Ezekiel 44:10-31

10But the Levites who went far from Me when Israel went astray, who 1went astray from Me 2following their idols, shall 3suffer the punishment for their wrongdoing. 11Yet they shall be 4ministers in My sanctuary, having 5oversight at the gates of the house and 6ministering in the house; they shall 7slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall 8stand before them to minister to them. 12Since they ministered to them 9before their idols and became a 10stumbling block of wrongdoing to the house of Israel, for that reason I have 1112sworn against them,” declares the Lord God, “that they shall 13suffer the punishment for their wrongdoing. 13And they shall 14not approach Me to serve as priests for Me, nor approach any of My holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they will 15bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. 14Nevertheless I will 16appoint them 17to 18take responsibility for the house, of all its service and of everything that shall be done in it.

15“But the 19Levitical priests, the sons of 20Zadok, who 2122took responsibility for My sanctuary when the sons of Israel 23went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to serve Me; and they shall 24stand before Me to offer Me the 25fat and the blood,” declares the Lord God. 16“They shall 26enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My 27table to serve Me and 28assume the responsibility I give them. 17And it shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner courtyard, they shall be clothed with 29linen garments; and wool shall not 30be worn by them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner courtyard or in the house. 18Linen 31turbans shall be on their heads and 32linen undergarments shall be around their waists; they shall not put on anything that makes them sweat. 19And when they go out into the outer courtyard, into the outer courtyard to the people, they shall 33take 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 34not transfer holiness to the people with their garments. 20Also they shall 35not shave their heads, yet they shall not 36let their locks 37grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads. 2138Nor shall any of the priests drink wine when they enter the inner courtyard. 22And they shall not 39marry a widow or a 40divorced woman, but shall 41take virgins from the descendants of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23Moreover, they shall teach My people the 42difference between the holy and the 43common, and teach them to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. 24In a dispute 44they 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 45appointed feasts, and 46sanctify My Sabbaths. 254748They 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. 26And after he is 49cleansed, seven days 50shall elapse for him. 27On the day that he goes into the sanctuary, to the 51inner courtyard to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his 52sin offering,” declares the Lord God.

28“And it shall be regarding an inheritance for them, that 53I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no property in Israel--I am their property. 29They shall 54eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; and everything 55banned from secular use in Israel shall be theirs. 30And the first of all the 56first fruits of every kind and every 57contribution of every kind, from all your 58contributions, shall be for the priests; you shall also give to the priest the 59first of your 60dough, to make a 61blessing rest on your house. 31The priests shall not eat any bird or animal that has 62died a natural death or has been torn to pieces by animals.