Chapter 44
1 Then he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary , which looks towards the east ; and it was shut .
2 The LORD said to me , " This gate shall be shut . It shall not be opened , no man shall enter in by it ; for the LORD , the God of Israel , has entered in by it . Therefore it shall be shut .
3 As for the prince , he shall sit in it as prince to eat bread before the LORD . He shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate , and shall go out the same way ."
4 Then he brought me by the way of the north gate before the house ; and I looked , and behold , the LORD ’s glory filled the LORD ’s house ; so I fell on my face .
5 The LORD said to me , " Son of man , mark well , and see with your eyes , and hear with your ears all that I tell you concerning all the ordinances of the LORD ’s house and all its laws ; and mark well the entrance of the house , with every exit of the sanctuary .
6 You shall tell the rebellious , even the house of Israel , ‘ The Lord GOD says : " You house of Israel , let that be enough of all your abominations ,
7 in that you have brought in foreigners , uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh , to be in my sanctuary , to profane it , even my house , when you offer my bread , the fat and the blood ; and they have broken my covenant , to add to all your abominations .
8 You have not performed the duty of my holy things ; but you have set performers of my duty in my sanctuary for yourselves."
9 The Lord GOD says , " No foreigner , uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh , shall enter into my sanctuary , of any foreigners who are amongst the children of Israel .
10 "‘" But the Levites who went far from me when Israel went astray , who went astray from me after their idols , they will bear their iniquity .
11 Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary , having oversight at the gates of the house , and ministering in the house . They shall kill the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people , and they shall stand before them to minister to them .
12 Because they ministered to them before their idols , and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel , therefore I have lifted up my hand against them ," says the Lord GOD , " and they will bear their iniquity .
13 They shall not come near to me , to execute the office of priest to me , nor to come near to any of my holy things , to the things that are most holy ; but they will bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed .
14 Yet I will make them performers of the duty of the house , for all its service and for all that will be done therein.
15 "‘" But the Levitical priests , the sons of Zadok , who performed the duty of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me , shall come near to me to minister to me . They shall stand before me to offer to me the fat and the blood ," says the Lord GOD .
16 " They shall enter into my sanctuary , and they shall come near to my table , to minister to me , and they shall keep my instruction.
17 "‘" It will be that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court , they shall be clothed with linen garments. No wool shall come on them while they minister in the gates of the inner court , and within .
18 They shall have linen turbans on their heads , and shall have linen trousers on their waists. They shall not clothe themselves with anything that makes them sweat .
19 When they go out into the outer court , even into the outer court to the people , they shall put off their garments in which they minister and lay them in the holy rooms . They shall put on other garments, that they not sanctify the people with their garments.
20 "‘" They shall not shave their heads , or allow their locks to grow long . They shall only cut off the hair of their heads .
21 None of the priests shall drink wine when they enter into the inner court .
22 They shall not take for their wives a widow, or her who is put away ; but they shall take virgins of the offspring of the house of Israel , or a widow who is the widow of a priest .
23 They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common , and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean .
24 "‘" In a controversy they shall stand to judge . They shall judge it according to my ordinances . They shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts . They shall make my Sabbaths holy .
25 "‘" They shall go in to no dead person to defile themselves; but for father , or for mother, or for son , or for daughter , for brother, or for sister who has had no husband, they may defile themselves.
26 After he is cleansed , they shall reckon to him seven days .
27 In the day that he goes into the sanctuary , into the inner court , to minister in the sanctuary , he shall offer his sin offering ," says the Lord GOD .
28 "‘ They shall have an inheritance : I am their inheritance ; and you shall give them no possession in Israel . I am their possession .
29 They shall eat the meal offering , and the sin offering , and the trespass offering ; and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs .
30 The first of all the first fruits of every thing , and every offering of everything , of all your offerings , shall be for the priest . You shall also give to the priests the first of your dough , to cause a blessing to rest on your house .
31 The priests shall not eat of anything that dies of itself or is torn , whether it is bird or animal .