Eze 44:15-31 | NASB2020 | STEP | “But the Levitical priests , the sons of Zadok , who took responsibility for My sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to serve Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer Me the fat and the blood ,” declares the Lord God .

Ezekiel 44:15-31

Ordinances for the Levites

15 “But the ^aLevitical priests, the sons of ^bZadok, who ^{▼▼Lit kept charge of
,} ^dtook responsibility for My sanctuary when the sons of Israel ^ewent astray from Me, shall come near to Me to serve Me; and they shall ^fstand before Me to offer Me the ^gfat and the blood,” declares the Lord God. 16 “They shall ^henter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My ⁱtable to serve Me and ^{▼▼Lit keep the duty to Me}assume the responsibility I give them. 17 And it shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner courtyard, they shall be clothed with ^klinen garments; and wool shall not ^{▼▼Lit go up on}be worn by them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner courtyard or in the house. 18 Linen ^mturbans shall be on their heads and ⁿlinen undergarments shall be around their waists; they shall not put on anything that makes them sweat. 19 And when they go out into the outer courtyard, into the outer courtyard to the people, they shall ^otake 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 ^pnot transfer holiness to the people with their garments. 20 Also they shall ^qnot shave their heads, yet they shall not ^rlet their locks ^{▼▼Or hang loose}grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads. 21 ^tNor shall any of the priests drink wine when they enter the inner courtyard. 22 And they shall not ^{▼▼Lit take as wives for themselves}marry a widow or a ^vdivorced woman, but shall ^wtake virgins from the descendants of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23 Moreover, they shall teach My people the ^xdifference between the holy and the ^{▼▼Lit profane}common, and teach them to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. 24 In a dispute ^zthey 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 ^aaappointed feasts, and ^absanctify My Sabbaths. 25 ^{▼▼Lit He
,} ^adThey 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. 26 And after he is ^aecleansed, seven days ^{▼▼Lit they shall count}shall elapse for him. 27 On the day that he goes into the sanctuary, to the ^aginner courtyard to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his ^ahsin offering,” declares the Lord God.

28 “And it shall be regarding an inheritance for them, that ^aiI am their inheritance; and you shall give them no property in Israel--I am their property. 29 They shall ^ajeat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; and everything ^akbanned from secular use in Israel shall be theirs. 30 And the first of all the ^alfirst fruits of every kind and every ^{▼▼Or uplifted offering(s)}contribution of every kind, from all your ^{▼▼Or uplifted offering(s)}contributions, shall be for the priests; you shall also give to the priest the ^aofirst of your ^{▼▼Or coarse meal}dough, to make a ^aqblessing rest on your house. 31 The priests shall not eat any bird or animal that has ^ardied a natural death or has been torn to pieces by animals.