Leviticus 21:5-15

5 1They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body.
6 They shall be holy to their God and 2not profane the name of their God. For they offer the LORD's food offerings, 3the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy.
7 4They shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled, neither shall they marry a woman 5divorced from her husband, for the priest is holy to his God.
8 You shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for 6I, the LORD, who sanctify you, 7am holy.
9 And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by whoring, profanes her father; 8she shall be burned with fire.
10 9"The priest who is chief among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured and who has been consecrated to wear the garments, 10shall not let the hair of his head hang loose nor tear his clothes.
11 He shall not 11go in to any dead bodies nor make himself unclean, even for his father or for his mother.
12 12He shall not go out of the sanctuary, lest he 13profane the sanctuary of his God, for the 14consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him: I am the LORD.
13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity.[a]
14 A widow, 15or a divorced woman, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute, these he shall not marry. But he shall take as his wife a virgin[b] of his own people,
15 that he may not profane his offspring among his people, for 16I am the LORD who sanctifies him."

Leviticus 21:5-15 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 21

This chapter respects the priests, the sons of Aaron, and forbids their mourning for the dead, unless in some cases, Le 21:1-6; or their marriage with an whore or a divorced woman, Le 21:7,8; and the daughters of any of them to commit fornication, which is made punishable with death, Le 21:9; and it contains particular laws for the high priest to observe, who was not to mourn for any, even for his parents, Le 21:10,11; nor to go out of the sanctuary, Le 21:12; nor to marry any woman but a virgin, Le 21:13-15; and it also directs, that none of the priests having any blemish in them should be employed in divine service, though they might eat of the holy things, Le 21:16-24.

Cross References 16

  • 1. Ezekiel 44:20; [Leviticus 19:27, 28; Deuteronomy 14:1]
  • 2. See Leviticus 18:21
  • 3. See Leviticus 3:11
  • 4. ver. 13, 14; Ezekiel 44:22
  • 5. See Deuteronomy 24:1-4
  • 6. Leviticus 22:9, 16
  • 7. See Leviticus 11:44
  • 8. [Genesis 38:24]
  • 9. Leviticus 8:12; Leviticus 16:32; Exodus 29:29, 30; Numbers 35:25
  • 10. Leviticus 10:6
  • 11. Numbers 19:14; [ver. 1, 2]
  • 12. Leviticus 10:7
  • 13. ver. 23
  • 14. [Leviticus 8:9, 12, 30]
  • 15. ver. 7; Ezekiel 44:22
  • 16. [See ver. 8 above]

Footnotes 2

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.