You shall give to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok …: The Hebrew pronouns for you in verses 19-25 are singular, so they refer to Ezekiel. It does not necessarily mean that Ezekiel himself had to do the action. He may instead have been responsible for, or in charge of, doing it. Translators may need to use a causative expression here, for example, “You must cause [someone] to give….” The Levitical priests of the family of Zadok is literally “the priests, the Levites who are from the seed of Zadok.” For this whole expression, see the comments on 40.45-46. It may be rendered “the priests who are descendants of Levi in the family of Zadok.”
Who draw near to me to minister to me: These priests are the only ones who will be allowed to go into God’s presence to serve him (see the comments on 40.46).
Says the Lord GOD reinforces the rule about the descendants of Zadok being the only ones who will be allowed to serve in God’s presence as priests. For this expression see the comments on 5.11. For the Lord GOD, see verse 18.
A bull for a sin offering: A bull is literally “a bull, a son of cattle,” which suggests that it must be “a young bull” (Good News Translation, New International Version, New International Reader’s Version, New Living Translation, New Century Version, New King James Version , New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Revised Standard Version places this object at the end of the sentence, but translators should place it in the most appropriate position for their own language (see the model below). For sin offering, see the comments on 40.39.
A model for this verse is:
• You [Ezekiel] must give a young bull to the priests who are descendants of Levi in the family of Zadok. It is my firm rule that they are the ones who are allowed to come close to me and serve me [as priests]. The priests must sacrifice the bull [on the altar] so that I will forgive the sins [of the people].
Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .