If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by prostituting herself, she profanes her father; she must be burned in the fire.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the prostitute, she profanes her father. She shall be burned with fire.
- KJV And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.
- NKJV The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the harlot, she profanes her father. She shall be burned with fire.
- NASB Also the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by prostitution, she profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire.
- NLT “If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she also defiles her father’s holiness, and she must be burned to death.
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's daughter who becomes a prostitute profanes her father and is to be burned with fire. Those in sacred families bear heightened responsibility to live honorably.
Overview
Because the priestly household represented God's holiness before the people, the daughter's immorality brought severe disgrace and judgment. The gravity reflects the principle that greater privilege carries greater accountability. While Israel's civil penalties are not the church's to enforce, the enduring lesson is that holiness is to mark every member of God's covenant family.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Gen 38:24About three months later, Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has prostituted herself, and now she is pregnant.” “Bring her out!” Judah replied. “Let her be burned to death!”
- Lev 19:29You must not defile your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will be prostituted and filled with depravity.
- Titus 1:6An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, having children who are believers and who are not open to accusation of indiscretion or insubordination.
- Matt 11:20–24Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles had been performed, because they did not repent.
- Mal 2:3Behold, I will rebuke your descendants, and I will spread dung on your faces, the waste from your feasts, and you will be carried off with it.
- Isa 33:14The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling grips the ungodly: “Who of us can dwell with a consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting flames?”
- 1 Sam 2:34And this sign shall come to you concerning your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: They will both die on the same day.
- Josh 7:15The one who is caught with the things devoted to destruction must be burned, along with all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD and committed an outrage in Israel.’”
- Josh 7:25“Why have you brought this trouble upon us?” said Joshua. “Today the LORD will bring trouble upon you!” And all Israel stoned him to death. Then they stoned the others and burned their bodies.
- Lev 20:14If a man marries both a woman and her mother, it is depraved. Both he and they must be burned in the fire, so that there will be no depravity among you.
- 1 Sam 3:13–14I told him that I would judge his house forever for the iniquity of which he knows, because his sons blasphemed God and he did not restrain them.
- Ezek 9:6Slaughter the old men, the young men and maidens, the women and children; but do not go near anyone who has the mark. Now begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple.
- 1 Tim 3:4–5An overseer must manage his own household well and keep his children under control, with complete dignity.
- 1 Sam 2:17Thus the sin of these young men was severe in the sight of the LORD, for they were treating the LORD’s offering with contempt.
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 21:9 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.