Ezekiel 44

1Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary that faces toward the east, but it was shut.

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2So the Lord said to me, 'This gate shall be shut. It shall not be opened, and no man shall pass through it, because the Lord God of Israel will enter by it; therefore, it shall be shut.

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3As for the prince, he will sit in it to eat bread before the Lord. He will go in by way of the gate chamber and go out the same way.'

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4Then He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple, and I looked, and behold, the house of the Lord was full of glory; and I fell on my face.

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5The Lord said to me, 'Son of man, note well with your heart, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all I say to you concerning all the ordinances of the Lord's house and all its laws. Mark well with your heart the entering of the house according to all its exits in all its holy places.

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6Then you will say to the house which provokes, to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord God: 'O house of Israel, enough of your lawlessness,

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7when you brought in foreign sons, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to defile it, as when you offered breads, meat, and blood. You broke My covenant because of all your lawless deeds.

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8You have not kept charge of My holy things, but sought out others.'

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9'Therefore, thus says the Lord God: 'No foreign son, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, including any foreigner among the children of Israel.

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10'But for the Levites who departed far from Me, when Israel went astray, who strayed away from Me to seek their inventions, they will bear their wrongdoing.

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11Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary as gatekeepers at the gates of the house and ministers in the house. They shall slay the whole burnt offerings and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before the people to minister liturgically to them.

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12Because they used to minister to them before their idols and became a punishment of wrongdoing to the house of Israel, for this reason I lifted up My hand against them,' says the Lord God.

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13'They will not draw near to Me to act as priests for Me, nor approach the sanctuary of the sons of Israel, nor My holy place; and they shall bear their shame and dishonor for the error wherein they erred.

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14Nevertheless they shall keep charge of the house, for all the service of it and all that needs to be done.

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15'But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the house of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister liturgically to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer to Me sacrifice, the fat and the blood,' says the Lord God.

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16'They shall enter My sanctuary and come near My table to minister liturgically to Me; and they shall keep My charge.

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17So it will be, whenever they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall put on linen vestments, but no wool shall come upon them while they minister liturgically within the gates of the inner court.

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18They shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen trousers on their bodies, and they shall not tightly gird themselves.

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19When they go out to the outer court to the people, they shall take off their vestments in which they ministered liturgically, leave them in their halls, and put on other garments; and in these garments they shall not sanctify the people.

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20They shall neither shave their heads nor pluck out their hairs; but they shall surely keep their head covered.

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21No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court.

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22They shall not take as wife a widow or a divorced woman, but rather a virgin of the descendants of Israel, or a widow of a priest.

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23They shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

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24They shall stand at a judgment of blood, and judge in righteousness and according to My judgments. They shall keep My laws and My ordinances in all My appointed feasts, and they shall sanctify My Sabbaths.

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25They shall not defile themselves by coming near a dead person. However, a priest may defile himself for a father or mother, for a son or daughter, or for a brother or for an unmarried sister.

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26After he is cleansed, he shall number seven days for himself.

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27Then on the day they go into the inner court to minister liturgically in the sanctuary, they shall bring a propitiation offering,' says the Lord God.

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28'It shall be, in regard to their inheritance, that I am their inheritance. You shall give them no possession among the sons of Israel, for I am their possession.

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29They shall eat the sacrifices—the sin offering and the trespass offering—and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs.

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30The best of all firstfruits of any kind, and every sacrifice of any kind from all your sacrifices, shall be for the priests. You shall also give to the priest the first of your produce, to cause your blessings to rest on your houses.

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31But the priests shall not eat anything, bird or beast, that died naturally or was torn by wild animals.

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