Leviticus 21:10-20

10 And [he that is] the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes;

11 Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;

12 Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God [is] upon him: I [am] the LORD.

13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity.

14 A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, [or] a harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people for a wife.

15 Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD do sanctify him.

16 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

17 Speak to Aaron, saying, whoever [he may be] of thy seed in their generations that hath [any] blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God:

18 For whatever man [he may be] that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous,

19 Or a man that is broken-footed, or broken-handed,

20 Or crooked-backed, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his peculiar members broken:

Leviticus 21:10-20 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.