Entonces me hizo volver por el camino de la puerta exterior del santuario que da hacia el oriente^a, y estaba cerrada. 2 Y el SEÑOR me dijo: Esta puerta estará cerrada; no se abrirá y nadie entrará por ella, porque el SEÑOR, Dios de Israel, ha entrado por ella^a; por eso permanecerá cerrada. 3 En cuanto al príncipe, él, como príncipe^a, se sentará allí para comer pan delante del SEÑOR^b; entrará por el camino del vestíbulo de la puerta^c y por el mismo¹ camino saldrá^d.

4 Luego me llevó por el camino de la puerta del norte^a al frente del templo¹; miré, y he aquí, la gloria del SEÑOR llenaba la casa del SEÑOR, y me postré sobre mi rostro^b. 5 Y el SEÑOR me dijo: Hijo de hombre, pon atención¹, mira con tus ojos y oye con tus oídos todo lo que te digo acerca de todos los estatutos de la casa del SEÑOR^a y acerca de todas sus leyes^b; y fíjate bien² en cuanto a la entrada del templo y a todas las salidas del santuario. 6 Y dirás a los rebeldes¹, a la casa de Israel^a: «Así dice el Señor DIOS²: “Son ya demasiadas todas vuestras abominaciones, oh casa de Israel^b, 7 cuando introdujisteis extranjeros, incircuncisos de corazón e incircuncisos de carne^a, para que estuvieran en mi santuario y profanaran¹ mi casa^b; cuando les ofrecisteis mi alimento, la grosura y la sangre^c; invalidasteis², pues, mi pacto^d; esto además de todas vuestras abominaciones. 8 No os habéis ocupado de guardar mis cosas sagradas, sino que habéis puesto extranjeros como guardas de mis ordenanzas^a en mi santuario”.

9 »Así dice el Señor DIOS: “Ningún extranjero, incircunciso de corazón e incircunciso de carne, entrará en mi santuario; ninguno de los extranjeros que están entre los hijos de Israel^a. 10 Y los levitas que se alejaron de mí cuando Israel se descarriaba, que se alejaron de mí tras sus ídolos, llevarán el castigo por su iniquidad^a. 11 Serán servidores en mi santuario, encargados de las puertas del templo y servidores en el templo^a; ofrecerán¹ el holocausto y el sacrificio para el pueblo^b, y estarán delante de ellos para servirles^c. 12 Por cuanto les sirvieron delante de sus ídolos^a, y fueron tropezadero de iniquidad para la casa de Israel^b, por tanto he jurado¹ contra ellos^c”,—declara el Señor DIOS— “que llevarán el castigo por su iniquidad^d. 13 No se acercarán a mí para servirme de sacerdotes, ni se acercarán a ninguna de mis cosas santas^a, ni a las cosas santísimas, sino que cargarán su ignominia y las abominaciones que han cometido^b. 14 Los pondré¹ como guardas de las ordenanzas del templo, de todo su servicio y de todo lo que se ha de hacer en él^a.

15 ”Pero los sacerdotes levitas^a, hijos de Sadoc^b, que se ocupaban de guardar mi santuario^c cuando los hijos de Israel se alejaron de mí^d, se acercarán a mí para servirme^e, y estarán delante de mí para ofrecerme la grosura y la sangre^f”—declara el Señor DIOS. 16 “Ellos entrarán en mi santuario^a, y se acercarán a mi mesa^b para servirme y guardar mis ordenanzas. 17 Y¹ cuando entren por las puertas del atrio interior, se pondrán vestiduras de lino^a; no se pondrán lana² mientras estén sirviendo en las puertas del atrio interior y en el templo. 18 Llevarán turbantes de lino sobre sus cabezas^a, y calzoncillos de lino sobre sus lomos^b; no se ceñirán de nada que los haga sudar. 19 Cuando salgan al atrio exterior, al atrio exterior donde está el¹ pueblo, se quitarán las vestiduras con que han estado sirviendo y las dejarán en las cámaras sagradas, y se pondrán otras vestiduras a fin de no santificar² al pueblo^a con sus vestiduras^b. 20 No se afeitarán la cabeza, ni se dejarán crecer¹ el cabello^a;solo se recortarán el pelo de su cabeza^b. 21 Ningún sacerdote beberá vino cuando entre al atrio interior^a. 22 No tomará por mujer ni a viuda ni a divorciada, sino que tomará a una virgen^a del linaje de la casa de Israel, o a una viuda que sea viuda de sacerdote. 23 Enseñarán a mi pueblo a discernir entre lo sagrado y lo profano, y harán que ellos sepan distinguir entre lo inmundo y lo limpio^a. 24 En un pleito actuarán como jueces; lo decidirán conforme a mis ordenanzas^a. También guardarán mis leyes y mis estatutos en todas mis fiestas señaladas^b, y santificarán mis días de reposo^c. 25 No se acercarán¹ a persona muerta para no contaminarse; pero por el padre, la madre, el hijo, la hija, el hermano, la hermana que no tenga marido, sí podrán contaminarse^a. 26 Después de haberse purificado, se le contarán siete días^a. 27 Y el día que entre en el santuario, en el atrio interior, para ministrar en el santuario^a, ofrecerá su ofrenda por el pecado^b”—declara el Señor DIOS.

28 “Y¹ con respecto a la heredad para ellos, yo soy su heredad; no les daréis posesión en Israel: yo soy su posesión^a. 29 Comerán la ofrenda de cereal, la ofrenda por el pecado y la ofrenda por la culpa; toda cosa consagrada en Israel será de ellos^a. 30 Y las primicias de todos los primeros frutos de todo, y de toda clase de ofrenda¹ de vuestras ofrendas², serán para los sacerdotes^a; también daréis al sacerdote las primicias de vuestras masas^3b para que haga reposar una bendición sobre vuestra casa^c. 31 Los sacerdotes no comerán el cuerpo muerto o despedazado de ninguna ave ni de ningún animal^a.

Then He brought me back by way of the ^aouter gate of the sanctuary, which faces east; and it was shut. 2 And the LORD said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the ^aLORD God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. 3 As for the ^aprince, he shall sit in it as prince to ^beat bread before the LORD; he shall ^center by way of the ^dporch of the gate and shall go out ¹by the same way.”

4 Then He brought me by way of the ^anorth gate to the front of the house; and I looked, and behold, the ^bglory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD, and I ^cfell on my face. 5 And the LORD said to me, “Son of man, ^1apay attention, see with your eyes and hear with your ears everything that I say to you concerning all the ^bstatutes of the house of the LORD and all its laws; and ²pay attention to the entrance of the house, with all the exits of the sanctuary. 6 You shall say to the ^1arebellious ones, to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord ²GOD says: “^bEnough of all your abominations, house of Israel, 7 when you brought in ^aforeigners, ^buncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to profane it, My house, when you ^coffered My food, the fat, and the blood and they ^dbroke My covenant—this in addition to all your abominations. 8 And you have not ^1ataken responsibility for My holy things yourselves, but you have appointed foreigners ²to take responsibility for My sanctuary.”

9 ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “^aNo foreigner uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the sons of Israel, shall enter My sanctuary. 10 But the Levites who went far from Me when Israel went astray, who ^awent astray from Me ¹following their idols, shall ^bsuffer the punishment for their wrongdoing. 11 Yet they shall be ^aministers in My sanctuary, having ^boversight at the gates of the house and ^cministering in the house; they shall ^dslaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall ^estand before them to minister to them. 12 Since they ministered to them ^abefore their idols and became a ^bstumbling block of wrongdoing to the house of Israel, for that reason I have ^1csworn against them,” declares the Lord GOD, “that they shall ^dsuffer the punishment for their wrongdoing. 13 And they shall ^anot approach Me to serve as priests for Me, nor approach any of My holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they will ^bbear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. 14 Nevertheless I will ¹appoint them ²to ^atake responsibility for the house, of all its service and of everything that shall be done in it.

15 “But the ^aLevitical priests, the sons of ^bZadok, who ^1ctook responsibility for My sanctuary when the sons of Israel ^dwent astray from Me, shall come near to Me to serve Me; and they shall ^estand before Me to offer Me the ^ffat and the blood,” declares the Lord GOD. 16 “They shall ^aenter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My ^btable to serve Me and ¹assume the responsibility I give them. 17 And it shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner courtyard, they shall be clothed with ^alinen garments; and wool shall not ¹be worn by them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner courtyard or in the house. 18 Linen ^aturbans shall be on their heads and ^blinen undergarments shall be around their waists; they shall not put on anything that makes them sweat. 19 And when they go out into the outer courtyard, into the outer courtyard to the people, they shall ^atake 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 ^bnot transfer holiness to the people with their garments. 20 Also they shall ^anot shave their heads, yet they shall not ^blet their locks ¹grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads. 21 ^aNor shall any of the priests drink wine when they enter the inner courtyard. 22 And they shall not ¹marry a widow or a ^adivorced woman, but shall ^btake virgins from the descendants of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23 Moreover, they shall teach My people the ^adifference between the holy and the ¹common, and teach them to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. 24 In a dispute ^athey 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 ^bappointed feasts, and ^csanctify My Sabbaths. 25 ^1aThey 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. 26 And after he is ^acleansed, seven days ¹shall elapse for him. 27 On the day that he goes into the sanctuary, to the ^ainner courtyard to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his ^bsin offering,” declares the Lord GOD.

28 “And it shall be regarding an inheritance for them, that ^aI am their inheritance; and you shall give them no property in Israel—I am their property. 29 They shall ^aeat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; and everything ^bbanned from secular use in Israel shall be theirs. 30 And the first of all the ^afirst fruits of every kind and every ¹contribution of every kind, from all your ²contributions, shall be for the priests; you shall also give to the priest the ^bfirst of your ³dough, to make a ^cblessing rest on your house. 31 The priests shall not eat any bird or animal that has ^adied a natural death or has been torn to pieces by animals.

Then He brought me back by the way of the ^aouter gate of the sanctuary, which faces the east; and it was shut. 2 The LORD said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the ^aLORD God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. 3 As for the ^aprince, he shall sit in it as prince to ^beat bread before the LORD; he shall ^center by way of the ^dporch of the gate and shall go out ¹by the same way.”

4 Then He brought me by way of the ^anorth gate to the front of the house; and I looked, and behold, the ^bglory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD, and I ^cfell on my face. 5 The LORD said to me, “Son of man, ^1amark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears all that I say to you concerning all the ^bstatutes of the house of the LORD and concerning all its laws; and ²mark well the entrance of the house, with all exits of the sanctuary. 6 You shall say to the ^1arebellious ones, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord ²GOD, “^bEnough of all your abominations, O house of Israel, 7 when you brought in ^aforeigners, ^buncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to profane it, even My house, when you ^coffered My food, the fat and the blood; for they ^dmade My covenant void—this in addition to all your abominations. 8 And you have not ^akept charge of My holy things yourselves, but you have set foreigners ¹to keep charge of My sanctuary.”

9 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “^aNo foreigner uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the sons of Israel, shall enter My sanctuary. 10 But the Levites who went far from Me when Israel went astray, who ^awent astray from Me after their idols, shall ^bbear the punishment for their iniquity. 11 Yet they shall be ^aministers in My sanctuary, having ^boversight at the gates of the house and ^cministering in the house; they shall ^dslaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall ^estand before them to minister to them. 12 Because they ministered to them ^abefore their idols and became a ^bstumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have ^1csworn against them,” declares the Lord GOD, “that they shall ^dbear the punishment for their iniquity. 13 And they shall ^anot come near to Me to serve as a priest to Me, nor come near to any of My holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they will ^bbear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. 14 Yet I will ¹appoint them ²to ^akeep charge of the house, of all its service and of all that shall be done in it.

15 “But the ^aLevitical priests, the sons of ^bZadok, who ^ckept charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel ^dwent astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me; and they shall ^estand before Me to offer Me the ^ffat and the blood,” declares the Lord GOD. 16 “They shall ^aenter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My ^btable to minister to Me and keep My charge. 17 It shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with ^alinen garments; and wool shall not ¹be on them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner court and in the house. 18 Linen ^aturbans shall be on their heads and ^blinen undergarments shall be on their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything which makes them sweat. 19 When they go out into the outer court, into the outer court to the people, they shall ^aput 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 ^bnot transmit holiness to the people with their garments. 20 Also they shall ^anot shave their heads, yet they shall not ^blet their locks ¹grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads. 21 ^aNor shall any of the priests drink wine when they enter the inner court. 22 And they shall not ¹marry a widow or a ^adivorced woman but shall ^btake virgins from the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23 Moreover, they shall teach My people the ^adifference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. 24 In a dispute ^athey 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 ^bappointed feasts and ^csanctify My sabbaths. 25 ^1aThey 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. 26 After he is ^acleansed, seven days shall ¹elapse for him. 27 On the day that he goes into the sanctuary, into the ^ainner court to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his ^bsin offering,” declares the Lord GOD.

28 “And it shall be with regard to an inheritance for them, that ^aI am their inheritance; and you shall give them no possession in Israel—I am their possession. 29 They shall ^aeat the grain offering, the sin offering and the guilt offering; and every ^1bdevoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30 The first of all the ^afirst fruits of every kind and every ¹contribution of every kind, from all your ²contributions, shall be for the priests; you shall also give to the priest the ^bfirst of your ³dough to cause a ^cblessing to rest on your house. 31 The priests shall not eat any bird or beast that has ^adied a natural death or has been torn to pieces.