A widow, or a divorced woman, or one who is profaned by prostitution, these he shall not take; but rather he is to marry a virgin of his own people,
Parallel translations
- WEB A widow, or one divorced, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute, these he shall not marry: but a virgin of his own people shall he take as a wife.
- KJV A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife.
- BSB He is not to marry a widow, a divorced woman, or one defiled by prostitution. He is to marry a virgin from his own people,
- NKJV A widow or a divorced woman or a defiled woman or a harlot—these he shall not marry; but he shall take a virgin of his own people as wife.
- NLT He may not marry a widow, a woman who is divorced, or a woman who has defiled herself by prostitution. She must be a virgin from his own clan,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The high priest must not marry a widow, divorcee, defiled woman, or prostitute, but only a virgin of his own people. His consecration shaped even his choice of wife.
Overview
These restrictions, stricter than those for ordinary priests (v. 7), preserved the unblemished holiness of the high priest's household. His marriage was to embody the purity of the office he bore. The high standard again points beyond itself to Christ and the spotless people He redeems and joins to Himself.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Lev 21:7“‘They shall not marry a woman who is a prostitute, or profane. They shall not marry a woman divorced from her husband; for he is holy to his God.
- Ezek 44:22Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her who is put away; but they shall take virgins of the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest.
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Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 21:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.