Leviticus 22:4-14

4 Whatever man of the descendants of Aaron, who is a leper or has a discharge, shall not eat the holy offerings until he is clean. And whoever touches anything made unclean by a corpse, or a man who has had an emission of semen,
5 or whoever touches any creeping thing by which he would be made unclean, or any person by whom he would become unclean, whatever his uncleanness may be--
6 the person who has touched any such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat the holy offerings unless he washes his body with water.
7 And when the sun goes down he shall be clean; and afterward he may eat the holy offerings, because it is his food.
8 Whatever dies naturally or is torn by beasts he shall not eat, to defile himself with it: I am the Lord.
9 They shall therefore keep My ordinance, lest they bear sin for it and die thereby, if they profane it: I the Lord sanctify them.
10 'No outsider shall eat the holy offering; one who dwells with the priest, or a hired servant, shall not eat the holy thing.
11 But if the priest buys a person with his money, he may eat it; and one who is born in his house may eat his food.
12 If the priest's daughter is married to an outsider, she may not eat of the holy offerings.
13 But if the priest's daughter is a widow or divorced, and has no child, and has returned to her father's house as in her youth, she may eat her father's food; but no outsider shall eat it.
14 'And if a man eats the holy offering unintentionally, then he shall restore a holy offering to the priest, and add one-fifth to it.

Leviticus 22:4-14 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 King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.