Study Desk

You are therefore to distinguish between clean and unclean animals and birds. Do not become contaminated by any animal or bird, or by anything that crawls on the ground; I have set these apart as unclean for you.

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Speak to Aaron's sons, the priests, and tell them: 'A priest is not to defile himself for a dead person among his people,

except for his immediate family-his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother,

He is not to defile himself for those related to him by marriage, and so profane himself.

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.

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

He must not go near any dead body or make himself unclean, even for his father or mother.

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.

so that he does not defile his offspring among his people, for I am the LORD who sanctifies him.'"

"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.

but because he has a defect, he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar, so as not to desecrate My sanctuaries. For I am the LORD who sanctifies them.'"

Say to them: 'For the generations to come, if any of your descendants in a state of uncleanness approaches the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the LORD, that person must be cut off from My presence. I am the LORD.

When the sun has set, he will become clean, and then he may eat from the sacred offerings, for they are his food.

by allowing the people to eat the sacred offerings and thus to bear the punishment for guilt. For I am the LORD who sanctifies them.'"

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

"When an ox, a sheep, or a goat is born, it must remain with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as an offering to the LORD made by fire.

For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is to be a Sabbath of complete rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD.

On the fifteenth day of the same month begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread.

For seven days you are to present an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the seventh day there shall be a sacred assembly; you must not do any ordinary work.'"

You must not eat any bread or roasted or new grain until the very day you have brought this offering to your God. This is to be a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live.