1The man took me back to the outer courtyard, near the east gate of the temple area. I saw that the doors to this gate were closed.
2The Lord said:
I, the Lord God of Israel, came through this gate, so it must remain closed forever! No one must ever use it.
3The ruler of Israel may come here to eat a sacrificial meal that has been offered to me, but he must use only the entrance room of this gate.
People Who Are Not Allowed in the Temple4Then the man took me through the north gate to the front of the temple. I saw that the brightness of the Lord's glory had filled the temple, and I immediately bowed with my face to the ground.
5The Lord said:
Ezekiel, son of man, I am going to give you the laws for my temple. So pay attention and listen carefully to what kind of people are allowed to come in the temple, and what kind are not.
6Tell those rebellious people of Israel:
I, the Lord God, command you to stop your evil ways!
7My temple has been disgraced, because you have let godless, stubborn foreigners come here when sacrifices are being offered to me. You have sinned and have broken our solemn agreement.
8Instead of following the proper ways to worship me, you have put foreigners in charge of worship at my temple.
9And so I, the Lord God, say that no godless foreigner who disobeys me will be allowed in my temple. This includes any foreigner living in Israel.
The Levites Are PunishedThe Lord said:10Some of the Levites turned their backs on me and joined the other people of Israel in worshiping idols. So these Levites must be punished!
11They will still be allowed to serve me as temple workers by guarding the gates and by killing the animals to be sacrificed and by helping the worshipers.
12But because these Levites served the people of Israel when they worshiped idols, I, the Lord God, promise that the Levites will be punished. They did not stop the Israelites from sinning,
13and now I will no longer let the Levites serve as my priests or come near anything sacred to me. They must suffer shame and disgrace for their disgusting sins.
14They will be responsible for all the hard work that must be done in the temple.
Rules for PriestsThe Lord said:15The priests of the Levi tribe who are descendants of Zadok the priest were faithful to me, even when the rest of the Israelites turned away. And so, these priests will continue to serve as my priests and to offer the fat and the blood of sacrifices.
16They will come into my temple, where they will offer sacrifices at my altar and lead others in worship.
17 That way, no one will touch their sacred clothes and be harmed.
20
30The first part of every harvest will belong to the priests. They will also receive part of all special gifts and offerings the Israelites bring to me. And whenever any of my people bake bread, they will give their first loaf as an offering to the priests, and I will bless the homes of the people when they do this.
31 Lv 22.8. Priests must not eat any bird or animal that dies a natural death or that has been killed by a wild animal.
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