¹The 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 amongst his people ,

²except for his relatives that are near to him : for his mother, for his father , for his son , for his daughter , for his brother,

³and for his virgin sister who is near to him , who has had no husband; for her he may defile himself .

⁴He shall not defile himself , being a chief man amongst 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 .

⁶They 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 .

⁸Therefore 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 burnt with fire.

¹⁰“‘He who is the high priest amongst 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 .

¹¹He must not go in to any dead body , or defile himself for his father or for his mother.

¹²He 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 .

¹⁴He 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.

¹⁵He shall not profane his offspring amongst his people , for I am the LORD who sanctifies him .’”

¹⁶The 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 .

¹⁸For 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,

¹⁹or a man who has an injured foot , or an injured hand ,

²⁰or hunchbacked, or a dwarf , or one who has a defect in his eye , or an itching disease, or scabs , or who has damaged testicles.

²¹No 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 .

²²He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy , and of the holy .

²³He 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 .’”

²⁴So Moses spoke to Aaron, and to his sons , and to all the children of Israel .