Ezekiel 44
1 Then he brought me back by way of the outer gate of the sanctuary that faces east, and it was shut.
2 The LORD said to me, “This gate shall remain shut. It must not be opened, and no one may enter through it, because the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered through it. So it shall remain shut.
3 As for the prince, he alone—the prince—may sit there to eat bread before the LORD. He shall enter by way of the gate’s vestibule and leave by the same way.”
4 Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the house. I looked, and the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD, and I fell facedown.
5 The LORD said to me, “Son of man, pay attention. Look with your eyes and listen with your ears to everything I tell you about all the regulations of the house of the LORD and all its instructions. Pay attention to the entrance to the house and to every exit from the sanctuary.
6 Tell the rebellious people, the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: Enough of all your detestable practices, house of Israel!
7 You brought foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, into my sanctuary to defile my house. While you offered my food—the fat and the blood—they broke my covenant, adding this to all your detestable practices.
8 You did not keep charge of my holy things. Instead, you appointed them to keep charge of my sanctuary in your place.
9 This is what the Lord GOD says: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, may enter my sanctuary—not one of the foreigners living among the Israelites.
10 But the Levites who went far from me when Israel strayed from me after their detestable idols will bear their guilt.’”
11 “‘They shall serve in my sanctuary, in charge of the gates of the house and serving in the house. They shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to serve them.
12 Because they served the people before their detestable idols and became a stumbling block that brought guilt upon the house of Israel, I raised my hand against them, declares the Lord GOD. They will bear their guilt.
13 They shall not approach me to serve as priests or come near any of my holy things, the most holy things. They will bear their disgrace and the detestable things they have done.
14 I will appoint them to keep charge of the house, for all its service and for everything to be done in it.
15 But the Levitical priests, the descendants of Zadok, who kept charge of my sanctuary when the Israelites strayed from me, shall approach me to serve me. They shall stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the Lord GOD.
16 They shall enter my sanctuary and approach my table to serve me, and they shall keep charge of my sanctuary.
17 When they enter the gates of the inner courtyard, they shall wear linen garments. They must not wear wool while serving at the gates of the inner courtyard or inside the house.
18 They shall wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists. They must not wear anything that makes them sweat.
19 When they go out to the outer courtyard, where the people are, they shall take off the garments they wore while serving and leave them in the sanctuary rooms. They shall put on other garments, so that their garments do not make the people holy.
20 They shall not shave their heads or let their hair grow long and loose; they shall trim their hair.
21 No priest shall drink wine when entering the inner courtyard.’”
22 “‘They shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but only a virgin from among the descendants of the house of Israel. They may marry a widow if she is the widow of a priest.
23 They shall teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is common, and make known the difference between what is unclean and what is clean.
24 In a dispute, they shall stand to judge, and they shall judge according to my ordinances. They shall keep my laws and my regulations at all my appointed festivals, and they shall keep my Sabbaths holy.
25 They shall not go near a dead person and make themselves unclean. They may become unclean only for a father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or unmarried sister.
26 After he has been purified, seven days shall be counted for him.
27 On the day he enters the sanctuary, the inner courtyard, to serve in the sanctuary, he shall present his sin offering, declares the Lord GOD.
28 This shall be their inheritance: I am their inheritance. You shall give them no property in Israel; I am their property.
29 They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering. Everything in Israel devoted to destruction shall belong to them.
30 The best of all the firstfruits and every contribution from all your offerings shall belong to the priests. You shall give the priest the best of your dough, so that a blessing may rest on your household.
31 The priests shall not eat any bird or animal that has died or been torn apart.’”
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