¹³ Anyone who comes near the Lord’s tabernacle will die.^(A) Will we all perish?”

⁹ “This is what the Lord God says: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, may enter my sanctuary, not even a foreigner who is among the Israelites. ¹⁰ Surely the Levites who wandered away from me when Israel went astray, and who strayed from me after their idols,^(A) will bear the consequences of their iniquity.^{(B) 11} Yet they will occupy my sanctuary, serving as guards at the temple gates^(C) and ministering at the temple. They will slaughter the burnt offerings^(D) and other sacrifices for the people and will stand before them to serve them.^{(E) 12} Because they ministered to the house of Israel before their idols and became a sinful stumbling block to them, therefore I swore an oath^[a] against them”^(F)—this is the declaration of the Lord God—“that they would bear the consequences of their iniquity. ¹³ They must not approach me to serve me as priests^(G) or come near any of my holy things or the most holy things. They will bear their disgrace and the consequences of the detestable acts they committed. ¹⁴ Yet I will make them responsible for the duties of the temple^(H)—for all its work and everything done in it.

The Priests’ Duties and Privileges

¹⁵ “But the Levitical priests descended from Zadok,^(I) who kept charge of my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, will approach me to serve me. They will stand before me to offer me fat and blood.” This is the declaration of the Lord God. ¹⁶ “They are the ones who may enter my sanctuary^(J) and approach my table to serve me.^(K) They will keep my mandate.