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Ezekiel 44:15-31
New English Translation

The Levitical Priests

15 “‘But the Levitical priests, the descendants of Zadok[a] who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, will approach me to minister to me; they will stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the Sovereign Lord. 16 They will enter my sanctuary and approach my table to minister to me; they will keep my charge.

17 “‘When they enter the gates of the inner court, they must wear linen garments; they must not have any wool on them when they minister in the inner gates of the court and in the temple. 18 Linen turbans will be on their heads and linen undergarments will be around their waists; they must not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat. 19 When they go out to the outer court to the people, they must remove the garments they were ministering in and place them in the holy chambers; they must put on other garments so that they will not transmit holiness to the people with their garments.[b]

20 “‘They must not shave their heads[c] nor let their hair grow long;[d] they must only trim their heads. 21 No priest may drink wine when he enters the inner court. 22 They must not marry a widow or a divorcee, but they may marry a virgin from the house of Israel[e] or a widow who is a priest’s widow. 23 Moreover, they will teach my people the difference between the holy and the common and show them how to distinguish between the ceremonially unclean and the clean.[f]

24 “‘In a controversy they will act as judges;[g] they will judge according to my ordinances. They will keep my laws and my statutes regarding all my appointed festivals and will observe[h] my Sabbaths.

25 “‘They must not come near a dead person or they will be defiled;[i] however, for father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or unmarried sister, they may defile themselves. 26 After a priest[j] has become ceremonially clean, they[k] must count off a period of seven days for him. 27 On the day he enters the sanctuary into the inner court to serve in the sanctuary, he must offer his sin offering, declares the Sovereign Lord.

28 “‘This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance, and you must give them no property in Israel; I am their property.[l] 29 They may eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, and every devoted thing in Israel will be theirs. 30 The first of all the firstfruits and all contributions of any kind[m] will be for the priests; you will also give to the priest the first portion of your dough, so that a blessing may rest on your house. 31 The priests will not eat any bird or animal that has died a natural death or was torn to pieces by a wild animal.[n]

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 44:15 sn Zadok was a descendant of Aaron through Eleazar (1 Chr 6:50-53) who served as a priest during David’s reign (2 Sam 8:17).
  2. Ezekiel 44:19 sn For a similar concept of transmitting holiness, see Exod 19:12-14; Lev 10:1-2; 2 Sam 6:7. Comparable laws concerning the priest are found in Lev 10 and 21.
  3. Ezekiel 44:20 sn The shaving of the head was associated with mourning (Ezek 7:18).
  4. Ezekiel 44:20 sn Letting the hair grow was associated with taking a vow (Num 6:5; Acts 21:23-26).
  5. Ezekiel 44:22 tn Heb “from the offspring of the house of Israel.”
  6. Ezekiel 44:23 sn This task was a fundamental role of the priest (Lev 10:10).
  7. Ezekiel 44:24 sn For a historical illustration of the priest carrying out this function, see 2 Chr 19:9-11.
  8. Ezekiel 44:24 tn Heb “sanctify, set apart.”
  9. Ezekiel 44:25 sn This law was part of the legal code for priests (Lev 21:1-3).
  10. Ezekiel 44:26 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the priest) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  11. Ezekiel 44:26 tc One medieval Hebrew ms, the LXX, and the Syriac, along with Lev 15:13, 28, read the verb as singular.
  12. Ezekiel 44:28 sn See Num 18:20; Deut 10:9; 18:2; Josh 13:33; 18:7.
  13. Ezekiel 44:30 tn Heb has in addition “from your contributions,” a repetition unnecessary in English.
  14. Ezekiel 44:31 tn The words “by a wild animal” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation as a clarification of the circumstances.sn For this law, see Lev 7:24 and 17:15.
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Ezekiel 44:15-31
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

The Levitical Priests

15 “But the Levitical priests, the descendants of Zadok, who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me to minister to me, and they shall attend me to offer me the fat and the blood, says the Lord God.(A) 16 It is they who shall enter my sanctuary; it is they who shall approach my table to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge. 17 When they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall wear linen vestments; they shall have nothing of wool on them while they minister at the gates of the inner court and within the temple.(B) 18 They shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments on their loins; they shall not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat.(C) 19 When they go out into the outer court to the people, they shall remove the vestments in which they have been ministering and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments, so that they may not communicate holiness to the people with their vestments.(D) 20 They shall not shave their heads or let their locks grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads. 21 No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court.(E) 22 They shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman but only a virgin of the stock of the house of Israel or a widow who is the widow of a priest.(F) 23 They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.(G) 24 In a dispute they shall act as judges, and they shall decide it according to my judgments. They shall keep my laws and my statutes regarding all my appointed festivals, and they shall keep my Sabbaths holy.(H) 25 They shall not defile themselves by going near a dead person; for father or mother, however, and for son or daughter and for brother or unmarried sister they may defile themselves.(I) 26 After he has become clean, they shall count seven days for him.(J) 27 On the day that he goes into the holy place, into the inner court, to minister in the holy place, he shall offer his purification offering, says the Lord God.

28 “This shall be their inheritance: I am their inheritance, and you shall give them no holding in Israel; I am their holding.(K) 29 They shall eat the grain offering, the purification offering, and the guilt offering, and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs.(L) 30 The first of all the first fruits of all kinds and every offering of all kinds from all your offerings shall belong to the priests; you shall also give to the priests the first of your dough, in order that a blessing may rest on your house.(M) 31 The priests shall not eat of anything, whether bird or animal, that died of itself or was torn by animals.(N)

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