Ezekiel 44
New Living Translation
The Prince, Levites, and Priests
44 Then the man brought me back to the east gateway in the outer wall of the Temple area, but it was closed. 2 And the Lord said to me, “This gate must remain closed; it will never again be opened. No one will ever open it and pass through, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered here. Therefore, it must always remain shut. 3 Only the prince himself may sit inside this gateway to feast in the Lord’s presence. But he may come and go only through the entry room of the gateway.”
4 Then the man brought me through the north gateway to the front of the Temple. I looked and saw that the glory of the Lord filled the Temple of the Lord, and I fell face down on the ground.
5 And the Lord said to me, “Son of man, take careful notice. Use your eyes and ears, and listen to everything I tell you about the regulations concerning the Lord’s Temple. Take careful note of the procedures for using the Temple’s entrances and exits. 6 And give these rebels, the people of Israel, this message from the Sovereign Lord: O people of Israel, enough of your detestable sins! 7 You have brought uncircumcised foreigners into my sanctuary—people who have no heart for God. In this way, you defiled my Temple even as you offered me my food, the fat and blood of sacrifices. In addition to all your other detestable sins, you have broken my covenant. 8 Instead of safeguarding my sacred rituals, you have hired foreigners to take charge of my sanctuary.
9 “So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: No foreigners, including those who live among the people of Israel, will enter my sanctuary if they have not been circumcised and have not surrendered themselves to the Lord. 10 And the men of the tribe of Levi who abandoned me when Israel strayed away from me to worship idols[a] must bear the consequences of their unfaithfulness. 11 They may still be Temple guards and gatekeepers, and they may slaughter the animals brought for burnt offerings and be present to help the people. 12 But they encouraged my people to worship idols, causing Israel to fall into deep sin. So I have taken a solemn oath that they must bear the consequences for their sins, says the Sovereign Lord. 13 They may not approach me to minister as priests. They may not touch any of my holy things or the holy offerings, for they must bear the shame of all the detestable sins they have committed. 14 They are to serve as the Temple caretakers, taking charge of the maintenance work and performing general duties.
15 “However, the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok continued to minister faithfully in the Temple when Israel abandoned me for idols. These men will serve as my ministers. They will stand in my presence and offer the fat and blood of the sacrifices, says the Sovereign Lord. 16 They alone will enter my sanctuary and approach my table to serve me. They will fulfill all my requirements.
17 “When they enter the gateway to the inner courtyard, they must wear only linen clothing. They must wear no wool while on duty in the inner courtyard or in the Temple itself. 18 They must wear linen turbans and linen undergarments. They must not wear anything that would cause them to perspire. 19 When they return to the outer courtyard where the people are, they must take off the clothes they wear while ministering to me. They must leave them in the sacred rooms and put on other clothes so they do not endanger anyone by transmitting holiness to them through this clothing.
20 “They must neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow too long. Instead, they must trim it regularly. 21 The priests must not drink wine before entering the inner courtyard. 22 They may choose their wives only from among the virgins of Israel or the widows of the priests. They may not marry other widows or divorced women. 23 They will teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is common, what is ceremonially clean and unclean.
24 “They will serve as judges to resolve any disagreements among my people. Their decisions must be based on my regulations. And the priests themselves must obey my instructions and decrees at all the sacred festivals, and see to it that the Sabbaths are set apart as holy days.
25 “A priest must not defile himself by being in the presence of a dead person unless it is his father, mother, child, brother, or unmarried sister. In such cases it is permitted. 26 Even then, he can return to his Temple duties only after being ceremonially cleansed and then waiting for seven days. 27 The first day he returns to work and enters the inner courtyard and the sanctuary, he must offer a sin offering for himself, says the Sovereign Lord.
28 “The priests will not have any property or possession of land, for I alone am their special possession. 29 Their food will come from the gifts and sacrifices brought to the Temple by the people—the grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings. Whatever anyone sets apart[b] for the Lord will belong to the priests. 30 The first of the ripe fruits and all the gifts brought to the Lord will go to the priests. The first batch of dough must also be given to the priests so the Lord will bless your homes. 31 The priests may not eat meat from any bird or animal that dies a natural death or that dies after being attacked by another animal.
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
- Ezekiel 44:3 Lit by his way
- Ezekiel 44:6 Lit rebellion
- Ezekiel 44:12 Lit lifted up My hand, bore up my hand; cf. 44:12b
- Ezekiel 44:14 Lit give
- 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 44:29 Or dedicated
- Ezekiel 44:30 Or heave offering(s)
- Ezekiel 44:30 Or heave offering(s)
- Ezekiel 44:30 Or coarse meal
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