Ezekiel 44:15-31
New King James Version
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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- Ezekiel 44:30 Lit. first
Ezekiel 44:15-31
21st Century King James Version
15 But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok that kept the charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near to Me to minister unto Me, and they shall stand before Me to offer unto Me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God.
16 They shall enter into My sanctuary, and they shall come near to My table to minister unto Me, and they shall keep My charge.
17 And it shall come to pass that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them while they minister in the gates of the inner court and within.
18 They shall have linen headdresses upon their heads and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.
19 And when they go forth into the outer court, even into the outer court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments.
20 Neither shall they shave their heads nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads.
21 Neither shall any priest drink wine when they enter into the inner court.
22 Neither shall they take for their wives a widow nor her that is put away; but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow who had a priest before.
23 And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
24 And in controversy they shall stand in judgment, and they shall judge it according to My judgments; and they shall keep My laws and My statutes in all Mine assemblies, and they shall hallow My Sabbaths.
25 And they shall come near no dead person to defile themselves; but for father or for mother, or for son or for daughter, for brother or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves.
26 And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days.
27 And on the day that he goeth into the sanctuary unto the inner court to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, saith the Lord God.
28 “‘And it shall be unto them for an inheritance. I am their inheritance, and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.
29 They shall eat the meat offering and the sin offering and the trespass offering, and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs.
30 And the first of all the firstfruits of all things and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest’s. Ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house.
31 The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.
Read full chapterScripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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