Then He brought me back
by the way
of the aouter
gate
of the sanctuary
, which faces
the east
; and it was shut
.
The LORD said
to me, "This
gate
shall be shut
; it shall not be opened
, and no
one
shall enter
by it, for the aLORD
God
of Israel
has entered
by it; therefore it shall be shut
.
"As for the aprince, he shall sit
in it as prince
to beat
bread
before
the LORD
; he shall center
by way
of the dporch
of the gate
and shall go
out 1by the same way
."
Then He brought me by way
of the anorth
gate
to the front
of the house
; and I looked
, and behold
, the bglory
of the LORD
filled
the house
of the LORD
, and I cfell
on my face
.
The LORD said
to me, "Son
of man
, 1 amark
well
, see
with your eyes
and hear
with your ears
all
that I say
to you concerning all
the bstatutes
of the house
of the LORD
and concerning all
its laws
; and 1mark
well
the entrance
of the house
, with all
exits
of the sanctuary
.
"You shall say to the 1 arebellious
ones
, to the house
of Israel
, `Thus
says
the Lord
2GOD
, " bEnough
of all
your abominations
, O house
of Israel
,
when you brought in aforeigners
, buncircumcised
in heart
and uncircumcised
in flesh
, to be in My sanctuary
to profane
it, even My house
, when you coffered
My food
, the fat
and the blood
; for they dmade
My covenant
void
--this in addition
to all
your abominations
.
"And you have not akept charge
of My holy
things
yourselves, but you have set
foreigners 1to keep
charge
of My sanctuary
."
`Thus says
the Lord
GOD
, " aNo
foreigner
uncircumcised
in heart
and uncircumcised
in flesh
, of all
the foreigners
who
are among
the sons
of Israel
, shall enter
My sanctuary
.
"But the Levites who
went
far
from Me when Israel
went
astray
, who
awent
astray
from Me after
their idols
, shall bbear
the punishment
for their iniquity
.
"Yet they shall be aministers in My sanctuary
, having boversight
at the gates
of the house
and cministering
in the house
; they shall dslaughter
the burnt
offering
and the sacrifice
for the people
, and they shall estand
before
them to minister
to them.
"Because they ministered
to them abefore
their idols
and became
a bstumbling
block
of iniquity
to the house
of Israel
, therefore
I have 1 csworn
against
them," declares
the Lord
GOD
, "that they shall dbear
the punishment
for their iniquity
.
"And they shall anot 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 bbear
their shame
and their abominations
which
they have committed
.
"Yet I will 1appoint them 2to akeep
charge
of the house
, of all
its service
and of all
that shall be done
in it.
"But the aLevitical priests
, the sons
of bZadok
, who
ckept
charge
of My sanctuary
when the sons
of Israel
dwent
astray
from Me, shall come
near
to Me to minister
to Me; and they shall estand
before
Me to offer
Me the ffat
and the blood
," declares
the Lord
GOD
.
"They shall aenter My sanctuary
; they shall come
near
to My btable
to minister
to Me and keep
My charge
.
"It shall be that when they enter at the gates
of the inner
court
, they shall be clothed
with alinen
garments
; and wool
shall not 1be on them while they are ministering
in the gates
of the inner
court
and in the house
.
"Linen aturbans
shall be on their heads
and blinen
undergarments
shall be on their loins
; they shall not gird
themselves with anything which makes them sweat
.
"When they go out into the outer
court
, into the outer
court
to the people
, they shall aput
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 bnot transmit
holiness
to the people
with their garments
.
"Also they shall anot shave their heads
, yet they shall not blet their locks
1grow
long
; they shall only
trim
the hair of their heads
.
" aNor shall any
of the priests
drink
wine
when they enter
the inner
court
.
"And they shall not 1marry a widow
or a adivorced
woman but shall btake
virgins
from the offspring
of the house
of Israel
, or a widow
who
is the widow
of a priest
.
"Moreover, they shall teach My people
the adifference between
the holy
and the profane
, and cause them to discern
between
the unclean
and the clean
.
"In a dispute athey 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 bappointed
feasts
and csanctify
My sabbaths
.
" 1 aThey 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.
"After he is acleansed
, seven
days
shall 1elapse
for him.
"On the day that he goes
into the sanctuary
, into the ainner
court
to minister
in the sanctuary
, he shall offer
his bsin
offering
," declares
the Lord
GOD
.
"And it shall be with regard to an inheritance for them, that aI am their inheritance
; and you shall give
them no
possession
in Israel
--I am their possession
.
"They shall aeat the grain offering
, the sin
offering
and the guilt
offering
; and every
1 bdevoted
thing
in Israel
shall be theirs
.
"The first of all
the afirst
fruits
of every
kind and every
1contribution
of every
kind, from all
your 1contributions
, shall be for the priests
; you shall also give
to the priest
the bfirst
of your 2dough
to cause a cblessing
to rest
on your house
.
"The priests shall not eat
any
bird
or beast
that has adied
a natural
death
or has been torn
to pieces
.