²³ but he shall not go through the veil or approach the altar, because he has a blemish, that he may not ^(A)profane my sanctuaries,^{[a] (B)}for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.”

^12 (A)He shall not go out of the sanctuary, lest he ^(B)profane the sanctuary of his God, for the ^(C)consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him: I am the Lord.

⁹ “Thus says the Lord God: ^(A)No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, shall enter my sanctuary. ¹⁰ But ^(B)the Levites who went far from me, going astray from me after their idols ^(C)when Israel went astray, ^(D)shall bear their punishment.^{[a] 11} They shall be ^(E)ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight ^(F)at the gates of the temple and ministering in the temple. They shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and ^(G)they shall stand before the people, to minister to them. ¹² Because they ministered to them before their idols and became ^(H)a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have ^(I)sworn concerning them, declares the Lord God, and they shall bear their punishment. ¹³ They ^(J)shall not come near to me, to serve me as priest, nor come near any of my holy things and the things that are most holy, but ^(K)they shall bear their shame and the abominations that they have committed. ¹⁴ Yet I will appoint them to keep ^(L)charge of the temple, ^(M)to do all its service and all that is to be done in it.

³¹ “Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness by ^(A)defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst.”

^26 (A)He put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the veil, ²⁷ and burned fragrant incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁶ And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the ^(A)mercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will meet with you. ⁷ And Aaron shall ^(B)burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he ^(C)dresses the lamps he shall burn it, ⁸ and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the Lord throughout your generations.