Leviticus 21 (NASB)

24 verses · New American Standard Bible · Formal equivalence (most literal)

The NASB is widely regarded as the most literally accurate English translation. It is the standard for in-depth word study and academic analysis, preserving the exact structure and terminology of the original languages as closely as possible.

Leviticus Chapter 21 contains 24 verses and is presented here in the New American Standard Bible (NASB), which uses a formal equivalence (most literal) approach. Read the full text below, compare with other translations, or navigate to any of the 27 chapters in Leviticus.

NIVKJVESVNLTMSG
Chapter 20Chapter 22

1Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: 'No one shall defile himself for a [dead] person among his people,

2except for his relatives who are nearest to him, his mother and his father and his son and his daughter and his brother,

3also for his virgin sister, who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may defile himself.

4'He shall not defile himself as a relative by marriage among his people, and so profane himself.

5'They shall not make any baldness on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts in their flesh.

6'They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they present the offerings by fire to the LORD, the food of their God; so they shall be holy.

7'They shall not take a woman who is profaned by harlotry, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for he is holy to his God.

8'You shall consecrate him, therefore, for he offers the food of your God; he shall be holy to you; for I the LORD, who sanctifies you, am holy.

9'Also the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by harlotry, she profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire.

10'The priest who is the highest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured and who has been consecrated to wear the garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes;

11nor shall he approach any dead person, nor defile himself [even] for his father or his mother;

12nor shall he go out of the sanctuary nor profane the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him; I am the LORD.

13'He shall take a wife in her virginity.

14'A widow, or a divorced woman, or one who is profaned by harlotry, these he may not take; but rather he is to marry a virgin of his own people,

15so that he will not profane his offspring among his people; for I am the LORD who sanctifies him.''

16Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

17'Speak to Aaron, saying, 'No man of your offspring throughout their generations who has a defect shall approach to offer the food of his God.

18'For no one who has a defect shall approach: a blind man, or a lame man, or he who has a disfigured [face], or any deformed [limb],

19or a man who has a broken foot or broken hand,

20or a hunchback or a dwarf, or [one who has] a defect in his eye or eczema or scabs or crushed testicles.

21'No man among the descendants of Aaron the priest who has a defect is to come near to offer the LORD'S offerings by fire; [since] he has a defect, he shall not come near to offer the food of his God.

22'He may eat the food of his God, [both] of the most holy and of the holy,

23only he shall not go in to the veil or come near the altar because he has a defect, so that he will not profane My sanctuaries. For I am the LORD who sanctifies them.''

24So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel.

Chapter 20Read in NIVChapter 22

About This Translation

What is Leviticus 21 in the NASB?

Leviticus 21 in the New American Standard Bible (NASB) contains 24 verses. The NASB uses a formal equivalence (most literal) approach, first published in 1971 (rev. 2020).

How does the NASB translate Leviticus 21 differently?

The New American Standard Bible uses formal equivalence (most literal), balancing accuracy with modern readability. Compare this with the NIV (dynamic equivalence) version of Leviticus 21 for a different perspective.

How many verses are in Leviticus 21 (NASB)?

Leviticus Chapter 21 contains 24 verses in the New American Standard Bible. The book of Leviticus has 27 chapters total.

Leviticus (NASB) — All 27 Chapters