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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
Common English Bible

15 As for the priests of the levitical family of Zadok who did keep charge of my sanctuary when the Israelites strayed away from me, they will draw near to me to serve me. They will stand in my presence to present fat and blood to me. This is what the Lord God says. 16 They will come into my sanctuary, and they will approach my table to minister to me. They will keep my charge. 17 When they come through the gates to the inner courtyard, they will wear linen garments. They won’t wear any wool when they minister at the gates of the inner courtyard or in the temple. 18 They will have linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists. They won’t wear anything that makes them sweat. 19 When they go out to the outer courtyard to the people, they will remove the garments in which they were ministering. They will lay them aside in the holy chambers and wear other clothing. They must not transfer holiness to the people through their clothing. 20 They must neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow long, but they will trim the hair on their heads. 21 None of the priests should drink wine when they come into the inner courtyard. 22 They must not marry widows or divorced women, but only Israelite virgins. Priests may, however, marry the widows of other priests. 23 They must teach my people the difference between the holy and the ordinary, and show them the difference between clean and unclean. 24 They must execute judgments according to my case laws in cases of civil conflict. They must observe my instructions and my regulations regarding all my festivals. They must keep my sabbaths holy. 25 In order to avoid uncleanness, they must not approach the dead. They may, however, become unclean for their father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried sister. 26 Once the priest is clean again, he must count off seven days. 27 On the day that he comes into the holy place, the inner courtyard, to minister in the holy place, he will present his purification offering. This is what the Lord God says. 28 As for their inheritance, I am their inheritance. They won’t be given family property in Israel; I am their family property. 29 They will eat the grain offerings, the purification offerings, and the compensation offerings. Every dedicated thing in Israel belongs to them. 30 The best of the early produce of every kind, and every contribution, all of them, belong to the priests. You will give the best of your bread dough to the priest so that a blessing may come to rest on your household. 31 The priests must not eat any bird or animal that dies naturally or is torn apart by prey.

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