Ezekiel 44:15-31

New International Reader's Version

¹⁵ “But the priests must approach me to serve me. They are Levites from Zadok’s family line. They guarded my temple when the people of Israel turned away from me. These priests must serve me by offering sacrifices of fat and blood,” announces the Lord and King. ¹⁶ “They are the only ones who can enter my temple. Only they can come near to serve me as guards.

¹⁷ “They will enter the gates of the inner courtyard. When they do, they must wear linen clothes. They will serve at the gates of the inner courtyard or inside the temple. When they do, they must not wear any clothes made out of wool. ¹⁸ They must have linen turbans on their heads. They must wear linen underwear around their waists. They must not wear anything that makes them sweat. ¹⁹ They will go into the outer courtyard where the people are. When they do, they must take off the clothes they have been serving in. They must leave them in the sacred rooms. And they must put other clothes on. Then the people will not be made holy if they happen to touch the priests’ clothes.

²⁰ “The priests must not shave their heads. They must not let their hair grow long. They must keep it cut short. ²¹ No priest may drink wine when he enters the inner courtyard. ²² They must not get married to widows or divorced women. They may only marry Israelite virgins or the widows of priests. ²³ The priests must teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is not. They must show them how to tell the difference between what is ‘clean’ and what is not.

²⁴ “When people do not agree, the priests must serve as judges between them. They must make their decisions based on my laws. They must obey my laws and rules for all my appointed feasts. And they must keep my Sabbath days holy.

²⁵ “A priest must not make himself ‘unclean’ by going near a dead person. But suppose the dead person was his father or mother. Or suppose it was his son or daughter or brother or unmarried sister. Then the priest may make himself ‘unclean.’ ²⁶ After he is pure and ‘clean’ again, he must wait seven days. ²⁷ Then he may go to the inner courtyard to serve in the temple. But when he does, he must sacrifice a sin offering for himself,” announces the Lord and King.

²⁸ “The priests will not receive any part of the land of Israel. I myself will be their only share. ²⁹ They will eat the grain offerings, sin offerings and guilt offerings. Everything in Israel that is set apart to me in a special way will belong to them. ³⁰ The best of every first share of the people’s crops will belong to the priests. So will all their special gifts. The people must give the priests the first share of their ground meal. Then I will bless my people’s families. ³¹ The priests must not eat any bird or animal that is found dead. They must not eat anything that wild animals have torn apart.