Leviticus 22:6-16

6 Anyone who touches those things will become unclean until evening. That person must not eat the holy offerings unless he washes with water.
7 He will be clean only after the sun goes down. Then he may eat the holy offerings; the offerings are his food.
8 "'If a priest finds an animal that died by itself or that was killed by some other animal, he must not eat it. If he does, he will become unclean. I am the Lord.
9 "'If the priests keep all the rules I have given, they will not become guilty; if they are careful, they will not die. I am the Lord who has made them holy.
10 Only people in a priest's family may eat the holy offering. A visitor staying with the priest or a hired worker must not eat it.
11 But if the priest buys a slave with his own money, that slave may eat the holy offerings; slaves who were born in his house may also eat his food.
12 If a priest's daughter marries a person who is not a priest, she must not eat any of the holy offerings.
13 But if the priest's daughter becomes widowed or divorced, with no children to support her, and if she goes back to her father's house where she lived as a child, she may eat some of her father's food. But only people from a priest's family may eat this food.
14 "'If someone eats some of the holy offering by mistake, that person must pay back the priest for that holy food, adding another one-fifth of the price of that food.
15 "'When the Israelites give their holy offerings to the Lord, the priest must not treat these holy things as though they were not holy.
16 The priests must not allow those who are not priests to eat the holy offerings. If they do, they cause the ones who eat the holy offerings to become guilty, and they will have to pay for it. I am the Lord, who makes them holy.'"

Leviticus 22:6-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 22

In this chapter several laws are delivered out, forbidding the priests to eat of holy things, when in any uncleanness, or at any time what dies of itself, or is torn of beasts, Le 22:1-9; also showing who belonging to the priests might or might not eat of the holy things, Le 22:10-16; and others requiring that whatever offerings were brought by the children, of Israel, they should be perfect and without blemish, Le 22:17-25; and also declaring what age a creature should be of when sacrificed, and the time when thank offerings were to be eaten, Le 22:26-30; concluding with an exhortation to observe the commands of God, and sanctify him, and not profane his name, Le 22:31-33.

Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.