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The Lord also said to Moses: Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and you shall say to them: Do not allow a priest to be contaminated by the death of his citizens,(a)
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except only by his blood-relatives and near-relatives, that is, by a father or mother, or by a son or daughter, or also a brother,
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or a virgin sister, who is not married to a husband.
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But not even by the leader of his people shall he be contaminated.
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Neither shall they shave their head or their beard, and they shall not make incisions in their flesh.
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They shall be holy to their God, and they shall not pollute his name. For they offer the incense of the Lord and the bread of their God, and because of this they shall be holy.
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They shall not take as a wife a promiscuous woman, or a prostitute, or her who has been repudiated by her husband. For they are consecrated to their God,
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and they offer the bread of the presence. Therefore, let them be holy, for I also am holy: the Lord, who sanctifies them.
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If the daughter of a priest will have been taken into prostitution, and will have violated the name of her father, she shall be consumed by fire.
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The high priest, that is, the priest who is the greatest among his brothers, upon whose head the oil of anointing has been poured, and whose hands have been consecrated for the priesthood, and who has been vested with the holy vestments: he shall not expose his head; he shall not rend his vestments.
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And he shall not enter to any dead body whatsoever; likewise, not even by his father or mother shall he be contaminated.
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Neither shall he exit from the holy places, lest he pollute the Sanctuary of the Lord. For the oil of the holy anointing of his God is upon him. I am the Lord.
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He shall take a virgin as his wife.
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But a widow, or one who has been repudiated or defiled, or also a mistress, he shall not accept, but only a maiden from among his own people.
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He shall not mingle the stock of his family with the common people of his nation. For I am the Lord, who sanctifies him.
Restrictions against Those with Blemishes
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And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
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Say to Aaron: A man from your offspring, throughout their families, who has a blemish, shall not offer the bread to his God.
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Neither shall he approach to minister to him: if he is blind, if he is lame, if he is small, or large, or has a crooked nose,
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if his foot or hand is broken,
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if he has a bulging back or bleary eyes, or if he has a white spot in his eye, or a chronic scab, or a skin disease on his body, or a hernia.
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Anyone from the offspring of Aaron, the priest, who has a blemish, shall not approach to offer sacrifices to the Lord, nor the bread to his God.
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Nevertheless, he shall eat from the loaves which are offered in the Sanctuary.
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But even so, he may not enter within the veil, nor approach to the altar. For he has a blemish, and he must not contaminate my Sanctuary. I am the Lord, who sanctifies them.
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Therefore, Moses spoke to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all of Israel, everything that had been commanded to him.
Footnotes