1 ¶ Then he brought me back to the outer gateway of the sanctuary which faces toward the east; and it was shut.

2 Then the LORD said to me; This gate will be shut, it will not be opened, and no man will enter by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered by it, for that reason it will be shut.

3 The ruler himself will sit in the gateway to eat bread before the LORD; but he will enter through the porch for that gate, and will go out the same way.

4 ¶ Then he took me through the northern gateway to the front of the temple: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell face downward.

5 And the LORD said to me, Son of man, pay attention, watch with your eyes, and listen with your ears to all that I say to you concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all its laws; and take careful note of all who enter the temple, and go out from the holy place.

6 And you will tell the rebellious house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD; O house of Israel, let us have no more of your abominations,

7 You have brought foreigners into my sanctuary, those uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my holy place, you pollute my house, when you offer me the fat and the blood as my food, while breaking my covenant because of all your abominations.

8 And you have not carried out your responsibility in my holy place: but have gotten others to carry out that responsibility for you.

9 Thus says the Lord GOD; No foreigner, who is uncircumcised in heart, or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter my sanctuary, of all of the foreigners who live among the children of Israel.

10 ¶ And the Levites who turned away from me, when Israel went astray, who wandered away from me following their idols; they will bear their iniquity.

11 Still they will be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight of the gates of the temple, and ministering to the house: they will slay the burnt offerings and the sacrifices for the people, and they will stand before them to minister to them.

12 Because they ministered to the people before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into sin; therefore I have lifted up my hand against them, says the Lord GOD, and they will bear their iniquity.

13 And they will not come near me, to carry out the office of a priest to me, or to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they will bear the shame of the abominable things which they have done.

14 But I will appoint them to do the work of the temple, for all of its heavy work, and for all that will be done in it.

15 But the Levitical priests descended from Zadok, who carried out the responsibilities of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they will approach me to minister to me, and they will stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, says the Lord GOD:

16 They will enter my holy place, and they will come near my table, to serve me, and they will do the work I give them.

17 ¶ And it will come to pass, that when they enter the gates of the inner court, they will be clothed with linen garments; and no wool will come upon them, while they serve in the gateways of the inner court, and temple.

18 They will have linen hats on their heads, and will have linen undergarments on their thighs; they will not clothe themselves with any thing that causes sweat.

19 And when they go into the outer court, to the people in the outer court, they will take off the garments in which they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they will put on other clothes; and not sanctify the people in those clothes.

20 Nor should they shave their heads, or allow their hair to grow long; they should only trim the hair on their heads.

21 Nor should any priest drink wine, when he goes into the inner court.

22 Nor should they marry a widow, or a woman who is divorced: but they should marry virgins descended from Israel, or the widow of a priest.

23 And they should teach my people the difference between what is holy and unholy, and cause them to distinguish between what is unclean and what is clean.

24 And in quarrels they should act as judges; and they should judge the matter according to my judgments: and they should keep my laws and my statutes at all my festivals; and they should keep my sabbaths holy.

25 And they should not approach any dead person to make themselves unclean: but for a father or mother, or for a son or daughter, or for a brother, or sister who has had no husband, they may make themselves unclean.

26 And after he is cleansed, seven days should pass.

27 And on the day when he goes into the sanctuary, to the inner court, to serve in the sanctuary, he should bring his sin offering, says the Lord GOD.

28 And this ministry will be their inheritance: for I am their inheritance: and you will give them no land in Israel: for I am their inheritance.

29 They will eat the meal offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; and everything devoted to the Lord in Israel will be theirs.

30 And the best of all the first-ripe fruits of all kinds, from all your offerings, should be the priest’s: you should also give to the priest the best of your dough, so that a blessing may rest on your house.

31 The priests should not eat of any bird or animal that dies by itself, or is torn by beasts.