1The man then brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary that faced east, but it was shut.[ † ]Ezekiel 43:1 2And 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 will remain shut.[ † ]Ezekiel 43:2-4 3Only the prince himself may sit inside the gateway to eat in the presence of the Lord. He must enter by way of the portico of the gateway and go out the same way.”[ † ]Genesis 31:54Exodus 24:9-111 Corinthians 10:18Ezekiel 46:2-8
4Then the man brought me to the front of the temple by way of the north gate. I looked and saw the glory of the Lord filling His temple, and I fell facedown.[ † ]Isaiah 6:3Ezekiel 3:23Ezekiel 43:5Ezekiel 1:28Ezekiel 43:3 5The Lord said to me: “Son of man, pay attention; look carefully with your eyes and listen closely with your ears to everything I tell you concerning all the statutes and laws of the house of the Lord. Take careful note of the entrance to the temple, along with all the exits of the sanctuary.[ † ]Deuteronomy 32:46Ezekiel 40:4Deuteronomy 12:32Ezekiel 43:10-11
6Tell the rebellious house of Israel that this is what the Lord God says: ‘I have had enough of all your abominations, O house of Israel.[ † ]Ezekiel 2:5Ezekiel 45:91 Peter 4:3 7In addition to all your other abominations, you brought in foreigners uncircumcised in both heart and flesh to occupy My sanctuary; you defiled My temple when you offered My food—the fat and the blood; you broke My covenant.[ † ]Ezekiel 43:8Acts 21:28Leviticus 22:25Leviticus 26:41Deuteronomy 10:16Jeremiah 4:4Jeremiah 9:26Acts 7:51Leviticus 21:17Leviticus 3:16 8And you have not kept charge of My holy things, but have appointed others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you.’[ † ]Leviticus 22:2Numbers 18:7
9This is what the Lord God says: No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and flesh may enter My sanctuary—not even a foreigner who lives among the Israelites.[ † ]Ezekiel 44:7Joel 3:17Zechariah 14:21
10Surely the Levites who wandered away from Me when Israel went astray, and who wandered away from Me after their idols, will bear the consequences of their iniquity.[ † ]2 Kings 23:8Ezekiel 48:11 11Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, having charge of the gates of the temple and ministering there. They shall slaughter the burnt offerings and other sacrifices for the people and stand before them to minister to them.[ † ]1 Chronicles 26:1-192 Chronicles 29:342 Chronicles 30:17Numbers 16:9
12Because they ministered before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I swore with an uplifted hand concerning them that they would bear the consequences of their iniquity, declares the Lord God.[ † ]Isaiah 9:16Malachi 2:8Psalms 106:26 13They must not approach Me to serve Me as priests or come near any of My holy things or the most holy things. They will bear the shame of the abominations they have committed.[ † ]Numbers 18:32 Kings 23:9Ezekiel 32:30 14Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of all the work for the temple and everything to be done in it.[ † ]Numbers 18:41 Chronicles 23:28-32Ezekiel 44:11
15But the Levitical priests, who are descended from Zadok and who kept charge of My sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from Me, are to approach Me to minister before Me. They will stand before Me to offer Me fat and blood, declares the Lord God.[ † ]Ezekiel 40:461 Samuel 2:352 Samuel 15:27Ezekiel 43:19Ezekiel 48:11Ezekiel 44:10Deuteronomy 10:8Leviticus 3:16-17Leviticus 17:5-6Ezekiel 44:7 16They alone shall enter My sanctuary and draw near to My table to minister before Me. They will keep My charge.[ † ]Numbers 18:5-7, 8Ezekiel 41:22Malachi 1:7-12
17When they enter the gates of the inner court, they are to wear linen garments; they must not wear anything made of wool when they minister at the gates of the inner court or inside the temple.[ † ]Exodus 28:39-43Exodus 39:27-29Revelation 19:8 18They are to wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists. They must not wear anything that makes them perspire.[ † ]Exodus 28:40Exodus 39:28Isaiah 3:20Ezekiel 24:17-23
19When they go out to the outer court, to the people, they are to take off the garments in which they have ministered, leave them in the holy chambers, and dress in other clothes so that they do not transmit holiness to the people with their garments.[ † ]Leviticus 6:10Leviticus 16:4-23, 24Ezekiel 42:14Exodus 30:29Leviticus 6:27Ezekiel 46:20Matthew 23:17
20They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but must carefully trim their hair.[ † ]Leviticus 21:5Numbers 6:5 21No priest may drink wine before he enters the inner court.[ † ]Leviticus 10:9 22And they shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but must marry a virgin of the descendants of the house of Israel, or a widow of a priest.[ † ]Leviticus 21:7-13, 14 23They are to teach My people the difference between the holy and the common and show them how to discern between the clean and the unclean.[ † ]Leviticus 10:10-11Ezekiel 22:26Hosea 4:6Micah 3:9-11Zephaniah 3:4Haggai 2:11-13Malachi 2:6-8Leviticus 20:25
24In any dispute, they shall officiate as judges and judge according to My ordinances. They must keep My laws and statutes regarding all My appointed feasts, and they must keep My Sabbaths holy.[ † ]Deuteronomy 17:8-91 Chronicles 23:42 Chronicles 19:8-10Ezekiel 22:26
25A priest must not defile himself by going near a dead person. However, for a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, a brother, or an unmarried sister, he may do so, 26and after he is cleansed, he must count off seven days for himself.[ † ]Numbers 6:10Numbers 19:11-13-19 27And on the day he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he must present his sin offering, declares the Lord God.[ † ]Leviticus 5:3-6Numbers 6:9-11Ezekiel 44:17
28In regard to their inheritance, I am their inheritance. You are to give them no possession in Israel, for I am their possession.[ † ]Numbers 18:20Deuteronomy 10:9Deuteronomy 18:1-2Joshua 13:14-33Ezekiel 45:4
29They shall eat the grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings. Everything in Israel devoted to the Lord will belong to them.[ † ]Leviticus 7:6Leviticus 27:21-28Numbers 18:14 30The best of all the firstfruits and of every contribution from all your offerings will belong to the priests. You are to give your first batch of dough to the priest, so that a blessing may rest upon your homes.[ † ]Exodus 13:2Exodus 22:29Exodus 23:19Numbers 3:13Numbers 18:12Numbers 15:20Nehemiah 10:37Proverbs 3:9Malachi 3:10 31The priests may not eat any bird or animal found dead or torn by wild beasts.[ † ]Exodus 22:31Leviticus 22:8Deuteronomy 14:21Ezekiel 4:14