Ezekiel 44

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

Then he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary that looks eastward; and it was shut.

2 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.

And the Lord said to me, This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no one shall pass through it; for the Lord God of Israel shall enter by it, and it shall be shut.

3 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.”

For the prince, he shall sit in it, to eat bread before the Lord; he shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go forth by the way of the same.

4 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.

And he brought me in by the way of the gate that looks northward, in front of the house: and I looked, and, behold, the house was full of the glory of the Lord: and I fell upon my face.

5 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,

And the Lord said to me, Son of man, attend with your heart, and see with [your] eyes, and hear with your ears all that I say to you, according to all the ordinances of the house of the Lord, and all the regulations thereof; and you shall attend well to the entrance of the house, according to all its outlets, in all the holy things.

6 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.

And you shall say to the provoking house, [even] to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God; Let it suffice you [to have committed] all your iniquities, O house of Israel!

7 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,

that you have brought in aliens, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, and to profane it, when you offered bread, flesh, and blood; and you transgressed my covenant by all your iniquities;

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

and you appointed [others] to keep the charges in my sanctuary.

9 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.

Therefore thus says the Lord God; No alien, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of all the children of strangers that are in the midst of the house of Israel.

10 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.

But as for the Levites who departed far from me when Israel went astray from me after their imaginations, they shall even bear their iniquity.

11 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.

yet they shall minister in my sanctuary, [being] porters at the gates of the house, and serving the house: they shall kill the victims and the whole burnt offerings for the people, and they shall stand before the people to minister to them.

12 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.

Because they ministered to them before their idols, and it became to the house of Israel a punishment of iniquity; therefore have I lifted up my hand against them, says the Lord God.

13 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,

And they shall not draw near to me to minister to me in the priests' office, nor to approach the holy things of the children of Israel, nor [to approach] my holy of holies: but they shall bear their reproach for the error wherein they erred.

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

They shall bring them to keep the charges of the house, for all the service of it, and for all that they shall do.

15 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:

The priests the Levites, the sons of Sadduc, who kept the charges of my sanctuary when the house of Israel went astray from me, these shall draw night to me to minister to me, and shall stand before my face, to offer sacrifice to me, the fat and the blood, says the Lord God.

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

These shall enter into my sanctuary, and these shall approach my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charges.

17 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.

And it shall come to pass when they enter the gates of the inner court, [that] they shall put on linen robes; and they shall not put on woollen garments when they minister at the gate of the inner court.

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

And they shall have linen mitres upon their heads, and shall have linen drawers upon their loins; and they shall not tightly gird themselves.

19 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.

And when they go out into the outer court to the people, they shall put off their robes, in which they minister; and they shall lay them up in the chambers of the sanctuary, and shall put on other robes, and they shall not sanctify the people with their robes.

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

And they shall not shave their heads, nor shall they pluck off their hair; they shall carefully cover their heads.

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

And no priest shall drink any wine, when they go into the inner court.

22 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.

Neither shall they take to themselves to wife a widow, or one that is put away, but a virgin of the seed of Israel: but if there should happen to be a priest's widow, they shall take [her].

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

And they shall teach my people [to distinguish] between holy and profane, and they shall make known to them [the difference] between unclean and clean.

24 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.

And these shall attend at a judgment of blood to decide it: they shall rightly observe my ordinances, and judge my judgments, and keep my statutes and my commandments in all my feasts; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.

25 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.

And they shall not go in to the dead body of a man to defile themselves: only [a priest] may defile himself for a father, or for a mother, or for a son, or for a daughter, or for a brother, or for his sister, who has not been married.

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

And after he has been cleansed, let him number to himself seven days.

27 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.

And on whatever day they shall enter into the inner court to minister in the holy place, they shall bring a propitiation, says the Lord God.

28 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.

And it shall be to them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and no possession shall be given them among the children of Israel; for I am their possession.

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

And these shall eat the meat-offerings, and the sin-offerings, and the trespass-offerings; and every special offering in Israel shall be theirs.

30 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.

[And] the first fruits of all things, and the firstborn of all [animals] and all offerings, of all your first fruits there shall be [a share] for the priests; and you shall give your earliest produce to the priest, to bring your blessings upon your houses.

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

And the priests shall eat no bird or beast that dies of itself, or is taken of wild beasts.