You must not present anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.
Parallel translations
- WEB But whatever has a defect, that you shall not offer; for it shall not be acceptable for you.
- KJV But whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you.
- NKJV Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it shall not be acceptable on your behalf.
- NASB Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it will not be accepted for you.
- NLT Do not present an animal with defects, because the Lord will not accept it on your behalf.
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
Any animal with a defect must not be offered, for it will not be accepted.
Overview
God flatly rejects blemished sacrifices, refusing worship that offers Him the deficient or unwanted. Malachi later rebukes Israel for despising God by bringing crippled and diseased animals (Malachi 1:8). The demand for the flawless magnifies the wonder that Christ, the truly unblemished offering, was given in our place.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Deut 17:1You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep with any defect or serious flaw, for that is detestable to the LORD your God.
- Mal 1:8When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is it not wrong? And when you present the lame and sick ones, is it not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?” asks the LORD of Hosts.
- Deut 15:21But if an animal has a defect, is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.
- Heb 9:14how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!
- 1 Pet 1:19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.
- Lev 22:25Neither you nor a foreigner shall present food to your God from any such animal. They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and flawed.’”
- Mal 1:13–14You also say: ‘Oh, what a nuisance!’ And you turn up your nose at it,” says the LORD of Hosts. “You bring offerings that are stolen, lame, or sick! Should I accept these from your hands?” asks the LORD.
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 22:20 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.