Leviticus 21:4
New International Version
He must not make himself unclean for people related to him by marriage, and so defile himself.

New Living Translation
But a priest must not defile himself and make himself unclean for someone who is related to him only by marriage.

English Standard Version
He shall not make himself unclean as a husband among his people and so profane himself.

Berean Standard Bible
He is not to defile himself for those related to him by marriage, and so profane himself.

King James Bible
But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.

New King James Version
Otherwise he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.

New American Standard Bible
He shall not defile himself as a relative by marriage among his people, so as to profane himself.

NASB 1995
‘He shall not defile himself as a relative by marriage among his people, and so profane himself.

NASB 1977
‘He shall not defile himself as a relative by marriage among his people, and so profane himself.

Legacy Standard Bible
He shall not defile himself as a relative by marriage among his people, and so profane himself.

Amplified Bible
He shall not become unclean as a relative by marriage among his people, and so profane himself.

Christian Standard Bible
He is not to make himself unclean for those related to him by marriage and so defile himself.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
He is not to make himself unclean for those related to him by marriage and so defile himself.”

American Standard Version
He shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
He shall not be defiled for the Prince of his people, that he will not be polluted.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
He shall not defile himself suddenly among his people to profane himself.

Contemporary English Version
Don't make yourself unclean by attending the funeral of someone related to you by marriage.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But not even for the prince of his people shall he do any thing that may make him unclean.

English Revised Version
He shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
As the head of your people, you should never become unclean. That would make you unholy.

Good News Translation
He shall not make himself unclean at the death of those related to him by marriage.

International Standard Version
Because he is a husband among his people, he is not to defile himself, thereby polluting himself.

JPS Tanakh 1917
He shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.

Literal Standard Version
A master [priest] does not defile himself among his people—to defile himself;

Majority Standard Bible
He is not to defile himself for those related to him by marriage, and so profane himself.

New American Bible
But as a husband among his kindred he shall not make himself unclean and thus profane himself.

NET Bible
He must not defile himself as a husband among his people so as to profane himself.

New Revised Standard Version
But he shall not defile himself as a husband among his people and so profane himself.

New Heart English Bible
He shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.

Webster's Bible Translation
But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.

World English Bible
He shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.

Young's Literal Translation
A master priest doth not defile himself among his people -- to pollute himself;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Holiness Required of Priests
3or his unmarried sister who is near to him, since she has no husband. 4He is not to defile himself for those related to him by marriage, and so profane himself. 5Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies.…

Cross References
Leviticus 21:3
or his unmarried sister who is near to him, since she has no husband.

Leviticus 21:5
Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies.


Treasury of Scripture

But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.

Ezekiel 24:16,17
Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down…

Jump to Previous
Chief Defile Husband Marriage Master Peoples Pollute Priest Profane Related Relative Shame Unclean Way
Jump to Next
Chief Defile Husband Marriage Master Peoples Pollute Priest Profane Related Relative Shame Unclean Way
Leviticus 21
1. Of the priests' mourning
6. Of their holiness
7. Of their marriages
8. Of their estimation
9. Of the high priest's holiness
10. Of his marriage
13. The priests that have blemishes must not minister in the sanctuary














(4) But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man . . . --Better, A husband shall not defile himself among his people when he had profaned himself. As the seven exceptions to the general rule began with his wife, whose funeral rites the priestly husband is allowed to attend, the verse before us restricts this permission to his legally prescribed wife. If he contracted a marriage which profaned him, he could not attend to her funeral ceremonies. The last clause, which is here translated, "when he had profaned him," literally denotes "to profane himself," "with respect to his profanation"--i.e., with respect to a marriage by which he profaned himself. This is the interpretation which the administrators of the Law attached to the verse, and which is transmitted in the Chaldee version of Jonathan. It is not only in perfect harmony with the context, but does least violence to this manifestly disordered text. The translations exhibited in the Authorised version, both in the text and in the margin, as well as most of those suggested by modern commentators, leave the clause unexplained, since it manifestly means something else than defiling himself by contracting impurity through contact with the dead, as is evident from the fact that it is not added in the other instances where the priest is forbidden to defile himself by attending to the dead. (See Leviticus 21:1-11.)



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
He is not
לֹ֥א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

to defile himself
יִטַּמָּ֖א (yiṭ·ṭam·mā)
Verb - Hitpael - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2930: To be or become unclean

for those related to him by marriage,
בַּ֣עַל (ba·‘al)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1167: A master, a husband, owner

and so profane himself.
לְהֵ֖חַלּֽוֹ׃ (lə·hê·ḥal·lōw)
Preposition-l | Verb - Nifal - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 2490: To bore, to wound, to dissolve, to profane, to break, to begin, to play


Links
Leviticus 21:4 NIV
Leviticus 21:4 NLT
Leviticus 21:4 ESV
Leviticus 21:4 NASB
Leviticus 21:4 KJV

Leviticus 21:4 BibleApps.com
Leviticus 21:4 Biblia Paralela
Leviticus 21:4 Chinese Bible
Leviticus 21:4 French Bible
Leviticus 21:4 Catholic Bible

OT Law: Leviticus 21:4 He shall not defile himself being (Le Lv Lev.)
Leviticus 21:3
Top of Page
Top of Page