Leviticus 22

Priests Must Stay Holy When Handling Offerings

1 The Lord told Moses.

2 Tell Aaron and his sons to be careful with the holy gifts the Israelites bring to Me, so they do not dishonor My holy name. I am the Lord.

3 If any priest is unclean and comes near the holy gifts the Israelites bring to the Lord, they must be cut off from My presence. I am the Lord.

4 If a priest has a skin disease or an abnormal discharge, he must not eat the holy offerings until he is clean. If he touches anything unclean from a dead body or has an emission of semen,

5 Or if he touches a crawling creature that makes him unclean or a person who makes him unclean,

6 He will be unclean until evening. He must wash himself with water.

7 When the sun sets, he will be clean, and then he may eat the holy offerings because they are his food.

8 He must not eat meat from an animal that died naturally or was torn by wild animals, or he will become unclean. I am the Lord.

9 The priests must follow My instructions so they do not become guilty and die for treating My holy things carelessly. I am the Lord who makes them holy.

Who Can and Cannot Eat the Holy Offerings

10 No outsider may eat the holy offering. A guest or hired worker in a priest’s house must not eat it.

11 But if a priest buys a slave with his own money, that slave may eat the holy food. Anyone born in his house may also eat it.

12 If a priest’s daughter marries someone outside the priestly family, she cannot eat the holy offerings.

13 But if she becomes a widow or is divorced, has no children, and returns to her father’s house, she may eat her father’s food again, just like when she was young. But no outsider may eat it.

14 If someone eats a holy offering by accident, they must pay back the priest for the offering plus add twenty percent more.

15 The priests must not let the Israelites treat the holy offerings disrespectfully.

16 If they allow this, they will bring guilt upon themselves when they eat the holy things. I am the Lord who makes them holy.

Rules for Acceptable Offerings

17 The Lord told Moses.

18 Tell Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites that if anyone brings a burnt offering to the Lord, whether an Israelite or a foreigner, it must be from their own livestock and be without defect to be accepted.

19 It must be a male without defects, from cattle, sheep, or goats.

20 Do not bring anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted.

21 If someone brings a peace offering to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, it must be a perfect animal with no defects to be accepted.

22 Do not bring an animal that is blind, injured, maimed, has a skin disease, or is deformed. Do not put these on the altar as an offering to the Lord.

23 You may bring a deformed or stunted animal as a freewill offering, but not for a vow offering.

24 Do not offer an animal with damaged testicles. Do not do this in your land.

25 Do not accept such animals from foreigners to offer to the Lord, because they have defects and will not be accepted.

Respecting God’s Offerings

26 The Lord told Moses.

27 When a calf, lamb, or goat is born, it must stay with its mother for seven days. After the eighth day, it will be accepted as an offering to the Lord.

28 Do not sacrifice an animal and its mother on the same day.

29 If you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, do it in a way that is accepted.

30 It must be eaten the same day. Do not leave any of it until morning. I am the Lord.

31 Obey My commands and follow them. I am the Lord.

32 Do not dishonor My holy name. I must be honored among the Israelites. I am the Lord who makes you holy.

33 I brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord.