Lectionary Calendar
Friday, July 18th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
Attention!
Take your personal ministry to the Next Level by helping StudyLight build churches and supporting pastors in Uganda.
Click here to join the effort!

Read the Bible

New Living Translation

Leviticus 21:6

They must be set apart as holy to their God and must never bring shame on the name of God. They must be holy, for they are the ones who present the special gifts to the Lord , gifts of food for their God.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Bread;   God;   Minister, Christian;   Mourning;   Priest;   Sanctification;   Uncleanness;   Thompson Chain Reference - Leaders;   Priests;   Religious;   The Topic Concordance - Priests;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Defilement;   High Priest, the;   Holiness;   Ministers;   Priests;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Mourning;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Holiness;   Priest;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - God, Names of;   Oil;   Priest, Christ as;   Worship;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Leviticus;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Canon of the Old Testament;   Congregation, Assembly;   Crimes and Punishments;   Deuteronomy;   Hexateuch;   Holiness;   Law;   Leviticus;   Priests and Levites;   Salt;   Sanctification, Sanctify;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Priesthood, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Law in the Old Testament;   Leviticus;   Pollution;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Breastplate of the High Priest;   Holiness;   Priest;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God; for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.
King James Version
They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.
Lexham English Bible
They shall be holy to their God, and they shall not profane the name of their God, because they are bringing near the offerings made by fire to Yahweh—their God's food—and they shall be holy.
New Century Version
They must be holy to their God and show respect for God's name, because they present the offerings made by fire to the Lord , which is the food of their God. So they must be holy.
New English Translation
"‘They must be holy to their God, and they must not profane the name of their God, because they are the ones who present the Lord 's gifts, the food of their God. Therefore they must be holy.
Amplified Bible
'They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God; for they present the offerings by fire to the LORD, the food of their God; so they shall be holy.
New American Standard Bible
'They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, because they present the offerings by fire to the LORD, the food of their God; so they shall be holy.
Geneva Bible (1587)
They shalbe holy vnto their God, and not pollute the name of their God: for the sacrifices of the Lorde made by fire, and the bread of their God they doe offer: therefore they shalbe holie.
Legacy Standard Bible
They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they bring near the offerings to Yahweh by fire, the food of their God; so they shall be holy.
Contemporary English Version
I am the Lord your God, and I have chosen you alone to offer sacrifices of food to me on the altar. That's why you must keep yourselves holy.
Complete Jewish Bible
Rather, they are to be holy for their God and not profane the name of their God. For they are the ones who present Adonai with offerings made by fire, the bread of their God; therefore they must be holy.
Darby Translation
They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God; for they present Jehovah's offerings by fire, the bread of their God; therefore shall they be holy.
Easy-to-Read Version
Priests must be holy for their God. They must show respect for God's name. They offer the bread and special gifts to the Lord , so they must be holy.
English Standard Version
They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. For they offer the Lord 's food offerings, the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy.
George Lamsa Translation
But they shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God; for the offerings of the LORD made by fire and the bread of their God they do offer; therefore they shall be holy.
Good News Translation
He must be holy and must not disgrace my name. He offers food offerings to me, and he must be holy.
Christian Standard Bible®
They are to be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. For they present the fire offerings to the Lord, the food of their God, and they must be holy.
Literal Translation
they are holy to their God, and they shall not pollute the name of their God. For they offer the fire offerings of Jehovah, bread of their God, and they are holy.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
They shalbe holy vnto their God, and not vnhalowe ye name of their God: for they offre the sacrifice of the LORDE, the bred of their God, therfore shal they be holy.
American Standard Version
They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God; for the offerings of Jehovah made by fire, the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.
Bible in Basic English
Let them be holy to their God and not make the name of their God common; for the fire offerings of the Lord and the bread of their God are offered by them, and they are to be holy.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
They shalbe holy vnto their God, and not pollute the name of their God, for the sacrifices of the Lorde made by fire, [and] the bread of their God they do offer, therfore they shall be holy.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God; for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the bread of their God, they do offer; therefore they shall be holy.
King James Version (1611)
They shalbe holy vnto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offrings of the Lord made by fire, and the bread of their God they doe offer: therefore they shall be holy.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
They shall be holy to their God, and they shall not profane the name of their God; for they offer the sacrifices of the Lord as the gifts of their God, and they shall be holy.
English Revised Version
They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.
Berean Standard Bible
They must be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. For they present the offerings made by fire to the LORD, the food of their God. So they must be holy.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and thei schulen not defoule his name; for thei offren encense of the Lord, and the looues of her God, and therfore thei schulen be hooli.
Young's Literal Translation
they are holy to their God, and they pollute not the name of their God, for the fire-offerings of Jehovah, bread of their God, they are bringing near, and have been holy.
Update Bible Version
They shall be [in a state of] holiness to their God, and not profane the name of their God; for the offerings of Yahweh made by fire, the bread of their God, they offer: therefore they shall be holy.
Webster's Bible Translation
They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, [and] the bread of their God they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.
World English Bible
They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God; for the offerings of Yahweh made by fire, the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.
New King James Version
They 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, and the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy.
New Life Bible
They should be holy to their God and not put the name of their God to shame. For they give the gifts by fire to the Lord, the bread of their God. So they must be holy.
New Revised Standard
They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God; for they offer the Lord 's offerings by fire, the food of their God; therefore they shall be holy.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Holy persons, shall they be unto their God, and not profane the name of their God, - for, the altar-flames of Yahweh, the food of their God, do they bring near - Therefore shall they be holy.
Douay-Rheims Bible
They shall be holy to their God, and shall not profane his name. For they offer the burnt offering of the Lord, and the bread of their God: and therefore they shall be holy.
Revised Standard Version
They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God; for they offer the offerings by fire to the LORD, the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
'They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they present the offerings by fire to the LORD, the food of their God; so they shall be holy.

Contextual Overview

1 The Lord said to Moses, "Give the following instructions to the priests, the descendants of Aaron. "A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean by touching the dead body of a relative. 2 The only exceptions are his closest relatives—his mother or father, son or daughter, brother, 3 or his virgin sister who depends on him because she has no husband. 4 But a priest must not defile himself and make himself unclean for someone who is related to him only by marriage. 5 "The priests must not shave their heads or trim their beards or cut their bodies. 6 They must be set apart as holy to their God and must never bring shame on the name of God. They must be holy, for they are the ones who present the special gifts to the Lord , gifts of food for their God. 7 "Priests may not marry a woman defiled by prostitution, and they may not marry a woman who is divorced from her husband, for the priests are set apart as holy to their God. 8 You must treat them as holy because they offer up food to your God. You must consider them holy because I, the Lord , am holy, and I make you holy. 9 "If a priest's daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she also defiles her father's holiness, and she must be burned to death.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

holy: Leviticus 21:8, Leviticus 10:3, Exodus 28:36, Exodus 29:44, Ezra 8:28, 1 Peter 2:9

profane: Leviticus 18:21, Leviticus 19:12, Malachi 1:6, Malachi 1:11, Malachi 1:12

bread: Leviticus 3:11, Ezekiel 44:7, Malachi 1:7

therefore: Isaiah 52:11

Reciprocal: Leviticus 21:21 - to offer Leviticus 22:2 - that they profane not Leviticus 22:25 - the bread Numbers 16:5 - who is holy Numbers 28:2 - my bread Psalms 106:16 - the saint Hosea 9:4 - their bread

Cross-References

Genesis 17:17
Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. "How could I become a father at the age of 100?" he thought. "And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?"
Genesis 21:12
But God told Abraham, "Do not be upset over the boy and your servant. Do whatever Sarah tells you, for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.
Genesis 21:15
When the water was gone, she put the boy in the shade of a bush.
Genesis 21:21
and he settled in the wilderness of Paran. His mother arranged for him to marry a woman from the land of Egypt.
Genesis 21:22
About this time, Abimelech came with Phicol, his army commander, to visit Abraham. "God is obviously with you, helping you in everything you do," Abimelech said.
Genesis 21:27
Abraham then gave some of his sheep, goats, and cattle to Abimelech, and they made a treaty.
Genesis 21:28
But Abraham also took seven additional female lambs and set them off by themselves.
Psalms 113:9
He gives the childless woman a family, making her a happy mother. Praise the Lord !
Psalms 126:2
We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy. And the other nations said, "What amazing things the Lord has done for them."
Isaiah 49:15
"Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!

Gill's Notes on the Bible

They shall be holy unto their God,.... Sacred to his service, and wholly given up to it, and not interest themselves in things which hindered from it, or made them unfit for it; and such care becomes the ministers of the word, who should give up themselves to it, and not entangle themselves with other affairs; they should be clean, pure, and holy, that bear the vessels of the Lord, and minister in holy things, and should set an example of purity and holiness to others:

and not profane the name of their God; or cause it to be profaned and evil spoken of on their account, or his service to be interrupted, and they who bore his name put upon a level with common persons through their pollutions:

for the offerings of the Lord made by fire; the burnt offerings, which were offered up to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering every day, besides others on divers occasions:

[and] the bread of their God do they offer; the shewbread, which they set every week before the Lord on the shewbread table, and the meat or bread offering, the "minchah", which they continually offered along with the sacrifices: or the word "and", being a supplement, may be left out; and so this clause is put by way of apposition, and as interpreting the fire offering to be the bread of their God, which being wholly burnt on the altar, and devoted to God, was his meat and food, and accepted by him, see Leviticus 3:11;

therefore they shall be holy; separate from all others, and abstain from all impurity both of flesh and spirit, from all uncleanness, moral and ceremonial; it being highly fit and proper that the bread of God should be offered by holy persons.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The word here and in Leviticus 21:8 rendered “bread”, is the same as is rendered food in Leviticus 3:11, Leviticus 3:16, etc., and meat in Leviticus 22:11. The reader of the English Bible should keep in view that bread, meat, and food, were nearly equivalent terms when our translation was made, and represent no distinctions that exist in the Hebrew.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile