Ezekiel 44

1 And he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary which looked toward the east: and it was locked.

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

2 Then said the Lord unto me, This gate shall remain locked, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore shall it remain locked.

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

3 As for the prince, being the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord: by the way of the porch of that gate shall he enter, and by the way of the same shall he go out.

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.

4 Then brought he me by the way of the north gate before the house; and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord: and I fell upon my face.

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.

5 And the Lord said unto me, Son of man, direct thy mind, and see with thy eyes, and hear with thy ears all that I am speaking with thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord, and of all its laws; and direct thy mind to the entrance of the house, with every place of egress of the sanctuary.

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.

6 And thou shalt say to the rebellious, to the house of Israel, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Ye have done enough with all your abominations, O house of Israel!

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:

7 In your having brought the sons of the stranger, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, while you were offering my food, the fat and the blood: so that they broke my covenant because of all your abominations.

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.

8 And [because] ye have not kept the charge of my holy things; but ye have set [those unworthy ones] as keepers of my charge in my sanctuary at your own pleasure.

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

9 Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, No son of the stranger, uncircumcised in heart, or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of all the sons of the stranger that are in the midst of the children of Israel.

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.

10 But as respecteth the Levites that were gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, who went astray away from me, after their idols, they shall surely bear their iniquity;

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:

11 And they shall be in my sanctuary, servants, appointed to watch at the gates of the house, and to be servants for the house: these are they that shall slay the burnt-offerings and the sacrifices for the people, and they shall stand before them to do the service for them.

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.

12 Because that they used to serve them before their idols, and have been unto the house of Israel as a stumbling-block of iniquity; therefore have I lifted up my hand against them, saith the Lord Eternal, and they shall bear their iniquity;

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:

13 And they shall not come near unto me, to officiate as priests unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, to the most holy things; but they shall bear their shame, yea, for their abominations which they have committed.

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.

14 And I will appoint them to be keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.

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

15 But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, —these are they that shall come near unto me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord Eternal:

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.

16 These are they that shall enter into my sanctuary, and these shall come near to my table, to minister unto me; and they shall keep my charge.

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

17 And it shall come to pass, that, when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall clothe themselves with linen garments; and there shall no wool come upon them, when they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within the house.

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.

18 Linen bonnets shall be upon their heads, and linen breeches shall be upon their loins: they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.

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.

19 And when they go forth into the outer court, into the outer court to the people: then shall they put off their garments wherein they have ministered, and they shall lay them down in the holy chambers; and they shall put on other garments, and they shall not mingle among the people with their garments.

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.

20 And their heads shall they not shave close, nor suffer their hair to grow long: they shall only crop [the hair of] their heads.

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

21 And wine shall none of the priests drink when they enter into the inner court.

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

22 And a widow, or one that is divorced from her husband shall they not take to themselves as wives; but only virgins of the seed of the house of Israel; but whatever widow it may be, the [common] priests may take.

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.

23 And my people shall they teach the difference between the holy and profane, and that between the unclean and the clean shall they make known unto them.

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

24 And in a controversy shall they stand up to judge, according to my ordinances shall they decide it: and my laws and my statutes at all my festivals shall they observe, and my sabbaths shall they sanctify.

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.

25 And to a dead person shall they not come to defile themselves; but on father, or on mother, or on son, or on daughter, on brother, or on sister that hath had no husband, may they defile themselves.

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.

26 And after he is become clean, —they shall reckon unto him seven days, —

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

27 Then shall he on the day that he cometh into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, offer his sin-offering, saith the Lord Eternal.

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.

28 And it shall be unto them as an inheritance, I am their inheritance: and any possession shall you not give them in Israel, I am their possession.

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

29 The meat-offering, and the sin-offering, and the trespass-offering—these shall they eat; and every devoted thing in Israel shall belong to them.

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

30 And the first of all kinds of first-fruits of all, and every kind of heave-offering of every thing of all your heave-offerings, shall belong to the priests; and the first of your dough shall you give to the priest, to cause a blessing to rest on thy house.

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.

31 Any thing that hath died of itself, or that is torn, whether it be fowl or beast, shall the priests not eat.

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