1THE LORD said to Moses, Speak to the priests the sons of Aaron and say to them, There shall none of you defile himself by mourning for the dead among his people, 2Except for his kin who is near to him, that is, for his father and for his mother and for his son and for his daughter and for his brother, 3And for his virgin sister, who is near to him, who had no husband; for her he may defile himself. 4But he shall not defile himself for the prince of his people, lest he profane himself. 5They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh. 6But they shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God; for the offerings of the LORD made by fire and the bread of their God they do offer; therefore they shall be holy. 7They shall not marry a harlot or an unclean woman; neither shall they marry a woman who has been put away from her husband; for he is holy to his God. 8You shall sanctify him therefore; for he offers the bread of your God; he shall be holy to you; for he is holy, because I am the LORD who sanctifies you. 9And the daughter of any priest, when she starts playing the whore, she profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire.

10And the priest who is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and who is consecrated to put on the vestments, shall not shave his head nor rend his clothes; 11Neither shall he go near any dead body, nor defile himself by mourning for his father or for his mother; 12Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him; I am the LORD. 13And he shall take a wife in her virginity. 14A widow or a woman who is put away or one who is defiled by whoredom, these he shall not take; but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife. 15Neither shall he profane his descendants among his people; for I am the LORD who sanctifies him.

16And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 17Speak to Aaron and say to him, Whosoever he be of your descendants throughout their generations who has any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.

18For any man who has a blemish, he shall not approach: a lame man or a blind man or one whose nose is cut off or one who is deprived of ears 19Or a man who has a broken foot or broken hand 20Or crooked back or is a dwarf or whose eyebrows have fallen or whose eyes are dimmed or has cataract in his eyes or has leprosy or a hunchback or has one testicle; 21No man of the descendants of Aaron the priest who has a blemish shall come near to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire; for he has a blemish; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. 22He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy. 23But he shall not go in to the veil nor come near to the altar, because he has a blemish, that he may not profane my sanctuary; for I am the LORD who sanctifies them. 24So Moses told it to Aaron and to his sons and to all the children of Israel.