Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron’s sons, the priests, and tell them that a priest is not to defile himself for a dead person among his people,
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, ‘A priest shall not defile himself for the dead among his people;
- KJV And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:
- NKJV And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: ‘None shall defile himself for the dead among his people,
- NASB Then the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: ‘No one shall defile himself for a dead person among his people,
- NLT The Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the priests, the descendants of Aaron. “A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean by touching the dead body of a relative.
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 priests, Aaron's sons, must not defile themselves by contact with the dead among their people. Their holy office required heightened separation from ritual impurity.
Overview
Death, the consequence of sin, brought ritual defilement, and priests who served at God's altar were held to stricter standards than ordinary Israelites. By avoiding such defilement, they preserved their fitness to mediate between God and the people. This points to Christ, our great High Priest, who is holy and undefiled (Heb. 7:26) and who conquered death itself.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ezek 44:25A priest must not defile himself by going near a dead person. However, for a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, a brother, or an unmarried sister, he may do so,
- Lev 21:11He must not go near any dead body; he must not defile himself, even for his father or mother.
- Num 19:14This is the law when a person dies in a tent: Everyone who enters the tent and everyone already in the tent will be unclean for seven days,
- Lev 19:28You must not make any cuts in your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.
- Lev 10:6–7Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become disheveled and do not tear your garments, or else you will die, and the LORD will be angry with the whole congregation. But your brothers, the whole house of Israel, may mourn on account of the fire that the LORD has ignited.
- Num 19:16Anyone in the open field who touches someone who has been killed by the sword or has died of natural causes, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.
- Mal 2:1“And now this decree is for you, O priests:
- Mal 2:4Then you will know that I have sent you this commandment so that My covenant with Levi may continue,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Hos 5:1“Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O royal house! For this judgment is against you because you have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Tabor.
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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 21:1 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
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