Ezekiel 44

1 The man took me back to the outside gate of the sanctuary that faced to the east, but it was shut.

And he turned me back, toward the way of the gate of the outer sanctuary, which looked toward the east. And it was closed.

2 The Lord told me, “This gate will stay shut. It is not be opened. No one is allowed to come in through it, because the Lord, the God of Israel, has passed through it. So it will stay shut.

And the Lord said to me: “This gate will be closed; it will not be opened. And man shall not cross through it. For the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through it, and it shall be closed

3 The prince himself is permitted to come and sit inside the gateway to eat in the presence of the Lord. He is to come in through the gateway's porch and leave the same way.”

to the prince. The prince himself will sit at it, so that he may eat bread before the Lord; he will enter by the way of the vestibule of the gate, and he will depart by the same way.”

4 The man took me to the front of the Temple through the north gate. As I looked, I saw the glory of the Lord filling his Temple, and I fell with my face to the ground.

And he led me in, along the way of the north gate, in the sight of the house. And I saw, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. And I fell upon my face.

5 The Lord told me, “Son of man, concentrate! Keep your eyes open! Listen carefully to everything I tell you about all the regulations and laws of the Lord's Temple. Pay close attention to the Temple entrance and all the exits of the sanctuary.

And the Lord said to me: “Son of man, set within your heart, and see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I am speaking to you about all the ceremonies of the house of the Lord and about all its laws. And set your heart upon the ways of the temple, along all the exits of the sanctuary.

6 Tell those rebels, the people of Israel, that this is what the Lord God says: I've had more than enough of all your disgusting sins, people of Israel!

And you shall say to the house of Israel, which provokes me: Thus says the Lord God: Let all your wicked deeds be sufficient for you, O house of Israel.

7 As well as all your other offensive practices, you invited unconverted, pagan foreigners to come into my sanctuary. You made my Temple unclean even while you offered food to me, the fat and the blood. You broke my agreement.

For you bring in foreign sons, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, so that they may be in my sanctuary and may defile my house. And you offer my bread, the fat, and the blood, yet you have broken my covenant by all your wicked deeds.

8 In addition you have not taken care of my sanctuary as you were required to, but instead you employed others to look after my sanctuary for you.

And you have not observed the precepts of my sanctuary, yet you have stationed observers of my vigil in my sanctuary for yourselves.

9 This is what the Lord God says: No unconverted, pagan foreigners are allowed to enter my sanctuary—not even a foreigner who lives with the Israelites.

Thus says the Lord God: Any foreigner, any foreign son who is in the midst of the sons of Israel, who is uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall not enter into my sanctuary.

10 The Levites who abandoned me when Israel turned from worshiping me and went off to follow their idols will experience the consequences of their sins.

And as for the Levites, they have withdrawn far away from me, in the errors of the sons of Israel, and they have gone astray from me after their idols, and they have borne their iniquity.

11 However, they will serve in my sanctuary, supervising the Temple gates and working in the Temple. They will slaughter the burnt offerings and sacrifices brought by the people and be there to serve them.

They will be caretakers in my sanctuary, and doorkeepers at the gates of the house, and ministers to the house. They will slay the holocausts and the victims of the people. And they will stand before them, so that they may minister to them.

12 But because they served the people in front of their idols and encouraged the people of Israel to sin, I held up my hand to promise on oath that they would experience the consequences of their sin, declares the Lord God.

But because they ministered to them in the sight their idols, and they became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, for this reason, I have lifted up my hand against them, says the Lord God, and they will bear their iniquity.

13 They are not allowed to come near me to serve me as priests, and they are not to touch anything I regard as holy or most holy. They will have to experience the shame of the disgusting sins they committed.

And they shall not draw near to me, so as to exercise the priesthood for me, and they shall not approach to any of my holy things, which are near the Holy of Holies. Instead, they will bear their shame and their wicked deeds, which they committed.

14 However, I will put them in charge of all Temple work and everything that needs to be done there.

And I will make them doorkeepers of the house, for all its ministries and for all that will be done within it.

15 It is the Levitical priests, descended from Zadok and who took care of my sanctuary when the Israelites abandoned me, are the ones to come near to me and minister before me. They will stand in my presence to offer me fat and blood, declares the Lord God.

But the priests and the Levites who are the sons of Zadok, who observed the ceremonies of my sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from me, these shall draw near to me, so that they may minister for me. And they shall stand in my sight, so that they may offer to me the fat and the blood, says the Lord God.

16 Only they are allowed to enter my sanctuary and approach my table to minister before me. They will do what I say.

They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall draw near to my table, so that they may minister for me, and so that they may observe my ceremonies.

17 When they come in through the entrances of the inner courtyard, they shall wear linen garments. They must not wear any woolen clothes when they serve at the entrances of the inner courtyard or inside the Temple.

And when they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments. Neither shall anything woolen be placed over them, when they minister within the gates of the inner and the outer court.

18 They shall wear linen turbans on their heads and linen underwear. They are not to wear anything that makes them sweat.

They shall have linen bands on their heads, and linen undergarments over their loins, and they shall not be girded so as to sweat.

19 When they go to the outer court where the people are, they must take off their priestly clothes they wore when they were serving, and leave them in the holy rooms. They are to put on other clothes so that they don't carry holiness to the people with their clothing.

And when they go forth to the outer court to the people, they shall strip off their vestments, in which they ministered, and they shall place them in the storeroom of the sanctuary, and they shall clothe themselves with other garments. And they shall not sanctify the people in their vestments.

20 They are not permitted to shave their heads or let their hair grow long; they must have a proper haircut.

Now they shall not shave their heads, and they shall not grow long hair. Instead, they shall trim the hair of their heads.

21 No priest shall drink wine before he enters the inner courtyard.

And no priest shall drink wine, when he will be entering into the inner court.

22 They are not to marry a woman who is a widow or divorced; they can only marry a virgin of Israelite descent, or a widow of a priest.

And they shall not take as wife a widow or one who has been divorced. Instead, they shall take virgins from the offspring of the house of Israel. But they may also take a widow, if she is the widow of a priest.

23 They are to teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is common, and explain to them how to distinguish between what is clean and what is unclean.

And they shall teach my people the difference between holy and defiled, and they shall distinguish for them between clean and unclean.

24 They are to serve as judges in legal cases, and base their decisions on my laws. They are to follow my instructions and regulations regarding all my regular religious festivals, and they are to keep my Sabbaths holy.

And when there has been a controversy, they shall stand in my judgments, and they shall judge. They shall observe my laws and my precepts, in all my solemnities, and they shall sanctify my Sabbaths.

25 A priest must not make himself unclean by going near a dead body. However, if it's his father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or a sister that's not married, then he may do so.

And they shall not enter to a dead person, lest they be defiled, except to father or mother, or son or daughter, or brother, or to a sister who does not have another man. By these, they may become unclean.

26 Afterwards, once he is purified, he must wait for seven days.

And after he will have been cleansed, they shall number for him seven days.

27 Then when he enters the sanctuary, going into the inner courtyard and ministering there in the sanctuary, he has to present his sin offering, declares the Lord God.

And on the day when he enters into the sanctuary, to the inner court, so that he may minister to me in the sanctuary, he shall make an offering because of his offense, says the Lord God.

28 Regarding their share of the land, I will take care of them. You are not to give them any property in Israel, because I will provide for them.

And there shall be no inheritance for them. I am their inheritance. And you shall not give them any possession in Israel. For I am their possession.

29 They are to eat the grain offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings. Everything brought by the people of Israel and dedicated to the Lord will be theirs.

They shall eat the victim both for sin and for offenses. And every vowed offering in Israel shall be theirs.

30 The best of all the firstfruits and all your offerings are for the priests. You shall give the first loaf you bake to the priest, so that your home may be blessed.

And the first-fruits of all the firstborn, and all the libations out of all that is offered, shall belong to the priests. And you shall give the first-fruits of your foods to the priest, so that he may return a blessing to your house.

31 The priests are not permitted to eat any bird or animal found dead or killed by wild beasts.”

The priests shall not consume anything which has died on its own, or which was seized by a beast, whether from the fowl or the cattle.”