1   He again brought me round to the outer gate of the sanctuary facing eastwards, and it was shut. 2   The Lord said to me, This gate shall be kept shut; it must not be opened. No man may enter by it, for the Lord the God of Israel has entered by it. 3   It shall be kept shut. The prince, however, when he is here as prince, may sit there to eat food in the presence of the Lord; he shall come in and go out by the vestibule of the gate.

4   He brought me round to the northern gate facing the temple, and I saw the glory of the Lord filling the Lord's house, and I fell on my face. 5   The Lord said to me, Mark well, man, look closely, and listen carefully to all that I say to you, to all the rules and regulations for the house of the Lord. Mark well the entrance to the house of the Lord and all the

The restored theocracy exits from the sanctuary. 6   Say to that rebel people of Israel, These are the words of the Lord God: Enough of all these abominations of yours, you Israelites! 7   You have added to them by bringing foreigners, uncircumcised in mind and body, to stand in my sanctuary and defile my house when you present my food to me, both fat and blood, and they have made my covenant void. 8   Instead of keeping charge of my holy things yourselves, you have chosen to put these men in charge of my sanctuary.

9   These are the words of the Lord God: No foreigner, uncircumcised in mind and body, shall enter my sanctuary, not even a foreigner living among the Israelites. 10   But the Levites, though they deserted me when the Israelites went astray after their idols and had to bear the punishment of their iniquity, shall yet do service in my sanctuary. 11   They shall take charge of the gates of the temple and do service there. They shall slaughter the whole-offering and the sacrifice for the people and shall be in attendance to serve them. 12   Because they served them in the presence of their idols and brought Israel to the ground by their iniquity, says the Lord God, I have sworn with uplifted hand that they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity. 13   They shall not have access to me, to serve me as priests; they shall not come near to my holy things or to the Holy of Holies; they shall bear the shame of the abominable deeds they have done. 14   I will put them in charge of the temple with all the service which must be performed there.

15   But the levitical priests of the family of Zadok remained in charge of my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me; these shall approach me to serve me. They shall be in attendance on me, presenting the fat and the blood, says the Lord God. 16   It is they who shall enter my sanctuary and approach my table to serve me and observe my charge. 17   When they come to the gates of the inner court they shall dress in linen; they shall wear no wool when they serve me at the gates of the inner court and within. 18   They shall wear linen turbans, and linen drawers on their loins; they shall not fasten their clothes with a belt so that they sweat. 19   When they go out to the people in the outer court, ^note they shall take off the clothes they have worn while serving, leave them in the sacred rooms and put on other clothes; otherwise they will transmit the sacred influence to the people through their clothing.

20   They shall neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow long; they shall only clip their hair. 21   No priest shall drink wine when he is to enter the inner court. 22   He may not marry a widow or a divorced woman; he may marry a virgin of Israelite birth. He may, however, marry the widow of a priest.

23   They shall teach my people to distinguish the sacred from the profane, and show them the difference between clean and unclean. 24   When

The restored theocracy disputes break out, they shall take their place in court, and settle the case according to my rules. At all my appointed seasons they shall observe my laws and statutes. They shall keep my sabbaths holy.

25   They shall not defile themselves ^note by contact with any dead person, except ^note father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried sister. 26   After purification, they shall count seven days and then be clean. ^note 27   When they enter ^note the inner court to serve in the Holy Place, they shall present their ^note sin-offering, says the Lord GOD.

28   They shall own no ^note patrimony in Israel; I am their patrimony. You shall grant them no holding in Israel; I am their holding. 29   The grain-offering, the sin-offering, and the guilt-offering shall be eaten by them, and everything in Israel devoted to God shall be theirs. 30   The first of all the firstfruits and all your contributions of every kind shall belong wholly to the priests. You shall give the first lump of your dough to the priests, that a blessing may rest upon your home. 31   The priests shall eat no carrion, bird or beast, whether it has died naturally or been killed by a wild animal.

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