Ezekiel 44
New American Standard Bible 1995
Gate for the Prince
44 Then He brought me back by the way of the (A)outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces the east; and it was shut. 2 The Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the (B)Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. 3 As for the (C)prince, he shall sit in it as prince to (D)eat bread before the Lord; he shall (E)enter by way of the (F)porch of the gate and shall go out [a]by the same way.”
4 Then He brought me by way of the (G)north gate to the front of the house; and I looked, and behold, the (H)glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord, and I (I)fell on my face. 5 The Lord said to me, “Son of man, [b](J)mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears all that I say to you concerning all the (K)statutes of the house of the Lord and concerning all its laws; and [c]mark well the entrance of the house, with all exits of the sanctuary. 6 You shall say to the [d](L)rebellious ones, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord [e]God, “(M)Enough of all your abominations, O house of Israel, 7 when you brought in (N)foreigners, (O)uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to profane it, even My house, when you (P)offered My food, the fat and the blood; for they (Q)made My covenant void—this in addition to all your abominations. 8 And you have not (R)kept charge of My holy things yourselves, but you have set foreigners [f]to keep charge of My sanctuary.”
9 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “(S)No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the sons of Israel, shall enter My sanctuary. 10 But the Levites who went far from Me when Israel went astray, who (T)went astray from Me after their idols, shall (U)bear the punishment for their iniquity. 11 Yet they shall be (V)ministers in My sanctuary, having (W)oversight at the gates of the house and (X)ministering in the house; they shall (Y)slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall (Z)stand before them to minister to them. 12 Because they ministered to them (AA)before their idols and became a (AB)stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have [g](AC)sworn against them,” declares the Lord God, “that they shall (AD)bear the punishment for their iniquity. 13 And they shall (AE)not come near to Me to serve as a priest to Me, nor come near to any of My holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they will (AF)bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. 14 Yet I will [h]appoint them [i]to (AG)keep charge of the house, of all its service and of all that shall be done in it.
Ordinances for the Levites
15 “But the (AH)Levitical priests, the sons of (AI)Zadok, who (AJ)kept charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel (AK)went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me; and they shall (AL)stand before Me to offer Me the (AM)fat and the blood,” declares the Lord God. 16 “They shall (AN)enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My (AO)table to minister to Me and keep My charge. 17 It shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with (AP)linen garments; and wool shall not [j]be on them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner court and in the house. 18 Linen (AQ)turbans shall be on their heads and (AR)linen undergarments shall be on their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything which makes them sweat. 19 When they go out into the outer court, into the outer court to the people, they shall (AS)put off their garments in which they have been ministering and lay them in the holy chambers; then they shall put on other garments so that they will (AT)not transmit holiness to the people with their garments. 20 Also they shall (AU)not shave their heads, yet they shall not (AV)let their locks [k]grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads. 21 (AW)Nor shall any of the priests drink wine when they enter the inner court. 22 And they shall not [l]marry a widow or a (AX)divorced woman but shall (AY)take virgins from the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23 Moreover, they shall teach My people the (AZ)difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. 24 In a dispute (BA)they shall take their stand to judge; they shall judge it according to My ordinances. They shall also keep My laws and My statutes in all My (BB)appointed feasts and (BC)sanctify My sabbaths. 25 [m](BD)They shall not go to a dead person to defile themselves; however, for father, for mother, for son, for daughter, for brother, or for a sister who has not had a husband, they may defile themselves. 26 After he is (BE)cleansed, seven days shall [n]elapse for him. 27 On the day that he goes into the sanctuary, into the (BF)inner court to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his (BG)sin offering,” declares the Lord God.
28 “And it shall be with regard to an inheritance for them, that (BH)I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no possession in Israel—I am their possession. 29 They shall (BI)eat the grain offering, the sin offering and the guilt offering; and every [o](BJ)devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30 The first of all the (BK)first fruits of every kind and every [p]contribution of every kind, from all your [q]contributions, shall be for the priests; you shall also give to the priest the (BL)first of your [r]dough to cause a (BM)blessing to rest on your house. 31 The priests shall not eat any bird or beast that has (BN)died a natural death or has been torn to pieces.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 44:3 Lit by his way
- Ezekiel 44:5 Lit set your heart on
- Ezekiel 44:5 Lit set your heart on
- Ezekiel 44:6 Lit rebellion
- Ezekiel 44:6 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
- Ezekiel 44:8 Lit as keepers of My charge in My
- Ezekiel 44:12 Lit lifted up My hand
- Ezekiel 44:14 Lit give
- Ezekiel 44:14 Lit keepers of the charge
- Ezekiel 44:17 Lit come upon
- Ezekiel 44:20 Or hang loose
- Ezekiel 44:22 Lit take as wives for themselves
- Ezekiel 44:25 Lit He
- Ezekiel 44:26 Lit be counted
- Ezekiel 44:29 Or dedicated
- Ezekiel 44:30 Or heave offering(s)
- Ezekiel 44:30 Or heave offering(s)
- Ezekiel 44:30 Or coarse meal
Psalm 119:81-88
New American Standard Bible 1995
Kaph.
81 My (A)soul languishes for Your salvation;
I [a](B)wait for Your word.
82 My (C)eyes fail with longing for Your [b]word,
[c]While I say, “When will You comfort me?”
83 Though I have (D)become like a wineskin in the smoke,
I do (E)not forget Your statutes.
84 How many are the (F)days of Your servant?
When will You (G)execute judgment on those who persecute me?
85 The arrogant have (H)dug pits for me,
Men who are not [d]in accord with Your law.
86 All Your commandments are (I)faithful;
They have (J)persecuted me with a lie; (K)help me!
87 They almost destroyed me [e]on earth,
But as for me, I (L)did not forsake Your precepts.
88 Revive me according to Your lovingkindness,
So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.
Footnotes
- Psalm 119:81 Or hope in
- Psalm 119:82 Or promise
- Psalm 119:82 Lit Saying
- Psalm 119:85 Lit according to Your law
- Psalm 119:87 Lit in the earth
Colossians 1
New American Standard Bible 1995
Thankfulness for Spiritual Attainments
1 (A)Paul, (B)an apostle of Jesus Christ [a](C)by the will of God, and (D)Timothy [b]our brother,
2 To the [c](E)saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: (F)Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
3 (G)We give thanks to God, (H)the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 (I)since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the (J)love which you have [d]for (K)all the [e]saints; 5 because of the (L)hope (M)laid up for you in [f]heaven, of which you previously (N)heard in the word of truth, [g]the gospel 6 which has come to you, just as [h](O)in all the world also it is constantly bearing (P)fruit and [i]increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you (Q)heard of it and [j]understood the grace of God in truth; 7 just as you learned it from (R)Epaphras, our (S)beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, 8 and he also informed us of your (T)love in the Spirit.
9 For this reason also, (U)since the day we heard of it, (V)we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the [k](W)knowledge of His will in all spiritual (X)wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will (Y)walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, [l](Z)to please Him in all respects, (AA)bearing fruit in every good work and [m]increasing in the [n]knowledge of God; 11 (AB)strengthened with all power, according to [o]His glorious might, [p]for the attaining of all steadfastness and [q]patience; (AC)joyously 12 giving thanks to (AD)the Father, who has qualified us [r]to share in (AE)the inheritance of the [s]saints in (AF)Light.
The Incomparable Christ
13 [t]For He rescued us from the [u](AG)domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of [v](AH)His beloved Son, 14 (AI)in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 [w]He is the (AJ)image of the (AK)invisible God, the (AL)firstborn of all creation. 16 For [x](AM)by Him all things were created, (AN)both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether (AO)thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—(AP)all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He [y](AQ)is before all things, and in Him all things [z]hold together. 18 He is also (AR)head of (AS)the body, the church; and He is (AT)the beginning, (AU)the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19 For [aa]it was (AV)the Father’s good pleasure for all (AW)the [ab]fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to (AX)reconcile all things to Himself, having made (AY)peace through (AZ)the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, (BA)whether things on earth or things in [ac]heaven.
21 And although you were (BB)formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, 22 yet He has now (BC)reconciled you in His fleshly (BD)body through death, in order to (BE)present you before Him (BF)holy and blameless and beyond reproach— 23 if indeed you continue in [ad]the faith firmly (BG)established and steadfast, and not moved away from the (BH)hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed (BI)in all creation under heaven, (BJ)and of which I, Paul, [ae]was made a [af](BK)minister.
24 (BL)Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh (BM)I [ag]do my share on behalf of (BN)His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking [ah]in Christ’s afflictions. 25 (BO)Of this church I [ai]was made a minister according to the (BP)stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might [aj]fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, 26 that is, (BQ)the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His [ak]saints, 27 to whom (BR)God willed to make known what is (BS)the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is (BT)Christ in you, the (BU)hope of glory. 28 We proclaim Him, (BV)admonishing every man and teaching every man [al]with all (BW)wisdom, so that we may (BX)present every man [am](BY)complete in Christ. 29 For this purpose also I (BZ)labor, (CA)striving (CB)according to His [an]power, which [ao]mightily works within me.
Footnotes
- Colossians 1:1 Lit through
- Colossians 1:1 Lit the
- Colossians 1:2 Or holy ones
- Colossians 1:4 Or toward
- Colossians 1:4 Or holy ones
- Colossians 1:5 Lit the heavens
- Colossians 1:5 Or of the gospel
- Colossians 1:6 Or it is in the world
- Colossians 1:6 Or spreading abroad
- Colossians 1:6 Or came really to know
- Colossians 1:9 Or real knowledge
- Colossians 1:10 Lit unto all pleasing
- Colossians 1:10 Or growing by the knowledge
- Colossians 1:10 Or real knowledge
- Colossians 1:11 Lit the might of His glory
- Colossians 1:11 Lit unto all
- Colossians 1:11 Or patience with joy
- Colossians 1:12 Lit unto the portion of
- Colossians 1:12 Or holy ones
- Colossians 1:13 Lit Who rescued
- Colossians 1:13 Lit authority
- Colossians 1:13 Lit the Son of His love
- Colossians 1:15 Lit Who is
- Colossians 1:16 Or in
- Colossians 1:17 Or has existed prior to
- Colossians 1:17 Or endure
- Colossians 1:19 Or all the fullness was pleased to dwell
- Colossians 1:19 I.e. fullness of deity
- Colossians 1:20 Lit the heavens
- Colossians 1:23 Or in faith
- Colossians 1:23 Lit became
- Colossians 1:23 Or servant
- Colossians 1:24 Or representatively...fill up
- Colossians 1:24 Lit of
- Colossians 1:25 Lit became
- Colossians 1:25 Lit make full the word of God
- Colossians 1:26 Or holy ones
- Colossians 1:28 Lit in
- Colossians 1:28 Or perfect
- Colossians 1:29 Lit working
- Colossians 1:29 Lit in power
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.