Ezekiel
Chapter 44
1 Then he led me back to the outer sanctuary gate facing east; it was closed.
2 God told me, “This gate must stay closed and not be opened. Nobody will go through it because God, the God of Israel, has gone through it, so it must stay closed.”
3 It is for the leader; the leader will sit there to eat bread in front of God; he will go in through the porch of that gate and leave the same way.
4 He led me to the north gate in front of the temple. I saw the brightness of God filling God’s temple, and I fell with my face to the ground.
5 God said to me, “Human, pay close attention and look with your eyes, and listen with your ears to everything I tell you about all the rules of God’s house and all its laws; notice carefully the entrance to the house and every exit of the holy place.”
6 You will tell the rebels, even the people of Israel, ‘God says: People of Israel, you have done enough terrible things.
7 You brought outsiders, with unchanged hearts and bodies, into my holy place, making it unclean, even my house, when you offered my food, the best parts and the blood, breaking my agreement because of all your terrible acts.
8 You did not take care of my sacred things; instead, you chose people to take care of my sacred place for your own benefit.
9 God says: No foreigner, not loyal in heart or body, will enter my holy place among the people of Israel.
10 The Levites who turned away from me when Israel followed other gods; they must carry their guilt.
11 They will serve in my holy place, take care of the doors of the temple, and help in the temple: they will kill the burnt offerings and sacrifices for the people, and they will stand before the people to serve them.
12 Because they served them near their idols and made the people of Israel do wrong, I have raised my hand against them, says God, and they will be responsible for their sins.
13 They must not come close to me to serve as priests or approach any of my sacred things or the most holy place. Instead, they must face the embarrassment and the wrong things they have done.
14 But I will make them responsible for taking care of the house, for all its work, and for everything that is done inside it.
15 The priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who took care of my holy place when the Israelites turned away from me, will come close to me to serve me. They will stand before me to give me the fat and the blood, says God.
16 They will go into my holy place, they will come close to my table to serve me, and they will follow my commands.
17 When they go through the gates of the inner courtyard, they must wear linen clothes; no wool is to be on them while they serve inside the inner gates and area.
18 They should wear linen hats on their heads and linen underpants around their waists; they must not wear anything that makes them sweat.
19 When they go out to the outer courtyard, to meet the people, they must take off the clothes they wore to serve and leave them in the holy rooms. Then they must wear other clothes so they don’t make the people holy with their clothes.
20 They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long but should only trim their hair.
21 Priests must not drink wine before they go into the inner courtyard.
22 They must not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but only young women from Israel, or a widow who was married to a priest before.
23 They will teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is not holy, and help them to tell apart what is unclean and what is clean.
24 When there is a dispute, they will serve as judges; they will make decisions using my rules. They must follow my laws and instructions during all my gatherings and respect my Sabbaths.
25 They must not touch a dead body and become unclean, except for their father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or a sister who was not married, for these they can become unclean.
26 After he is clean, they will count seven days for him.
27 On the day he enters the inner part of the holy place to serve, he must bring his sin offering, says God.
28 It will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance. You must not give them any property in Israel: I am their property.
29 They will eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; and all dedicated items in Israel will belong to them.
30 Give the priest the first part of every crop and every offering you make. Also give him the first of your bread dough so he can ask God to bless your home.
31 The priests must not eat anything that has died on its own or been killed by other animals, whether it’s a bird or another kind of animal.