Bible Strands
Leviticus 22:15
The priests must not profane the sacred offerings that the Israelites present to the LORD
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Lord addresses Moses and Aaron while establishing regulations for priestly conduct and the handling of Israel’s sacrificial system.
The words — The verb יְחַלְּל֔וּ (ye.cha.le.Lu) translates literally as "they will profane," paired with קָדְשֵׁ֖י (ka.de.Shei), meaning "the holy things" or sacred offerings.
The thread — The prohibition against defiling sacred items appears in Leviticus 22:9, Leviticus 19:8, and Numbers 18:32, consistently linking misuse of holy objects to guilt, iniquity, or divine judgment.
Why it lands — Priests must actively guard the offerings from unauthorized use to prevent the community from bearing guilt and to preserve the boundary between holy and common.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And they shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer unto the Lord;
Cross-references
- Numbers 18:32 Once you have presented the best part of it, you will not incur guilt because of it. But you must not defile the sacred offerings of the Israelites, or else you will die.’”
- Leviticus 19:8 Whoever eats it will bear his iniquity, for he has profaned what is holy to the LORD. That person must be cut off from his people.
- Leviticus 22:9 The priests must keep My charge, lest they bear the guilt and die because they profane it. I am the LORD who sanctifies them.
- Ezekiel 22:26 Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They disregard My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.