1 Then He brought me back by the way of the AEzek 40:6, 17; 42:14outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces the east; and it was shut. 2 The Loʀᴅ said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the AEzek 43:2-4Loʀᴅ God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. 3  “As for the AEzek 34:24; 37:25prince, he shall sit in it as prince to BGen 31:54; Ex 24:9-11eat bread before the Loʀᴅ; he shall CEzek 46:2, 8-10enter by way of the DEzek 40:9porch of the gate and shall go out 1Lit by his wayby the same way.”

4 Then He brought me by way of the AEzek 40:20, 40north gate to the front of the house; and I looked, and behold, the BIs 6:3, 4; Ezek 1:28; 3:23; 43:4, 5; Hag 2:7glory of the Loʀᴅ filled the house of the Loʀᴅ, and I CEzek 1:28; 43:3fell on my face. 5 The Loʀᴅ said to me, “Son of man, 1Lit set your heart onADeut 32:46; Ezek 40:4mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears all that I say to you concerning all the BDeut 12:32; Ezek 43:10, 11statutes of the house of the Loʀᴅ and concerning all its laws; and 1Lit set your heart onmark well the entrance of the house, with all exits of the sanctuary. 6  “You shall say to the 1Lit rebellionAEzek 2:5-7; 3:9rebellious ones, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord 2Heb YHWH, usually rendered Loʀᴅ, and so throughout the chGoᴅ, “BEzek 45:9; 1 Pet 4:3Enough of all your abominations, O house of Israel, 7 when you brought in AEx 12:43-49foreigners, BLev 26:41; Deut 10:16; Jer 4:4; 9:26uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to profane it, even My house, when you CLev 22:25offered My food, the fat and the blood; for they DGen 17:14made My covenant void—this in addition to all your abominations. 8  “And you have not ALev 22:2; Num 18:7kept charge of My holy things yourselves, but you have set foreigners 1Lit as keepers of My charge in Myto keep charge of My sanctuary.”

9 ‘Thus says the Lord Goᴅ, “AEzek 44:7; Joel 3:17; Zech 14:21No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the sons of Israel, shall enter My sanctuary. 10  “But the Levites who went far from Me when Israel went astray, who A2 Kin 23:8, 9; Ezek 22:26; 44:12went astray from Me after their idols, shall BNum 18:23bear the punishment for their iniquity. 11  “Yet they shall be ANum 3:5-37; 4:1-33; 18:2-7ministers in My sanctuary, having B1 Chr 26:1-19oversight at the gates of the house and CEzek 40:45; 44:14ministering in the house; they shall D2 Chr 29:34; 30:17slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall ENum 16:9stand before them to minister to them. 12  “Because they ministered to them A2 Kin 16:10-16before their idols and became a BEzek 14:3, 4stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have 1Lit lifted up My handCEzek 20:15, 23sworn against them,” declares the Lord Goᴅ, “that they shall DEzek 44:10bear the punishment for their iniquity. 13  “And they shall ANum 18:3not come near to Me to serve as a priest to Me, nor come near to any of My holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they will BEzek 16:61, 63; 39:26bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. 14  “Yet I will 1Lit giveappoint them 2Lit keepers of the chargeto ANum 18:4; 1 Chr 23:28-32; Ezek 44:11keep charge of the house, of all its service and of all that shall be done in it.

15 “But the AJer 33:18-22Levitical priests, the sons of BEzek 40:46; 43:19; 48:11Zadok, who CNum 18:7; Ezek 40:45kept charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel DEzek 44:10; 48:11went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me; and they shall EZech 3:1, 7stand before Me to offer Me the FLev 3:16, 17; 17:5, 6; Ezek 44:7fat and the blood,” declares the Lord Goᴅ. 16 “They shall ANum 18:5, 7, 8enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My BEzek 41:22; Mal 1:7, 12table to minister to Me and keep My charge. 17  “It shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with AEx 28:42, 43; 39:27-29; Rev 19:8linen garments; and wool shall not 1Lit come uponbe on them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner court and in the house. 18  “Linen AEx 28:40; Is 3:20; Ezek 24:17, 23turbans shall be on their heads and BEx 28:42; Lev 16:4linen undergarments shall be on their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything which makes them sweat. 19  “When they go out into the outer court, into the outer court to the people, they shall ALev 6:10; 16:4, 23, 24; Ezek 42:14put off their garments in which they have been ministering and lay them in the holy chambers; then they shall put on other garments so that they will BLev 6:27; Ezek 46:20not transmit holiness to the people with their garments. 20  “Also they shall ALev 21:5not shave their heads, yet they shall not BNum 6:5let their locks 1Or hang loosegrow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads. 21  “ALev 10:9Nor shall any of the priests drink wine when they enter the inner court. 22  “And they shall not 1Lit take as wives for themselvesmarry a widow or a ALev 21:7, 14divorced woman but shall BLev 21:13take virgins from the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23  “Moreover, they shall teach My people the ALev 10:10; Ezek 22:26; Hos 4:6; Mic 3:9-11; Zeph 3:4; Hag 2:11-13; Mal 2:6-8difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. 24  “In a dispute ADeut 17:8, 9; 19:17; 21:5; 1 Chr 23:4; 2 Chr 19:8-10they shall take their stand to judge; they shall judge it according to My ordinances. They shall also keep My laws and My statutes in all My BLev 23:2, 4, 44appointed feasts and CEzek 20:12, 20sanctify My sabbaths. 25  “1Lit HeALev 21:1-4They shall not go to a dead person to defile themselves; however, for father, for mother, for son, for daughter, for brother, or for a sister who has not had a husband, they may defile themselves. 26  “After he is ANum 19:13-19cleansed, seven days shall 1Lit be countedelapse for him. 27  “On the day that he goes into the sanctuary, into the AEzek 44:17inner court to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his BLev 5:3, 6; Num 6:9-11sin offering,” declares the Lord Goᴅ.

28 “And it shall be with regard to an inheritance for them, that ANum 18:20; Deut 10:9; 18:1, 2; Josh 13:33I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no possession in Israel—I am their possession. 29  “They shall ANum 18:9, 14; Josh 13:14eat the grain offering, the sin offering and the guilt offering; and every 1Or dedicatedBLev 27:21, 28; Num 18:14devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30  “The first of all the ANum 18:12, 13; 2 Chr 31:4-6, 10; Neh 10:35-37first fruits of every kind and every 1Or heave offering(s)contribution of every kind, from all your 1Or heave offering(s)contributions, shall be for the priests; you shall also give to the priest the BNum 15:20, 21first of your 2Or coarse mealdough to cause a CMal 3:10blessing to rest on your house. 31  “The priests shall not eat any bird or beast that has ALev 22:8; Deut 14:21; Ezek 4:14died a natural death or has been torn to pieces.