LeviticusChapter 22

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¹Then the LORD said to Moses, ²"Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the holy offerings that the Israelites set apart for me. Then they will not dishonor my holy name. I am the LORD. ³Tell them this. For all the generations to come, suppose any of their descendants comes near the holy offerings while he is unclean. These are the offerings the Israelites set apart for the LORD. That person must be cut off from my presence. I am the LORD. ⁴If a descendant of Aaron has a skin disease or a flow from his body, he may not eat the holy offerings until he is clean. Suppose he touches anything made unclean by a dead body or by a man who has had semen come out of him, ⁵or he touches a crawling creature or a person that makes him unclean, whatever the uncleanness may be. ⁶The man who touches any of these will stay unclean until evening. He must not eat any of the holy offerings unless he has bathed in water. ⁷When the sun goes down, he will become clean. Then he may eat the holy offerings, because they are his food. ⁸He must not eat anything found dead or torn apart by wild animals. That would make him unclean. I am the LORD. ⁹The priests must do what I command. If they do not, they will be guilty and die because they treated it as common. I am the LORD who makes them holy. ¹⁰No one outside a priest's family may eat the holy offering. A guest of a priest may not eat it. His hired worker may not eat it. ¹¹But a priest may buy a slave with his own money. Or a slave may be born in his house. That slave may eat his food. ¹²A priest's daughter may marry a man who is not a priest. Then she must not eat any of the holy gifts. ¹³But a priest's daughter may become a widow or be divorced. She may have no children and go back to live in her father's house. Then she may eat her father's food, as she did when she was young. But no outsider may eat it. ¹⁴Someone may eat a holy offering by mistake. He must add one-fifth to its value. He must give the holy offering to the priest. ¹⁵The priests must not treat as common the holy offerings that the Israelites give to the LORD. ¹⁶They must not let the people eat the holy offerings. That would bring guilt and punishment on the people. For I am the LORD who makes them holy." ¹⁷Then the LORD said to Moses, ¹⁸"Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites. Tell them this: 'A man of Israel, or a foreigner living there, may bring a gift for a burnt offering to the LORD. It may be to keep a promise. Or it may be an offering he chooses to give freely. ¹⁹He must offer a male from the cattle, sheep, or goats that has no flaw. Then it will be accepted for you. ²⁰You must not offer anything with a flaw, because it will not be accepted for you. ²¹A man may bring a peace offering to the LORD from his herd or flock. It may be to keep a promise. Or it may be an offering he chooses to give freely. It must have no flaw or defect at all to be accepted. ²²You must not offer to the LORD any animal that is blind, hurt, or crippled. You must not offer one that has a running sore, an oozing rash, or a scab. You must not put any of these on the altar as a food offering to the LORD. ²³An ox or a sheep may have a leg that is too long or too short. You may offer it as a freewill offering. But it will not be accepted to keep a promise. ²⁴You must not offer to the LORD an animal whose testicles are bruised, crushed, torn, or cut off. You must not sacrifice them in your land. ²⁵You must not offer animals like these as food for your God. A foreigner must not offer them either. They will not be accepted for you, because they have flaws and something wrong with them.'" ²⁶Then the LORD said to Moses, ²⁷"When an ox, a sheep, or a goat is born, it must stay with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be accepted as a food offering to the LORD. ²⁸But you must not kill an ox or a sheep on the same day as its young. ²⁹When you offer a thank offering to the LORD, offer it in the right way so that it will be accepted for you. ³⁰It must be eaten that same day. Do not leave any of it until morning. I am the LORD. ³¹You must keep my commands and obey them. I am the LORD. ³²You must not dishonor my holy name. The Israelites must treat me as holy. I am the LORD who makes you holy. ³³I brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD."