Ezekiel 44

1 Then he brought me towarde the gate of the outwarde Sanctuarie, which turneth towarde the East, and it was shut.

And he turned me back, toward the way of the gate of the outer sanctuary, which looked toward the east. And it was closed.

2 Then saide the Lord vnto me, This gate shalbe shut, and shall not bee opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel hath entred by it, and it shalbe shut.

And the Lord said to me: “This gate will be closed; it will not be opened. And man shall not cross through it. For the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through it, and it shall be closed

3 It appertaineth to the Prince: the Prince himselfe shall sit in it to eate bread before the Lord: he shall enter by the way of the porche of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.

to the prince. The prince himself will sit at it, so that he may eat bread before the Lord; he will enter by the way of the vestibule of the gate, and he will depart by the same way.”

4 Then brought he mee toward the North gate before the House: and when I looked, beholde, the glorie of the Lord filled the house of the Lord, and I fell vpon my face.

And he led me in, along 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 upon my face.

5 And the Lord sayd vnto me, Sonne of man, marke well, and behold with thine eyes, and heare with thine eares, all that I say vnto thee, concerning al the ordinances of the house of the Lord, and al the lawes thereof, and marke well the entring in of the house with euery going forth of the Sanctuarie,

And the Lord said to me: “Son of man, set within your heart, and see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I am speaking to you about all the ceremonies of the house of the Lord and about all its laws. And set your heart upon the ways of the temple, along all the exits of the sanctuary.

6 And thou shalt say to the rebellious, euen to ye house of Israel, Thus saith ye Lord God, O house of Israel, ye haue ynough of al your abominations,

And you shall say to the house of Israel, which provokes me: Thus says the Lord God: Let all your wicked deeds be sufficient for you, O house of Israel.

7 Seeing that yee haue brought into my Sanctuarie strangers, vncircumcised in heart, and vncircumcised in flesh, to bee in my Sanctuarie, to pollute mine house, when yee offer my bread, euen fat, and blood: and they haue broken my couenant, because of all your abominations.

For you bring in foreign sons, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, so that they may be in my sanctuary and may defile my house. And you offer my bread, the fat, and the blood, yet you have broken my covenant by all your wicked deeds.

8 For yee haue not kept the ordinances of mine holy things: but you your selues haue set other to take the charge of my Sanctuarie.

And you have not observed the precepts of my sanctuary, yet you have stationed observers of my vigil in my sanctuary for yourselves.

9 Thus saieth the Lord God, No stranger vncircumcised in heart, nor vncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my Sanctuarie, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel,

Thus says the Lord God: Any foreigner, any foreign son who is in the midst of the sons of Israel, who is uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall not enter into my sanctuary.

10 Neither yet ye Leuites that are gone backe from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray from thee after their idoles, but they shall beare their iniquitie.

And as for the Levites, they have withdrawn far away from me, in the errors of the sons of Israel, and they have gone astray from me after their idols, and they have borne their iniquity.

11 And they shall serue in my Sanctuarie, and keepe the gates of the House, and minister in the House: they shall slay the burnt offring and the sacrifice for the people: and they shall stand before them to serue them.

They will be caretakers in my sanctuary, and doorkeepers at the gates of the house, and ministers to the house. They will slay the holocausts and the victims of the people. And they will stand before them, so that they may minister to them.

12 Because they serued before their idoles, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquitie, therfore haue I lift vp mine had against the, saith the Lord God, and they shall beare their iniquity,

But because they ministered to them in the sight their idols, and they became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, for this reason, I have lifted up my hand against them, says the Lord God, and they will bear their iniquity.

13 And they shall not come neere vnto me to do ye office of ye Priest vnto me, neyther shall they come neere vnto any of mine holy things in the most holy place, but they shall beare their shame and their abominations, which they haue comitted.

And they shall not draw near to me, so as to exercise the priesthood for me, and they shall not approach to any of my holy things, which are near the Holy of Holies. Instead, they will bear their shame and their wicked deeds, which they committed.

14 And I will make them keepers of ye watch of the House, for all the seruice thereof, and for all that shalbe done therein.

And I will make them doorkeepers of the house, for all its ministries and for all that will be done within it.

15 But the Priests of the Leuites, the sonnes of Zadok, that kept the charge of my Sanctuarie, when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come neere to me to serue me, and they shall stande before me to offer me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God.

But the priests and the Levites who are the sons of Zadok, who observed the ceremonies of my sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from me, these shall draw near to me, so that they may minister for me. And they shall stand in my sight, so that they may offer to me the fat and the blood, says the Lord God.

16 They shall enter into my Sanctuarie, and shall come neere to my table, to serue me, and they shall keepe my charge.

They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall draw near to my table, so that they may minister for me, and so that they may observe my ceremonies.

17 And whe they shall enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments, and no wool shall come vpon the while they serue in ye gates of the inner court, and within.

And when they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments. Neither shall anything woolen be placed over them, when they minister within the gates of the inner and the outer court.

18 They shall haue linnen bonets vpon their heades, and shall haue linnen breeches vpon their loynes: they shall not girde them selues in the sweating places.

They shall have linen bands on their heads, and linen undergarments over their loins, and they shall not be girded so as to sweat.

19 But when they goe foorth into the vtter court, euen to the vtter court to the people, they shall put off their garments, wherein they ministred, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments: for they shall not sanctifie the people with their garments.

And when they go forth to the outer court to the people, they shall strip off their vestments, in which they ministered, and they shall place them in the storeroom of the sanctuary, and they shall clothe themselves with other garments. And they shall not sanctify the people in their vestments.

20 They shall not also shaue their heades, nor suffer their lockes to growe long, but rounde their heades.

Now they shall not shave their heads, and they shall not grow long hair. Instead, they shall trim the hair of their heads.

21 Neither shall any Priest drinke wine when they enter into the inner court.

And no priest shall drink wine, when he will be entering into the inner court.

22 Neither shall they take for their wiues a widowe, or her that is diuorced: but they shall take maidens of the seede of the house of Israel, or a widow that hath bene the widow of a Priest.

And they shall not take as wife a widow or one who has been divorced. Instead, they shall take virgins from the offspring of the house of Israel. But they may also take a widow, if she is the widow of a priest.

23 And they shall teach my people the difference betweene the holy and prophane, and cause them to discerne betweene the vncleane and the cleane.

And they shall teach my people the difference between holy and defiled, and they shall distinguish for them between clean and unclean.

24 And in controuersie they shall stande to iudge, and they shall iudge it according to my iudgements: and they shall keepe my lawes and my statutes in all mine assemblies, and they shall sanctifie my Sabbaths.

And when there has been a controversy, they shall stand in my judgments, and they shall judge. They shall observe my laws and my precepts, in all my solemnities, and they shall sanctify my Sabbaths.

25 And they shall come at no dead person to defile theselues, except at their father, or mother, or sone, or daughter, brother or sister, that hath had yet none husband: in these may they be defiled.

And they shall not enter to a dead person, lest they be defiled, except to father or mother, or son or daughter, or brother, or to a sister who does not have another man. By these, they may become unclean.

26 And when he is clensed, they shall reckon vnto him seuen dayes.

And after he will have been cleansed, they shall number for him seven days.

27 And when he goeth into ye Sanctuarie vnto the inner court to minister in the Sanctuarie, he shall offer his sinne offring, saith ye Lord God.

And on the day when he enters into the sanctuary, to the inner court, so that he may minister to me in the sanctuary, he shall make an offering because of his offense, says the Lord God.

28 And the Priesthood shall bee their inheritance, yea, I am their inheritance: therefore shall ye giue them no possessio in Israel, for I am their possession.

And there shall be no inheritance for them. I am their inheritance. And you shall not give them any possession in Israel. For I am their possession.

29 They shall eate the meat offring, and the sinne offring, and the trespas offring, and euery dedicate thing in Israel shall be theirs.

They shall eat the victim both for sin and for offenses. And every vowed offering in Israel shall be theirs.

30 And all the first of all the first borne, and euery oblation, euen all of euery sort of your oblations shall be the Priestes. Ye shall also giue vnto the Priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house.

And the first-fruits of all the firstborn, and all the libations out of all that is offered, shall belong to the priests. And you shall give the first-fruits of your foods to the priest, so that he may return a blessing to your house.

31 The Priests shall not eate of any thing, that is dead, or torne, whether it be foule or beast.

The priests shall not consume anything which has died on its own, or which was seized by a beast, whether from the fowl or the cattle.”