Leviticus 21:1-22:16

Wycliffe Bible

21 And the Lord said to Moses, Speak thou to [the] priests, the sons of Aaron, and thou shalt say to them, A priest be not defouled in the dead men of his citizens (A priest shall not be defiled with the dead among his fellow citizens),

² no but only in his kinsmen, and nigh of blood, that is, on father, and mother, and son, and daughter, and brother, (only with his own relatives, and next of kin, that is, with his father, and mother, and son, and daughter, and brother,)

³ and sister, (who is) a virgin, that is not wedded to man;

⁴ but neither he shall be defouled in the prince of his people. (but he shall not be defiled even with the ruler of his people.)

⁵ Priests shall not shave their head, neither beard, neither they shall make (any) carvings in their fleshes;

⁶ they shall be holy to their God, and they shall not defoul his name; for they offer incense of the Lord, and the loaves of their God, and therefore they shall be holy. (they shall be holy to their God, and they shall not defile his name; for they offer incense to the Lord, and the loaves to their God, and so they shall be holy.)

⁷ A priest shall not wed (for) a wife a corrupt woman, and a foul whore, neither he shall wed her that is forsaken of the husband, for he is hallowed to his God, (A priest shall not wed for a wife any corrupt woman, or a foul whore, nor shall he wed she who is forsaken by her husband, for he is holy to his God,)

⁸ and offereth the loaves of setting forth; therefore be he holy, for I am the holy Lord that halloweth you. (and offereth the loaves of proposition; and so regard him as holy, for I am holy, the Lord who maketh you holy.)

⁹ If the daughter of a priest is taken in defouling of virginity, and defouleth the name of her father, she shall be burnt in fire. (If a priest’s daughter is caught in defiling her own virginity, and so defileth her father’s name, she shall be burned in the fire.)

¹⁰ The bishop, that is the most priest among his brethren, upon whose head the oil of anointing is poured, and whose hands be (made) sacred in priesthood, and he is clothed in holy clothes, shall not discover his head, he shall not tear his clothes, (The High Priest, who is the highest priest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil was poured, who is consecrated in priesthood, and who is clothed in holy clothes, shall not uncover his head, and he shall not tear his clothes,)

¹¹ and utterly he shall not enter [in] to any dead man; and he shall not be defouled on his father, and mother (yea, he shall not even be defiled for his father, or his mother),

¹² neither he shall go out of [the] holy places, lest he defoul the saintuary of the Lord, for the oil of holy anointing of his God is on him; I am the Lord. (nor shall he go out of the holy place, lest he defile the Lord’s sanctuary, for the holiness of the anointing oil of his God is upon him; I am the Lord.)

¹³ He shall wed to wife a virgin; (He shall wed a virgin for his wife;)

¹⁴ he shall not take a widow, and a forsaken woman, and a foul woman, and (a) whore, but a virgin of his people; (he shall not wed a widow, or a forsaken woman, or a defiled woman, or a whore, but only a virgin out of his people;)

¹⁵ meddle he not the generation of his kin to the common people of his folk, for I am the Lord, that halloweth him. (and so he shall not mix together, or dishonour, any of the generation of his kin among the common people, for I am the Lord, who maketh him holy.)

¹⁶ And the Lord spake to Moses, and said,

¹⁷ Speak thou to Aaron; a man of thy seed, by families, that hath a wem, that is, a notable foulness, shall not offer bread to his God, (Say thou to Aaron, A man of thy seed, among thy families, who hath a blemish, that is, a notable foulness, shall not offer the bread, or the loaves, to his God,)

¹⁸ neither shall nigh to his service; (nor,) if he is blind; if he is crooked; if he is either of little, either of great, or wrong nose; (nor shall he come to do his service; nor, as well, if he is blind, or lame; or too small, or too big;)

¹⁹ if he is of broken foot, either hand; (if he hath a crippled, or deformed, hand or foot;)

²⁰ if he hath a botch, or a bulge, on his back; either if he is bleary-eyed; if he hath white colour, or a pearl, in his eye, that hindereth his sight; if he hath (a) continual scab; if he hath a dry scab in his body (if he hath a dry scab on his body); either if he be bruised in (the) privy members.

²¹ Each man of the seed of Aaron the priest, that hath a wem (who hath any blemish, or any fault), shall not nigh to offer sacrifices to the Lord, neither to offer loaves to his God;

²² nevertheless he shall (still) eat the loaves that be offered in the saintuary,

²³ so only that he enter not within the veil; he shall not nigh to the altar, for he hath a wem, and he shall not defoul my saintuary; I am the Lord, that hallow them. (so only that he not come within the Veil; he shall not approach the altar, for he hath a blemish, or a fault, and he shall not defile my sanctuary; I am the Lord who maketh them holy.)

²⁴ Therefore Moses spake to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all Israel, all things that were commanded to him.

22 And the Lord spake to Moses, and said,

² Speak thou to Aaron and to his sons, that they beware of these things of the sons of Israel, which things be hallowed, or offered; and that they defoul not the name of the things hallowed to me, which they offer; I am the Lord. (Say thou to Aaron and to his sons, that they must treat with respect those things which the Israelites offer, or dedicate, to me, so that they do not defile my holy name; I am the Lord.)

³ Say thou to them, and to the after-comers of them, Each man of your kindred, that nigheth to those things that be hallowed, and which things the sons of Israel offered to the Lord, in whom is uncleanness, he shall perish before the Lord; I am the Lord. (Say thou to them, and to their after-comers, Anyone of your kindred, who is unclean, but still cometh near those things that be dedicated, yea, which things the Israelites have offered to the Lord, he shall never again be allowed to come before the Lord; I am the Lord.)

⁴ A man of the seed of Aaron that is leprous, either suffereth (the) flowing out of seed, shall not eat of these things, that be hallowed to me, till he be healed. He that toucheth an(y) unclean thing on a dead body, and from whom the seed as of lechery goeth out (or from whom the seed of lechery goeth out),

⁵ and that toucheth a creeping beast, and whatever unclean thing, whose touching is foul, (or who toucheth a creeping beast, or whatever unclean thing, whose touching is foul,)

⁶ he shall be unclean till to eventide, and he shall not eat these things that be hallowed to me; but when he hath washed his flesh in water,

⁷ and the sun hath gone down, then he shall be cleansed, and shall eat hallowed things, for it is his meat. (and the sun hath gone down, then he shall be clean, and he can eat the dedicated things, or the sacred offerings, for this is his food.)

⁸ He shall not eat a thing dead by itself, and taken of a beast, neither he shall be defouled in those things; I am the Lord. (He shall not eat anything that dieth naturally, or that is killed by a beast, so that he be not defiled with those things; I am the Lord.)

⁹ They shall keep my behests, that they be not subject to sin, and die in the saintuary, when they have defouled it; I am the Lord that hallow(eth) you. (They shall obey my commands, so that they be not subject to sin, and then die in the sanctuary, when they have defiled it; I am the Lord who maketh you holy.)

¹⁰ Each alien shall not eat of things hallowed; the hind that is a stranger, and the hired man of the priest, shall not eat of those things. (No one not of the priestly family shall eat any of the dedicated things; yea, even a visitor to the priest, or his hired man, shall not eat those things.)

¹¹ Soothly these servants, that the priest hath bought, and he that is a born servant of his house, shall eat of those things. (But those slaves, whom the priest hath bought, or he who is a slave born in his house, can eat those things.)

¹² If the priest’s daughter is wedded to any man of the people, she shall not eat of these things that be hallowed, and of the first fruits (or of the first fruits);

¹³ soothly if she is a widow, either forsaken, and turneth again without free children to her father’s house, she shall be sustained by the meats of her father, as a damsel was wont (to be); each alien hath not power to eat of those things. (but if she is a widow, or forsaken, and returneth to her father’s house without any children, she shall be sustained by her father’s food, as any young woman is wont to be; but no foreigner, or stranger, can eat those things.)

¹⁴ He that eateth by ignorance of hallowed things, shall add to (it) the fifth part with that that he ate, and he shall give it to the priest in the saintuary, (He who eateth any of the dedicated things in ignorance, shall add the fifth part to what he ate, and he shall give it to the priest in the sanctuary,)

¹⁵ and they shall not defoul the hallowed things of the sons of Israel, which they offer to the Lord,

¹⁶ lest peradventure they suffer the wickedness of their trespass, when they have eaten the hallowed things; I am the Lord that hallow them.