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;
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;
- BSB 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,
- ESV None of the offspring of Aaron who has a leprous disease or a discharge may eat of the holy things until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is unclean through contact with the dead or a man who has had an emission of semen,
- 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,
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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 11:39And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcase thereof shall be unclean until the even.
- Lev 15:2–3Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean.
- Lev 15:13–16And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean.
- Lev 21:1And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:
- Num 18:9This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every oblation of theirs, every meat offering of theirs, and every sin offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs which they shall render unto me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons.
- Lev 2:3And the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’: it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire.
- Lev 21:22He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.
- Lev 14:1–32And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
- Lev 6:25–29Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the LORD: it is most holy.
- Lev 11:24–28And for these ye shall be unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean until the even.
- Num 19:11–16He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.
- Lev 2:10And that which is left of the meat offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’: it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire.
- Num 18:19All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the LORD, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the LORD unto thee and to thy seed with thee.
- Lev 13:44–46He is a leprous man, he is unclean: the priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean; his plague is in his head.
- Lev 13:2–3When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests:
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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 22:4 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
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