For whatsoever man he 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,
Parallel translations
- WEB For whatever man he is that has a defect, he shall not draw near: a blind man, or a lame, or he who has a flat nose, or any deformity,
- BSB No man who has any defect may approach—no man who is blind, lame, disfigured, or deformed;
- NKJV For any man who has a defect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb too long,
- NASB For no one who has an impairment shall approach: a man who is blind, or one who limps, or one who has a slit nose, or one with any conspicuous feature,
- NLT No one who has a defect qualifies, whether he is blind, lame, disfigured, deformed,
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
Priests who are blind, lame, disfigured, or deformed may not draw near to offer. Visible imperfection disqualified one from this symbolic ministry.
Overview
The list of defects illustrates the principle of wholeness required for those approaching the altar. These were ritual, not moral, disqualifications, and did not diminish the man's standing in the community or his share in holy things. The requirement foreshadows the truly perfect Mediator, in whom there is no flaw, who brings the imperfect near to God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Tim 3:2–3A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
- Lev 22:19–25Ye shall offer at your own will a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats.
- Isa 56:10His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
- Matt 23:19Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
- Titus 1:10For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:
- Titus 1:7For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
- Matt 23:16–17Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
- 1 Tim 3:7Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
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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 21:18 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.