The Prince, the Levites, and the Priests Described
1 And he brought me back [by] the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary that [is] facing east, and it was shut.
2
And Yahweh said to me, "This gate will be shut. It shall not be opened, and {no one} will go through it, for Yahweh, the God of Israel, has entered it, and it will be shut.
3
The prince, he may sit in it to eat food {before} Yahweh; he will come from the way of the portico of the gate and by means of its way he will [also] go out."
4
Then he brought me [by] the way of the gate of the north to the front of the temple, and I looked, and look! The glory of Yahweh filled the temple of Yahweh, and I fell on my face.
5
And Yahweh said, "Son of man, set your heart and look with your eyes and with your ears hear {everything} I [am] saying [to] you concerning all the statutes of the temple of Yahweh and concerning all its laws, and you must listen [with] your heart concerning the entrance of the temple with all of [the] exits of the sanctuary.
6
And you must say to [the] rebellious, to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Enough for you, house of Israel, of all of your detestable things!
7
At your bringing {foreigners} [who are] uncircumcised of heart and uncircumcised of flesh to be in my sanctuary to profane it, my temple, {as you offered my food, fat, and blood}, so you broke my covenant by all of your detestable things.
8
And you did not observe the responsibility of my sanctuary, but you appointed [them] as the keepers of my responsibility in my sanctuary for you."
9
Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Every {foreigner} uncircumcised of heart and uncircumcised of flesh shall not come into my sanctuary--[not] any of [the] {foreigners} who [are] in the midst of the {Israelites}.
10
{But} the Levites who removed themselves from me {at the going astray of Israel}, who went astray from me [and went] after their idols, as a result they will bear their guilt.
11
Then they will be in my sanctuary, [those] serving [in] my sanctuary, [as] sentries at the gates of the temple and [as] [those] serving the temple; they will slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they will stand {before them} to serve them,
12
{because} they used to serve them {before} their idols and they were for the house of Israel [like] a stumbling block of iniquity. Therefore {I swore} concerning them," {declares} the Lord Yahweh, "[that] they will bear their iniquity.
13
And they shall not approach me to serve as [a] priest for me and to come near to all of my holy objects, {to the most holy objects}, and they will bear their disgrace and [the results of] their detestable things they have done.
14
And I will appoint them [as] the keepers of the responsibility of the temple, for all of its work and {everything} which will be done in it.
15
But the Levitical priests, the descendants of Zadok, who cared for the responsibility of my sanctuary {when the Israelites went astray} from me, they will approach me to serve me, and they will stand {before me} to offer to me fat and blood," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.
16
"They shall come to my sanctuary, and they shall approach my table to serve me, and they will observe my requirement.
17
{And then} {when they come} to the gates of the inner courtyards, they shall put on their inner linen garments and not wear wool [garments] {when they serve} in the gates of the inner courtyard and {inside} the temple.
18
Linen turbans shall be on their head and linen undergarments shall be on their waists; they shall not gird themselves with [material causing] perspiration.
19
When they go out to the outer courtyard to the people, they must take off their garment in which they [were] serving, and they must place them {in the holy chambers}, and they must put on other [garments], so that they will not make the people holy with their garments.
20
And their head they shall not shave, or long hair they shall not let grow; short they shall clip their heads.
21
And no priest shall drink wine when they come into the inner courtyard.
22
And a widow or divorced [woman] they shall not take for themselves as wives, {but only} a virgin from the offspring of the house of Israel, or the widow who is a widow for a priest they may take.
23
And they will teach my people [the difference] between what is holy and what is unholy, and [the difference] between unclean and clean they must show them.
24
And at a legal dispute they themselves shall stand to judge; employing my judgments they shall judge it, and [with respect to] my laws and my statutes. All my festivals they shall keep and my Sabbaths they shall consecrate.
25
And {near a dead person} he shall not come to be defiled, {but only} for a father and for a mother and for a son and for a daughter, for a brother and for a sister {who was not married} may they defile themselves.
26
And, after his cleansing, they shall count for him seven days,
27
and [then] on the day of his coming into the sanctuary to the inner courtyard to serve in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.
28
And [thus] it will be to them as [regards] inheritance, [that] I [am] their inheritance, and [so] you shall not give to them property in Israel; I [am] their property.
29
The grain offering and the sin offering and the guilt offering, they themselves may eat them, and [also] all [the] consecrated possessions in Israel will be theirs.
30
And [also] what is first of all of [the] firstfruits of everything, and of all of [the] contribution of everything from all of your contributions, to the priest {it belongs}, and what is first of your dough you shall give to the priest, so that a blessing may rest on your house.
31
Any dead body or mangled carcass from the birds or from the animals, the priests shall not eat."