Leviticus 21 · Verse 23

Leviticus 21:23

Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the Lord do sanctify them.
Leviticus 21:23, King James Version

Leviticus 21:23 in other translations

BSBbut because he has a defect, he must not go near the veil or approach the altar, so as not to desecrate My sanctuaries. For I am the LORD who sanctifies them.’”
WEBHe shall not come near to the veil, nor come near to the altar, because he has a defect; that he may not profane my sanctuaries, for I am the LORD who sanctifies them.’”
ASVonly he shall not go in unto the veil, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I am Jehovah who sanctifieth them.
YLTonly, unto the vail he doth not enter, and unto the altar he doth not draw nigh; for blemish is in him; and he doth not pollute My sanctuaries; for I am Jehovah, sanctifying them.'
DARBYonly he shall not come in unto the veil, nor shall he draw near unto the altar; for he hath a defect: that he profane not my sanctuaries; for I am Jehovah who do hallow them.
BBEBut he may not go inside the veil or come near the altar, because he is damaged; and he may not make my holy places common; for I the Lord have made them holy.
WebsterOnly he shall not go in to the vail, nor come nigh to the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he may not profane my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them.

What does Leviticus 21:23 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Leviticus 21:16-24

16-24. Whosoever he be ... hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God--As visible things exert a strong influence on the minds of men, any physical infirmity or malformation of body in the ministers of religion, which disturbs the associations or excites ridicule, tends to detract from the weight and authority of the sacred office. Priests laboring under any personal defect were not allowed…

Read the full comment on Leviticus 21:16-24 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 23 He shall not go in unto the veil - The priest with a blemish was not permitted to enter into the holy of holies, nor to burn incense, nor to offer the shew-bread, nor to light the golden candlestick, etc. In short, he was not permitted to perform any essential function of the priesthood. 1. The great perfection required in the Jewish high priest was intended principally to point out the perfection of that priesthood of which the Jewish was only the type. And yet, as the apostle assures us, that law made nothing perfect, but pointed out that most perfect priesthood and sacrifice by which we draw near to God. 2. As none who had a blemish could enter into the holy of holies, and this holy of holies was a type of the kingdom of God, so nothing that is defiled can enter into heaven; for he gave himself for his Church that he might purify it to himself, and present it at last before the presence of the Divine glory having neither spot nor wrinkle, nor any such thing, Eph 5:27; a passage which evidently refers to the directions in the preceding verse. Reader, art thou become a king and priest unto God and the Lamb? and hast thou obtained, or art thou earnestly seeking, that holiness without which thou canst not see the kingdom of heaven?

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Leviticus 21:23 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

אַ֣ךְ'akhneverthelessH389
אֶל\־'el-toH413
הַפָּרֹ֜כֶתha.pa.Ro.khetthe curtainH6532
לֹ֣אlo'notH3808
יָבֹ֗אya.Vo'he will goH935
וְאֶל\־ve.'el-and toH413
הַמִּזְבֵּ֛חַha.miz.Be.achthe altarH4196
לֹ֥אlo'notH3808
יִגַּ֖שׁyi.Gashhe will draw nearH5066
כִּֽי\־ki-forH3588
מ֣וּםmuma blemishH3971
בּ֑וֹbo[is] in <the> him
וְלֹ֤אve.Lo'and notH3808
יְחַלֵּל֙ye.cha.Lelhe will profaneH2490
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
מִקְדָּשַׁ֔יmik.da.Shaisanctuary myH4720
כִּ֛יkiforH3588
אֲנִ֥י'a.NiIH589
יְהוָ֖הYah.weh[am] YahwehH3068
מְקַדְּשָֽׁם\׃me.ka.de.Sham[who] sets apart as holy themH6942

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Leviticus 21:23

  • Leviticus 21:12

    Neither 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.

  • Exodus 40:26-27

    And he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation before the vail: And he burnt sweet incense thereon; as the Lord commanded Moses.

  • Leviticus 15:31

    Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them.

  • Exodus 30:6-8

    And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations.

  • Ezekiel 44:9-14

    Thus saith the Lord God; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel. And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity. Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them. Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity. …

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
go in.
Ex 30:6-8; 40:26,27; Eze 44:9-14
profane.
12; 15:31
for I the Lord.
8

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Leviticus 21:22

    He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.

  • Leviticus 21:23

    Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the Lord do sanctify them.

  • Leviticus 21:24

    And Moses told it unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.

Read all of Leviticus 21

Leviticus 21:23 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Empero no entrará del velo adentro, ni se allegará al altar, por cuanto hay falta en él: y no profanará mi santuario, porque yo Jehová soy el que los santifico.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		seulement il n’entrera pas vers le voile, et ne s’approchera pas de l’autel, car il y a en lui un défaut corporel, et il ne profanera pas mes sanctuaires; car moi, je suis l’ Éternel qui les sanctifie.
German
Elberfelder 1871		allein zum Vorhang soll er nicht kommen, und zum Altar soll er nicht nahen, denn ein Gebrechen ist an ihm, daß er nicht meine Heiligtümer entweihe; denn ich bin Jehova, der sie heiligt.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		ita dumtaxat, ut intra velum non ingrediatur, nec accedat ad altare, quia maculam habet, et contaminare non debet sanctuarium meum. Ego Dominus qui sanctifico eos.