Ezekiel 44

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

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

2 The LORD said to me, “This gate shall be shut. It shall not be opened, no man shall enter in by it; for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered in by it. Therefore it shall be 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 As for the prince, he shall sit in it as prince to eat bread before the LORD. He shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go out the same way.”

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 Then he brought me by the way of the north gate before the house; and I looked, and behold, the LORD’s glory filled the LORD’s house; so I fell 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 The LORD said to me, “Son of man, mark well, and see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I tell you concerning all the ordinances of the LORD’s house and all its laws; and mark well the entrance of the house, with every exit 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 You shall tell the rebellious, even the house of Israel, ‘The Lord GOD says: “You house of Israel, let that be enough of all your abominations,

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 that you have brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to profane it, even my house, when you offer my bread, the fat and the blood; and they have broken my covenant, to add to 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 You have not performed the duty of my holy things; but you have set performers of my duty in my sanctuary for yourselves.”

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

9 The Lord GOD says, “No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any foreigners who are among the children 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 “‘“But the Levites who went far from me when Israel went astray, who went astray from me after their idols, they will bear 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 Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the house, and ministering in the house. They shall kill the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to 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 they ministered to them before their idols, and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have lifted up my hand against them,” says the Lord GOD, “and they will bear 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 They shall not come near to me, to execute the office of priest to me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they will bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed.

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 Yet I will make them performers of the duty of the house, for all its service and for all that will be done therein.

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 “‘“But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who performed the duty of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me to minister to me. They shall stand before me to offer to me the fat and the blood,” says the Lord GOD.

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 shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my instruction.

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

17 “‘“It will be that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments. No wool shall come on them while they minister 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 They shall have linen turbans on their heads, and shall have linen trousers on their waists. They shall not clothe themselves with anything that makes them 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 When they go out into the outer court, even into the outer court to the people, they shall put off their garments in which they minister and lay them in the holy rooms. They shall put on other garments, that they not sanctify the people with their 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 “‘“They shall not shave their heads, or allow their locks to grow long. They shall only cut off the hair of their heads.

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

21 None of the priests shall drink wine when they enter into the inner court.

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

22 They shall not take for their wives a widow, or her who is put away; but they shall take virgins of the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the 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 They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the 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 “‘“In a controversy they shall stand to judge. They shall judge it according to my ordinances. They shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts. They shall make my Sabbaths holy.

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

25 “‘“They shall go in to no dead person to defile themselves; but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister who has had no husband, 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 After he is cleansed, they shall reckon to him seven days.

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

27 In the day that he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering,” says the Lord GOD.

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 “‘They shall have an inheritance: I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no possession 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 amongst the children of Israel; for I am their possession.

29 They shall eat the meal offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; and every devoted thing in Israel shall be 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 The first of all the first fruits of every thing, and every offering of everything, of all your offerings, shall be for the priest. You shall also give to the priests the first of your dough, 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 shall not eat of anything that dies of itself or is torn, whether it is bird or animal.

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