the Lord God who sanctifies them.
Household Eligibility and Restitution
22:10No outsider shall eat holy things. A priest’s lodger or hired worker shall not eat holy things.
22:11But if a priest acquires a person purchased with silver, that person may eat of his bread; those born in his house may also eat his bread.
22:12If a priest’s daughter marries an outsider, she shall not eat the first portions of the holy things.
22:13If a priest’s daughter becomes a widow or is expelled, and has no offspring, she shall return to her father’s house as in her youth and may eat her father’s bread. But no outsider shall eat of it.
22:14If a man eats holy things in ignorance, he shall add a fifth to it and give the holy thing to the priest.
22:15They shall not profane the holy things of the sons of Israel that they set aside for the Lord,
22:16and so bring upon themselves the lawlessness of an offense by eating their holy things, for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
Acceptable Animals
22:17The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
22:18Speak to Aaron, his sons, and the whole congregation of Israel, and say to them: Any man of the sons of Israel or of the sons of the resident foreigners attached to them in Israel who presents his gifts, for any of their pledges or any of their voluntary choices that they present to God as a whole burnt offering,
22:19to be acceptable for you, they shall be males without blemish, from the cattle, the sheep, or the goats.
22:20They shall not bring anything with a blemish to the Lord, for it will not be acceptable for you.
22:21If a man presents a sacrifice of deliverance to the Lord, specifying a vow by voluntary choice or at your festivals, from the cattle or the sheep, it shall be unblemished to be accepted; there shall be no blemish in it.
22:22They shall not bring to the Lord an animal that is blind, crushed, has its tongue cut, has warts, a severe scab, or skin eruptions. You shall not place any of these on the altar as an offering to the Lord.
22:23A calf or a sheep with a cut-off ear or a shortened tail you may slaughter for yourself, but it will not be accepted for your vow.
22:24You shall not bring to the Lord an animal castrated by crushing, squeezed out, cut out, or torn away; neither shall you do this in your land.
22:25You shall not present any of these as the gifts of your God from the hand of a foreigner, for there are corruptions in them; they have a blemish. These will not be accepted for you.
The Offering’s Timing and the Sanctified Name
22:26The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
22:27When a calf, sheep, or goat is born, it shall remain under its mother for seven days. On the eighth day and afterward it may be accepted among the gifts, as an offering to the Lord.
22:28You shall not slaughter a cow or a sheep, her and her young, on one day.
22:29If you sacrifice a sacrifice, a vow of rejoicing, to the Lord, sacrifice it so that you may be accepted.
22:30It shall be eaten that same day. You shall leave none of the meat until morning. I am the Lord.
22:31Keep My commandments and do them.
22:32You shall not profane the name of the Holy One, and I will be sanctified among the sons of Israel. I am the Lord who sanctifies you,
22:33who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord.
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Saints Translation · Liturgical reading edition · V1 · working draft awaiting specialist review.