Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close LSB

Ezekiel 44
Legacy Standard Bible

The Gate of 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 Yahweh said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for (B)Yahweh, the 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 Yahweh; 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 Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh, and I (I)fell on my face. 5 Then Yahweh said to me, “Son of man, (J)set your heart on and see with your eyes and hear with your ears all that I say to you concerning all the (K)statutes of the house of Yahweh and concerning all its laws; and set your heart on the entrance of the house, with all exits of the sanctuary. 6 And you shall say to the [b](L)rebellious ones, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “(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)brought near My food, the fat and the blood. So they (Q)made My covenant void—this in addition to all your abominations. 8 And you have not (R)kept the responsibility of My holy things yourselves, but you have set foreigners as keepers of the responsibility given by Me for My sanctuary.”

9 ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “(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 [c](AC)sworn against them,” declares Lord Yahweh, “that they shall (AD)bear the punishment for their iniquity. 13 And they shall (AE)not approach Me to minister as a priest to Me, nor approach any of My holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they will (AF)bear their dishonor and their abominations which they have done. 14 Yet I will [d]appoint them as (AG)keepers of the responsibility for the house, of all its service and of all that shall be done in it.

The Levitical Responsibilities

15 “But the (AH)Levitical priests, the sons of (AI)Zadok, who (AJ)kept the responsibility 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 bring near to Me the (AM)fat and the blood,” declares Lord Yahweh. 16 “They shall (AN)enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My (AO)table to minister to Me and keep the responsibility given by Me. 17 And it will be that when they enter at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with (AP)linen garments; and wool shall not [e]be on them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner court and in the house. 18 Linen (AQ)headdresses 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 And 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 [f]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 [g]take a widow or a (AX)divorced woman as a wife but shall (AY)take virgins from the seed of the house of Israel or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23 Moreover, they shall instruct My people about the (AZ)difference between the holy and the profane, and make them know the difference between the unclean and the clean. 24 And in a dispute, (BA)they shall take their stand to judge; they shall judge it according to My judgments. They shall also keep My laws and My statutes in all My (BB)appointed times and (BC)keep My sabbaths holy. 25 But [h](BD)they shall not go to a dead person to make themselves unclean; however, for father, for mother, for son, for daughter, for brother, or for a sister who has not had a husband, they may make themselves unclean. 26 And after he is (BE)cleansed, seven days shall be counted for him. 27 And on the day that he goes into the sanctuary, into the (BF)inner court to minister in the sanctuary, he shall bring near his (BG)sin offering,” declares Lord Yahweh.

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 [i](BJ)devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30 And the first of all the (BK)first fruits of every kind and every [j]contribution of every kind, from all your [k]contributions, shall be for the priests; you shall also give to the priest the (BL)first of your [l]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 of itself or has been torn to pieces.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 44:3 Lit by his way
  2. Ezekiel 44:6 Lit rebellion
  3. Ezekiel 44:12 Lit lifted up My hand, bore up my hand; cf. 44:12b
  4. Ezekiel 44:14 Lit give
  5. Ezekiel 44:17 Lit come upon
  6. Ezekiel 44:20 Or hang loose
  7. Ezekiel 44:22 Lit take as wives for themselves
  8. Ezekiel 44:25 Lit he
  9. Ezekiel 44:29 Or dedicated
  10. Ezekiel 44:30 Or heave offering(s)
  11. Ezekiel 44:30 Or heave offering(s)
  12. Ezekiel 44:30 Or coarse meal
Close ISV

Ezekiel 44
International Standard Version

The Vision of the Outer Gates

44 Then the Lord God[a] brought me back through the east-facing outer gate of the sanctuary. But it was shut. 2 The Lord told me, “This gate is to remain shut. It will not be opened. No man is to enter through it, because the Lord God of Israel entered through it, so it is to remain shut. 3 The Regent[b] Prince[c] will be seated there,[d] as Regent Prince, and will dine in the Lord’s presence, entering through the portico of the gate and exiting through it also.”

The Front of the Temple

4 Then he brought me through the north-facing gate to the front of the Temple. As I looked, the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s Temple, and I fell flat on my face! 5 Then the Lord told me, “Son of Man, watch carefully,[e] listen closely,[f] and remember[g] everything I’m going to be telling you about all the statutes pertaining to the Lord’s Temple and all of its laws. Pay careful attention to the entrance to the Temple, along with all of the exits from the sanctuary.”

A Rebuke to the Rebellious

6 “You are to tell the Resistance—that is, the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “I’ve had enough of all of your loathsome behavior, you house of Israel! 7 You kept on bringing in foreigners, those who were uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to profane my sanctuary by being inside my Temple, and by doing so you’ve emptied my covenant, all the while offering my food—the fat and the blood—in addition to all of the other loathsome things you’ve done.[h] 8 Furthermore, you haven’t paid attention to the requirements for my holy things. Instead, you placed foreigners in charge of my sanctuary.”’

9 “This is what the Lord God says, ‘No foreigner who is both uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the Israelis is to enter my sanctuary. 10 But the descendants of Levi, who went far away from me when Israel abandoned me, who left me to follow their idols, are to bear the punishment of their iniquity. 11 Nevertheless, they are to serve in my sanctuary, overseeing the gates of the Temple, taking care of the Temple, slaughtering the burnt offerings and the sacrifices presented for the people, standing in the presence of the people, and ministering to them. 12 Because they kept serving them in the presence of their idols, becoming a sin-filled stumbling block to the house of Israel,’ declares the Lord God.

“‘I have sworn to them that they are to bear the consequences of their iniquity. 13 They are not to come near me to serve me as a priest, nor approach any of my holy things, including the most holy things. Instead, they are to bear the shame of the loathsome things that they have done. 14 Nevertheless, I will appoint them to take care of my Temple, including all of its service and everything that is to be done inside of it.’”

Levitical Ordinances

15 “The descendants of Zadok, Levitical priests who took care of my sanctuary when the Israelis wandered away from me, are to come near me to minister to me. They are to stand before me to offer the fat and the blood to me,” declares the Lord God. 16 “They are to enter my sanctuary, approach my table to minister to me, and carry out my requirements. 17 Whenever they enter at the gates of the inner court, they are to be clothed with linen garments. They are not to wear wool when they are ministering within the gates of the inner courtyard or in the Temple. 18 Linen turbans are to be on their heads, and they are to wear linen undergarments. Also, they are not to clothe themselves with anything that makes them perspire.

19 “When they enter the outer courtyard, that is, the outer courtyard where the people are, they are to take off their garments in which they were ministering, lay them in the consecrated chambers, and put on different garments so they will not transfer[i] holiness to the people through their garments. 20 Also, they are not to shave their heads nor let their hair grow long. Instead, they are certainly to trim the hair on[j] their heads. 21 None of the priests are to drink wine after entering the inner courtyard. 22 They are not to marry[k] a widow or a divorced woman. Instead, they are to marry[l] virgins from the descendants of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest.”

Duties of Ministry

23 “They are to teach my people how to discern[m] what is holy in contrast to what is common, showing them how to discern between what is unclean and clean. 24 When disputes arise, they are to serve as a judge, adjudicating matters according to my ordinances. They are to enforce my laws, my statutes, all of my appointed festivals, and they are to sanctify my Sabbaths. 25 They are not to come in contact with a dead body, so they don’t defile themselves, except in the case of their father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or for an unmarried sister, on whose behalf they may defile themselves. 26 After he is cleansed from that contact,[n] he is to not to minister for seven days. 27 On the day that he returns to the sanctuary’s inner court to minister, he is to offer his own sin offering,” declares the Lord God.

Ministerial Inheritances

28 “Now with respect to the priests’[o] inheritances, I am to be their inheritance, and you are to give them no possession in Israel, since I am their possession. 29 They are to eat the grain offerings, sin offering, and guilt offering. Everything consecrated in Israel is to belong to them. 30 The first portion of all the first fruits of every kind and every offering of any kind is to be for the priests. You are to give the priest the first portion of your grain. As a result a blessing will rest on your household. 31 However, the priests are not to eat any bird or animal that has died a natural death or that has been torn apart.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 44:1 Lit. Then he
  2. Ezekiel 44:3 The Heb. lacks Regent; and so through chapter 48
  3. Ezekiel 44:3 I.e. a ruler who will govern with a king’s authority in the name of one holding higher supremacy; and so through chapter 48
  4. Ezekiel 44:3 Lit. will sit in it
  5. Ezekiel 44:5 Lit. watch with your own eyes
  6. Ezekiel 44:5 Lit. listen with your own ears
  7. Ezekiel 44:5 Lit. and put in your heart
  8. Ezekiel 44:7 The Heb. lacks you’ve done
  9. Ezekiel 44:19 Or transmit
  10. Ezekiel 44:20 The Heb. lacks the hair on
  11. Ezekiel 44:22 Lit. take
  12. Ezekiel 44:22 Lit. take
  13. Ezekiel 44:23 The Heb. lacks how to discern
  14. Ezekiel 44:26 The Heb. lacks from that contact
  15. Ezekiel 44:28 Lit. to their
Next
Ezekiel 43
Ezekiel 45
Next
dropdown
Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)

Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.

International Standard Version (ISV)

Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.

ISV Bible