Ezekiel 44

1 Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which looketh toward the east; and it was shut.

Then the man brought me back to the outer sanctuary gate that faced east; it was closed tightly.

2 Then said Jehovah to me: This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because Jehovah, the God of Israel, entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.

Yahweh said to me, “This gate has been sealed shut; it will not be opened. No man will go through it, for Yahweh, the God of Israel, has come through it, so it has been closed tightly.

3 The prince, because he is prince, shall sit in it, to eat food before Jehovah; he shall enter through the porch of that gate, and by the same way shall he go out.

The ruler of Israel will sit in it to eat food before Yahweh. He will enter by way of the gate's portico and go out the same way.”

4 Then he brought me to the north gate before the house; and I looked, and behold, the glory of Jehovah filled the house of Jehovah. And I fell upon my face.

Then he brought me by way of the northern gate to the front of the temple, and I looked, and behold, the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh, and I fell on my face.

5 And Jehovah said to me: Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say to thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of Jehovah, and all the laws thereof; and mark well all the entrances of the house, and all the outward passages of the sanctuary.

Then Yahweh said to me, “Son of man, set your heart and look with your eyes and listen with your ears to all that I am declaring to you, to all the statutes of the house of Yahweh and all its regulations. Think about the house's entrance and exits.

6 And say to the rebellious house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Let it suffice you of all your abominations, O house of Israel,

Then say to the rebellious ones, the house of Israel, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Let all of your disgusting actions be enough for you, house of Israel—

7 in that ye brought strangers, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, so that ye polluted my house when ye offered my food, the fat and the blood, and broke my covenant by all your abominations.

that you brought foreigners with uncircumcised hearts and uncircumcised flesh to be in my sanctuary, profaning my house, while you were offering me food, fat and blood—you have broken my covenant by all your disgusting actions.

8 And ye kept not the charge of my holy place, but appointed for yourselves such keepers of my charge in my sanctuary.

You have not carried out your duties regarding my holy things, but you appointed others to take up your duties, and you assigned them to care for my holy place.

9 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: No stranger, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of all the strangers that are among the sons of Israel.

The Lord Yahweh says this: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, from any of those who live among the people of Israel, may enter my holy place.

10 But even the Levites, who departed from me when Israel went astray, who went astray from me after their idols, shall bear their iniquity.

Yet the Levites went far from me—they wandered away from me, going after their idols—but they will pay for their sin.

11 Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering at the house; they shall slay the burnt-offering and sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them.

They are servants in my sanctuary, watching the gates of the house and serving in the house and they slaughter the burnt offerings and the people's sacrifices, and they will stand before the people and serve them.

12 Because they ministered to them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity, therefore have I lifted up my hand against them, saith the Lord Jehovah, that they shall bear their iniquity.

But because they performed the sacrifices before their idols, they became stumbling blocks for sin for the house of Israel. Therefore I will lift up my hand to swear an oath against them—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—they will bear their punishment.

13 And they shall not come near to me to do the office of a priest to me, and to come near to any of my holy things in the most holy place, but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed.

They will not come near me to act as my priests or to approach any of my holy things, the most holy things. Instead, they will bear their reproach and their guilt for the disgusting actions that they have done.

14 But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all which is to be done therein.

But I will place them as keepers of the work in the house, for all of its duties and everything that is done in it.

15 But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister to me, and they shall stand before me to offer to me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord Jehovah.

Then the Levitical priests, those sons of Zadok who fulfilled the duties of my sanctuary when the people of Israel were wandering away from me—they will come near me to worship me. They will stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

16 They shall come into my sanctuary, and they shall draw near to my table to minister to me, and shall keep my charge.

They will come to my sanctuary; they will approach my table to worship me and to fulfill their duties to me.

17 And when they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments, and no wool shall come upon them while they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within the house.

So it will be that when they come to the gates of the inner courtyard, they will have to dress in linen clothes, for they must not come in wool inside the gates of the courtyard and its house.

18 They shall have linen coverings upon their heads, and linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything that causeth sweat.

There should be linen turbans on their heads and linen underclothes on their hips. They must not dress in clothes that make them sweat.

19 And when they go forth into the outer court, even into the outer court to the people, they shall put off their garments in which they ministered, and lay them in the holy rooms, and shall clothe themselves with other garments, that they may not sanctify the people with their garments.

When they go out to the outer courtyard, to the outer courtyard in order to go to the people, they must take off the clothes they wore when they served; they must take them off and lay them down in a holy room, so they do not make other people holy by contact with their special clothing.

20 They shall neither shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall shear their heads.

Also they must neither shave their heads nor allow their hair to hang loosely, but they must trim the hair of their heads.

21 And no priest shall drink wine when they enter into the inner court.

No priest may drink wine when he comes to the inner court,

22 Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, or her that is put away; but they shall take virgins of the race of the house of Israel, or a widow that is the widow of a priest.

nor take a widow or a divorced woman as a wife for himself, but only a virgin from the line of the house of Israel or a widow who was previously married to a priest.

23 And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

For they will teach my people the difference between the holy and the profane; they will make them know the unclean from the clean.

24 And in controversy they shall stand to judge; according to my statutes shall they judge. And they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my festivals, and they shall hallow my sabbaths.

In a dispute they will stand to judge with my decrees; they must be just. They will keep my law and my statutes in every feast, and they will celebrate my holy Sabbaths.

25 And they shall come to no dead person to defile themselves; but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves.

They will not go to a dead person so as to become unclean, unless it is their father or mother, son or daughter, brother or a sister who has not slept with a man; otherwise, they will become unclean.

26 And after his cleansing they shall reckon to him seven days.

After a priest has become unclean, they will count off a period of seven days for him.

27 And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin-offering, saith the Lord Jehovah.

On the day he enters the holy place, into the inner courtyard to serve in the holy place, he must bring a sin offering for himself—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

28 And it shall be to them for an inheritance, that I am their inheritance. And ye shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession.

This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance, and you must give them no property in Israel; I will be their property!

29 They shall eat the flour-offering, and the sin-offering, and the trespass-offering; and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs.

They will eat the food offerings, the sin offerings, the guilt offerings, and everything devoted to Yahweh in Israel, will be theirs.

30 And the first of all the first-fruits, and every oblation of all your oblations, shall belong to the priests. Ye shall also give to the priest the first of your meal, that he may cause a blessing to rest on thine house.

The best of the firstfruits of all things and every contribution, anything from all of your contributions will belong to the priests, and you will give the best of your meal offerings to the priests so that blessing may rest on your house.

31 The priests shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself, or that is torn, whether it be fowl or beast.

The priests will not eat any carcass or animal torn by a beast, whether bird or beast.