< Ezekiel 46 >

1 The Lord Yahweh says this: The gate of the inner courtyard, facing east, will be shut for the six days of work, but on the Sabbath it will be opened, and on the day of the new moon it will be opened.
“‘The Lord GOD says: “The gate of the inner court that looks toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened.
2 The prince will enter the outer courtyard by the way of the gate and its portico from outside, and he will stand before the doorposts of the inner gate while the priests perform his burnt offering and peace offering. Then he will worship at the threshold of the inner gate and go out, but the gate will not be shut until evening.
The prince shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate outside, and shall stand by the post of the gate; and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be shut until the evening.
3 The people of the land will also worship before Yahweh at the entrance to this gate on the Sabbaths and new moons.
The people of the land shall worship at the door of that gate before the LORD on the Sabbaths and on the new moons.
4 The burnt offering that the prince offers to Yahweh on the Sabbath day will be six unblemished lambs and an unblemished ram.
The burnt offering that the prince shall offer to the LORD shall be on the Sabbath day, six lambs without defect and a ram without defect;
5 The grain offering with the ram will be an ephah, and the grain offering with the lambs will be what he wishes to give, and a hin of oil with each ephah of grain.
and the meal offering shall be an ephah for the ram, and the meal offering for the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah.
6 On the day of the new moon he must offer an unblemished bull from a herd, six lambs, and an unblemished ram.
On the day of the new moon it shall be a young bull without defect, six lambs, and a ram. They shall be without defect.
7 He must make a grain offering of an ephah for the bull and an ephah for the ram, and what he wishes to give for the lambs, and a hin of oil for every ephah of grain.
He shall prepare a meal offering: an ephah for the bull, and an ephah for the ram, and for the lambs according as he is able, and a hin of oil to an ephah.
8 When the prince enters by the way of the gate and its portico, he must leave by the same way.
When the prince enters, he shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and he shall go out by its way.
9 But when the people of the land come before Yahweh at the appointed festivals, anyone entering through the north gate to worship must leave through the south gate; and anyone entering through the south gate must leave through the north gate. No one may turn back to the gate through which he entered, for he must go out straight ahead.
“‘“But when the people of the land come before the LORD in the appointed feasts, he who enters by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he who enters by the way of the south gate shall go out by the way of the north gate. He shall not return by the way of the gate by which he came in, but shall go out straight before him.
10 The prince must be in their midst; when they go in, he must go in, and when they leave, he must leave.
The prince shall go in with them when they go in. When they go out, he shall go out.
11 At the festivals, the grain offering must be an ephah of grain for the bull and an ephah for the ram, and whatever he wishes to give with the lambs, and a hin of oil for every ephah.
“‘“In the feasts and in the appointed holidays, the meal offering shall be an ephah for a bull, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah.
12 When the prince gives a freewill offering, either a burnt offering or a peace offering to Yahweh, the gate facing east will be opened for him. He will offer his burnt offering offering or his peace offering as he does it on the Sabbath day. Then he must go out, and after he has gone out the gate will be shut.
When the prince prepares a free will offering, a burnt offering or peace offerings as a free will offering to the LORD, one shall open for him the gate that looks toward the east; and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out; and after his going out one shall shut the gate.
13 In addition, you will give an unblemished lamb one year old as a burnt offering to Yahweh daily; you will do this morning after morning.
“‘“You shall prepare a lamb a year old without defect for a burnt offering to the LORD daily. Morning by morning you shall prepare it.
14 You will give a grain offering with it morning after morning, a sixth of an ephah and a third of a hin of oil to moisten the flour of the grain offering for Yahweh, according to a permanent statute.
You shall prepare a meal offering with it morning by morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour; a meal offering to the LORD continually by a perpetual ordinance.
15 They will prepare the lamb, the grain offering, and the oil morning after morning, a permanent burnt offering.
Thus they shall prepare the lamb, the meal offering, and the oil, morning by morning, for a continual burnt offering.”
16 The Lord Yahweh says this: If the prince gives a gift to any of his sons, it is his inheritance. It will be the property of his sons, it is an inheritance.
“‘The Lord GOD says: “If the prince gives a gift to any of his sons, it is his inheritance. It shall belong to his sons. It is their possession by inheritance.
17 But if he gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, then it will be that servant's until the year of liberty, and then it will return to the prince. His inheritance will certainly be for his sons.
But if he gives of his inheritance a gift to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty; then it shall return to the prince; but as for his inheritance, it shall be for his sons.
18 The prince will not take the people's inheritance away from their own property; he must provide for his sons from his own property so that my people will not be scattered, each man from his own property.'”
Moreover the prince shall not take of the people’s inheritance, to thrust them out of their possession. He shall give inheritance to his sons out of his own possession, that my people not each be scattered from his possession.”’”
19 Next the man brought me through the entrance at the gate to the holy rooms for the priests, which faced north and behold! There was a place toward the west.
Then he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy rooms for the priests, which looked toward the north. Behold, there was a place on the back part westward.
20 He said to me, “This is the place where the priests must boil the guilt offering and the sin offering and where they must bake the grain offering. They must not bring the offerings into the outer courtyard, for then the people would be consecrated.”
He said to me, “This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the meal offering, that they not bring them out into the outer court, to sanctify the people.”
21 Then he brought me to the outer courtyard and he led me past the four corners of that courtyard, and I saw that in at every corner of the courtyard there was a another court.
Then he brought me out into the outer court and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and behold, in every corner of the court there was a court.
22 In the four corners of the outer courtyard there were four small courtyards, forty cubits in length and thirty in width. There the same dimensions for all four of the courtyards.
In the four corners of the court there were courts enclosed, forty cubits long and thirty wide. These four in the corners were the same size.
23 There was a row made of stone all around the four of them, and cooking hearths were under the stone row.
There was a wall around in them, around the four, and boiling places were made under the walls all around.
24 The man said to me, “These are the places where the temple servants will boil the people's sacrifices.”
Then he said to me, “These are the boiling houses, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people.”

< Ezekiel 46 >