They must be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. Because they present to the LORD the offerings made by fire, the food of their God, they must be holy.
Parallel translations
- WEB They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God; for they offer the offerings of Yahweh made by fire, the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy.
- KJV They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.
- NKJV They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy.
- NASB They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, because they present the offerings by fire to the Lord, the food of their God; so they shall be holy.
- NLT They must be set apart as holy to their God and must never bring shame on the name of God. They must be holy, for they are the ones who present the special gifts to the Lord, gifts of food for their God.
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 must be holy and not profane God's name, since they offer the offerings and bread of God. Their service to the holy God demands holy lives.
Overview
The priests handled the sacrifices, called 'the bread of their God,' that maintained Israel's fellowship with the Lord. Such sacred service required corresponding holiness, lest they dishonor God's name. This foreshadows Christ, the perfectly holy priest who offered the true and final sacrifice, and the church called to be a holy priesthood (1 Pet. 2:5).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Lev 18:21You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
- Lev 3:11Then the priest is to burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire to the LORD.
- 1 Pet 2:9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
- Mal 1:6–7“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me?” says the LORD of Hosts to you priests who despise My name. “But you ask, ‘How have we despised Your name?’
- Exod 28:36You are to make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: HOLY TO THE LORD.
- Isa 52:11Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing; come out from it, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD.
- Lev 19:12You must not swear falsely by My name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
- Ezra 8:28Then I told them, “You are holy to the LORD, and these articles are holy. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the LORD, the God of your fathers.
- Lev 10:3Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said: ‘To those who come near Me I will show My holiness, and in the sight of all the people I will reveal My glory.’” But Aaron remained silent.
- Exod 29:44So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and I will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve Me as priests.
- Ezek 44:7In addition to all your other abominations, you brought in foreigners uncircumcised in both heart and flesh to occupy My sanctuary; you defiled My temple when you offered My food—the fat and the blood; you broke My covenant.
- Lev 21:8You are to regard him as holy, since he presents the food of your God. He shall be holy to you, because I the LORD am holy—I who set you apart.
- Mal 1:11–12For My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name, because My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of Hosts.
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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 21:6 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.