Bible Verses About Ministers

"You are to summon your brother Aharon and his sons to come from among the people of Isra'el to you, so that they can serve me as cohanim -Aharon and his sons Nadav, Avihu, El'azar and Itamar.

"You are to make an ornament of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal, 'Set apart for ADONAI.'

"Don't drink any wine or other intoxicating liquor, neither you nor your sons with you, when you enter the tent of meeting, so that you will not die. This is to be a permanent regulation through all your generations,

Rather, they are to be holy for their God and not profane the name of their God. For they are the ones who present ADONAI with offerings made by fire, the bread of their God; therefore they must be holy.

He also ordered the people living in Yerushalayim to contribute the portion meant for the cohanim and L'vi'im, so that they would be submitting themselves to the Torah of ADONAI.

Then I said, "Woe to me! I [too] am doomed! because I, a man with unclean lips, living among a people with unclean lips, have seen with my own eyes the King, ADONAI-Tzva'ot!"

One of the s'rafim flew to me with a glowing coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.

He touched my mouth with it and said, "Here! This has touched your lips. Your iniquity is gone, your sin is atoned for."

Then I heard the voice of Adonai saying, "Whom should I send? Who will go for us?" I answered, "I'm here, send me!"

Leave! Leave! Get out of there! Don't touch anything unclean! Get out from inside it, and be clean, you who carry ADONAI's temple equipment.

[Isra'el's] watchmen are, all of them, blind; they don't know anything. They are all dumb dogs, unable to bark, lying there dreaming, loving to sleep.

Greedy dogs, never satisfied - such are the shepherds, unable to understand; they all turn to their own way, each one intent on his own gain:

"Come, I'll get some wine, we'll fill up on good, strong liquor! Tomorrow will be like today; in fact, it will be even better!"

Shout out loud! Don't hold back! Raise your voice like a shofar! Proclaim to my people what rebels they are, to the house of Ya'akov their sins.

I will give you shepherds after my own heart, and they will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

they dress the wound of my people, but only superficially, saying, 'There is perfect shalom,' when there is no shalom.

"As for you, human being, don't be afraid of them or their words, even if briars and thorns surround you, and you sit among scorpions. Don't be afraid of their words or be upset by their looks, for they are a rebellious house.

"Human being, I have appointed you to be a watchman for the house of Isra'el. When you hear a word from my mouth, you are to warn them for me.

If I say to a wicked person, 'You will certainly die'; and you fail to warn him, to speak and warn the wicked person to leave his wicked way and save his life; then that wicked person will die guilty; and I will hold you responsible for his death.

But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the shofar, so that the people are not warned; and then the sword comes and takes any one of them, that one is indeed taken away in his guilt, but I will hold the watchman responsible for his death.'

"Likewise you, human being - I have appointed you as watchman for the house of Isra'el. Therefore, when you hear the word from my mouth, warn them for me.

When I tell the wicked person, 'Wicked person, you will certainly die'; and you fail to speak and warn the wicked person to leave his way; then that wicked person will die guilty; and I will hold you responsible for his death.

Let the cohanim, who serve ADONAI, stand weeping between the vestibule and the altar. Let them say, "Spare your people, ADONAI! Don't expose your heritage to mockery, or make them a byward among the Goyim. Why should the peoples say, 'Where is their God?'"

Her leaders sell verdicts for bribes, her cohanim teach for a price, her prophets divine for money - yet they claim to rely on ADONAI! "Isn't ADONAI here with us?" they say. "No evil can come upon us."

A cohen's lips should safeguard knowledge, and people should seek Torah from his mouth, because he is the messenger of ADONAI-Tzva'ot.