Ezekiel 44
World English Bible
44 Then he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which looks toward the east; and it was shut. 2 Yahweh said to me, “This gate shall be shut. It shall not be opened, no man shall enter in by it; for Yahweh, the God of Israel, has entered in by it. Therefore it shall be shut. 3 As for the prince, he shall sit in it as prince to eat bread before Yahweh. He shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go out the same way.”
4 Then he brought me by the way of the north gate before the house; and I looked, and behold, Yahweh’s glory filled Yahweh’s house; so I fell on my face.
5 Yahweh said to me, “Son of man, mark well, and see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I tell you concerning all the ordinances of Yahweh’s house, and all its laws; and mark well the entrance of the house, with every exit of the sanctuary. 6 You shall tell the rebellious, even the house of Israel, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “You house of Israel, let that be enough of all your abominations, 7 in that you have brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to profane it, even my house, when you offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant, to add to all your abominations. 8 You have not performed the duty of my holy things; but you have set performers of my duty in my sanctuary for yourselves.” 9 The Lord Yahweh says, “No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any foreigners who are among the children of Israel.
10 “‘“But the Levites who went far from me, when Israel went astray, who went astray from me after their idols, they will bear their iniquity. 11 Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the house, and ministering in the house. They shall kill the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them. 12 Because they ministered to them before their idols, and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have lifted up my hand against them,” says the Lord Yahweh, “and they will bear their iniquity. 13 They shall not come near to me, to execute the office of priest to me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they will bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. 14 Yet I will make them performers of the duty of the house, for all its service, and for all that will be done therein.
15 “‘“But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who performed the duty of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me to minister to me. They shall stand before me to offer to me the fat and the blood,” says the Lord Yahweh. 16 “They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my instruction.
17 “‘“It will be that, when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments. No wool shall come on them while they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. 18 They shall have linen turbans on their heads, and shall have linen trousers on their waists. They shall not clothe themselves with anything that makes them sweat. 19 When they go out into the outer court, even into the outer court to the people, they shall put off their garments in which they minister, and lay them in the holy rooms. They shall put on other garments, that they not sanctify the people with their garments.
20 “‘“They shall not shave their heads, or allow their locks to grow long. They shall only cut off the hair of their heads. 21 None of the priests shall drink wine when they enter into the inner court. 22 They shall not take for their wives a widow, or her who is put away; but they shall take virgins of the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23 They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
24 “‘“In a controversy they shall stand to judge. They shall judge it according to my ordinances. They shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts. They shall make my Sabbaths holy.
25 “‘“They shall go in to no dead person to defile themselves; but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister who has had no husband, they may defile themselves. 26 After he is cleansed, they shall reckon to him seven days. 27 In the day that he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering,” says the Lord Yahweh.
28 “‘They shall have an inheritance. I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no possession in Israel. I am their possession. 29 They shall eat the meal offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30 The first of all the first fruits of every thing, and every offering of everything, of all your offerings, shall be for the priest. You shall also give to the priests the first of your dough, to cause a blessing to rest on your house. 31 The priests shall not eat of anything that dies of itself, or is torn, whether it is bird or animal.
Ezekiel 44
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 gate to eat a meal before the Lord.(B) He is to 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 iniquity.(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 iniquity. 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 approach my table to serve me.(W) They will keep my mandate. 17 When they enter the gates of the inner court they are to 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 are to 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 are to 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 may marry only a virgin from the offspring of the house of Israel,(AE) or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23 They are to 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 are to 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 is to 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 guilt 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)
by Public Domain. The name "World English Bible" is trademarked.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.