< Ezekiel 46 >

1 “This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘The gate of the inner court that faces east must be kept shut during the six days of work, but on the Sabbath day and on the day of the New Moon it shall be opened.
“‘The Lord GOD says: “The gate of the inner court that looks toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened.
2 The prince is to enter from the outside through the portico of the gateway and stand by the gatepost, while the priests sacrifice his burnt offerings and peace offerings. He is to bow in worship at the threshold of the gate and then depart, but the gate must not be shut until evening.
The prince shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate outside, and shall stand by the post of the gate; and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be shut until the evening.
3 On the Sabbaths and New Moons the people of the land are also to bow in worship before the LORD at the entrance to that gateway.
The people of the land shall worship at the door of that gate before the LORD on the Sabbaths and on the new moons.
4 The burnt offering that the prince presents to the LORD on the Sabbath day shall be six unblemished male lambs and an unblemished ram.
The burnt offering that the prince shall offer to the LORD shall be on the Sabbath day, six lambs without defect and a ram without defect;
5 The grain offering with the ram shall be one ephah, and the grain offering with the lambs shall be as much as he is able, along with a hin of oil per ephah.
and the meal offering shall be an ephah for the ram, and the meal offering for the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah.
6 On the day of the New Moon he shall offer a young, unblemished bull, six lambs, and a ram without blemish.
On the day of the new moon it shall be a young bull without defect, six lambs, and a ram. They shall be without defect.
7 He is to provide a grain offering of an ephah with the bull, an ephah with the ram, and as much as he is able with the lambs, along with a hin of oil per ephah.
He shall prepare a meal offering: an ephah for the bull, and an ephah for the ram, and for the lambs according as he is able, and a hin of oil to an ephah.
8 When the prince enters, he shall go in through the portico of the gateway, and he shall go out the same way.
When the prince enters, he shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and he shall go out by its way.
9 When the people of the land come before the LORD at the appointed feasts, whoever enters by the north gate to worship must go out by the south gate, and whoever enters by the south gate must go out by the north gate. No one is to return through the gate by which he entered, but each must go out by the opposite gate.
“‘“But when the people of the land come before the LORD in the appointed feasts, he who enters by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he who enters by the way of the south gate shall go out by the way of the north gate. He shall not return by the way of the gate by which he came in, but shall go out straight before him.
10 When the people enter, the prince shall go in with them, and when they leave, he shall leave.
The prince shall go in with them when they go in. When they go out, he shall go out.
11 At the festivals and appointed feasts, the grain offering shall be an ephah with a bull, an ephah with a ram, and as much as one is able to give with the lambs, along with a hin of oil per ephah.
“‘“In the feasts and in the appointed holidays, the meal offering shall be an ephah for a bull, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah.
12 When the prince makes a freewill offering to the LORD, whether a burnt offering or a peace offering, the gate facing east must be opened for him. He is to offer his burnt offering or peace offering just as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and the gate must be closed after he goes out.
When the prince prepares a free will offering, a burnt offering or peace offerings as a free will offering to the LORD, one shall open for him the gate that looks toward the east; and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out; and after his going out one shall shut the gate.
13 And you shall provide an unblemished year-old lamb as a daily burnt offering to the LORD; you are to offer it every morning.
“‘“You shall prepare a lamb a year old without defect for a burnt offering to the LORD daily. Morning by morning you shall prepare it.
14 You are also to provide with it every morning a grain offering of a sixth of an ephah with a third of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour—a grain offering to the LORD. This is a permanent statute.
You shall prepare a meal offering with it morning by morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour; a meal offering to the LORD continually by a perpetual ordinance.
15 Thus they shall provide the lamb, the grain offering, and the oil every morning as a regular burnt offering.’
Thus they shall prepare the lamb, the meal offering, and the oil, morning by morning, for a continual burnt offering.”
16 This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘If the prince gives a gift to any of his sons as an inheritance, it will belong to his descendants. It will become their property by inheritance.
“‘The Lord GOD says: “If the prince gives a gift to any of his sons, it is his inheritance. It shall belong to his sons. It is their possession by inheritance.
17 But if he gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, it will belong to that servant until the year of freedom; then it will revert to the prince. His inheritance belongs only to his sons; it shall be theirs.
But if he gives of his inheritance a gift to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty; then it shall return to the prince; but as for his inheritance, it shall be for his sons.
18 The prince must not take any of the inheritance of the people by evicting them from their property. He is to provide an inheritance for his sons from his own property, so that none of My people will be displaced from his property.’”
Moreover the prince shall not take of the people’s inheritance, to thrust them out of their possession. He shall give inheritance to his sons out of his own possession, that my people not each be scattered from his possession.”’”
19 Then the man brought me through the entrance at the side of the gate into the holy chambers facing north, which belonged to the priests, and he showed me a place there at the far western end
Then he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy rooms for the priests, which looked toward the north. Behold, there was a place on the back part westward.
20 and said to me, “This is the place where the priests shall boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the grain offering, so that they do not bring them into the outer court and transmit holiness to the people.”
He said to me, “This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the meal offering, that they not bring them out into the outer court, to sanctify the people.”
21 Then he brought me into the outer court and led me around to its four corners, and I saw a separate court in each of its corners.
Then he brought me out into the outer court and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and behold, in every corner of the court there was a court.
22 In the four corners of the outer court there were enclosed courts, each forty cubits long and thirty cubits wide. Each of the four corner areas had the same dimensions.
In the four corners of the court there were courts enclosed, forty cubits long and thirty wide. These four in the corners were the same size.
23 Around the inside of each of the four courts was a row of masonry with ovens built at the base of the walls on all sides.
There was a wall around in them, around the four, and boiling places were made under the walls all around.
24 And he said to me, “These are the kitchens where those who minister at the temple will cook the sacrifices offered by the people.”
Then he said to me, “These are the boiling houses, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people.”

< Ezekiel 46 >