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They shall be holy to their God, and shall not profane their God’s name, since they offer the oblations of the Lord, the food of their God; so they must be holy.

[a]A priest shall not marry a woman debased by prostitution, nor a woman who has been divorced by her husband; for the priest is holy to his God.(A) Honor him as holy for he offers the food(B) of your God; he shall be holy to you, because I, the Lord, am holy who make you holy.

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Footnotes

  1. 21:7 The ideal seems to be that a priest marry a virgin. This is explicitly stated for the high priest (cf. vv. 13–14; so also Ez 44:22, except there priests may marry widows of priests). The high priest has the added limitation that his wife must come from his kindred, i.e., the priestly family (cf. Ez 44:22).

They must be holy to their God(A) and must not profane the name of their God.(B) Because they present the food offerings to the Lord,(C) the food of their God,(D) they are to be holy.(E)

“‘They must not marry women defiled by prostitution or divorced from their husbands,(F) because priests are holy to their God.(G) Regard them as holy,(H) because they offer up the food of your God.(I) Consider them holy, because I the Lord am holy—I who make you holy.(J)

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