Ezekiel 44
GOD’S WORD Translation
The East Gate Is Sealed Shut
44 Then the man took me back to the outer east gate of the holy place, and the gate was shut. 2 The Lord said to me, “This gate will stay shut and will not be opened. No one may enter through it because the Lord God of Israel entered through it. It must be kept shut. 3 Only the prince may sit there and eat food in the presence of the Lord. He will enter through the entrance hall of the gateway and leave the same way.”
4 The man brought me through the north gate in front of the temple. When I looked, I saw the Lord’s glory fill the Lord’s temple. I immediately bowed down.
The People Serving in the New Temple
5 The Lord said to me, “Son of man, pay close attention. Look, and listen to everything I’m going to tell you. Listen to all the rules and regulations for the Lord’s temple. Pay close attention to everyone who enters the temple and leaves from the holy place. 6 Tell the rebellious people of Israel, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: I’ve had enough of all the disgusting things that you have done, people of Israel. 7 You brought godless foreigners [a] into my holy place. You dishonored my temple when you offered fat and blood to me. You rejected my promise so that you could do all your disgusting things. 8 You didn’t take care of my holy things. You put foreigners in charge of my temple. 9 So this is what the Almighty Lord says: Any godless foreigner who lives among the Israelites may not enter my holy place.
10 “ ‘Some Levites went far away from me when Israel wandered off to follow their idols. They must be punished for their sins. 11 They could have served in my holy place. They could have guarded the gates of the temple. They could have served in the temple by slaughtering the animals for the burnt offerings and the sacrifices for the people. They could have stood in front of the people and served them. 12 But they served the people by standing in front of their idols and by making Israel fall into sin. So I raised my hand and swore that they would be punished for their sins, declares the Lord. 13 They must not come near me and serve me as priests. They must not come near any of my holy things or my most holy things. They must suffer disgrace because of the disgusting things that they have done. 14 I will assign them all of the less important work in the temple.
15 “ ‘But the priests who are Levites and descendants of Zadok took care of my holy place when the Israelites wandered away from me. They may come near me and serve me, and they may stand in my presence. They may bring fat and blood to me, declares the Almighty Lord. 16 They may enter my holy place, come near my table to serve me, and take care of everything I gave them. 17 When they enter the gateways to the inner courtyard, they must wear linen clothes. They must have no wool on them while they serve in the gateways to the inner courtyard and in the temple. 18 They must wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments. They must not wear anything that makes them sweat. 19 When they go out among the people in the outer courtyard, they must take off the clothes that they wore as they served. They must leave their clothes in the side rooms of the holy place and put on other clothes so that they do not transfer the holiness from their clothes to the people.
20 “ ‘They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long. They must keep the hair on their heads trimmed. 21 None of the priests may drink wine when they enter the inner courtyard. 22 They must not marry widows or women who have been divorced. They may marry only virgins from the nation of Israel or widows of priests. 23 They must teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is unholy. They must show the people how to tell the difference between what is clean and what is unclean.[b] 24 In all disputes the priests must act as judges and make decisions based on my laws. They must obey my rules and my regulations at all my festivals. They must observe holy days to worship me.
25 “ ‘A priest must not make himself unclean by going near a dead body. But a priest may become unclean if the dead person is his father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or unmarried sister. 26 After a priest is made clean, he must wait seven days. 27 When he enters the inner courtyard of the holy place to serve in the holy place, he must bring his offering for sin, declares the Almighty Lord.
28 “ ‘The priests will have no inheritance. I am their inheritance. Don’t give them any possessions in Israel. The priests belong to me. 29 They will eat grain offerings, offerings for sin, and guilt offerings. Everything in Israel that is devoted to the Lord will belong to them. 30 The priests should have the best of all the first ripened fruits. The best of every gift from all your contributions must go to the priests. The best of your dough must go to the priests. This will cause a blessing to rest on your home. 31 The priests must never eat any bird or animal that has died naturally or was killed by other wild animals.
Ezekiel 44
New King James Version
The East Gate and the Prince
44 Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary (A)which faces toward the east, but it was shut. 2 And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, (B)because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. 3 As for the (C)prince, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to (D)eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway, and go out the same way.”
Those Admitted to the Temple
4 Also He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the [a]temple; so I looked, and (E)behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord; (F)and I fell on my face. 5 And the Lord said to me, (G)“Son of man, [b]mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears, all that I say to you concerning all the (H)ordinances of the house of the Lord and all its laws. Mark well who may enter the house and all who go out from the sanctuary.
6 “Now say to the (I)rebellious, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “O house of Israel, (J)let Us have no more of all your abominations. 7 (K)When you brought in (L)foreigners, (M)uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to defile it—My house—and when you offered (N)My food, (O)the fat and the blood, then they broke My covenant because of all your abominations. 8 And you have not (P)kept charge of My holy things, but you have set others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you.” 9 Thus says the Lord God: (Q)“No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel.
Laws Governing Priests
10 (R)“And the Levites who went far from Me, when Israel went astray, who strayed away from Me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity. 11 Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, (S)as gatekeepers of the house and ministers of the house; (T)they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and (U)they shall stand before them to minister to them. 12 Because they ministered to them before their idols and (V)caused[c] the house of Israel to fall into iniquity, therefore I have (W)raised My hand in an oath against them,” says the Lord God, “that they shall bear their iniquity. 13 (X)And they shall not come near Me to minister to Me as priest, nor come near any of My holy things, nor into the Most Holy Place; but they shall (Y)bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. 14 Nevertheless I will make them (Z)keep charge of the temple, for all its work, and for all that has to be done in it.
15 (AA)“But the priests, the Levites, (AB)the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary (AC)when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me; and they (AD)shall stand before Me to offer to Me the (AE)fat and the blood,” says the Lord God. 16 “They shall (AF)enter My sanctuary, and they shall come near (AG)My table to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge. 17 And it shall be, whenever they enter the gates of the inner court, that (AH)they shall put on linen garments; no wool shall come upon them while they minister within the gates of the inner court or within the house. 18 (AI)They shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen trousers on their bodies; they shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat. 19 When they go out to the outer court, to the outer court to the people, (AJ)they shall take off their garments in which they have ministered, leave them in the holy chambers, and put on other garments; and in their holy garments they shall (AK)not sanctify the people.
20 (AL)“They shall neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow (AM)long, but they shall keep their hair well trimmed. 21 (AN)No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court. 22 They shall not take as wife a (AO)widow or a divorced woman, but take virgins of the descendants of the house of Israel, or widows of priests.
23 “And (AP)they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to (AQ)discern between the unclean and the clean. 24 (AR)In controversy they shall stand as judges, and judge it according to My judgments. They shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed meetings, (AS)and they shall hallow My Sabbaths.
25 “They shall not defile themselves by coming near a dead person. Only for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister may they defile themselves. 26 (AT)After he is cleansed, they shall count seven days for him. 27 And on the day that he goes to the sanctuary to minister in the sanctuary, (AU)he must offer his sin offering (AV)in the inner court,” says the Lord God.
28 “It shall be, in regard to their inheritance, that I (AW)am their inheritance. You shall give them no (AX)possession in Israel, for I am their possession. 29 (AY)They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering; (AZ)every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30 The (BA)best[d] of all firstfruits of any kind, and every sacrifice of any kind from all your sacrifices, shall be the priest’s; also you (BB)shall give to the priest the first of your ground meal, (BC)to cause a blessing to rest on your house. 31 The priests shall not eat anything, bird or beast, that (BD)died naturally or was torn by wild beasts.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 44:4 Lit. house
- Ezekiel 44:5 Lit. set your heart
- Ezekiel 44:12 Lit. became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel
- Ezekiel 44:30 Lit. first
Ezekiel 44
English Standard Version
The Gate for the Prince
44 Then he brought me (A)back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, (B)which faces east. And it was shut. 2 And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for (C)the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it. Therefore it shall remain shut. 3 Only (D)the prince may sit in it (E)to eat bread before the Lord. He (F)shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go out by the same way.”
4 Then he brought me by way of (G)the north gate to the front of the temple, and I looked, and behold, (H)the glory of the Lord filled the temple of the Lord. And (I)I fell on my face. 5 And the Lord said to me, (J)“Son of man, mark well, (K)see with your eyes, (L)and hear with your ears all that I shall tell you concerning (M)all the statutes of the temple of the Lord and all its laws. And mark well (N)the entrance to the temple and all the exits from the sanctuary. 6 And say to (O)the rebellious house,[a] to the (P)house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: O house of Israel, (Q)enough of all your abominations, 7 in (R)admitting foreigners, (S)uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to be in my sanctuary, (T)profaning my temple, when you offer to me my food, the fat and the blood. You[b] have broken my covenant, in addition to all your abominations. 8 And (U)you have not kept charge of my holy things, but you have set others to keep my charge for you in my sanctuary.
9 “Thus says the Lord God: (V)No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, shall enter my sanctuary. 10 But (W)the Levites who went far from me, going astray from me after their idols (X)when Israel went astray, (Y)shall bear their punishment.[c] 11 They shall be (Z)ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight (AA)at the gates of the temple and ministering in the temple. They shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and (AB)they shall stand before the people, to minister to them. 12 Because they ministered to them before their idols and became (AC)a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have (AD)sworn concerning them, declares the Lord God, and they shall bear their punishment. 13 They (AE)shall not come near to me, to serve me as priest, nor come near any of my holy things and the things that are most holy, but (AF)they shall bear their shame and the abominations that they have committed. 14 Yet I will appoint them to keep (AG)charge of the temple, (AH)to do all its service and all that is to be done in it.
Rules for Levitical Priests
15 “But (AI)the Levitical priests, (AJ)the sons of Zadok, who kept (AK)the charge of my sanctuary (AL)when the people of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me (AM)to minister to me. And they shall stand before me to offer me (AN)the fat and the blood, declares the Lord God. 16 They shall enter my sanctuary, and they shall approach (AO)my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge. 17 When they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall wear (AP)linen garments. They shall have nothing of wool on them, while they minister at the gates of the inner court, and within. 18 They shall have linen turbans on their heads, and linen undergarments around their waists. They shall not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat. 19 And when they go out into the outer court to the people, they shall put off the garments in which they have been ministering (AQ)and lay them in the holy chambers. And (AR)they shall put on other garments, (AS)lest they transmit holiness to the people with their garments. 20 (AT)They shall not shave their heads or (AU)let their locks grow long; they shall surely trim the hair of their heads. 21 (AV)No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court. 22 (AW)They shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but only virgins of the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23 (AX)They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and (AY)show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. 24 (AZ)In a dispute, they shall act as judges, and they shall judge it according to my judgments. They shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts, and (BA)they shall keep my Sabbaths holy. 25 (BB)They shall not defile themselves by going near to a dead person. However, for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister they may defile themselves. 26 (BC)After he[d] has become clean, they shall count seven days for him. 27 And on the day that he goes into the Holy Place, (BD)into the inner court, to minister in the Holy Place, (BE)he shall offer his sin offering, declares the Lord God.
28 (BF)“This shall be their inheritance: I am their inheritance: and (BG)you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession. 29 (BH)They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, and (BI)every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30 (BJ)And the first of all the firstfruits of all kinds, and every offering of all kinds from all your offerings, shall belong to the priests. (BK)You shall also give to the priests the first of your dough, (BL)that a blessing may rest on your house. 31 (BM)The priests shall not eat of (BN)anything, whether bird or beast, that has died of itself or is torn by wild animals.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 44:6 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks house
- Ezekiel 44:7 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew They
- Ezekiel 44:10 Or iniquity; also verse 12
- Ezekiel 44:26 That is, a priest
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
