Ezekiel 44
1 And he turnede me to the weie of the yate of the outermore seyntuarie, which yate byhelde to the eest, and was closid.
The man then brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary that faced east, but it was shut.
2 And the Lord seide to me, This yate schal be closid, and schal not be opened, and a man schal not passe thorou it; for the Lord God of Israel entride bi it, and it schal be closid to the prince.
And the LORD said to me, “This gate is to remain shut. It shall not be opened, and no man shall enter through it, because the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered through it. Therefore it will remain shut.
3 The prince hym silf schal sitte ther ynne, that he ete breed bifor the Lord; he schal go yn bi the weie of the yate of the porche, and he schal go out bi the weie therof.
Only the prince himself may sit inside the gateway to eat in the presence of the LORD. He must enter by way of the portico of the gateway and go out the same way.”
4 And he ledde me bi the weie of the north yate, in the siyt of the hous; and Y siy, and lo! the glorie of the Lord fillide the hous of the Lord; and Y felle doun on my face.
Then the man brought me to the front of the temple by way of the north gate. I looked and saw the glory of the LORD filling His temple, and I fell facedown.
5 And the Lord seide to me, Thou, sone of man, sette thin herte, and se with thin iyen, and here with thin eeris alle thingis whiche Y speke to thee, of al the ceremonyes of the hous of the Lord, and of alle the lawis therof; and thou schalt sette thin herte in the weies of the temple, bi alle the goyngis out of the seyntuarie.
The LORD said to me: “Son of man, pay attention; look carefully with your eyes and listen closely with your ears to everything I tell you concerning all the statutes and laws of the house of the LORD. Take careful note of the entrance to the temple, along with all the exits of the sanctuary.
6 And thou schalt seie to the hous of Israel terrynge me to wraththe, The Lord God seith these thingis, Ye hous of Israel, alle youre grete trespassis suffice to you,
Tell the rebellious house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I have had enough of all your abominations, O house of Israel.
7 for ye bryngen in alien sones, vncircumcidid in herte, and vncircumcidid in fleisch, that thei be in my seyntuarie, and defoule myn hous. And ye offren my looues, ynnere fatnesse, and blood, and breken my couenaunt in alle youre grete trespassis.
In addition to all your other abominations, you brought in foreigners uncircumcised in both heart and flesh to occupy My sanctuary; you defiled My temple when you offered My food—the fat and the blood; you broke My covenant.
8 And ye kepten not the comaundementis of my seyntuarie, and ye settiden keperis of my kepyngis in my seyntuarye to you silf.
And you have not kept charge of My holy things, but have appointed others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you.’
9 The Lord God seith these thingis, Ech alien `that is vncircumcidid in herte, and vncircumcidid in fleisch, schal not entre in to my seyntuarie; ech alien sone, which is in the myddis of the sones of Israel.
This is what the Lord GOD says: No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and flesh may enter My sanctuary—not even a foreigner who lives among the Israelites.
10 But also Leuytis, `ether men of the lynage of Leuy, that yeden fer a wei fro me in the errour of the sones of Israel, and erriden fro me aftir her idols, and baren her wickidnesse,
Surely the Levites who wandered away from Me when Israel went astray, and who wandered away from Me after their idols, will bear the consequences of their iniquity.
11 thei schulen be kepers of housis in my seyntuarye, and porteris of yatis of the hous, and mynystris of the hous; thei schulen sle brent sacrifices, and sacrifices for victorie of the puple; and thei schulen stonde in the siyt of the prestis, for to mynystre to hem.
Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, having charge of the gates of the temple and ministering there. They shall slaughter the burnt offerings and other sacrifices for the people and stand before them to minister to them.
12 For that that thei mynystriden to tho in the siyt of her idols, and weren maad to the hous of Israel in to offendyng of wickidnesse; therfor Y reiside myn hond on them, seith the Lord God, and thei baren her wickidnesse.
Because they ministered before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I swore with an uplifted hand concerning them that they would bear the consequences of their iniquity, declares the Lord GOD.
13 And thei schulen not neiye to me, that thei vse preesthod to me, nether thei schulen neiye to al my seyntuarie bisidis hooly of hooli thingis, but thei schulen bere her schenschipe, and her grete trespassis whiche thei diden.
They must not approach Me to serve Me as priests or come near any of My holy things or the most holy things. They will bear the shame of the abominations they have committed.
14 And Y schal make hem porteris of the hous, in al the seruyce therof, and in alle thingis that ben don ther ynne.
Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of all the work for the temple and everything to be done in it.
15 Forsothe preestis and dekenes, the sones of Sadoch, that kepten the cerymonyes of my seyntuarie, whanne the sones of Israel erriden fro me, thei schulen neiye to me, for to mynystre to me; and thei schulen stonde in my siyt, that thei offre to me ynnere fatnesse and blood, seith the Lord God.
But the Levitical priests, who are descended from Zadok and who kept charge of My sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from Me, are to approach Me to minister before Me. They will stand before Me to offer Me fat and blood, declares the Lord GOD.
16 Thei schulen entre in to my seyntuarie, and thei schulen neiye to my boord, that thei mynystre to me, and kepe my ceremonyes.
They alone shall enter My sanctuary and draw near to My table to minister before Me. They will keep My charge.
17 And whanne thei schulen entre in to the yatis of the ynnere halle,
When they enter the gates of the inner court, they are to wear linen garments; they must not wear anything made of wool when they minister at the gates of the inner court or inside the temple.
18 thei schulen be clothid with lynnun clothis, nether ony wollun thing schal `be do on hem, whanne thei mynystren in the yatis of the ynnere halle, and with ynne; lynnun cappis, ether mytris, schulen be in the heedis of hem, and lynnun brechis schulen be in the leendis of hem, and thei schulen not be gird in swoot.
They are to wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists. They must not wear anything that makes them perspire.
19 And whanne thei schulen go out at the outermere halle to the puple, thei schulen dispuyle hem of her clothis, in whiche thei mynystriden, and thei schulen leie tho vp in the treserie of seyntuarie; and thei schulen clothe hem silf in othere clothis, and thei schulen not halewe my puple in her clothis.
When they go out to the outer court, to the people, they are to take off the garments in which they have ministered, leave them in the holy chambers, and dress in other clothes so that they do not transmit holiness to the people with their garments.
20 Forsothe thei schulen not schaue her heed, nether thei schulen nursche long heere, but thei clippynge schulen clippe her heedis.
They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but must carefully trim their hair.
21 And ech preest schal not drynke wyn, whanne he schal entre in to the ynnere halle.
No priest may drink wine before he enters the inner court.
22 And preestis schulen not take wyues a widewe, and a forsakun womman, but virgyns of the seed of the hous of Israel; but also thei schulen take a widewe, which is the widewe of a preest.
And they shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but must marry a virgin of the descendants of the house of Israel, or a widow of a priest.
23 And thei schulen teche my puple, what is bitwixe hooli thing and defoulid; and thei schulen schewe to hem, what is bitwixe cleene thing and vncleene.
They are to teach My people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to discern between the clean and the unclean.
24 And whanne debate is, thei schulen stonde in my domes, and schulen deme my lawis; and thei schulen kepe my comaundementis in alle my solempnytees, and thei schulen halewe my sabatis.
In any dispute, they shall officiate as judges and judge according to My ordinances. They must keep My laws and statutes regarding all My appointed feasts, and they must keep My Sabbaths holy.
25 And thei schulen not entre to a deed man, lest thei be defoulid, no but to fadir, and modir, and to sone, and douyter, and to brother, and sister that hadde not an hosebonde, in whiche thei schulen be defoulid.
A priest must not defile himself by going near a dead person. However, for a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, a brother, or an unmarried sister, he may do so,
26 And after that he is clensid, seuene daies schulen be noumbrid to hym.
and after he is cleansed, he must count off seven days for himself.
27 And in the dai of his entryng in to the seyntuarie, to the ynnere halle, that he mynystre to me in the seyntuarie, he schal offre for his synne, seith the Lord God.
And on the day he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he must present his sin offering, declares the Lord GOD.
28 Forsothe noon eritage schal be to hem, Y am the eritage of hem; and ye schulen not yyue to hem possessioun in Israel, for Y am the possessioun of hem.
In regard to their inheritance, I am their inheritance. You are to give them no possession in Israel, for I am their possession.
29 Thei schulen ete sacrifice, bothe for synne and for trespasse, and ech avow of Israel schal be hern.
They shall eat the grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings. Everything in Israel devoted to the LORD will belong to them.
30 And the firste thingis of alle firste gendrid thingis, and alle moiste sacrifices, of alle thingis that ben offrid, schulen be the prestis part; and ye schulen yyue the firste thingis of youre metis to the prest, that he leie vp blessyng to his hous.
The best of all the firstfruits and of every contribution from all your offerings will belong to the priests. You are to give your first batch of dough to the priest, so that a blessing may rest upon your homes.
31 Preestis schulen not ete ony thing deed bi it silf, and takun of a beeste, of foulis, and of scheep.
The priests may not eat any bird or animal found dead or torn by wild beasts.
