Ezekiel 44:10-31

10But the Levites who went far from Me when Israel went astray, who 1went astray from Me after their idols, shall 2bear the punishment for their iniquity. 11Yet they shall be 3ministers in My sanctuary, having 4oversight at the gates of the house and 5ministering in the house; they shall 6slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall 7stand before them to minister to them. 12Because they ministered to them 8before their idols and became a 9stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have 1011sworn against them,” declares the Lord God, “that they shall 12bear the punishment for their iniquity. 13And they shall 13not 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 14bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. 14Yet I will 15appoint them 16to 17keep charge of the house, of all its service and of all that shall be done in it.

15“But the 18Levitical priests, the sons of 19Zadok, who 20kept charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel 21went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me; and they shall 22stand before Me to offer Me the 23fat and the blood,” declares the Lord God. 16“They shall 24enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My 25table to minister to Me and keep My charge. 17It shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with 26linen garments; and wool shall not 27be on them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner court and in the house. 18Linen 28turbans shall be on their heads and 29linen undergarments shall be on their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything which makes them sweat. 19When they go out into the outer court, into the outer court to the people, they shall 30put 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 31not transmit holiness to the people with their garments. 20Also they shall 32not shave their heads, yet they shall not 33let their locks 34grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads. 2135Nor shall any of the priests drink wine when they enter the inner court. 22And they shall not 36marry a widow or a 37divorced woman but shall 38take virgins from the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23Moreover, they shall teach My people the 39difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. 24In a dispute 40they 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 41appointed feasts and 42sanctify My sabbaths. 254344They 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. 26After he is 45cleansed, seven days shall 46elapse for him. 27On the day that he goes into the sanctuary, into the 47inner court to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his 48sin offering,” declares the Lord God.

28“And it shall be with regard to an inheritance for them, that 49I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no possession in Israel--I am their possession. 29They shall 50eat the grain offering, the sin offering and the guilt offering; and every 5152devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30The first of all the 53first fruits of every kind and every 54contribution of every kind, from all your 55contributions, shall be for the priests; you shall also give to the priest the 56first of your 57dough to cause a 58blessing to rest on your house. 31The priests shall not eat any bird or beast that has 59died a natural death or has been torn to pieces.