24 "They will serve as judges to resolve any disagreements among my people. Their decisions must be based on my regulations. And the priests themselves must obey my instructions and laws at all the sacred festivals, and they will see to it that the Sabbath is set apart as a holy day.
25 A priest must never defile himself by being in the presence of a dead person unless it is his father, mother, child, brother, or unmarried sister. In such cases it is permitted.
26 But such a priest can only return to his Temple duties after being ritually cleansed and then waiting for seven days.
27 The first day he returns to work and enters the inner courtyard and the sanctuary, he must offer a sin offering for himself, says the Sovereign LORD.
28 "As to property, the priests will not have any, for I alone am their inheritance.
29 Their food will come from the gifts and sacrifices brought to the Temple by the people--the grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings. Whatever anyone sets apart* for the LORD will belong to the priests.1
30 The first of the ripe fruits and all the gifts brought to the LORD will go to the priests. The first samples of each grain harvest and the first of your flour must also be given to the priests so the LORD will bless your homes.
31 The priests may never eat meat from any bird or animal that dies a natural death or that dies after being attacked by another animal.
Read Ezekiel 45
