1Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the Temple which faces toward the east; and it was shut. 2Then the LORD said to me, “This gate is to remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter through it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered through it, therefore, it shall remain shut. 3The prince himself (King David) is the only one who may sit inside the gateway to eat before the LORD; he shall enter by way of the portico of that gateway, and shall go out the same way.”

4Then he brought me through the north gate before the Temple, and I looked, and, saw the glory of the LORD filling the Temple of the LORD; and I fell upon my face. 5And the LORD said to me, “Son of man, look and listen carefully to all that I show and say to you concerning all the ordinances of the people of the LORD, and all its laws; and mark well the entrance of the Temple, with every exit from the sanctuary. 6And say to the rebellious people of Israel, ‘Thus says the LORD God: “O you people of Israel, enough of all your abominations! 7In addition to all your detestable practices, you have brought foreigners, uncircumcised in heart, and in the flesh, into My Temple, to pollute it, My very own Temple, when you offered My bread, the fat and the blood; and you have broken My covenant by all of your abominations, 8Instead of safeguarding My sacred rites, you have hired foreigners to take charge of My Temple. 9This is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart, or in flesh, shall enter My Temple, not even any foreigner that dwells among the children of Israel.

10‘And the Levites that drifted far from Me when Israel went astray, who wandered from Me after their idols; they must bear the consequences of their iniquity. 11Yet they may still serve in My Temple, having charge at the gates of the Temple, and ministering in the Temple; they shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifices for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them. 12But because they ministered unto them in the presence of their idols, and caused the people of Israel to fall into sin, therefore have I raised My hand and sworn that they must bear the consequences of their iniquity,’ says the Sovereign LORD. 13‘They are not to come near Me, to serve as priests, nor come near any of My holy things, in the most holy place; they shall bear the shame of their abominations which they have committed. 14However, I will appoint them to guard the Temple, for all the service that shall be done in it.

15‘But the Levitical priests, the descendants of Zadok, who guarded My Temple when the Israelites went astray from Me, they are to come near to minister before Me, and they shall stand before Me to offer sacrifices of fat and the blood,’ says the Sovereign LORD. 16‘They alone shall enter My Temple, and they alone shall come near to My table, to minister before Me, and they shall serve Me as guards. 17And when they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and must not wear wool while ministering within the gates of the inner court. 18They shall wear linen turbans upon their heads, and shall wear linen undergarments; they must not clothe themselves with anything that causes them to perspire. 19And when they go out into the outer court - the outer court to the people - they shall take off their linen garments in which they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and then they shall put on other garments; before they have any contact with unsanctified people with their linen garments. 20Nor shall they shave their heads, or allow their hair to grow long; they shall keep the hair of their heads trimmed.

21‘No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court. 22They shall not marry a widow, nor a divorced woman; but they shall only marry virgins of the people of Israel, or a widow of a priest. 23And they are to teach My people the difference between the holy and common, and show them how to discern between the unclean and the clean. 24And in any controversy, they shall serve as judges; and they shall judge the dispute according to My ordinances. They shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed assemblies; and they shall hallow My Sabbaths. 25A priest must not come near a dead person to defile themselves; however, if the deceased is his father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or an unmarried sister, then they may so defile themselves. 26And after he is cleansed, he must wait seven days. 27And on the day that he goes into the Temple, unto the inner court, to minister in the Temple, he is to offer his sin offering’, says the LORD God.

28‘I am to be the only inheritance the priests have. You shall give them no other possession in Israel; I am their possession. 29They shall eat the meal (grain) offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30And the best of all the first fruits of all things, and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest's; you shall also give to the priest the first of your dough (ground meal), that a blessing may rest on your household. 31The priests shall not eat of anything, whether bird or animal, that is found dead, or torn by wild animals, whether it be fowl or beast.’