Do not present an animal with defects, because the Lord will not accept it 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.
- BSB You must not present anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.
- 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.
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 Yahweh your God an ox, or a sheep, in which is a defect, or anything evil; for that is an abomination to Yahweh your God.
- Mal 1:8When you offer the blind for sacrifice, isn’t that evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, isn’t that evil? Present it now to your governor! Will he be pleased with you? Or will he accept your person?” says Yahweh of Armies.
- Deut 15:21If it has any defect, is lame or blind, or has any defect whatever, you shall not sacrifice it to Yahweh your God.
- Heb 9:14how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without defect to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
- 1 Pet 1:19but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish or spot, the blood of Christ;
- Lev 22:25You must not offer the bread of your God from the hand of a foreigner as any of these; because their corruption is in them. There is a defect in them. They shall not be accepted for you.’”
- Mal 1:13–14You say also, ‘Behold, what a weariness it is!’ and you have sniffed at it”, says Yahweh of Armies; “and you have brought that which was taken by violence, the lame, and the sick; thus you bring the offering. Should I accept this at your hand?” says Yahweh.
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
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