The Levitical Responsibilities

¹⁵ “But the ^(A)Levitical priests, the sons of ^(B)Zadok, who ^(C)kept the responsibility of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel ^(D)went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me; and they shall ^(E)stand before Me to bring near to Me the ^(F)fat and the blood,” declares Lord Yahweh. ¹⁶ “They shall ^(G)enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My ^(H)table to minister to Me and keep the responsibility given by Me. ¹⁷ And it will be that when they enter at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with ^(I)linen garments; and wool shall not ^[a]be on them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner court and in the house. ¹⁸ Linen ^(J)headdresses shall be on their heads, and ^(K)linen undergarments shall be on their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything which makes them sweat. ¹⁹ And when they go out into the outer court, into the outer court to the people, they shall ^(L)put 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 transmit holiness to the people with their garments. ²⁰ Also they shall ^(N)not shave their heads, yet they shall not ^(O)let their locks ^[b]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 court. ²² And they shall not ^[c]take a widow or a ^(Q)divorced woman as a wife but shall ^(R)take virgins from the seed of the house of Israel or a widow who is the widow of a priest. ²³ Moreover, they shall instruct My people about the ^(S)difference between the holy and the profane, and make them know the difference between the unclean and the clean. ²⁴ And in a dispute, ^(T)they shall take their stand to judge; they shall judge it according to My judgments. They shall also keep My laws and My statutes in all My ^(U)appointed times and ^(V)keep My sabbaths holy. ²⁵ But ^[d](W)they shall not go to a dead person to make themselves unclean; however, for father, for mother, for son, for daughter, for brother, or for a sister who has not had a husband, they may make themselves unclean. ²⁶ And after he is ^(X)cleansed, seven days shall be counted for him. ²⁷ And on the day that he goes into the sanctuary, into the ^(Y)inner court to minister in the sanctuary, he shall bring near his ^(Z)sin offering,” declares Lord Yahweh.

²⁸ “And it shall be with regard to an inheritance for them, that ^(AA)I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no possession in Israel—I am their possession. ²⁹ They shall ^(AB)eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; and every ^[e](AC)devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. ³⁰ And the first of all the ^(AD)first fruits of every kind and every ^[f]contribution of every kind, from all your ^[g]contributions, shall be for the priests; you shall also give to the priest the ^(AE)first of your ^[h]dough to cause a ^(AF)blessing to rest on your house. ³¹ The priests shall not eat any bird or beast that has ^(AG)died of itself or has been torn to pieces.