If a descendant of Aaron has a skin disease or a discharge, he may not eat the sacred offerings until he is clean. Whoever touches anything defiled by a corpse or by a man who has an emission of semen,
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘Whoever of the offspring of Aaron is a leper or has an issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose offspring goes from him;
- KJV What man soever of the seed of Aaron is a leper, or hath a running issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he be clean. And whoso toucheth any thing that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goeth from him;
- NKJV ‘Whatever man of the descendants of Aaron, who is a leper or has a discharge, shall not eat the holy offerings until he is clean. And whoever touches anything made unclean by a corpse, or a man who has had an emission of semen,
- NASB No man of the descendants of Aaron, who has leprosy or has a discharge, may eat of the holy gifts until he is clean. And one who touches anything made unclean by a corpse, or a man who has a seminal emission,
- NLT “If any of Aaron’s descendants has a skin disease or any kind of discharge that makes him ceremonially unclean, he may not eat from the sacred offerings until he has been pronounced clean. He also becomes unclean by touching a corpse, or by having an emission of semen,
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 skin disease or bodily discharge, or defiled by the dead, may not eat the holy food until he is clean. Ritual impurity barred priests from the sacred meal.
Overview
Various forms of uncleanness temporarily excluded a priest from partaking of the holy offerings until restored. These laws trained Israel to take seriously the distinction between clean and unclean in approaching God. They point to the deeper cleansing accomplished by Christ, who heals the unclean and makes His people fit to feast in God's presence.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Lev 11:39If an animal that you may eat dies, anyone who touches the carcass will be unclean until evening.
- Lev 15:2–3“Say to the Israelites, ‘When any man has a bodily discharge, the discharge is unclean.
- Lev 15:13–16When the man has been cleansed from his discharge, he must count off seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe himself in fresh water, and he shall be clean.
- Lev 21:1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron’s sons, the priests, and tell them that a priest is not to defile himself for a dead person among his people,
- Num 18:9A 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 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.
- Lev 21:22He may eat the most holy food of his God as well as the holy food,
- Lev 14:1–32Then the LORD said to Moses,
- Lev 6:25–29“Tell Aaron and his sons that this is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, the sin offering shall be slaughtered before the LORD; it is most holy.
- Lev 11:24–28These creatures will make you unclean. Whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening,
- Num 19:11–16Whoever touches any dead body will be unclean for seven days.
- 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.
- 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.”
- Lev 13:44–46the man is diseased; he is unclean. The priest must pronounce him unclean because of the infection on his head.
- Lev 13:2–3“When someone has a swelling or rash or bright spot on his skin that could become an infectious skin disease, he must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons who is a priest.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 22:4 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.