Ezekiel 44

1 And he brought me back to the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary, which looked towards the east: and it was shut.

And he causes me to turn back the way of the gate of the outer sanctuary that is looking eastward, and it is shut.

2 And the Lord said to me: This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall pass through it: because the Lord the God of Israel hath entered in by it, and it shall be shut

And YHWH says to me, “This gate is shut, it is not opened, and none go in by it, for YHWH, God of Israel, has come in by it, and it has been shut.

3 For the prince. The prince himself shall sit in it, to eat bread before the Lord: he shall enter in by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go out by the same way.

The prince, who [is] prince, he sits by it to eat bread before YHWH, he comes in by the way of the porch of the gate, and by its way he goes out.”

4 And he brought me by the way of the north gate, in the sight of the house: and I saw, and behold the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord: and I fell on my face.

And he brings me in the way of the north gate to the front of the house, and I look, and behold, the glory of YHWH has filled the house of YHWH, and I fall on my face.

5 And the Lord said to me: Son of man, attend with thy heart, and behold with thy eyes, and hear with thy ears, all that I say to thee concerning all the ceremonies of the house of the Lord, and concerning all the laws thereof: and mark well the ways of the temple, with all the goings out of the sanctuary.

And YHWH says to me, “Son of man, set your heart, and see with your eyes, and hear with your ears, all that I am speaking with you, all of the statutes of the house of YHWH, and all of its laws; and you have set your heart to the entrance of the house, with all the outlets of the sanctuary,

6 And thou shalt say to the house of Israel that provoketh me: Thus saith the Lord God: Let all your wicked doings suffice you, O house of Israel:

and have said to [the] rebellion, to the house of Israel, Thus said Lord YHWH: Enough from you—of all your abominations, O house of Israel.

7 In that you have brought in strangers uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, and to defile my house: and you offer my bread, the fat, and the blood: and you have broken my covenant by all your wicked doings.

In your bringing in sons of a stranger, uncircumcised of heart, and uncircumcised of flesh, to be in My sanctuary, to defile it, even My house, in your bringing near My bread, fat, and blood, and they break My covenant by all your abominations,

8 And you have not kept the ordinances of my sanctuary: but you have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.

and you have not kept [the] charge of My holy things, and you set [others] for keeping My charge in My sanctuary for you.

9 Thus saith the Lord God: No stranger uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, no stranger that is in the midst of the children of Israel.

Thus said Lord YHWH: No son of a stranger, uncircumcised of heart, and uncircumcised of flesh, comes into My sanctuary, even any son of a stranger, who [is] in the midst of the sons of Israel.

10 Moreover the Levites that went away far from me, when the children of Israel went astray, and have wandered from me after their idols, and have borne their iniquity:

And the Levites who have gone far off from Me, in the wandering of Israel when they went astray from Me after their idols, and they have borne their iniquity.

11 They shall be officers in my sanctuary, and doorkeepers of the gates of the house, and ministers to the house: they shall slay the holocausts, and the victims of the people: and they shall stand in their sight, to minister to them.

And they have been servants in My sanctuary, overseers at the gates of the house, and servants at the house; they slay the burnt-offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they stand before them to serve them.

12 Because they ministered to them before their idols, and were a stumblingblock of iniquity to the house of Israel: therefore have I lifted up my hand against them, saith the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity:

Because that they serve them before their idols, and have been for a stumbling-block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have lifted up My hand against them—a declaration of Lord YHWH—and they have borne their iniquity.

13 And they shall not come near to me to do the office of priest to me, neither shall they come near to any of my holy things that are by the holy of holies: but they shall bear their shame, and their wickednesses which they have committed.

And they do not draw near to Me to act as My priest, and to draw near to any of My holy things, to the Holy of Holies, and they have borne their shame and their abominations that they have done,

14 And I will make them doorkeepers of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.

and I made them keepers of the charge of the house, for all its service and for all that is done in it.

15 But the priests, and Levites, the sons of Sadoc, who kept the ceremonies or my sanctuary, when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me, to minister to me: and they shall stand before me, to offer me the fat, and the blood, saith the Lord God.

And the priests, the Levites, sons of Zadok, who have kept the charge of My sanctuary in the wandering of the sons of Israel from off Me, they draw near to Me to serve Me, and have stood before Me, to bring fat and blood near to Me—a declaration of Lord YHWH:

16 They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and to keep my ceremonies.

they come into My sanctuary, and they draw near to My table to serve Me, and they have kept My charge.

17 And when they shall enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments: neither shall any woollen come upon them, when they minister in the gates of the inner court and within.

And it has come to pass, in their going into the gates of the inner court, they put on linen garments; and no wool comes up on them in their ministering in the gates of the inner court and within.

18 They shall have linen mitres on their heads, and linen breeches on their loins, and they shall not be girded with any thing that causeth sweat.

Linen headdresses are on their head, and linen trousers are on their loins, they are not restrained with sweat.

19 And when they shall go forth to the outward court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them up in the store chamber of the sanctuary, and they shall clothe themselves with other garments: and they shall not sanctify the people with their vestments.

And in their going forth to the outer court—to the outer court to the people—they strip off their garments, in which they are ministering, and have placed them in the holy chambers, and have put on other garments; and they do not sanctify the people in their own garments.

20 Neither shall they shave their heads, nor wear long heir: but they shall only poll their heads.

And they do not shave their head, and they do not send forth the lock; they certainly trim their heads.

21 And no priest shall drink wine when he is to go into the inner court.

And no priest drinks wine in their coming into the inner court.

22 Neither shall they take to wife a widow, nor one that is divorced, but they shall take virgins of the seed of the house of Israel: but they may take a widow also, that is, the widow of a priest.

And they do not take a widow or divorced woman to themselves for wives, but they take virgins of the seed of the house of Israel, and the widow who is widow of a priest.

23 And they shall teach my people the difference between holy and profane, and shew them how to discern between clean and unclean.

And they direct My people between holy and common, and they cause them to discern between unclean and clean.

24 And when there shall be a controversy, they shall stand in my judgments, and shall judge: they shall keep my laws, and my ordinances in all my solemnities, and sanctify my sabbaths.

And concerning controversy, they stand up for judgment; they judge it with My judgments; and they keep My law and My statutes in all My appointed places; and they sanctify My Sabbaths.

25 And they shall come near no dead person, lest they be defiled, only their father and mother, and son and daughter, and brother and sister, that hath not had another husband: for whom they may become unclean.

And he does not come near to any dead man to be defiled, but if for father, and for mother, and for son, and for daughter, for brother, for sister who has not been to a man, they may defile themselves.

26 And after one is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days.

And after his cleansing, they number seven days to him.

27 And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, to the inner court, to minister unto me in the sanctuary, he shall offer for his sin, saith the Lord God.

And in the day of his coming into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he brings his sin-offering near—a declaration of Lord YHWH.

28 And they shall have no inheritance, I am their inheritance: neither shall you give them any possession in Israel, for I am their possession.

And it has been for an inheritance to them; I [am] their inheritance, and you do not give a possession to them in Israel; I [am] their possession.

29 They shall eat the victim both for sin and for trespass: and every vowed thing in Israel shall be theirs.

The present, and the sin-offering, and the guilt-offering, they eat, and every devoted thing in Israel is theirs.

30 And the firstfruits of all the firstborn, and all the libations of all things that are offered, shall be the priest’s: and you shall give the firstfruits of your meats to the priest, that he may return a blessing upon thy house.

And the first of all the first-fruits of all, and every raised-offering of all, of all your raised-offerings, are the priests’; and you give the first of your dough to the priest, to cause a blessing to rest on your house.

31 The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself or caught by a beast, whether it be fowl or cattle.

The priests do not eat any carcass or torn thing, from the bird or from the beast.”