Ezekiel 44

Then he brought me back by way of the outer gateway of the sanctuary that faced east. It was shut. The LORD said to me, “This gateway shall remain shut. It shall not be opened, and no one shall enter through it, for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered through it. It shall remain shut. As for the prince, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to eat bread before the LORD. He shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway and go out the same way.” Then he brought me by way of the north gateway to the front of the temple. I looked, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple of the LORD, and I fell on my face. The LORD said to me, “Son of man, pay attention, look with your eyes, and listen with your ears to everything I tell you concerning all the statutes of the temple of the LORD and all its laws. Pay attention to the entrance of the temple and all the exits of the sanctuary. Say to the rebellious house of Israel: This is what the Lord GOD says: Enough of all your abominations, house of Israel! You have brought foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, into my sanctuary to profane it, my temple, while you offered my food, the fat and the blood. They broke my covenant, in addition to all your abominations. You have not kept charge of my holy things, but have appointed others to keep my charge in my sanctuary for you. This is what the Lord GOD says: No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh shall enter my sanctuary, none of the foreigners who are among the people of Israel. But the Levites who went far from me when Israel went astray, who strayed from me after their idols, shall bear their guilt. They shall serve in my sanctuary, having charge of the gateways of the temple and serving in the temple. They shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people and stand before them to serve them. Because they served them before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, I have raised my hand against them, declares the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their guilt. They shall not draw near to me to serve me as priests or approach any of my holy things, the most holy things. They shall bear their shame and the abominations they committed. I will put them in charge of the temple, for all its service and everything to be done in it. But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel strayed from me, shall draw near to me to minister to me. They shall stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the Lord GOD. They shall enter my sanctuary and draw near to my table to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge. When they enter the gateways of the inner court, they shall wear linen garments. They shall wear no wool while ministering in the gateways of the inner court and inside the temple. They shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists. They shall not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat. When they go out into the outer court, into the outer court to the people, they shall take off the garments in which they minister and leave them in the holy rooms. They shall put on other garments so that they do not sanctify the people with their garments. They shall not shave their heads or let their hair grow long. They shall keep their hair trimmed. No priest shall drink wine when entering the inner court. They shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but only virgins descended from the house of Israel. They may also marry a widow who is the widow of a priest. They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common and make known to them the difference between the unclean and the clean. In disputes they shall stand as judges and judge according to my ordinances. They shall keep my laws and my statutes at all my appointed festivals and keep my Sabbaths holy. A priest shall not approach a dead person and so become unclean. But for a father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or sister who has had no husband, they may become unclean. After his purification, they shall count seven days for him. On the day he enters the holy place, into the inner court to minister in the holy place, he shall offer his sin offering, declares the Lord GOD. They shall have an inheritance: I am their inheritance. You shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession. They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering. Everything devoted in Israel shall belong to them. The best of all the firstfruits of every kind, and every contribution of every kind from all your contributions, shall belong to the priests. You shall give the first of your dough to the priest, so that a blessing may rest on your house. The priests shall not eat any bird or animal that has died on its own or been torn apart.”

Rights and attribution