How to express grief
1The LORD said to Moses:I want you to tell deliver this message to the sons of Aaron, who serve as the priests of Israel:
You’re a priest. So, when a relative dies, don’t touch the body. If you do, you’ll become ritually unclean. [1] 2Close relatives are the exception. You can touch the bodies of your mother, father, son, daughter, brother, 3and your unmarried sister if you’re close to her. It’s okay to become unclean for these people.
4But don't make yourself unclean for an in-law—someone you're related to only by marriage. 5And don't express grief by shaving your head or your beard or by cutting your skin.
6You are devoted to God. You are not to act like other people do. You are a priest. You bring sacred offerings to the LORD, food for God. So, you should present yourself to him in a way that expresses your devotion to him.
Don’t marry a divorcee
7Never marry a prostitute. Don’t marry a divorced woman, either. You are holy—uniquely devoted to God. 8Make sure you stay that way because I want people to treat you that way. You are a priest, the one who brings food to God. So, always think of yourself as holy because I the LORD am holy. And I am the one who makes you holy. 9If you have a daughter who pollutes [2] herself with prostitution, her disgrace rubs off on you, too. Execute her and burn her body.High priest can’t touch dead relatives
10The high priest is unique—a priest of priests. He's the one anointed with olive oil. And he's the one ordained to wear the special clothing of the high priest. I don't want my high priest expressing grief by letting his hair go unkept or by tearing his clothes, as others do.11I don't want him going anywhere near a dead person. He is not to ritually defile himself even for the sake of his dead father or mother. 12And I do not want him leaving the tent sanctuary to visit the dead. This would contaminate the worship center and the very sanctuary of God. The high priest is anointed with oil, and uniquely reserved to work for God. I am the LORD.
13The high priest has to marry a virgin. 14The high priest is not allowed to marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a prostitute. He has to marry a virgin. And she has to be an Israelite. 15This is to keep him from defiling and disgracing his descendants. I am the LORD who makes him holy.
No priests with physical defects
16The LORD said to Moses:17I want you to tell this to Aaron:
Neither you nor any of your descendants are allowed to work as priests who bring offerings to the Lord if you have something wrong with you.
18You can’t serve as a priest if you have a physical impairment of any kind. This includes: blindness, inability to walk, a disfigured face, a deformed body, 19a broken foot, a broken hand, 20a hunched back, restricted growth, [3] abnormal eyes, open sores, diseased skin, or damaged testicles.
21No one with a physical impairment like these is allowed to serve as a priest who presents sacrificial offerings to the LORD. A physical impairment disqualifies you from working as a priest who brings food to God. 22But people with impairments are allowed to eat food offered to God. This includes the most sacred food from offerings that only priests are allowed to eat. [4] 23However, people with impairments are not to come to the altar or near the curtain that hangs at the entrance of the Most Sacred Room. [4] That would ritually contaminate my personal sanctuary and the entire worship center. 24Moses delivered these messages to Aaron, Aaron’s sons, and the rest of the Israelites.
