Leviticus 21:5
New International Version
“’Priests must not shave their heads or shave off the edges of their beards or cut their bodies.

New Living Translation
“The priests must not shave their heads or trim their beards or cut their bodies.

English Standard Version
They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body.

Berean Standard Bible
Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies.

King James Bible
They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.

New King James Version
‘They shall not make any bald place on their heads, nor shall they shave the edges of their beards nor make any cuttings in their flesh.

New American Standard Bible
They shall not shave any area on their heads bald, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts in their flesh.

NASB 1995
‘They shall not make any baldness on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts in their flesh.

NASB 1977
‘They shall not make any baldness on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts in their flesh.

Legacy Standard Bible
They shall not make any baldness on their heads nor shave off the edges of their beards nor make any cuts in their flesh.

Amplified Bible
The priests shall not shave their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts in their body.

Christian Standard Bible
“Priests may not make bald spots on their heads, shave the edge of their beards, or make gashes on their bodies.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Priests may not make bald spots on their heads, shave the edge of their beards, or make gashes on their bodies.

American Standard Version
They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And they certainly shall not shave their heads or they shall not shave the mustache of their beards, and they shall not cut cuttings in their flesh.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And ye shall not shave your head for the dead with a baldness on the top; and they shall not shave their beard, neither shall they make gashes on their flesh.

Contemporary English Version
Don't shave any part of your head or trim your beard or cut yourself to show that you are mourning.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Neither shall they shave their head, nor their beard, nor make incisions in their flesh.

English Revised Version
They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"You should never mourn by shaving bald spots on your heads, shaving the edges of your beards, or slashing your bodies.

Good News Translation
"No priest shall shave any part of his head or trim his beard or cut gashes on his body to show that he is in mourning.

International Standard Version
"They are not to cut their hair in ritualistic patterns on their heads, deface the edges of their beards, or make incisions in their flesh.

JPS Tanakh 1917
They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corners of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.

Literal Standard Version
they do not make baldness on their head, and they do not shave the corner of their beard, and they do not make a cutting in their flesh;

Majority Standard Bible
Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies.

New American Bible
The priests shall not make bald the crown of their head, nor shave the edges of their beard, nor lacerate their body.

NET Bible
Priests must not have a bald spot shaved on their head, they must not shave the corner of their beard, and they must not cut slashes in their body.

New Revised Standard Version
They shall not make bald spots upon their heads, or shave off the edges of their beards, or make any gashes in their flesh.

New Heart English Bible
"'They shall not shave their heads, neither shall they shave off the corners of their beards, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.

Webster's Bible Translation
They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.

World English Bible
“‘They shall not shave their heads or shave off the corners of their beards or make any cuttings in their flesh.

Young's Literal Translation
they do not make baldness on their head, and the corner of their beard they do not shave, and in their flesh they do not make a cutting;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Holiness Required of Priests
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. 6They must be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. Because they present to the LORD the offerings made by fire, the food of their God, they must be holy.…

Cross References
Leviticus 19:27
You must not cut off the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.

Leviticus 21:4
He is not to defile himself for those related to him by marriage, and so profane himself.

Deuteronomy 14:1
You are sons of the LORD your God; do not cut yourselves or shave your foreheads on behalf of the dead,

Isaiah 15:2
Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off.

Ezekiel 5:1
"As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword, use it as a barber's razor, and shave your head and beard. Then take a set of scales and divide the hair.

Ezekiel 44:20
They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but must carefully trim their hair.


Treasury of Scripture

They shall not make baldness on their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.

Leviticus 19:27
Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.

Leviticus 10:6
And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled.

Leviticus 19:27,28
Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard…

Deuteronomy 14:1
Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.

Jump to Previous
Baldness Beard Beards Bodies Chins Corner Corners Cut Cuts Cutting Cuttings Dead Edges Flesh Hair Head Heads Priests Shave Short
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Baldness Beard Beards Bodies Chins Corner Corners Cut Cuts Cutting Cuttings Dead Edges Flesh Hair Head Heads Priests Shave Short
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














(5) Make baldness upon their head.--The natural expression of grief, however, which the priests were to manifest for the above-named departed relations, was not to show itself in the practices which disfigure their bodily appearance, and which obtained among other nations of antiquity in connection with funeral ceremonies. Thus, in the graphic description of the idolatrous priests mourning, we are told "the priests sit in their temples, having their clothes rent, and their heads and beards shaven, and nothing upon their heads." (Bar 6:31.) The three things here prohibited to the priests are also forbidden to the people at large under other circumstances. (See Leviticus 19:27-28; Deuteronomy 14:1.) The ordinary Israelites, however, indulged in the same practices. (See Jeremiah 16:6; Ezekiel 7:18; Amos 8:10.) . . .

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Priests must not
לֹֽא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

make bald
יִקְרְח֤וּ (yiq·rə·ḥū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 7139: To make bald

spots on their heads,
בְּרֹאשָׁ֔ם (bə·rō·šām)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 7218: The head

shave off the edges
וּפְאַ֥ת (ū·p̄ə·’aṯ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 6285: Mouth, direction, region, extremity

of their beards,
זְקָנָ֖ם (zə·qā·nām)
Noun - common singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 2206: Beard, chin

or make
יִשְׂרְט֖וּ (yiś·rə·ṭū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 8295: To incise, scratch

cuts
שָׂרָֽטֶת׃ (śā·rā·ṭeṯ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 8296: An incision

in their bodies.
וּבִ֨בְשָׂרָ֔ם (ū·ḇiḇ·śā·rām)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 1320: Flesh, body, person, the pudenda of a, man


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OT Law: Leviticus 21:5 They shall not shave their heads neither (Le Lv Lev.)
Leviticus 21:4
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