Priests and Their Food

¹ Then¹ Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

1. Or “And”

² “Tell¹ Aaron and his sons² that³ they must deal respectfully with the ⌞Israelites⌟’⁴ votive offerings, and they must not profane my holy name, which they are consecrating to me; I am Yahweh.

1. Or “Speak to”
2. Literally “to Aaron and to his sons”
3. Or “and”
4. Literally “sons/children of Israel”

³ “Say to them, ‘Throughout your generations, any man from any of your offspring who comes near the votive offerings that the ⌞Israelites⌟¹ consecrate to Yahweh with² his uncleanness on him, that person shall be cut off³ from ⌞before me⌟;⁴ I am Yahweh.

1. Literally “sons/children of Israel”
2. Or “and”
3. Or “and that person shall be cut off”
4. Literally “to the faces of me”

⁴ “ ‘⌞Anyone⌟¹ from Aaron’s offspring, if² he is afflicted with a skin disease or a fluid discharge, shall not eat in the sanctuary ⌞until⌟³ he is clean; and the one who touches any unclean person or a man from whom an emission of semen goes out,

1. Literally “A man a man”
2. Or “and”
3. Literally “until which”

⁵ or a man who touches any swarmer that is unclean for him or who touches a person who is unclean for him ⌞due to⌟¹ whatever his uncleanness,

1. Literally “for”

⁶ a person who touches such a thing¹ shall be unclean until the evening, and he shall not eat from the votive offerings, except² when he washes³ his body with water

1. Hebrew “him” or “it”
2. Or “but if” or “but rather”
3. Or “bathes”

⁷ and ⌞the sun sets⌟,¹ and he shall be clean; then² afterward he may eat from the votive offerings, because it is his food.

1. Literally “the sun goes” or “the sun enters”
2. Or “and”

⁸ He shall not eat a naturally dead body or¹ a mangled carcass, ⌞so that he becomes unclean⌟² by it; I am Yahweh.

1. Or “and”
2. Literally “to become unclean”

⁹ “ ‘And they shall keep my obligation, and they shall not incur guilt because of it, so that¹ they die through it, because they have profaned it; I am Yahweh who consecrates them.

1. Or “and”

¹⁰ “ ‘⌞No stranger shall eat⌟¹ the votive offering; nor shall a temporary resident with² a priest or³ a hired worker eat the votive offering.

1. Literally “And any stranger shall not eat”
2. Hebrew “of”
3. Or “and”

¹¹ But¹ a priest, if with his money he buys a person as ⌞his possession⌟,² that one may eat it, and the descendants of his house themselves may eat his food.

1. Or “And”
2. Literally “property of”

¹² And a priest’s daughter, when ⌞she marries a layman⌟,¹ she herself may not eat ⌞the votive offering⌟.²

1. Literally “she becomes for a strange man”
2. Literally “the offering/lifting of the votive offering”

¹³ But¹ a priest’s daughter, when she becomes a widow or² divorced or there is no offspring for her, and she returns to her father’s house as in her childhood, she may eat from her father’s food, but³ ⌞no layman may eat it⌟.⁴

1. Or “And”
2. Or “and”
3. Or “and”
4. Literally “any stranger shall not eat it”

¹⁴ And if a man eats the votive offering unintentionally, then¹ he shall add to it a fifth of it, and he shall give the votive offering to the priest.

1. Or “and”

¹⁵ And they shall not profane the ⌞Israelites⌟’¹ votive offerings that they present to Yahweh,

1. Literally “sons/children of Israel”

¹⁶ and so cause them, by their eating their votive offerings, to bear guilt requiring a guilt offering, because I am Yahweh, who consecrates them.’ ”

Acceptable Offerings

¹⁷ Then¹ Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

1. Or “And”

¹⁸ “Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the ⌞Israelites⌟,¹ and say to them, ‘Anyone from the house of Israel or² from the alien in Israel who presents his offering for any of their vows or³ for any of their freewill offerings that they present to Yahweh as a burnt offering,

1. Literally “sons/children of Israel”
2. Or “and”
3. Or “and”

¹⁹ it must be without defect ⌞to be acceptable for you⌟:¹ a male among the cattle, among the sheep, or² among the goats.

1. Literally “for your acceptance”
2. Or “and”

²⁰ You shall not present any animal in which is a physical defect, because it shall not be ⌞acceptable⌟¹ for you.

1. Literally “for acceptance”

²¹ And if anyone brings a sacrifice of fellowship offerings for Yahweh to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from¹ the cattle or from² the flock,³ it must be without defect ⌞to be acceptable⌟;⁴ there must not be any physical defect in it.

1. Or “among”
2. Or “among”
3. The Hebrew term refers collectively to both sheep and goats (small livestock animals)
4. Literally “for acceptance”

²² The blind or the injured or the maimed or the seeping or one with a skin disorder or one with a skin eruption—these you shall not present to Yahweh, nor shall you give from them an offering made by fire on the altar for Yahweh.

²³ As for¹ an ox or sheep that is deformed or² that is stunted, you may present it as a freewill offering, but³ for a vow it will not be accepted.

1. Or “And”
2. Or “and”
3. Or “and”

²⁴ And you shall not present anything for Yahweh with bruised or¹ shattered or² torn or³ cut-off testicles, and you shall not ⌞sacrifice⌟⁴ such in your land.

1. Or “and”
2. Or “and”
3. Or “and”
4. Literally “do” or “make”

²⁵ And you shall not present your God’s food from any of these by the hand of ⌞a foreigner⌟,¹ because their deformity is in them; a physical defect is in them; they shall not be accepted for you.’ ”

1. Literally “a son of a foreign land”

²⁶ Then¹ Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

1. Or “And”

²⁷ “When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, then¹ it shall be under its mother for seven days, and from the eighth day and beyond it is acceptable as an offering made by fire for Yahweh.

1. Or “and”

²⁸ And you shall not slaughter an ox or a sheep and ⌞its young⌟¹ on ⌞the same day⌟.²

1. Literally “his son” or “his child”
2. Literally “on day one” or “in one day”

²⁹ And when you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Yahweh, you must sacrifice it to be acceptable for you.

³⁰ It must be eaten on that day; you must not leave over anything from it until morning; I am Yahweh.

³¹ “Thus¹ you shall keep my commands, and you shall do them; I am Yahweh.

1. Or “And”

³² “And you shall not profane my holy name, so that I may be consecrated in the midst of the ⌞Israelites⌟;¹ I am Yahweh, who consecrates you,

1. Literally “sons/children of Israel”

³³ the one who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be as God for you; I am Yahweh.”