Ezekiel 44

1 Then he brought me back toward the outer gate of the sanctuary, which looked toward the east, —but, it was shut.

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

2 Then said Yahweh unto me This gate shut, shall remain It shall not be opened And no man shall enter thereby, Because Yahweh, God of Israel, doth enter thereby, - Therefore shall it remain—shut.

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.

3 The prince! as prince, he, shall sit therein, To eat food before Yahweh, — By way of the porch of the gate, shall he go in, and By way thereof, shall he come out.

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.”

4 Then he brought me in by way of the north gate unto the front of the house, and I looked and lo! the glory of Yahweh, filled the house of Yahweh, — so I fell upon my face.

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.

5 And Yahweh said unto me, Son of man Apply thy heart And see with thine eyes And with thine ears, hear thou All that I am speaking with thee, As to all the statutes of the house of Yahweh and As to all the laws thereof, - And thou shalt apply thy heart To the entering in of the house, With all the exits of the sanctuary.

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,

6 So then thou shalt say unto the perverse [house] unto the house of Israel, Thus saith My Lord, Yahweh: Let it more than suffice you Out of all your abominations, O house of Israel:

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.

7 That ye brought in the sons of the foreigner Uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, To be in my sanctuary. So that he profaned my house, - That ye brought near as my food the fat and the blood, And so they brake my covenant—Among all your abominations;

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,

8 Neither kept ye the charge of my holy things, - But ye did set men to be keepers of my charge in my sanctuary, for your own pleasure,

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

9 Thus saith My Lord, Yahweh, No son of a foreigner Uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, —of any son of a foreigner, who is in the midst of the sons of Israel.

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.

10 But as for the Levites. Who went far from me, when Israel went astray. Who went astray from me, after their manufactured gods, Therefore shall they bear their iniquity,

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.

11 Yet shall they remain in my sanctuary As attendants in charge at the gates of the house, — And attending upon the house, — They shall slay the ascending-offering, and the sacrifice of the people, And they, shall stand before them to wait upon them.

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.

12 Because they used to wait upon them before their manufactured gods, and became to the house of Israel a stumbling-block of iniquity, For this cause have I lifted up my hand concerning them Declareth My Lord Yahweh, and they shall bear their iniquity;

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.

13 So then they shall not come near unto me To minister as priests unto me, Nor come near unto any of my holy things, As regardeth things most holy, — But they shall bear their rebuke, and their abominations which they have committed;

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,

14 Yet will I make them keepers of the charge of the house, — As to all the labour thereof, and As to all which shall be done therein.

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

15 But the priests the Levites the sons of Zadok, Who kept the charge of my sanctuary— when the sons of Israel went astray from me, They shall draw near unto me to wait upon me, And shall stand before me, to bring near unto me the fat and the blood Declareth My Lord, Yahweh:

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:

16 They shall enter into my sanctuary, and They shall draw near unto my table to wait upon me, - So shall they keep my charge.

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

17 And it shall be when they shall enter into the gates of the inner court, Garments of linen, shall they put on, Yea there shall come upon them no wool, when they minister in the gates of the inner court and within:

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.

18 Chaplets of linen, shall be upon their head, and Breeches of linen shall be upon their loins, — They shall not gird themselves, so as to perspire,

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

19 And when they go forth into the outer court into the outer court unto the people, They shall put off their garments, wherein they do minister, and lay them in the chambers of the holy place, - And shall put on other garments, That they may not hallow the people by their garments.

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.

20 And their heads, shall they not shave, Nor let the hair grow long, — They shall only poll, their heads.

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

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

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

22 Neither widow nor divorced woman, shall they take to them to wife, — But, virgins of the seed of the house of Israel, Or a widow who shall be the widow of a priest shall they take.

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.

23 And my people, shall they instruct, between the holy and the common, — And between the unclean and the clean, shall they cause them to distinguish.

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

24 And in a controversy, They shall stand up for justice, With my judgments, shall they judge it, And my laws and my statutes in all mine appointed assemblies, shall they observe, And my sabbaths, shall they hallow.

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.

25 And unto no dead person, shall they go in. to defile themselves, - Save that for father or for mother or for son or for daughter, for brother or for sister who hath belonged to no husband they may defile themselves.

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.

26 Yet after he is cleansed, seven days shall they count to him.

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

27 And in the day when he entereth into the sanctuary, into the inner court to minister in the sanctuary, He shall bring near his sin-bearer, Declareth My Lord Yahweh.

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.

28 So shall it become to them an inheritance, I, am their inheritance, - And possession, shall ye not give them in Israel, I am their possession.

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.

29 As for the meal-offering and the sin-bearer and the guilt-bearer, they shall eat them, —And everything devoted in Israel to them, shall belong.

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

30 And the first of all the firstfruits of everything, and every heave-offering of everything, from among all your heave-offerings to the priests, shall it belong, — The first of your meal, shall ye give to the priest, To cause a blessing to rest upon by house.

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.

31 Nothing that died of itself or was torn in pieces, of bird or of beast shall be eaten by the priests.

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