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Ezekiel 44
New American Standard Bible

Gate for the Prince

44 Then He brought me back by way of the (A)outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east; and it was shut. 2 And 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 And the Lord said to me, “Son of man, [b](J)pay attention, see with your eyes and hear with your ears everything that I say to you concerning all the (K)statutes of the house of the Lord and all its laws; and [c]pay attention to the entrance of the house, with all the exits of the sanctuary. 6 You shall say to the [d](L)rebellious ones, to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord [e]God says: “(M)Enough of all your abominations, 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, My house, when you (P)offered My food, the fat, and the blood and they (Q)broke My covenant—this in addition to all your abominations. 8 And you have not [f](R)taken responsibility for My holy things yourselves, but you have appointed foreigners [g]to take responsibility for My sanctuary.”

9 ‘This is what the Lord God says: “(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 [h]following their idols, shall (U)suffer the punishment for their wrongdoing. 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 Since they ministered to them (AA)before their idols and became a (AB)stumbling block of wrongdoing to the house of Israel, for that reason I have [i](AC)sworn against them,” declares the Lord God, “that they shall (AD)suffer the punishment for their wrongdoing. 13 And they shall (AE)not approach Me to serve as priests for Me, nor approach 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 Nevertheless I will [j]appoint them [k]to (AG)take responsibility for the house, of all its service and of everything that shall be done in it.

Ordinances for the Levites

15 “But the (AH)Levitical priests, the sons of (AI)Zadok, who [l](AJ)took responsibility for My sanctuary when the sons of Israel (AK)went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to serve 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 serve Me and [m]assume the responsibility I give them. 17 And it shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner courtyard, they shall be clothed with (AP)linen garments; and wool shall not [n]be worn by them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner courtyard or in the house. 18 Linen (AQ)turbans shall be on their heads and (AR)linen undergarments shall be around their waists; they shall not put on anything that makes them sweat. 19 And when they go out into the outer courtyard, into the outer courtyard to the people, they shall (AS)take 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 transfer holiness to the people with their garments. 20 Also they shall (AU)not shave their heads, yet they shall not (AV)let their locks [o]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 courtyard. 22 And they shall not [p]marry a widow or a (AX)divorced woman, but shall (AY)take virgins from the descendants 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 [q]common, and teach them to distinguish 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 [r](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 And after he is (BE)cleansed, seven days [s]shall elapse for him. 27 On the day that he goes into the sanctuary, to the (BF)inner courtyard to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his (BG)sin offering,” declares the Lord God.

28 “And it shall be regarding an inheritance for them, that (BH)I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no property in Israel—I am their property. 29 They shall (BI)eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; and everything (BJ)banned from secular use in Israel shall be theirs. 30 And the first of all the (BK)first fruits of every kind and every [t]contribution of every kind, from all your [u]contributions, shall be for the priests; you shall also give to the priest the (BL)first of your [v]dough, to make a (BM)blessing rest on your house. 31 The priests shall not eat any bird or animal that has (BN)died a natural death or has been torn to pieces by animals.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 44:3 Lit its way
  2. Ezekiel 44:5 Lit set your heart
  3. Ezekiel 44:5 Lit set your heart
  4. Ezekiel 44:6 Lit rebellion
  5. Ezekiel 44:6 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
  6. Ezekiel 44:8 Lit kept charge of
  7. Ezekiel 44:8 Lit as keepers of duty to Me in My
  8. Ezekiel 44:10 Lit after
  9. Ezekiel 44:12 Lit lifted up My hand
  10. Ezekiel 44:14 Lit give
  11. Ezekiel 44:14 Lit keepers of the charge of
  12. Ezekiel 44:15 Lit kept charge of
  13. Ezekiel 44:16 Lit keep the duty to Me
  14. Ezekiel 44:17 Lit go up on
  15. Ezekiel 44:20 Or hang loose
  16. Ezekiel 44:22 Lit take as wives for themselves
  17. Ezekiel 44:23 Lit profane
  18. Ezekiel 44:25 Lit He
  19. Ezekiel 44:26 Lit they shall count
  20. Ezekiel 44:30 Or uplifted offering(s)
  21. Ezekiel 44:30 Or uplifted offering(s)
  22. Ezekiel 44:30 Or coarse meal
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Ezekiel 44
Holman Christian Standard Bible

The Prince’s Privilege

44 The man then brought me back toward the sanctuary’s outer gate that faced east, and it was closed. 2 The Lord said to me: “This gate will remain closed. It will not be opened, and no one will enter through it, because the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through it.(A) Therefore it will remain closed. 3 The prince himself will sit in the gateway to eat a meal before the Lord.(B) He must enter by way of the portico(C) of the gate and go out the same way.”

4 Then the man brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked, and the glory of the Lord filled His temple.(D) And I fell facedown.(E) 5 The Lord said to me: “Son of man, pay attention;(F) look with your eyes and listen with your ears to everything I tell you about all the statutes and laws of the Lord’s temple.(G) Take careful note of the entrance of the temple along with all the exits of the sanctuary.

The Levites’ Duties and Privileges

6 “Say to the rebellious people,(H) the house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: I have had enough(I) of all your detestable practices, house of Israel. 7 When you brought in foreigners,(J) uncircumcised in both heart and flesh,(K) to occupy My sanctuary, you defiled My temple while you offered My food—the fat and the blood. You[a] broke My covenant by all your detestable practices. 8 You have not kept charge of My holy things(L) but have appointed others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you.

9 “This is what the Lord God says: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, may enter My sanctuary, not even a foreigner who is among the Israelites. 10 Surely the Levites who wandered away from Me when Israel went astray, and who strayed from Me after their idols,(M) will bear the consequences of their sin.(N) 11 Yet they will occupy My sanctuary, serving as guards at the temple gates(O) and ministering at the temple. They will slaughter the burnt offerings(P) and other sacrifices for the people and will stand before them to serve them.(Q) 12 Because they ministered to the house of Israel before their idols and became a sinful stumbling block to them, therefore I swore an oath[b] against them”(R)—this is the declaration of the Lord God—“that they would bear the consequences of their sin. 13 They must not approach Me to serve Me as priests(S) or come near any of My holy things or the most holy things. They will bear their disgrace and the consequences of the detestable acts they committed. 14 Yet I will make them responsible for the duties of the temple(T)—for all its work and everything done in it.

The Priests’ Duties and Privileges

15 “But the Levitical priests descended from Zadok,(U) who kept charge of My sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from Me, will approach Me to serve Me. They will stand before Me to offer Me fat and blood.” This is the declaration of the Lord God. 16 “They are the ones who may enter My sanctuary(V) and draw near to My table to serve Me.(W) They will keep My mandate. 17 When they enter the gates of the inner court they must wear linen garments;(X) they must not have on them anything made of wool when they minister at the gates of the inner court and within it. 18 They must wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists.(Y) They are not to put on anything that makes them sweat. 19 Before they go out to the outer court,[c] to the people, they must take off the clothes they have been ministering in, leave them in the holy chambers, and dress in other clothes(Z) so that they do not transmit holiness to the people through their clothes.(AA)

20 “They may not shave their heads(AB) or let their hair grow long,(AC) but must carefully trim their hair. 21 No priest may drink wine before he enters the inner court.(AD) 22 He is not to marry a widow or a divorced woman, but must marry a virgin from the offspring of the house of Israel,(AE) or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23 They must teach My people the difference between the holy and the common, and explain to them the difference between the clean and the unclean.(AF)

24 “In a dispute, they will officiate as judges and decide the case according to My ordinances.(AG) They must observe My laws and statutes regarding all My appointed festivals, and keep My Sabbaths holy.(AH) 25 A priest may not come near a dead person so that he becomes defiled.(AI) However, he may defile himself for a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, a brother, or an unmarried sister. 26 After he is cleansed, he is to count off seven days for himself.(AJ) 27 On the day he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court(AK) to minister in the sanctuary, he must present his sin offering.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

28 “This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance.(AL) You are to give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession. 29 They will eat the grain offering, the sin offering,(AM) and the restitution offering. Everything in Israel that is permanently dedicated to the Lord will belong to them.(AN) 30 The best of all the firstfruits of every kind and contribution of every kind from all your gifts will belong to the priests.(AO) You are to give your first batch of dough to the priest(AP) so that a blessing may rest on your homes.(AQ) 31 The priests may not eat any bird or animal that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts.(AR)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 44:7 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads They
  2. Ezekiel 44:12 Lit I lifted My hand
  3. Ezekiel 44:19 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Vg; other Hb mss read court, to the outer court
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