The Book of Ezekiel
44: 1Then he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary,
which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. 44:2And Jehovah said unto me, This
gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, neither shall any man enter in by it; for
Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it; therefore it shall be shut. 44:3As
for the prince, he shall sit therein as prince to eat bread before Jehovah; he shall
enter by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.
44:4Then he brought me by the way of the north gate before the house; and I looked,
and, behold, the glory of Jehovah filled the house of Jehovah: and I fell upon my
face. 44:5And Jehovah said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine
eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the
ordinances of the house of Jehovah, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the
entrance of the house, with every egress of the sanctuary. 44:6And thou shalt say to
the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: O ye
house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations, 44:7in that ye have
brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in
my sanctuary, to profane it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and
the blood, and they have broken my covenant, to add unto all your abominations.
44:8And ye have not kept the charge of my holy things; but ye have set keepers of
my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves. 44:9Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, No
foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my
sanctuary, of any foreigners that are among the children of Israel. 44:10But the
Levites that went far from me, when Israel went astray, that went astray from me
after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity. 44:11Yet they shall be ministers in my
sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the house, and ministering in the
house: they shall slay the burnt-offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they
shall stand before them to minister unto them. 44:12Because they ministered unto
them before their idols, and became a stumblingblock of iniquity unto the house
of Israel; therefore have I lifted up my hand against them, saith the Lord Jehovah,
and they shall bear their iniquity. 44:13And they shall not come near unto me, to
execute the office of priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things,
unto the things that are most holy; but they shall bear their shame, and their
abominations which they have committed. 44:14Yet will I make them keepers of the
charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done
therein. 44:15But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of
my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come
near to me to minister unto me; and they shall stand before me to offer unto me
the fat and the blood, saith the Lord Jehovah: 44:16they shall enter into my
sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they
shall keep my charge. 44:17And it shall be that, when they enter in at the gates of the
inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come
upon them, while they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. 44:18They
shall have linen tires upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their
loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything that causeth sweat. 44:19And
when they go forth into the outer court, even into the outer court to the people,
they shall put off their garments wherein they minister, and lay them in the holy
chambers; and they shall put on other garments, that they sanctify not the people
with their garments. 44:20Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks
to grow long; they shall only cut off the hair of their heads. 44:21Neither shall any of
the priests drink wine, when they enter into the inner court. 44:22Neither shall they
take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away; but they shall take virgins
of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that is the widow of a priest. 44:23And
they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and
cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. 44:24And in a controversy
they shall stand to judge; according to mine ordinances shall they judge it: and
they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts; and they shall
hallow my sabbaths. 44:25And 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 that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves. 44:26And after he
is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days. 44:27And in the day that he goeth
into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer
his sin-offering, saith the Lord Jehovah. 44:28And they shall have an inheritance: I
am their inheritance; and ye shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their
possession. 44:29They shall eat the meal-offering, and the sin-offering, and the
trespass-offering; and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. 44:30And the first
of all the first-fruits of every thing, and every oblation of everything, of all your
oblations, shall be for the priest: ye shall also give unto the priests the first of your
dough, to cause a blessing to rest on thy house. 44:31The priests shall not eat of
anything that dieth of itself, or is torn, whether it be bird or beast.