15 (A)“But the priests, the Levites, (B)the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary (C)when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me; and they (D)shall stand before Me to offer to Me the (E)fat and the blood,” says the Lord God. 16 “They shall (F)enter My sanctuary, and they shall come near (G)My table to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge. 17 And it shall be, whenever they enter the gates of the inner court, that (H)they shall put on linen garments; no wool shall come upon them while they minister within the gates of the inner court or within the house. 18 (I)They shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen trousers on their bodies; they shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat. 19 When they go out to the outer court, to the outer court to the people, (J)they shall take off their garments in which they have ministered, leave them in the holy chambers, and put on other garments; and in their holy garments they shall (K)not sanctify the people.

20 (L)“They shall neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow (M)long, but they shall keep their hair well trimmed. 21 (N)No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court. 22 They shall not take as wife a (O)widow or a divorced woman, but take virgins of the descendants of the house of Israel, or widows of priests.

23 “And (P)they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to (Q)discern between the unclean and the clean. 24 (R)In controversy they shall stand as judges, and judge it according to My judgments. They shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed meetings, (S)and they shall hallow My Sabbaths.

25 “They shall not defile themselves by coming near a dead person. Only for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister may they defile themselves. 26 (T)After he is cleansed, they shall count seven days for him. 27 And on the day that he goes to the sanctuary to minister in the sanctuary, (U)he must offer his sin offering (V)in the inner court,” says the Lord God.

28 “It shall be, in regard to their inheritance, that I (W)am their inheritance. You shall give them no (X)possession in Israel, for I am their possession. 29 (Y)They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering; (Z)every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30 The (AA)best[a] of all firstfruits of any kind, and every sacrifice of any kind from all your sacrifices, shall be the priest’s; also you (AB)shall give to the priest the first of your ground meal, (AC)to cause a blessing to rest on your house. 31 The priests shall not eat anything, bird or beast, that (AD)died naturally or was torn by wild beasts.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 44:30 Lit. first

15 “‘But the Levitical priests, who are descendants of Zadok(A) and who guarded my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, are to come near to minister before me; they are to stand before me to offer sacrifices of fat(B) and blood, declares the Sovereign Lord.(C) 16 They alone are to enter my sanctuary; they alone are to come near my table(D) to minister before me and serve me as guards.(E)

17 “‘When they enter the gates of the inner court, they are to wear linen clothes;(F) they must not wear any woolen garment while ministering at the gates of the inner court or inside the temple. 18 They are to wear linen turbans(G) on their heads and linen undergarments(H) around their waists. They must not wear anything that makes them perspire.(I) 19 When they go out into the outer court where the people are, they are to take off the clothes they have been ministering in and are to leave them in the sacred rooms, and put on other clothes, so that the people are not consecrated(J) through contact with their garments.(K)

20 “‘They must not shave(L) their heads or let their hair grow long, but they are to keep the hair of their heads trimmed.(M) 21 No priest is to drink wine when he enters the inner court.(N) 22 They must not marry widows or divorced women; they may marry only virgins of Israelite descent or widows of priests.(O) 23 They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common(P) and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.(Q)

24 “‘In any dispute, the priests are to serve as judges(R) and decide it according to my ordinances. They are to keep my laws and my decrees for all my appointed festivals,(S) and they are to keep my Sabbaths holy.(T)

25 “‘A priest must not defile himself by going near a dead person; however, if the dead person was his father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried sister, then he may defile himself.(U) 26 After he is cleansed, he must wait seven days.(V) 27 On the day he goes into the inner court of the sanctuary(W) to minister in the sanctuary, he is to offer a sin offering[a](X) for himself, declares the Sovereign Lord.

28 “‘I am to be the only inheritance(Y) the priests have. You are to give them no possession in Israel; I will be their possession. 29 They will eat(Z) the grain offerings, the sin offerings and the guilt offerings; and everything in Israel devoted[b] to the Lord(AA) will belong to them.(AB) 30 The best of all the firstfruits(AC) and of all your special gifts will belong to the priests. You are to give them the first portion of your ground meal(AD) so that a blessing(AE) may rest on your household.(AF) 31 The priests must not eat anything, whether bird or animal, found dead(AG) or torn by wild animals.(AH)

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 44:27 Or purification offering; also in verse 29
  2. Ezekiel 44:29 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord.