He may eat the most holy food of his God as well as the holy food,
Parallel translations
- WEB He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.
- KJV He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.
- NKJV He may eat the bread of his God, both the most holy and the holy;
- NASB He may eat the food of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy,
- NLT However, he may eat from the food offered to God, including the holy offerings and the most holy offerings.
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
A priest with a defect may still eat the holy and most holy food. His exclusion from offering did not strip him of his portion or standing.
Overview
This gracious provision shows that disqualification from a particular service did not mean exclusion from the priestly household or its blessings. He remained a priest who shared fully in the sacred food. The verse guards against treating ritual fitness as a measure of personal worth, reflecting God's care even for those set apart from certain duties.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Lev 2:3The remainder of the grain offering shall belong to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the LORD.
- Num 18:9–10A portion of the most holy offerings reserved from the fire will be yours. From all the offerings they render to Me as most holy offerings, whether grain offerings or sin offerings or guilt offerings, that part belongs to you and your sons.
- Lev 6:16–17Aaron and his sons are to eat the remainder. It must be eaten without leaven in a holy place; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.
- Num 18:19All the holy offerings that the Israelites present to the LORD I give to you and to your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. It is a permanent covenant of salt before the LORD for you and your offspring.”
- 1 Cor 9:13Do you not know that those who work in the temple eat of its food, and those who serve at the altar partake of its offerings?
- Lev 22:10–13No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired hand eat it.
- Lev 2:10But the remainder of the grain offering shall belong to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the LORD.
- Lev 7:1“Now this is the law of the guilt offering, which is most holy:
- Lev 24:8–9Every Sabbath day the bread is to be set out before the LORD on behalf of the Israelites as a permanent covenant.
- Lev 6:29Any male among the priests may eat it; it is most holy.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 21:22 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.