Study Desk

'A widow, or a divorced woman, or one who is profaned by prostitution, these he shall not take; but rather he is to marry a virgin of his own people,

"Speak to Aaron, saying, 'None of your descendants throughout their generations who has an impairment shall approach to offer the food of his God.

'For no one who has an impairment shall approach: a man who is blind, or one who limps, or one who has a slit nose, or one with any conspicuous feature,

'No man among the descendants of Aaron the priest who has an impairment is to come forward to offer the LORD'S offerings by fire; since he has an impairment, he shall not come forward to offer the food of his God.

only he shall not come up to the veil or approach the altar, since he has an impairment, so that he does not profane My sanctuaries. For I am the LORD who sanctifies them.'"

"Say to them, 'Any man among all your descendants throughout your generations who approaches the holy gifts which the sons of Israel consecrate to the LORD, while he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from My presence; I am the LORD.

a person who touches any such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat of the holy gifts unless he has bathed his body in water.

'He shall not eat an animal which dies or is torn by animals, becoming unclean by it; I am the LORD.

'They shall therefore perform their duty to Me, so that they do not bear sin because of it and die by it because they profane it; I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

'No layman, however, is to eat the holy gift; a foreign resident with the priest or a hired worker shall not eat the holy gift.

'If a priest's daughter is married to a layman, she shall not eat of the offering of the holy gifts.

'But if a priest's daughter becomes a widow or divorced, and has no child and returns to her father's house as in her youth, she may eat of her father's food; but no layman shall eat of it.

'If, however, someone eats a holy food unintentionally, then he shall add to it a fifth of it and shall give the holy food to the priest.

'And they shall not profane the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, which they offer to the LORD,

'Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it will not be accepted for you.

'When someone offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD to fulfill a special vow or for a voluntary offering, of the herd or of the flock, it must be without defect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it.

'Those that are blind, fractured, maimed, or have a wart, a festering rash, or scabs, you shall not offer to the LORD, nor make of them an offering by fire on the altar to the LORD.

'Also anything with its testicles squashed, crushed, torn off, or cut off, you shall not offer to the LORD, nor sacrifice in your land,

nor shall you offer any of these animals taken from the hand of a foreigner as the food of your God; for their deformity is in them, they have an impairment. They will not be accepted for you.'"

"When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall remain seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day on it will be considered acceptable as a sacrifice of an offering by fire to the LORD.