Ezekiel 44:15-26
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 44
15But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who took responsibility for My sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to serve Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer Me the fat and the blood,' declares the Lord God. 16They shall enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My table to serve Me and assume the responsibility I give them. 17And it shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner courtyard, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and wool shall not be worn by them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner courtyard or in the house. 18Linen turbans shall be on their heads and linen undergarments shall be around their waists; they shall not put on anything that makes them sweat. 19And when they go out into the outer courtyard, into the outer courtyard to the people, they shall take off their garments in which they have been ministering and lay them in the holy chambers; then they shall put on other garments, so that they will not transfer holiness to the people with their garments. 20Also they shall not shave their heads, yet they shall not let their locks grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads. 21Nor shall any of the priests drink wine when they enter the inner courtyard. 22And they shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but shall take virgins from the descendants of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23Moreover, they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the common, and teach them to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. 24In a dispute they shall take their stand to judge; they shall judge it according to My ordinances. They shall also keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed feasts, and sanctify My Sabbaths. 25They shall not go to a dead person to defile themselves; however, for father, for mother, for son, for daughter, for brother, or for a sister who has not had a husband, they may defile themselves. 26And after he is cleansed, seven days shall elapse for him.King James Version
Chapter 44
15But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God: 16They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.
17And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within.
18They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.
19And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments.
20Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads.
21Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court.
22Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before.
23And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 44
15"But the Levitical priests descended from Zadok, who kept charge of my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, will approach me to serve me. They will stand before me to offer me fat and blood." This is the declaration of the Lord God. 16"They are the ones who may enter my sanctuary and approach my table to serve me. They will keep my mandate. 17When they enter the gates of the inner court they are to wear linen garments; they must not have on them anything made of wool when they minister at the gates of the inner court and within it. 18They are to wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists. They are not to put on anything that makes them sweat. 19Before they go out to the outer court, to the people, they must take off the clothes they have been ministering in, leave them in the holy chambers, and dress in other clothes so that they do not transmit holiness to the people through their clothes.
20"They may not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but are to carefully trim their hair.
21No priest may drink wine before he enters the inner court.
22He is not to marry a widow or a divorced woman, but may marry only a virgin from the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest.
23They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and explain to them the difference between the clean and the unclean.
24"In a dispute, they will officiate as judges and decide the case according to my ordinances. They are to observe my laws and statutes regarding all my appointed festivals, and keep my Sabbaths holy.
25A priest may not come near a dead person so that he becomes defiled. However, he may defile himself for a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, a brother, or an unmarried sister.
26After he is cleansed, he is to count off seven days for himself.
New Living Translation
Chapter 44
15However, the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok continued to minister faithfully in the Temple when Israel abandoned me for idols. These men will serve as my ministers. They will stand in my presence and offer the fat and blood of the sacrifices, says the Sovereign Lord. 16They alone will enter my sanctuary and approach my table to serve me. They will fulfill all my requirements.
17When they enter the gateway to the inner courtyard, they must wear only linen clothing. They must wear no wool while on duty in the inner courtyard or in the Temple itself.
18They must wear linen turbans and linen undergarments. They must not wear anything that would cause them to perspire.
19When they return to the outer courtyard where the people are, they must take off the clothes they wear while ministering to me. They must leave them in the sacred rooms and put on other clothes so they do not endanger anyone by transmitting holiness to them through this clothing.
20They must neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow too long. Instead, they must trim it regularly.
21The priests must not drink wine before entering the inner courtyard.
22They may choose their wives only from among the virgins of Israel or the widows of the priests. They may not marry other widows or divorced women.
23They will teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is common, what is ceremonially clean and unclean.
English Standard Version
Chapter 44
15"But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me to minister to me. And they shall stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the Lord God. 16They shall enter my sanctuary, and they shall approach my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge. 17When they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall wear linen garments. They shall have nothing of wool on them, while they minister at the gates of the inner court, and within. 18They shall have linen turbans on their heads, and linen undergarments around their waists. They shall not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat. 19And when they go out into the outer court to the people, they shall put off the garments in which they have been ministering and lay them in the holy chambers. And they shall put on other garments, lest they transmit holiness to the people with their garments. 20They shall not shave their heads or let their locks grow long; they shall surely trim the hair of their heads. 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 the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. 24In a dispute, they shall act as judges, and they shall judge it according to my judgments. They shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts, and they shall keep my Sabbaths holy. 25They shall not defile themselves by going near to a dead person. However, for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister they may defile themselves. 26After he has become clean, they shall count seven days for him.New International Version
Chapter 44
15" ‘But the Levitical priests, who are descendants of Zadok and who guarded my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, are to come near to minister before me; they are to stand before me to offer sacrifices of fat and blood, declares the Sovereign Lord. 16They alone are to enter my sanctuary; they alone are to come near my table to minister before me and serve me as guards.
17" ‘When they enter the gates of the inner court, they are to wear linen clothes; they must not wear any woolen garment while ministering at the gates of the inner court or inside the temple.
18They are to wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists. They must not wear anything that makes them perspire.
19When they go out into the outer court where the people are, they are to take off the clothes they have been ministering in and are to leave them in the sacred rooms, and put on other clothes, so that the people are not consecrated through contact with their garments.
20" ‘They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but they are to keep the hair of their heads trimmed.
21No priest is to drink wine when he enters the inner court.
22They must not marry widows or divorced women; they may marry only virgins of Israelite descent or widows of priests.
23They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.
New King James Version
Chapter 44
15“But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer to Me the fat and the blood,” says the Lord God. 16“They shall enter My sanctuary, and they shall come near My table to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge. 17And it shall be, whenever they enter the gates of the inner court, that they shall put on linen garments; no wool shall come upon them while they minister within the gates of the inner court or within the house. 18They shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen trousers on their bodies; they shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat. 19When they go out to the outer court, to the outer court to the people, they shall take off their garments in which they have ministered, leave them in the holy chambers, and put on other garments; and in their holy garments they shall not sanctify the people.
20“They shall neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow long, but they shall keep their hair well trimmed.
21No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court.
22They shall not take as wife a widow or a divorced woman, but take virgins of the descendants of the house of Israel, or widows of priests.
23“And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
24In controversy they shall stand as judges, and judge it according to My judgments. They shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed meetings, and they shall hallow My Sabbaths.
