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Leviticus Chapter 21

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asv (asv) - eBible.org engASV USFM

1 And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as their uncircumcision: three years shall they be as uncircumcised unto you; it shall not be eaten.
2 But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy, for giving praise unto Jehovah.
3 And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am Jehovah your God.
4 Ye shall not eat anything with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantments, nor practise augury.
5 Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.
6 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am Jehovah.
7 Profane not thy daughter, to make her a harlot; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.
8 Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am Jehovah.
9 Turn ye not unto them that have familiar spirits, nor unto the wizards; seek them not out, to be defiled by them: I am Jehovah your God.
10 Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man, and thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.
11 And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not do him wrong.
12 The stranger that sojourneth with you shall be unto you as the home-born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were sojourners in the land of Egypt: I am Jehovah your God.
13 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity.
14 Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
15 And ye shall observe all my statutes, and all mine ordinances, and do them: I am Jehovah.
16 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
17 Moreover, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.
18 I also will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.
19 And if the people of the land do at all hide their eyes from that man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and put him not to death;
20 then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that play the harlot after him, to play the harlot with Molech, from among their people.
21 And the soul that turneth unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto the wizards, to play the harlot after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
22 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am Jehovah your God.
23 And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am Jehovah who sanctifieth you.
24 For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall surely be put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.

darby (darby) - eBible.org Darby 1890 plaintext

1 And Jehovah said to Moses, Speak unto the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none make himself unclean for a dead person among his peoples,
2 except for his immediate relation, who is near unto him — for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother;
3 and for his sister, a virgin, that is near unto him, who hath had no husband, for her may he make himself unclean.
4 He shall not make himself unclean [who is] a chief among his peoples, to profane himself.
5 They shall not make any baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corners of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.
6 They shall be holy unto theirGod, and not profane the name of theirGod; for they present Jehovah's offerings by fire, the bread of theirGod; therefore shall they be holy.
7 They shall not take as wife a whore, or a dishonoured woman; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband; for he is holy unto hisGod.
8 And thou shalt hallow him; for the bread of thyGod doth he present: he shall be holy unto thee; for I, Jehovah, who hallow you am holy.
9 And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burned with fire.
10 And the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured, and who is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his garments.
11 Neither shall he come near any person dead, nor make himself unclean for his father and for his mother;
12 neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of hisGod; for the consecration of the anointing oil of hisGod is upon him: I am Jehovah.
13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity.
14 A widow, or a divorced woman, or a dishonoured one, a harlot, these shall he not take; but he shall take as wife a virgin from among his peoples.
15 And he shall not profane his seed among his peoples; for I am Jehovah who do hallow him.
16 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
17 Speak unto Aaron, saying, Any of thy seed throughout their generations that hath any defect, shall not approach to present the bread of hisGod;
18 for whatever man hath a defect, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or one limb longer than the other,
19 or a man that is broken-footed, or broken-handed,
20 or hump-backed, or withered, or that hath a spot in his eye, or hath the itch, or scabs, or his testicles broken.
21 No man of the seed of Aaron the priest that hath defect shall come near to present Jehovah's offerings by fire: he hath a defect; he shall not come near to present the bread of hisGod.
22 The bread of hisGod, of the most holy and of the holy, shall he eat;
23 only he shall not come in unto the veil, nor shall he draw near unto the altar; for he hath a defect: that he profane not my sanctuaries; for I am Jehovah who do hallow them.
24 And Moses told it to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel.

lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the priests the sons of Aaron, and thou shalt tell them [that] they shall not defile themselves in their nation for the dead,
2 but [they may mourn] for a relative who is very near to them, for a father and mother, and sons and daughters, for a brother,
3 and for a virgin sister that is near to one, that is not espoused to a man; for these one shall defile himself.
4 He shall not defile himself suddenly among his people to profane himself.
5 And ye shall not shave your head for the dead with a baldness on the top; and they shall not shave their beard, neither shall they make gashes on their flesh.
6 They shall be holy to their God, and they shall not profane the name of their God; for they offer the sacrifices of the Lord as the gifts of their God, and they shall be holy.
7 They shall not take a woman who is a harlot and profaned, or a woman put away from her husband; for he is holy to the Lord his God.
8 And thou shalt hallow him; he offers the gifts of the Lord your God: he shall be holy, for I the Lord that sanctify them [am] holy.
9 And if the daughter of a priest should be profaned to go a whoring, she profanes the name of her father: she shall be burnt with fire.
10 And the priest that is chief among his brethren, the oil having been poured upon the head of the anointed one, and he having been consecrated to put on the garments, shall not take the mitre off his head, and shall not rend his garments:
11 neither shall he go in to any dead body, neither shall he defile himself for his father or his mother.
12 And he shall not go forth out of the sanctuary, and he shall not profane the sanctuary of his God, because the holy anointing oil of God [is] upon him: I [am] the Lord.
13 He shall take for a wife a virgin of his own tribe.
14 But a widow, or one that is put away, or profaned, or a harlot, these he shall not take; but he shall take for a wife a virgin of his own people.
15 And he shall not profane his seed among his people: I [am] the Lord that sanctifies him.
16 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
17 Say to Aaron, A man of thy tribe throughout your generations, who shall have a blemish on him, shall not draw nigh to offer the gifts of his God.
18 No man who has a blemish on him shall draw nigh; a man lame, blind, with his nose disfigured, or his ears cut,
19 a man who has a broken hand or a broken foot,
20 or hump-backed, or blear-eyed, or that has lost his eye-lashes, or a man who has a malignant ulcer, or tetter, or one that has lost a testicle.
21 Whoever of the seed of Aaron the priest has a blemish on him, shall not draw nigh to offer sacrifices to thy God, because he has a blemish on him; he shall not draw nigh to offer the gifts of God.
22 The gifts of God [are] most holy, and he shall eat of the holy things.
23 Only he shall not approach the veil, and he shall not draw nigh to the altar, because he has a blemish; and he shall not profane the sanctuary of his God, for I am the Lord that sanctifies them.
24 And Moses spoke to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel.

vul1914 (vul1914) - Vulgate 1914 UTF-8 (sacredbible.org)

1 Dixit quoque Dominus ad Moysen: Loquere ad sacerdotes filios Aaron, et dices ad eos: Ne contaminetur sacerdos in mortibus civium suorum,
2 nisi tantum in consanguineis, ac propinquis, id est, super patre et matre, et filio, et filia, fratre quoque,
3 et sorore virgine quæ non est nupta viro:
4 sed nec in principe populi sui contaminabitur.
5 Non radent caput, nec barbam, neque in carnibus suis facient incisuras.
6 Sancti erunt Deo suo, et non polluent nomen eius: incensum enim Domini, et panes Dei sui offerunt, et ideo sancti erunt.
7 Scortum et vile prostibulum non ducent uxorem, nec eam, quæ repudiata est a marito: quia consecrati sunt Deo suo,
8 et panes propositionis offerunt. Sint ergo sancti, quia et ego sanctus sum, Dominus, qui sanctifico eos.
9 Sacerdotis filia si deprehensa fuerit in stupro, et violaverit nomen patris sui, flammis exuretur.
10 Pontifex, id est, sacerdos maximus inter fratres suos, super cuius caput fusum est unctionis oleum, et cuius manus in sacerdotio consecratæ sunt, vestitusque est sanctis vestibus, caput suum non discooperiet, vestimenta non scindet:
11 et ad omnem mortuum non ingredietur omnino. super patre quoque suo, et matre non contaminabitur.
12 Nec egredietur de sanctis, ne polluat Sanctuarium Domini, quia oleum sanctæ unctionis Dei sui super eum est. ego Dominus.
13 Virginem ducet uxorem:
14 Viduam autem et repudiatam, et sordidam, atque meretricem non accipiet, sed puellam de populo suo:
15 ne commisceat stirpem generis sui vulgo gentis suæ: quia ego Dominus qui sanctifico eum.
16 Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens:
17 Loquere ad Aaron: Homo de semine tuo per familias qui habuerit maculam, non offeret panes Deo suo,
18 nec accedet ad ministerium eius: si cæcus fuerit, si claudus, si parvo vel grandi, vel torto naso,
19 si fracto pede, si manu,
20 si gibbus, si lippus, si albuginem habens in oculo, si iugem scabiem, si impetiginem in corpore, vel herniosus.
21 Omnis qui habuerit maculam de semine Aaron sacerdotis, non accedet offerre hostias Domino, nec panes Deo suo:
22 vescetur tamen panibus, qui offeruntur in Sanctuario,
23 ita dumtaxat, ut intra velum non ingrediatur, nec accedat ad altare, quia maculam habet, et contaminare non debet Sanctuarium meum. Ego Dominus qui sanctifico eos.
24 Locutus est ergo Moyses ad Aaron, et ad filios eius, et ad omnem Israel cuncta quæ fuerant sibi imperata.

web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV

1 The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, ‘A priest shall not defile himself for the dead among his people,
2 except for his relatives that are near to him: for his mother, for his father, for his son, for his daughter, for his brother,
3 and for his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband; for her he may defile himself.
4 He shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.
5 “‘They shall not shave their heads or shave off the corners of their beards or make any cuttings in their flesh.
6 They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the bread of their God. Therefore they shall be holy.
7 “‘They shall not marry a woman who is a prostitute, or profane. A priest shall not marry a woman divorced from her husband; for he is holy to his God.
8 Therefore you shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I the LORD, who sanctify you, am holy.
9 “‘The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the prostitute, she profanes her father. She shall be burned with fire.
10 “‘He who is the high priest among his brothers, upon whose head the anointing oil is poured, and who is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not let the hair of his head hang loose, or tear his clothes.
11 He must not go in to any dead body, or defile himself for his father or for his mother.
12 He shall not go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him. I am the LORD.
13 “‘He shall take a wife in her virginity.
14 He shall not marry a widow, or one divorced, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute. He shall take a virgin of his own people as a wife.
15 He shall not profane his offspring among his people, for I am the LORD who sanctifies him.’”
16 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
17 “Say to Aaron, ‘None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a defect may approach to offer the bread of his God.
18 For whatever man he is that has a defect, he shall not draw near: a blind man, or a lame, or he who has a flat nose, or any deformity,
19 or a man who has an injured foot, or an injured hand,
20 or hunchbacked, or a dwarf, or one who has a defect in his eye, or an itching disease, or scabs, or who has damaged testicles.
21 No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall come near to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire. Since he has a defect, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God.
22 He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.
23 He shall not come near to the veil, nor come near to the altar, because he has a defect; that he may not profane my sanctuaries, for I am the LORD who sanctifies them.’”
24 So Moses spoke to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel.

ylt (ylt) - Bible.com YLT98 plain UTF-8

1 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Speak unto the priests, sons of Aaron, and thou hast said unto them, For <FI>any<Fi> person <FI>a priest<Fi> is not defiled among his people,
2 except for his relation who <FI>is<Fi> near unto him--for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother.
3 and for his sister, the virgin, who is near unto him, who hath not been to a man; for her he is defiled.
4 `A master <FI>priest<Fi> doth not defile himself among his people--to pollute himself;
5 they do not make baldness on their head, and the corner of their beard they do not shave, and in their flesh they do not make a cutting;
6 they are holy to their God, and they pollute not the name of their God, for the fire-offerings of Jehovah, bread of their God, they are bringing near, and have been holy.
7 `A woman, a harlot, or polluted, they do not take, and a woman cast out from her husband they do not take, for he <FI>is<Fi> holy to his God;
8 and thou hast sanctified him, for the bread of thy God he is bringing near; he is holy to thee; for holy <FI>am<Fi> I, Jehovah, sanctifying you.
9 `And a daughter of any priest when she polluteth herself by going a-whoring--her father she is polluting; with fire she is burnt.
10 `And the high priest of his brethren, on whose head is poured the anointing oil, and hath consecrated his hand to put on the garments, his head doth not uncover, nor rend his garments,
11 nor beside any dead person doth he come; for his father and for his mother he doth not defile himself;
12 nor from the sanctuary doth he go out, nor doth he pollute the sanctuary of his God, for the separation of the anointing oil of his God <FI>is<Fi> on him; I <FI>am<Fi> Jehovah.
13 `And he taketh a wife in her virginity;
14 widow, or cast out, or polluted one--a harlot--these he doth not take, but a virgin of his own people he doth take <FI>for<Fi> a wife,
15 and he doth not pollute his seed among his people; for I <FI>am<Fi> Jehovah, sanctifying him.'
16 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
17 `Speak unto Aaron, saying, No man of thy seed to their generations in whom there is blemish doth draw near to bring near the bread of his God,
18 for no man in whom <FI>is<Fi> blemish doth draw near--a man blind, or lame or dwarfed, or enlarged,
19 or a man in whom there is a breach in the foot, or a breach in the hand,
20 or hump-backed, or a dwarf, or with a mixture in his eye, or a scurvy person, or scabbed, or broken-testicled.
21 `No man in whom is blemish (of the seed of Aaron the priest) doth come nigh to bring near the fire-offerings of Jehovah; blemish <FI>is<Fi> in him; the bread of his God he doth not come nigh to bring near.
22 `Bread of his God--of the most holy things, and of the holy things--he doth eat;
23 only, unto the vail he doth not enter, and unto the altar he doth not draw nigh; for blemish <FI>is<Fi> in him; and he doth not pollute My sanctuaries; for I <FI>am<Fi> Jehovah, sanctifying them.'
24 And Moses speaketh unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the sons of Israel.

Explanations by Age Level

Explain Like I'm 5

A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!

Explain Like I'm 10

Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.

Explain Like I'm 15

Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).