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.

Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which looketh toward 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.

Then said Jehovah to me: This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because Jehovah, the God of Israel, entered in by it, therefore it shall 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.'

The prince, because he is prince, shall sit in it, to eat food before Jehovah; he shall enter through the porch of that gate, and by the same way shall he go out.

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.

Then he brought me to the north gate before the house; and I looked, and behold, the glory of Jehovah filled the house of Jehovah. And I fell upon 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 Jehovah said to me: Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say to thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of Jehovah, and all the laws thereof; and mark well all the entrances of the house, and all the outward passages of the sanctuary.

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 rebellious house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Let it suffice you of all your abominations, O house of Israel,

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,

in that ye brought strangers, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, so that ye polluted my house when ye offered my food, the fat and the blood, and broke my covenant by all your abominations.

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 ye kept not the charge of my holy place, but appointed for yourselves such keepers of my charge in my sanctuary.

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,

Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: No stranger, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of all the strangers that are among the sons of Israel.

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 even the Levites, who departed from me when Israel went astray, who went astray from me after their idols, shall bear their iniquity.

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.

Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering at the house; they shall slay the burnt-offering and sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them.

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 ministered to them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity, therefore have I lifted up my hand against them, saith the Lord Jehovah, that they shall bear their iniquity.

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 shall not come near to me to do the office of a priest to me, and to come near to any of my holy things in the most holy place, but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed.

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 keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all which is to be done therein.

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 the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister to me, and they shall stand before me to offer to me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord Jehovah.

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

They shall come into my sanctuary, and they shall draw near to my table to minister to me, and shall keep my charge.

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 enter the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments, and no wool shall come upon them while they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within the house.

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

They shall have linen coverings upon their heads, and linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything that causeth sweat.

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 forth into the outer court, even into the outer court to the people, they shall put off their garments in which they ministered, and lay them in the holy rooms, and shall clothe themselves with other garments, that they may not sanctify the people with their garments.

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

They shall neither shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall shear their heads.

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

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

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.

Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, or her that is put away; but they shall take virgins of the race of the house of Israel, or a widow that 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 shall teach my people the difference between the holy and unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

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.

And in controversy they shall stand to judge; according to my statutes shall they judge. And they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my festivals, and they shall hallow my sabbaths.

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.

And they shall come to no dead person to defile themselves; but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves.

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

And after his cleansing they shall reckon to him seven days.

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 in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin-offering, saith the Lord Jehovah.

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 it shall be to them for an inheritance, that I am their inheritance. And ye shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession.

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

They shall eat the flour-offering, and the sin-offering, and the trespass-offering; and every dedicated thing in Israel shall 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 first of all the first-fruits, and every oblation of all your oblations, shall belong to the priests. Ye shall also give to the priest the first of your meal, that he may cause a blessing to rest on thine house.

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

The priests shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself, or that is torn, whether it be fowl or beast.