44:20 “‘They must not shave their heads 2 nor let their hair grow long; 3 they must only trim their heads. 44:21 No priest may drink wine when he enters the inner court. 44:22 They must not marry a widow or a divorcee, but they may marry a virgin from the house of Israel 4 or a widow who is a priest’s widow. 44:23 Moreover, they will teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the ceremonially unclean and the clean. 5
44:24 “‘In a controversy they will act as judges; 6 they will judge according to my ordinances. They will keep my laws and my statutes regarding all my appointed festivals and will observe 7 my Sabbaths.
44:25 “‘They must not come near a dead person or they will be defiled; 8 however, for father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister, they may defile themselves. 44:26 After a priest 9 has become ceremonially clean, they 10 must count off a period of seven days for him. 44:27 On the day he enters the sanctuary, into the inner court to serve in the sanctuary, he must offer his sin offering, declares the sovereign Lord.
44:28 “‘This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance, and you must give them no property in Israel; I am their property. 11 44:29 They may eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, and every devoted thing in Israel will be theirs. 44:30 The first of all the first fruits and all contributions of any kind 12 will be for the priests; you will also give to the priest the first portion of your dough, so that a blessing may rest on your house. 44:31 The priests will not eat any bird or animal that has died a natural death or was torn to pieces by a wild animal. 13