Leviticus 22:22
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The verse doesn't just list physical imperfections; it underscores that God's standards are precise and that any defect is unacceptable. This isn't just about animal health, but about the purity and completeness we are called to offer in all aspects of our lives to Him.
Animals blind or disabled or mutilated or having a discharge or an itch or scabs you shall not offer to the LORD or give them to the LORD as a food offering on the altar.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This passage comes right after instructions for priests about what makes them ritually impure. Now, the focus shifts to the quality of the sacrifices they can present. Moses is being told to relay these specific prohibitions about animals with physical defects, ensuring that only the best are offered to the Lord.
Ever felt like you're giving God the leftovers? This verse slams the door on that idea.
The detailed list of imperfections—blindness, broken limbs, skin diseases—isn't just about animal health. It’s a profound statement about the quality of worship God deserves.
Why So Strict?
These aren't just rules for livestock; they're deep truths about the heart God seeks.
While the text lists physical defects, the underlying message speaks volumes about our inner state before God.
The Heart of the Matter
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Understand the original words
mizbeach · Hebrew Noun
The structure used for sacrificial offerings, representing the place of atonement where the creature’s life is given to God. It is the locus of contact between the human and the Divine.
ishsheh · Hebrew Noun
A term used to describe the portion of the sacrificial animal that was burned on the altar, symbolically providing food for God in a metaphorical sense, emphasizing the relational aspect of the sacrifice.
This passage directly challenges the people for offering blemished sacrifices, echoing Leviticus' demand for perfection and highlighting God's displeasure with such offerings.
Romans 12:1This New Testament passage calls believers to offer their bodies as living sacrifices, urging a holistic and 'perfect' offering that reflects the same principle of giving our best to God, not our damaged parts.
1 Peter 1:18-19Peter reminds believers they were redeemed with the 'precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot,' drawing a parallel between the unblemished sacrificial animals and Christ's perfect sacrifice for our salvation.
Hebrews 9:13-14This passage explains how the blood of animal sacrifices under the Old Covenant had limitations, pointing forward to the superior and perfect sacrifice of Christ, who 'through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God'.
gillLeviticus 22:22: "Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the LORD."
Blind, or broken, or maimed,.... Which is "blind" of one eye, or both: and so the Egyptians, as they would not sacrifice any of their oxen that had any blemishes on them, and were of a different colour, or changed in their form, so likewise such that were deprived of either of their eyes (x). Some, as A…
barnesLeviticus 22:22: "Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the LORD."
Compare Leviticus 21:19 ; Deuteronomy 15:21 .
The verse doesn't just list physical imperfections; it underscores that God's standards are precise and that any defect is unacceptable. This isn't just about animal health, but about the purity and completeness we are called to offer in all aspects of our lives to Him.
This passage comes right after instructions for priests about what makes them ritually impure. Now, the focus shifts to the quality of the sacrifices they can present. Moses is being told to relay these specific prohibitions about animals with physical defects, ensuring that only the best are offered to the Lord.
This passage comes right after instructions for priests about what makes them ritually impure. Now, the focus shifts to the quality of the sacrifices they can present. Moses is being told to relay these specific prohibitions about animals with physical defects, ensuring that only the best are offered to the Lord.
"Animals blind or disabled or mutilated or having a discharge or an itch or scabs you shall not offer to the LORD or give them to the LORD as a food offering on the altar." — The verse doesn't just list physical imperfections; it underscores that God's standards are precise and that any defect is unacceptable. This isn't just about animal health, but about the purity an…
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Last reviewed October 2026
