Ezekiel 44:1-16

Then the shining man brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east, but it was shut. YAHWEH said to me, “This gate must be kept shut. No one may open it or enter through it, since YAHWEH, the God of Israel, has passed through it. Therefore, it must remain shut. The prince, and only the prince, may sit inside the gateway to eat his sacred meal in the presence of YAHWEH. He must enter and leave through the porch of the gate of the outer courtyard.” Then the shining man led me through the north gate to the front of the temple. And I looked and behold, I saw YAHWEH’s glory cloud filling the temple. And I was awestruck and fell facedown to the ground. And YAHWEH said to me, “Son of man, set your heart on what I am about to tell you. Look closely and listen carefully to everything I explain regarding all the laws and instructions about my temple. Pay careful attention to the entrance to the temple and all the exits from the sanctuary. And tell the rebels among the people of Israel, ‘Lord YAHWEH says to you: Enough of all your despicable deeds, you people of Israel! You have desecrated my temple by admitting gentiles into my sanctuary who are uncircumcised in heart and body, allowing them into my presence while you offer the fat and blood of sacrifices to me. You have broken my covenant in addition to all the wicked things you have done. Instead of keeping charge of my holy things yourselves, you have placed these gentiles in charge of my sanctuary.’ ” Lord YAHWEH says, “No gentile, uncircumcised in heart and body, may enter my sanctuary, even the foreigners living among the Israelites. For the Levites who abandoned me when Israel turned their backs on me to worship their false gods must bear the consequences of their own sin. They may serve me in my sanctuary by being temple gatekeepers and temple servants. They may kill the animals the people bring to offer as burnt offerings and sacrifices for the people and by serving the worshipers in the temple. But because they assisted the people of Israel in the worship of their idols and thereby caused them to sin, I, Lord YAHWEH, solemnly swear that they will suffer for their sin. They will never draw near to me again to fulfill the priestly office in my presence, nor will they ever again touch my holy things—my very, very holy things! They must bear the shame and disgrace of their despicable deeds. I will, however, assign them the responsibility of performing temple duties in the outer court. I will make them responsible for serving the temple and the work to be done in it.” YAHWEH says, “The Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who faithfully served in my sanctuary when the rest of the Israelites strayed far from me, they will come near to me to minister to me. I, Lord YAHWEH, declare that they will stand in my presence to offer the sacrifices of fat and blood. They will enter my sanctuary and approach my table to minister to me and to oversee the temple worship.