1Then he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary , which looketh toward the east ; and it was shut . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 , 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 . 8And ye have not kept the charge of my holy things ; but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves. 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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.
The Sons of Zadok
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 : 16they shall enter into my sanctuary , and they shall come near to my table , to minister unto me , and they shall keep my charge . 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 . 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 . 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. 20Neither shall they shave their heads , nor suffer their locks to grow long ; they shall only cut off the hair of their heads . 21Neither shall any of the priests drink wine , when they enter into the inner court . 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 . 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 .
Regulations for Worship
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 . 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. 26And after he is cleansed , they shall reckon unto him seven days . 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 . 28And they shall have an inheritance : I am their inheritance ; and ye shall give them no possession in Israel ; I am their possession . 29They shall eat the meal-offering, and the sin-offering, and the trespass-offering; and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs . 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 . 31The priests shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself , or is torn , whether it be bird or beast.