Ezekiel 46

1 This is what the Lord God says: “The east gate of the inner court is to be kept shut during the six working days, but it shall be opened on the Sabbath and on the day of the New Moon

Thus says the Lord GOD; The gate of the inner court that looks toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened.

2 The prince must come through the gateway porch from outside and he will stand by the gatepost, and the priests will sacrifice his burnt offerings and peace offerings. He is to bow in respect at the gate's threshold of the gate and leave, but the gate is not to be shut until evening.

And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, 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 forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening.

3 The people of Israel will also bow before the Lord at the gateway entrance on Sabbaths and New Moons.

Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the LORD in the sabbaths and in the new moons.

4 The burnt offering that the prince is to offer to the Lord on the Sabbath day shall be six male lambs and a ram, all without defects.

And the burnt offering that the prince shall offer to the LORD in the sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish.

5 The grain offering to accompany the ram shall be one ephah, and the grain offering with the lambs shall be as much as he chooses, together with a hin of olive oil for every ephah of grain.

And the meat offering shall be an ephah for a ram, and the meat offering for the lambs as he shall be able to give, and an hin of oil to an ephah.

6 On the day of the New Moon he is to offer a young bull, six lambs, and a ram. They are all to be without defects.

And in the day of the new moon it shall be a young bullock without blemish, and six lambs, and a ram: they shall be without blemish.

7 He is also to provide a grain offering of an ephah with the bull, an ephah with the ram, and as much as he is chooses with the lambs, together with a hin of olive oil for every ephah of grain.

And he shall prepare a meat offering, an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs according as his hand shall attain to, and an hin of oil to an ephah.

8 When the prince enters, he is to come in through the gateway porch, and leave the same way.

And when the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of that gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof.

9 When the people of Israel gather before the Lord at the regular religious festivals, anyone who enters through the north gate to worship has to leave through the south gate, and anyone who enters through the south gate leave through the north gate. No one is allowed to go back through the same gate through which they entered. Everyone must leave by the opposite gate.

But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts, he that enters in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that enters by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it.

10 The prince is to enter when the people do; and leave when they leave.

And the prince in the middle of them, when they go in, shall go in; and when they go forth, shall go forth.

11 At the religious festivals and regular meetings, the grain offering will be an ephah with a bull, an ephah with a ram, and as much as people choose with the lambs, together with a hin of olive oil for every ephah of grain.

And in the feasts and in the solemnities the meat offering shall be an ephah to a bullock, and an ephah to a ram, and to the lambs as he is able to give, and an hin of oil to an ephah.

12 When the prince decides to make a freewill offering to the Lord, whether it's a burnt offering or a peace offering, the east gate is to be opened for him. He shall offer his burnt offering or peace offering in the same way he does on the Sabbath. When he leaves, the gate must be closed after him.

Now when the prince shall prepare a voluntary burnt offering or peace offerings voluntarily to the LORD, one shall then open him the gate that looks toward the east, and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he did on the sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall shut the gate.

13 Every morning a year-old lamb without defects is to be sacrificed as a daily burnt offering to the Lord.

You shall daily prepare a burnt offering to the LORD of a lamb of the first year without blemish: you shall prepare it every morning.

14 Every morning a grain offering of a sixth of an ephah with a third of a hin of olive oil to moisten the best flour is to be provided as a grain offering to the Lord. This regulation is to be followed forever.

And you shall prepare a meat offering for it every morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of an hin of oil, to temper with the fine flour; a meat offering continually by a perpetual ordinance to the LORD.

15 Make sure the lamb, the grain offering, and the olive oil is presented every morning as a regular burnt offering.

Thus shall they prepare the lamb, and the meat offering, and the oil, every morning for a continual burnt offering.

16 This is what the Lord God says: If the prince gives a gift of property to any of his sons to own, it will belong to his descendants. They will be able to inherit the property.

Thus says the Lord GOD; If the prince give a gift to any of his sons, the inheritance thereof shall be his sons’; it shall be their possession by inheritance.

17 However, if he gives a gift of his property to one of his servants, that servant will only own it until the Jubilee Year. Then ownership will return to the prince. His property that he passes on through inheritance belongs only to his sons—it is theirs.

But if he give a gift of his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall be his to the year of liberty; after it shall return to the prince: but his inheritance shall be his sons’ for them.

18 The prince is not to take people's land, driving them off their property. He is to give land to his sons from his own property, so that none of my people shall be evicted from their property.”

Moreover the prince shall not take of the people’s inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their possession; but he shall give his sons inheritance out of his own possession: that my people be not scattered every man from his possession.

19 The man took me through the entrance beside the gate into the north-facing holy rooms that belonged to the priests. He showed me a place at the far western end

After he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers of the priests, which looked toward the north: and, behold, there was a place on the two sides westward.

20 and told me, “This is where the priests cook guilt offerings and sin offerings, and where they bake the grain offering. This is so that they don't take them to the outer courtyard and carry holiness to the people.”

Then said he to me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, where they shall bake the meat offering; that they bear them not out into the outer court, to sanctify the people.

21 He took me into the outer courtyard and led me to each of its four corners. I saw a separate courtyard in each corner.

Then he brought me forth 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 There were separate walled courtyards in the four corners of the outer courtyard. They each measured forty cubits by thirty cubits—they were all the same size.

In the four corners of the court there were courts joined of forty cubits long and thirty broad: these four corners were of one measure.

23 Each of the four courts had a stone ledge with ovens built into the base of the walls on every side.

And there was a row of building round about in them, round about them four, and it was made with boiling places under the rows round about.

24 He told me, “These are the kitchens where those who serve in the Temple will cook the people's sacrificial offerings.”

Then said he to me, These are the places of them that boil, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people.