Ezekiel 44:15-31

New American Standard Bible

Ordinances for the Levites

¹⁵ “But the ^(A)Levitical priests, the sons of ^(B)Zadok, who ^[a](C)took responsibility for My sanctuary when the sons of Israel ^(D)went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to serve Me; and they shall ^(E)stand before Me to offer Me the ^(F)fat and the blood,” declares the Lord God. ¹⁶ “They shall ^(G)enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My ^(H)table to serve Me and ^[b]assume the responsibility I give them. ¹⁷ And it shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner courtyard, they shall be clothed with ^(I)linen garments; and wool shall not ^[c]be worn by them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner courtyard or in the house. ¹⁸ Linen ^(J)turbans shall be on their heads and ^(K)linen undergarments shall be around their waists; they shall not put on anything that makes them sweat. ¹⁹ And when they go out into the outer courtyard, into the outer courtyard to the people, they shall ^(L)take off their garments in which they have been ministering and lay them in the holy chambers; then they shall put on other garments, so that they will ^(M)not transfer holiness to the people with their garments. ²⁰ Also they shall ^(N)not shave their heads, yet they shall not ^(O)let their locks ^[d]grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads. ^21 (P)Nor shall any of the priests drink wine when they enter the inner courtyard. ²² And they shall not ^[e]marry a widow or a ^(Q)divorced woman, but shall ^(R)take virgins from the descendants of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. ²³ Moreover, they shall teach My people the ^(S)difference between the holy and the ^[f]common, and teach them to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. ²⁴ In a dispute ^(T)they shall take their stand to judge; they shall judge it according to My ordinances. They shall also keep My laws and My statutes in all My ^(U)appointed feasts, and ^(V)sanctify My Sabbaths. ^25 [g](W)They shall not go to a dead person to defile themselves; however, for father, for mother, for son, for daughter, for brother, or for a sister who has not had a husband, they may defile themselves. ²⁶ And after he is ^(X)cleansed, seven days ^[h]shall elapse for him. ²⁷ On the day that he goes into the sanctuary, to the ^(Y)inner courtyard to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his ^(Z)sin offering,” declares the Lord God.

²⁸ “And it shall be regarding an inheritance for them, that ^(AA)I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no property in Israel—I am their property. ²⁹ They shall ^(AB)eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; and everything ^(AC)banned from secular use in Israel shall be theirs. ³⁰ And the first of all the ^(AD)first fruits of every kind and every ^[i]contribution of every kind, from all your ^[j]contributions, shall be for the priests; you shall also give to the priest the ^(AE)first of your ^[k]dough, to make a ^(AF)blessing rest on your house. ³¹ The priests shall not eat any bird or animal that has ^(AG)died a natural death or has been torn to pieces by animals.