Leviticus 21 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

Yahweh said to Moses, "Tell the priests — Aaron's sons — this: A priest must not make himself ritually contaminated by contact with a dead person among his people,

except for his closest blood relatives—his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother,

or an unmarried sister who is still close to him because she has no husband—for her he may allow himself to become contaminated.

He must not make himself ritually unfit as a leader among his people and so dishonor himself.

Priests must not shave bald patches on their heads, trim the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their skin.

They must be set apart for their God, and must not bring dishonor to the name of their God. Because they are the ones who present Yahweh's fire offerings — the food of their God — they must be without defect in their service.

They must not marry a woman who has been a prostitute or who has been dishonored, and they must not marry a woman divorced from her husband, because the priest is set apart for his God.

You must treat him as set apart, because he offers the food of your God. He must be sacred to you, because I, Yahweh, who sets you apart, am sacred.

If a priest's daughter dishonors herself by becoming a prostitute, she dishonors her father. She must be burned with fire.

"The high priest — the one among his brothers who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and who has been ordained to wear the priestly garments — must not let his hair hang loose or tear his clothes.

He must not go near any dead body. He must not make himself ritually contaminated even for his father or mother.

He must not leave the sacred place or dishonor the sacred space of his God, because the dedication of his God's anointing oil is on him. I am Yahweh.

He must marry a woman who has never been with a man.

He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, a woman who has been dishonored, or a prostitute. He may only marry a woman from his own people who has never been with a man,

so that he does not dishonor his children among his people. I am Yahweh, who sets him apart."

Yahweh said to Moses,

"Tell Aaron: For all future generations, no descendant of yours who has a physical defect may come forward to offer the food of his God.

No one who is blind, lame, disfigured, or deformed,

no one with a broken foot or broken hand,

no one who is hunchbacked or unusually small, no one with an eye defect, or with a skin disease, or with damaged genitals —

no descendant of Aaron the priest who has a physical defect may come forward to present Yahweh's fire offerings. He has a defect and must not come forward to offer the food of his God.

He may eat the food of his God, both from the most sacred offerings and from the sacred offerings,

but he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar, because he has a defect. He must not dishonor my sacred spaces, because I am Yahweh, who sets them apart."

So Moses told this to Aaron, to Aaron's sons, and to all the Israelites.