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.

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

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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!

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,

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.

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 [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.

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.

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.

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 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;

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.

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.

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 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;

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 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.

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

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.

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:

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:

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

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.

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, 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.

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

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.

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 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.

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

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

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

And wine shall none of the priests drink when they enter 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.

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.

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

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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

And after he is become clean, —they shall reckon unto him 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.

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.

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

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.

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 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.

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

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