Ezekiel 44

The Prince’s Privilege

44The man then brought me back toward the sanctuary’s outer gate that faced east, and it was closed. ²The Lord said to me: “This gate will remain closed. It will not be opened, and no one will enter through it, because the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through it. ^kTherefore it will remain closed. ³The prince himself will sit in the gateway to eat a meal before the Lord. ^lHe must enter by way of the portico ^mof the gate and go out the same way.”

⁴Then the man brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked, and the glory of the Lord filled His temple. ⁿAnd I fell facedown. ^o5The Lord said to me: “Son of man, pay attention; ^plook with your eyes and listen with your ears to everything I tell you about all the statutes and laws of the Lord’s temple. ^qTake careful note of the entrance of the temple along with all the exits of the sanctuary.

The Levites’ Duties and Privileges

⁶“Say to the rebellious people, ^rthe house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: I have had enough ^sof all your detestable practices, house of Israel. ⁷When you brought in foreigners, ^tuncircumcised in both heart and flesh, ^uto occupy My sanctuary, you defiled My temple while you offered My food—the fat and the blood. You ^vbroke My covenant by all your detestable practices. ⁸You have not kept charge of My holy things ^wbut have appointed others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you.

⁹“This is what the Lord God says: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, may enter My sanctuary, not even a foreigner who is among the Israelites. ¹⁰Surely the Levites who wandered away from Me when Israel went astray, and who strayed from Me after their idols, ^xwill bear the consequences of their sin. ^y11Yet they will occupy My sanctuary, serving as guards at the temple gates ^zand ministering at the temple. They will slaughter the burnt offerings ^aand other sacrifices for the people and will stand before them to serve them. ^b12Because they ministered to the house of Israel before their idols and became a sinful stumbling block to them, therefore I swore an oath ^cagainst them” ^d—this is the declaration of the Lord God—“that they would bear the consequences of their sin. ¹³They must not approach Me to serve Me as priests ^eor come near any of My holy things or the most holy things. They will bear their disgrace and the consequences of the detestable acts they committed. ¹⁴Yet I will make them responsible for the duties of the temple ^f—for all its work and everything done in it.

The Priests’ Duties and Privileges

¹⁵“But the Levitical priests descended from Zadok, ^gwho kept charge of My sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from Me, will approach Me to serve Me. They will stand before Me to offer Me fat and blood.” This is the declaration of the Lord God. ¹⁶“They are the ones who may enter My sanctuary ^hand draw near to My table to serve Me. ⁱThey will keep My mandate. ¹⁷When they enter the gates of the inner court they must wear linen garments; ^jthey must not have on them anything made of wool when they minister at the gates of the inner court and within it. ¹⁸They must wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists. ^kThey are not to put on anything that makes them sweat. ¹⁹Before they go out to the outer court, ^lto the people, they must take off the clothes they have been ministering in, leave them in the holy chambers, and dress in other clothes ^mso that they do not transmit holiness to the people through their clothes. ⁿ

²⁰“They may not shave their heads ^oor let their hair grow long, ^pbut must carefully trim their hair. ²¹No priest may drink wine before he enters the inner court. ^q22He is not to marry a widow or a divorced woman, but must marry a virgin from the offspring of the house of Israel, ^ror a widow who is the widow of a priest. ²³They must teach My people the difference between the holy and the common, and explain to them the difference between the clean and the unclean. ^s

²⁴“In a dispute, they will officiate as judges and decide the case according to My ordinances. ^tThey must observe My laws and statutes regarding all My appointed festivals, and keep My Sabbaths holy. ^u25A priest may not come near a dead person so that he becomes defiled. ^vHowever, he may defile himself for a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, a brother, or an unmarried sister. ²⁶After he is cleansed, he is to count off seven days for himself. ^w27On the day he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court ^xto minister in the sanctuary, he must present his sin offering.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

²⁸“This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance. ^yYou are to give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession. ²⁹They will eat the grain offering, the sin offering, ^zand the restitution offering. Everything in Israel that is permanently dedicated to the Lord will belong to them. ^a30The best of all the firstfruits of every kind and contribution of every kind from all your gifts will belong to the priests. ^bYou are to give your first batch of dough to the priest ^cso that a blessing may rest on your homes. ^d31The priests may not eat any bird or animal that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts. ^e