Ezekiel 44

44 ¹ Then he brought me back to the sanctuary's outer gate facing east, and it was shut.

² He said to me, "This gate stays shut. It must not be opened, and no one may enter through it, because our Father entered through it; so it stays shut. ³ Only the prince—the prince himself—may sit there to eat bread before our Father. He must enter through the gate's entrance hall, and leave the same way.

⁴ Then he brought me through the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked, and the glory of our Father filled his house; and I fell facedown.

⁵ And our Father said to me, "Son of man, pay attention, look with your eyes and listen with your ears to all I tell you about the statutes and laws of my house. Note the entrance of the temple and all the exits of the sanctuary."

⁶ Tell the rebellious house of Israel: The Sovereign Father says: Enough of all your detestable things, house of Israel! ⁷ You brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to be in my sanctuary, desecrating my house, when you offered my bread, fat, and blood. You broke my covenant by all your detestable things. ⁸ You did not care for my holy things; you put others in charge of my sanctuary in your place. ⁹ The Sovereign Father says: No foreigner, hard-hearted and uncircumcised in flesh, among all the foreigners living among Israel's people, may enter my sanctuary.

¹⁰ But the Levites who went far from me when Israel strayed, who wandered from me after their idols, will bear their guilt. ¹¹ They will serve in my sanctuary, overseeing the temple gates and serving inside. They will slaughter the burnt offering and sacrifice for the people, and stand ready to serve them. ¹² They served the people before their idols and made Israel stumble into guilt; so I swore an oath against them, declares the Sovereign Father, and they will bear their guilt. ¹³ They will not approach me to serve me as priests, nor come near any of my holy things or the most holy things; they will bear the shame of the detestable things they did. ¹⁴ Yet I will appoint them to oversee the temple, all its service and all done in it.

¹⁵ But the Levitical priests, Zadok's sons, who guarded my sanctuary when Israel strayed from me — they will come near to serve me, standing before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the Sovereign Father. ¹⁶ They will enter my sanctuary, approach my table to minister to me, and keep my requirements.

¹⁷ Entering the inner court gates, they must wear linen; no wool while serving in the inner court gates and inside. ¹⁸ They must wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments at their waists, wearing nothing that makes them sweat. ¹⁹ When they go out to the people in the outer court, they must take off the clothes they served in, leave them in the holy rooms, and put on other clothes, so they do not pass holiness to the people through their clothes.

²⁰ They must not shave their heads or grow long hair; they are to keep their hair trimmed. ²¹ No priest may drink wine when he enters the inner court. ²² They must not marry a widow or divorced woman, but only virgins of Israel's line, or a priest's widow. ²³ They must teach my people the difference between holy and common, and show them how to tell unclean from clean.

²⁴ In a dispute they judge by my rulings. They keep my laws and statutes at all my appointed feasts, and keep my Sabbaths holy.

²⁵ A priest must not go near a dead body and make himself unclean; but for father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or unmarried sister he may. ²⁶ After his cleansing, they count seven days for him. ²⁷ On the day he enters the holy place, the inner court, to serve there, he offers his sin offering, declares the Sovereign Father.

²⁸ Their inheritance is this: I am their inheritance. Give them no possession in Israel — I am their possession. ²⁹ They will eat the grain, sin, and guilt offerings, and everything devoted in Israel will be theirs. ³⁰ The best of all firstfruits of every kind, and every contribution you bring, will belong to the priests. Give the priests the first of your dough, so a blessing may rest on your house. ³¹ Priests must not eat any bird or animal that died on its own or was killed by wild animals.