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 the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looks 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 the LORD to me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, has 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.'

It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.

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 brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell 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, mark well, and behold with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I say to you concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth 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 you shall say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD; O you house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations,

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 you have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when you offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of 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 you have not kept the charge of my holy things: but you have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.

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 says the Lord GOD; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children 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.

And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even 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 to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the 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, says the Lord GOD, and 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, nor 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 that shall 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 children 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, says the Lord GOD:

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 enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister to me, and they 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 it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come on them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within.

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

They shall have linen bonnets on their heads, and shall have linen breeches on their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causes 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 wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall 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.

Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads.

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

Neither shall any priest 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, nor her that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before.

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 profane, 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 in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my assemblies; 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 at no dead person to defile themselves: but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that has had no husband, they may defile themselves.

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

And after he is cleansed, 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 goes into the sanctuary, to the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, says the Lord GOD.

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: I am their inheritance: and you 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 meat 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 of all things, and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest’s: you shall also give to the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in your 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 any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.