1He brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary that faces east, and it was shut.2The LORD said to me, "This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, because the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall stay shut."3Only the leader may dwell in it in order to eat food before the LORD; he shall enter by way of the hall of the gate and shall leave by his way.4He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the house; I looked, and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD, so I fell on my face.5The LORD said to me, "Son of man, pay attention and look with your eyes; hear with your ears everything I speak to you about all the statutes of the house of the LORD and about all its instructions; set your heart on the entrance of the house and on every exit of the sanctuary.6Say to the rebellious house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: Enough for you of all your abominations, O house of Israel.'7When you brought the sons of the foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, into my sanctuary to profane my house, and when you presented my food, the fat and the blood, they broke my covenant along with all your abominations.8You did not keep the charge of my holy things, but appointed others to keep my charge in my sanctuary for your own benefit."9Thus says the Lord GOD: 'No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, may enter my sanctuary, nor any foreigner living among the people of Israel.'10Only the Levites who went far from me when Israel went astray after their idols shall bear their iniquity.11They shall serve in my sanctuary as ministers in charge of the gates of the house and as ministers of the house; they shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people and stand before them to serve them.12Because they ministered before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity for the house of Israel, therefore I have lifted my hand against them, declares the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity.13They shall not approach me to serve me as priests, nor come near any of my holy things or the most holy things; they shall bear their shame and their abominations that they committed.14I will assign them to keep charge of the house and to perform all its service and everything that is done in it.15The priests who are Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, they shall approach me to serve me; they shall stand before me to present fat and blood to me, declares the Lord GOD.16They shall enter my sanctuary and approach my table to serve me, and they shall keep my charge.17When they enter the gates of the inner court they shall wear linen garments; wool shall not be worn by them while they minister in the gates of the inner court or inside the house.18Linen turbans shall be on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists; they shall not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat.19When they go out to the outer court to the people, they shall remove the garments in which they have been serving, leave them in the holy chambers, put on other garments, and not consecrate the people with the garments they wore while serving.20They shall not shave their heads or let their hair hang loose; they shall only trim their hair.21No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court.22They shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but only virgins of Israelite descent; they may marry the widow of a priest.23They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean.24In any dispute they shall stand to judge according to my judgments; they shall judge him, and they shall keep my instructions and my statutes at all my appointed meetings and consecrate my Sabbaths.25They shall not go near a dead person to become defiled, except for father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or an unmarried sister; in these cases they may defile themselves.26After he is cleansed, they shall count seven days for him.27On the day he enters the holy place, the inner court, to minister in the holy place, he shall present his sin offering, declares the Lord GOD.28This shall be their inheritance: I am their inheritance; you shall give them no possession in Israel, for I am their possession.29They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; every devoted thing in Israel shall belong to them.30The first of all firstfruits and every contribution from all your offerings shall belong to the priests; you shall give the first of your ground meal to the priest so that a blessing may rest on your household.31The priests shall not eat any carcass or torn animal, whether from the bird or from the animal.