Leviticus 21 Cross References - BSB

¹ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron’s sons, the priests, and tell them that a priest is not to defile himself for a dead person among his people, ² except for his immediate family—his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother, ³ or his unmarried sister who is near to him, since she has no husband. ⁴ He is not to defile himself for those related to him by marriage, and so profane himself. ⁵ Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies. ⁶ They must be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. Because they present to the LORD the offerings made by fire, the food of their God, they must be holy. ⁷ A priest must not marry a woman defiled by prostitution or divorced by her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. ⁸ You are to regard him as holy, since he presents the food of your God. He shall be holy to you, because I the LORD am holy—I who set you apart. ⁹ If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by prostituting herself, she profanes her father; she must be burned in the fire. ¹⁰ The priest who is highest among his brothers, who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been ordained to wear the priestly garments, must not let his hair hang loose or tear his garments. ¹¹ He must not go near any dead body; he must not defile himself, even for his father or mother. ¹² He must not leave or desecrate the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am the LORD. ¹³ The woman he marries must be a virgin. ¹⁴ He is not to marry a widow, a divorced woman, or one defiled by prostitution. He is to marry a virgin from his own people, ¹⁵ so that he does not defile his offspring among his people, for I am the LORD who sanctifies him.” ¹⁶ Then the LORD said to Moses, ¹⁷ “Say to Aaron, ‘For the generations to come, none of your descendants who has a physical defect may approach to offer the food of his God. ¹⁸ No man who has any defect may approach—no man who is blind, lame, disfigured, or deformed; ¹⁹ no man who has a broken foot or hand, ²⁰ or who is a hunchback or dwarf, or who has an eye defect, a festering rash, scabs, or a crushed testicle. ²¹ No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall approach to present the offerings made by fire to the LORD. Since he has a defect, he is not to come near to offer the food of his God. ²² He may eat the most holy food of his God as well as the holy food, ²³ but because he has a defect, he must not go near the veil or approach the altar, so as not to desecrate My sanctuaries. For I am the LORD who sanctifies them.’” ²⁴ Moses told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.

⁶ Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become disheveled and do not tear your garments, or else you will die, and the LORD will be angry with the whole congregation. But your brothers, the whole house of Israel, may mourn on account of the fire that the LORD has ignited. ⁷ You shall not go outside the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, or you will die, for the LORD’s anointing oil is on you.” So they did as Moses instructed.

²⁸ You must not make any cuts in your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.

¹¹ He must not go near any dead body; he must not defile himself, even for his father or mother.

¹⁴ This is the law when a person dies in a tent: Everyone who enters the tent and everyone already in the tent will be unclean for seven days,

¹⁶ Anyone in the open field who touches someone who has been killed by the sword or has died of natural causes, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.

²⁵ A priest must not defile himself by going near a dead person. However, for a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, a brother, or an unmarried sister, he may do so,

¹ “Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O royal house! For this judgment is against you because you have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Tabor.

¹ “And now this decree is for you, O priests:

⁴ Then you will know that I have sent you this commandment so that My covenant with Levi may continue,” says the LORD of Hosts.

⁶ None of you are to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD.

¹³ Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope.

¹⁶ “Son of man, behold, I am about to take away the desire of your eyes with a fatal blow. But you must not mourn or weep or let your tears flow. ¹⁷ Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Put on your turban and strap your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips or eat the bread of mourners.”

⁶ Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become disheveled and do not tear your garments, or else you will die, and the LORD will be angry with the whole congregation. But your brothers, the whole house of Israel, may mourn on account of the fire that the LORD has ignited.

²⁷ You must not cut off the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard. ²⁸ You must not make any cuts in your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.

¹ You are sons of the LORD your God; do not cut yourselves or shave your foreheads on behalf of the dead,

² Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off.

¹² On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth.

⁶ “Both great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned, nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them.

³⁷ For every head is shaved and every beard is clipped; on every hand is a gash, and around every waist is sackcloth.

²⁰ They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but must carefully trim their hair.

¹⁰ I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation. I will cause everyone to wear sackcloth and every head to be shaved. I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, and its outcome like a bitter day.

¹⁶ Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair in mourning for your precious children; make yourselves as bald as an eagle, for they will go from you into exile.

³⁶ You are to make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: HOLY TO THE LORD.

⁴⁴ So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and I will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve Me as priests.

¹¹ Then the priest is to burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire to the LORD.

³ Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said: ‘To those who come near Me I will show My holiness, and in the sight of all the people I will reveal My glory.’” But Aaron remained silent.

²¹ You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.

¹² You must not swear falsely by My name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.

⁸ You are to regard him as holy, since he presents the food of your God. He shall be holy to you, because I the LORD am holy—I who set you apart.

²⁸ Then I told them, “You are holy to the LORD, and these articles are holy. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the LORD, the God of your fathers.

¹¹ Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing; come out from it, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD.

⁷ In addition to all your other abominations, you brought in foreigners uncircumcised in both heart and flesh to occupy My sanctuary; you defiled My temple when you offered My food—the fat and the blood; you broke My covenant.

⁶ “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me?” says the LORD of Hosts to you priests who despise My name. “But you ask, ‘How have we despised Your name?’ ⁷ By presenting defiled food on My altar. But you ask, ‘How have we defiled You?’ By saying that the table of the LORD is contemptible.

¹¹ For My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name, because My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of Hosts. ¹² “But you profane it when you say, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is contemptible.’

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

¹³ The woman he marries must be a virgin. ¹⁴ He is not to marry a widow, a divorced woman, or one defiled by prostitution. He is to marry a virgin from his own people,

¹ If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds some indecency in her, he may write her a certificate of divorce, hand it to her, and send her away from his house. ² If, after leaving his house, she goes and becomes another man’s wife, ³ and the second man hates her, writes her a certificate of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house, or if he dies, ⁴ then the husband who divorced her first may not remarry her after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination to the LORD. You must not bring sin upon the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

¹ This is what the LORD says: “Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which I sent her away? Or to which of My creditors did I sell you? Look, you were sold for your iniquities, and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.

²² And they shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but must marry a virgin of the descendants of the house of Israel, or a widow of a priest.

¹¹ In the same way, the women must be dignified, not slanderers, but temperate and faithful in all things.

¹⁰ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes

¹⁴ When Moses came down from the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes.

⁴¹ After you put these garments on your brother Aaron and his sons, anoint them, ordain them, and consecrate them so that they may serve Me as priests.

¹ “Now this is what you are to do to consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve Me as priests: Take a young bull and two rams without blemish,

⁴³ I will also meet with the Israelites there, and that place will be consecrated by My glory. ⁴⁴ So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and I will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve Me as priests.

⁴⁴ For I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any creature that crawls along the ground. ⁴⁵ For I am the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt so that I would be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.

² “Speak to the whole congregation of Israel and tell them: Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.

⁷ Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am the LORD your God. ⁸ And you shall keep My statutes and practice them. I am the LORD who sanctifies you.

⁶ They must be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. Because they present to the LORD the offerings made by fire, the food of their God, they must be holy.

³⁶ then what about the One whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world? How then can you accuse Me of blasphemy for stating that I am the Son of God?

¹⁹ For them I sanctify Myself, so that they too may be sanctified by the truth.

²⁶ Such a high priest truly befits us—One who is holy, innocent, undefiled, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

²⁹ How much more severely do you think one deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the Spirit of grace?

²⁴ About three months later, Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has prostituted herself, and now she is pregnant.” “Bring her out!” Judah replied. “Let her be burned to death!”

²⁹ You must not defile your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will be prostituted and filled with depravity.

¹⁴ If a man marries both a woman and her mother, it is depraved. Both he and they must be burned in the fire, so that there will be no depravity among you.

¹⁵ The one who is caught with the things devoted to destruction must be burned, along with all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD and committed an outrage in Israel.’”

²⁵ “Why have you brought this trouble upon us?” said Joshua. “Today the LORD will bring trouble upon you!” And all Israel stoned him to death. Then they stoned the others and burned their bodies.

¹⁷ Thus the sin of these young men was severe in the sight of the LORD, for they were treating the LORD’s offering with contempt.

³⁴ And this sign shall come to you concerning your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: They will both die on the same day.

¹³ I told him that I would judge his house forever for the iniquity of which he knows, because his sons blasphemed God and he did not restrain them. ¹⁴ Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli, ‘The iniquity of Eli’s house shall never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’”

¹⁴ The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling grips the ungodly: “Who of us can dwell with a consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting flames?”

⁶ Slaughter the old men, the young men and maidens, the women and children; but do not go near anyone who has the mark. Now begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple.

³ Behold, I will rebuke your descendants, and I will spread dung on your faces, the waste from your feasts, and you will be carried off with it.

²⁰ Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. ²¹ “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²² But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. ²³ And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. ²⁴ But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

⁴ An overseer must manage his own household well and keep his children under control, with complete dignity. ⁵ For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he care for the church of God?

⁶ An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, having children who are believers and who are not open to accusation of indiscretion or insubordination.

³⁴ Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days.

² Make holy garments for your brother Aaron, to give him glory and splendor. ³ You are to instruct all the skilled craftsmen, whom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom, to make garments for Aaron’s consecration, so that he may serve Me as priest. ⁴ These are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. They are to make these holy garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so that they may serve Me as priests.

²⁹ The holy garments that belong to Aaron will belong to his sons after him, so they can be anointed and ordained in them. ³⁰ The son who succeeds him as priest and enters the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place must wear them for seven days.

⁷ He put the tunic on Aaron, tied the sash around him, clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him. He tied the woven band of the ephod around him and fastened it to him. ⁸ Then he put the breastpiece on him and placed the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece. ⁹ Moses also put the turban on Aaron’s head and set the gold plate, the holy diadem, on the front of the turban, as the LORD had commanded him.

¹² He also poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him.

⁴⁵ A diseased person must wear torn clothes and let his hair hang loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’

³² The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest shall make atonement. He will put on the sacred linen garments

²⁵ The assembly is to protect the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood. Then the assembly will return him to the city of refuge to which he fled, and he must live there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

³⁰ But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went up. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. And all the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went.

¹² Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief.

²⁰ Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped,

² It is like fine oil on the head, running down on the beard, running down Aaron’s beard over the collar of his robes.

⁶⁵ At this, the high priest tore his clothes and declared, “He has blasphemed! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.

¹ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron’s sons, the priests, and tell them that a priest is not to defile himself for a dead person among his people, ² except for his immediate family—his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother,

⁷ Even if his father or mother or brother or sister should die, he is not to defile himself, because the crown of consecration to his God is upon his head.

⁹ He said of his father and mother, ‘I do not consider them.’ He disregarded his brothers and did not know his own sons, for he kept Your word and maintained Your covenant.

²¹ Another of His disciples requested, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” ²² But Jesus told him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

⁴⁶ While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, His mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to Him. ⁴⁷ Someone told Him, “Look, Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to You.” ⁴⁸ But Jesus replied, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” ⁴⁹ Pointing to His disciples, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers. ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

⁵⁹ Then He said to another man, “Follow Me.” The man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ But Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You, however, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

²⁶ “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple.

¹⁶ So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

⁶ Put the turban on his head and attach the holy diadem to the turban. ⁷ Then take the anointing oil and anoint him by pouring it on his head.

⁹ Moses also put the turban on Aaron’s head and set the gold plate, the holy diadem, on the front of the turban, as the LORD had commanded him. ¹⁰ Next, Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it; and so he consecrated them. ¹¹ He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times, anointing the altar and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand, to consecrate them. ¹² He also poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him.

³⁰ Next, Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his garments, and on his sons and their garments. So he consecrated Aaron and his garments, as well as Aaron’s sons and their garments.

⁷ You shall not go outside the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, or you will die, for the LORD’s anointing oil is on you.” So they did as Moses instructed.

¹ The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,

³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.

⁷ A priest must not marry a woman defiled by prostitution or divorced by her husband, for the priest is holy to his God.

² I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For I promised you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

⁴ These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been redeemed from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.

¹⁹ For I have chosen him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, in order that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has promised.”

⁶² These men searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.

² Indeed, the Israelites have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed has been mixed with the people of the land. And the leaders and officials have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness!”

²³ In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. ²⁴ Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or of the other peoples, but could not speak the language of Judah. ²⁵ I rebuked them and called down curses on them. I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath before God and said, “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves! ²⁶ Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations, and he was loved by his God, who made him king over all Israel—yet foreign women drew him into sin. ²⁷ Must we now hear that you too are doing all this terrible evil and acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?” ²⁸ Even one of the sons of Jehoiada son of Eliashib the high priest had become a son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I drove him away from me. ²⁹ Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.

¹¹ Judah has broken faith; an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the LORD’s beloved sanctuary by marrying the daughter of a foreign god.

¹⁵ Has not the LORD made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.

¹⁶ If the first part of the dough is holy, so is the whole batch; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

¹⁴ For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his believing wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

¹⁶ Then the priest is to burn the food on the altar as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma. All the fat is the LORD’s.

²¹ No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall approach to present the offerings made by fire to the LORD. Since he has a defect, he is not to come near to offer the food of his God.

²⁰ You must not present anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf. ²¹ When a man presents a peace offering to the LORD from the herd or flock to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without blemish or defect to be acceptable. ²² You are not to present to the LORD any animal that is blind, injured, or maimed, or anything with a running sore, a festering rash, or a scab; you must not put any of these on the altar as an offering made by fire to the LORD. ²³ You may present as a freewill offering an ox or sheep that has a deformed or stunted limb, but it is not acceptable in fulfillment of a vow. ²⁴ You are not to present to the LORD an animal whose testicles are bruised, crushed, torn, or cut; you are not to sacrifice them in your land. ²⁵ Neither you nor a foreigner shall present food to your God from any such animal. They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and flawed.’”

⁵ Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will reveal who belongs to Him and who is holy, and He will bring that person near to Himself. The one He chooses, He will bring near to Himself.

⁴ Blessed is the one You choose and bring near to dwell in Your courts! We are filled with the goodness of Your house, the holiness of Your temple.

¹⁰ You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless our conduct was among you who believed.

² An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

¹⁹ must offer an unblemished male from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for it to be accepted on your behalf.

¹⁰ Israel’s watchmen are blind, they are all oblivious; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they are dreamers lying around, loving to slumber.

¹⁶ Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ ¹⁷ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred?

¹⁹ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes it sacred?

² An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, ³ not dependent on wine, not violent but gentle, peaceable, and free of the love of money.

⁷ Furthermore, he must have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the snare of the devil.

⁷ As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach—not self-absorbed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money.

¹⁰ For many are rebellious and full of empty talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision,

¹ No man with crushed or severed genitals may enter the assembly of the LORD.

³ Let no foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, “The LORD will utterly exclude me from His people.” And let the eunuch not say, “I am but a dry tree.”

¹⁷ “Say to Aaron, ‘For the generations to come, none of your descendants who has a physical defect may approach to offer the food of his God.

³ The remainder of the grain offering shall belong to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the LORD.

¹⁰ But the remainder of the grain offering shall belong to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the LORD.

¹⁶ Aaron and his sons are to eat the remainder. It must be eaten without leaven in a holy place; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. ¹⁷ It must not be baked with leaven; I have assigned it as their portion of My offerings made by fire. It is most holy, like the sin offering and the guilt offering.

²⁹ Any male among the priests may eat it; it is most holy.

¹ “Now this is the law of the guilt offering, which is most holy:

¹⁰ No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired hand eat it. ¹¹ But if a priest buys a slave with his own money, or if a slave is born in his household, that slave may eat his food. ¹² If the priest’s daughter is married to a man other than a priest, she is not to eat of the sacred contributions. ¹³ But if a priest’s daughter with no children becomes widowed or divorced and returns to her father’s house, she may share her father’s food as in her youth. But no outsider may share it.

⁸ Every Sabbath day the bread is to be set out before the LORD on behalf of the Israelites as a permanent covenant. ⁹ It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place; for it is to him a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the LORD—his portion forever.”

⁹ A portion of the most holy offerings reserved from the fire will be yours. From all the offerings they render to Me as most holy offerings, whether grain offerings or sin offerings or guilt offerings, that part belongs to you and your sons. ¹⁰ You are to eat it as a most holy offering, and every male may eat it. You shall regard it as holy.

¹⁹ All the holy offerings that the Israelites present to the LORD I give to you and to your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. It is a permanent covenant of salt before the LORD for you and your offspring.”

¹³ Do you not know that those who work in the temple eat of its food, and those who serve at the altar partake of its offerings?

⁶ Place the altar in front of the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony—before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony—where I will meet with you. ⁷ And Aaron is to burn fragrant incense on it every morning when he tends the lamps. ⁸ When Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he must burn the incense perpetually before the LORD for the generations to come.

²⁶ Moses placed the gold altar in the Tent of Meeting, in front of the veil, ²⁷ and he burned fragrant incense on it, just as the LORD had commanded him.

³¹ You must keep the children of Israel separate from their uncleanness, so that they do not die by defiling My tabernacle, which is among them.

¹² He must not leave or desecrate the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am the LORD.

⁹ This is what the Lord GOD says: No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and flesh may enter My sanctuary—not even a foreigner who lives among the Israelites. ¹⁰ Surely the Levites who wandered away from Me when Israel went astray, and who wandered away from Me after their idols, will bear the consequences of their iniquity. ¹¹ Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, having charge of the gates of the temple and ministering there. They shall slaughter the burnt offerings and other sacrifices for the people and stand before them to minister to them. ¹² Because they ministered before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I swore with an uplifted hand concerning them that they would bear the consequences of their iniquity, declares the Lord GOD. ¹³ They must not approach Me to serve Me as priests or come near any of My holy things or the most holy things. They will bear the shame of the abominations they have committed. ¹⁴ Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of all the work for the temple and everything to be done in it.

¹ “And now this decree is for you, O priests: ² If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to honor My name,” says the LORD of Hosts, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already begun to curse them, because you are not taking it to heart. ³ Behold, I will rebuke your descendants, and I will spread dung on your faces, the waste from your feasts, and you will be carried off with it. ⁴ Then you will know that I have sent you this commandment so that My covenant with Levi may continue,” says the LORD of Hosts. ⁵ “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, which I gave to him; it called for reverence, and he revered Me and stood in awe of My name. ⁶ True instruction was in his mouth, and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. ⁷ For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts.

¹⁷ Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”

¹⁸ Timothy, my child, I entrust you with this command in keeping with the previous prophecies about you, so that by them you may fight the good fight,

² And the things that you have heard me say among many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be qualified to teach others as well.