Ezekiel 44

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

And he took me back to the outer doorway of the holy place, looking to the east; and it was shut.

2 And Jehovah saith unto me, 'This gate is shut, it is not opened, and none doth go in by it, for Jehovah, God of Israel, hath come in by it, and it hath been shut.

And the Lord said to me, This doorway is to be shut, it is not to be open, and no man is to go in by it, because the Lord, the God of Israel, has gone in by it; and it is to be shut.

3 The prince, who [is] prince, he sitteth by it to eat bread before Jehovah, by the way of the porch of the gate he cometh in, and by its way he goeth out.'

But the ruler will be seated there to take his food before the Lord; he will go in by the covered way to the door, and will come out by the same way.

4 And he bringeth me in the way of the north gate unto the front of the house, and I look, and lo, filled hath the honour of Jehovah the house of Jehovah, and I fall on my face.

And he took me to the north doorway in front of the house; and, looking, I saw that the house of the Lord was full of the glory of the Lord; and I went down on my face.

5 And Jehovah saith unto me, 'Son of man, set thy heart, and see with thine eyes, and with thine ears hear, all that I am speaking with thee, of all the statutes of the house of Jehovah, and of all its laws; and thou hast set thy heart to the entrance of the house, with all the outlets of the sanctuary,

And the Lord said to me, Son of man, take to heart, and let your eyes see and your ears be open to everything I say to you about all the rules of the house of the Lord and all its laws; and take note of the ways into the house and all the ways out of the holy place.

6 and hast said unto the rebellious, unto the house of Israel: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Enough to you — of all your abominations, O house of Israel.

And say to the uncontrolled children of Israel, This is what the Lord has said: O you children of Israel, let it be enough for you, among the disgusting things which you have done,

7 In your bringing in sons of a stranger, uncircumcised of heart, and uncircumcised of flesh, to be in My sanctuary, to pollute it, even My house, in your bringing near My bread, fat, and blood, and they break My covenant by all your abominations,

To have let men from strange lands, without circumcision of heart or flesh, come into my holy place, making my house unclean; and to have made the offering of my food, even the fat and the blood; and in addition to all your disgusting ways, you have let my agreement be broken.

8 and ye have not kept the charge of My holy things, and ye set [them] for keepers of My charge in My sanctuary for you.

And you have not taken care of my holy things; but you have put them as keepers to take care of my work in my holy place.

9 'Thus said the Lord Jehovah: No son of a stranger, uncircumcised of heart, and uncircumcised of flesh, cometh in unto My sanctuary, even any son of a stranger, who [is] in the midst of the sons of Israel,

For this cause the Lord has said, No man from a strange land, without circumcision of heart and flesh, of all those who are living among the children of Israel, is to come into my holy place.

10 but — 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.

But as for the Levites, who went far from me, when Israel went out of the right way, turning away from me to go after their images; their punishment will come on them.

11 And they have been in My sanctuary ministrants, overseers at the gates of the house, and ministrants at the house; they slay the burnt-offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they stand before them to serve them.

But they may be caretakers in my holy place, and overseers at the doors of the house, doing the work of the house: they will put to death the burned offering and the beasts offered for the people, and they will take their place before them as their servants.

12 Because that they serve them before their idols, and have been to the house of Israel for a stumbling-block of iniquity, therefore I have lifted up my hand against them — an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah — and they have borne their iniquity.

Because they did this work for them before their images, and became a cause of sin to the children of Israel; for this cause my hand has been lifted up against them, says the Lord, and their punishment will be on them.

13 And they draw not nigh unto Me to act as My priest, and to draw nigh unto any of My holy things, unto the holy of holies, and they have borne their shame and their abominations that they have done,

And they will not come near me to do the work of priests to me, or come near any of my holy things, or the things which are most holy: but their shame will be on them, and the punishment for the disgusting things which they have done.

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

But I will make them responsible for the care of the house and all its work and everything which is done in it.

15 '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 unto Me to serve Me, and have stood before Me, to bring near to Me fat and blood — an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah:

But as for the priests, the sons of Zadok, who took care of my holy place when the children of Israel were turned away from me, they are to come near me to do my work, they will take their places before me, offering to me the fat and the blood, says the Lord;

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

They are to come into my holy place and they are to come near to my table, to do my work and have the care of my house.

17 And it hath come to pass, in their going in unto the gates of the inner court, linen garments they put on; and no wool cometh up on them in their ministering in the gates of the inner court and within.

And when they come in by the doorways of the inner square, they are to be clothed in linen robes; there is to be no wool on them while they are doing my work in the doorway of the inner square and inside the house.

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

They are to have linen head-dresses on their heads and linen trousers on their legs, and they are to have nothing round them to make their skin wet with heat.

19 And in their going forth unto the outer court — unto the outer court unto 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.

And when they go out into the outer square to the people, they are to take off the robes in which they do the work of priests, and put them away in the holy rooms, and put on other clothing, so that the people may not be made holy by their robes.

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

They are not to have all the hair cut off their heads, and they are not to let their hair get long, but they are to have the ends of their hair cut.

21 And no priest doth drink wine in their coming in unto the inner court.

The priests are not to take wine when they go into the inner square.

22 And a widow and divorced woman they do not take to them for wives: but — virgins of the seed of the house of Israel, and the widow who is widow of a priest, do they take.

And they are not to take as wives any widow or woman whose husband has put her away: but they may take virgins of the seed of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest.

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

And they are to make clear to my people the division between what is holy and what is common, and to give them the knowledge of what is clean and what is unclean.

24 And concerning controversy, they stand up for judgment; with My judgments they judge it; and My law and My statutes in all My appointed places they keep; and My sabbaths they sanctify.

In any cause, they are to be in the position of judges, judging in harmony with my decisions: they are to keep my laws and my rules in all my fixed feasts; and they are to keep my Sabbaths holy.

25 And unto any dead man they come not for uncleanness, but for father, and for mother, and for son, and for daughter, for brother, for sister who hath not been to a man, they defile themselves.

They are not to come near any dead person so as to become unclean: but for a father or mother or son or daughter or brother or for a sister who has no husband, they may make themselves unclean.

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

And after he has been made clean, seven days are to be numbered for him.

27 And in the day of his coming in unto the sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he bringeth near his sin-offering — an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

And on the day when he goes into the inner square, to do the work of the holy place, he is to make his sin-offering, says the Lord.

28 And it hath been to them for an inheritance; I [am] their inheritance: and a possession ye do not give to them in Israel; I [am] their possession.

And they are to have no heritage; I am their heritage: you are to give them no property in Israel; I am their property.

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

Their food is to be the meal offering and the sin-offering and the offering for error; and everything given specially to the Lord in Israel will be theirs.

30 And the first of all the first-fruits of all, and every heave-offering of all, of all your heave-offerings, are the priests': and the first of your dough ye give to the priest, to cause a blessing to rest on thy house.

And the best of all the first-fruits of everything, and every offering which is lifted up of all your offerings, will be for the priests: and you are to give the priest the first of your bread-making, so causing a blessing to come on your house.

31 Any carcase and torn thing, of the fowl, and of the beasts, the priests do not eat.

The priests may not take for food any bird or beast which has come to a natural death or whose death has been caused by another animal.