Ezekiel 44
New English Translation
The Closed Gate
44 Then he brought me back by way of the outer gate of the sanctuary that faces east, but it was shut. 2 The Lord said to me: “This gate will be shut; it will not be opened, and no one will enter by it. For the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it will remain shut. 3 Only the prince may sit in it to eat a sacrificial meal[a] before the Lord; he will enter by way of the porch of the gate and will go out by the same way.”
4 Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. As I watched, I noticed[b] the glory of the Lord filling the Lord’s temple, and I threw myself face down. 5 The Lord said to me: “Son of man, pay attention,[c] watch closely, and listen carefully to[d] everything I tell you concerning all the statutes of the Lord’s house and all its laws. Pay attention to the entrances[e] to the temple with all the exits of the sanctuary. 6 Say to the rebellious,[f] to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Enough of all your abominable practices, O house of Israel! 7 When you bring foreigners, those uncircumcised in heart and in flesh, into my sanctuary, you desecrate[g] it—even my house—when you offer my food, the fat and the blood. You[h] have broken my covenant by all your abominable practices. 8 You have not kept charge of my holy things, but you have assigned foreigners[i] to keep charge of my sanctuary for you. 9 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: No foreigner who is uncircumcised in heart and flesh among all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel will enter into my sanctuary.[j]
10 “‘But the Levites who went far from me, straying off from me after their idols when Israel went astray, will be responsible for[k] their sin. 11 Yet they will be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the temple, and serving the temple. They will slaughter the burnt offerings and the sacrifices for the people, and they will stand before them to minister to them. 12 Because they used to minister to them before their idols and became a sinful obstacle[l] to the house of Israel, consequently I have made a vow[m] concerning them, declares the Sovereign Lord, that they will be responsible for[n] their sin. 13 They will not come near me to serve me as priest, nor will they come near any of my holy things, the things that are most sacred. They will bear the shame of the abominable deeds they have committed. 14 Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the temple, all its service, and all that will be done in it.
The Levitical Priests
15 “‘But the Levitical priests, the descendants of Zadok[o] who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, will approach me to minister to me; they will stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the Sovereign Lord. 16 They will enter my sanctuary and approach my table to minister to me; they will keep my charge.
17 “‘When they enter the gates of the inner court, they must wear linen garments; they must not have any wool on them when they minister in the inner gates of the court and in the temple. 18 Linen turbans will be on their heads and linen undergarments will be around their waists; they must not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat. 19 When they go out to the outer court to the people, they must remove the garments they were ministering in and place them in the holy chambers; they must put on other garments so that they will not transmit holiness to the people with their garments.[p]
20 “‘They must not shave their heads[q] nor let their hair grow long;[r] they must only trim their heads. 21 No priest may drink wine when he enters the inner court. 22 They must not marry a widow or a divorcee, but they may marry a virgin from the house of Israel[s] or a widow who is a priest’s widow. 23 Moreover, they will teach my people the difference between the holy and the common and show them how to distinguish between the ceremonially unclean and the clean.[t]
24 “‘In a controversy they will act as judges;[u] they will judge according to my ordinances. They will keep my laws and my statutes regarding all my appointed festivals and will observe[v] my Sabbaths.
25 “‘They must not come near a dead person or they will be defiled;[w] however, for father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or unmarried sister, they may defile themselves. 26 After a priest[x] has become ceremonially clean, they[y] must count off a period of seven days for him. 27 On the day he enters the sanctuary into the inner court to serve in the sanctuary, he must offer his sin offering, declares the Sovereign Lord.
28 “‘This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance, and you must give them no property in Israel; I am their property.[z] 29 They may eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, and every devoted thing in Israel will be theirs. 30 The first of all the firstfruits and all contributions of any kind[aa] will be for the priests; you will also give to the priest the first portion of your dough, so that a blessing may rest on your house. 31 The priests will not eat any bird or animal that has died a natural death or was torn to pieces by a wild animal.[ab]
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 44:3 tn Heb “to eat bread.”
- Ezekiel 44:4 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
- Ezekiel 44:5 tn Heb “set your heart” (so also in the latter part of the verse).
- Ezekiel 44:5 tn Heb “Set your mind, look with your eyes, and with your ears hear.”
- Ezekiel 44:5 tc The Syriac, Vulgate, and Targum read the plural. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:618.
- Ezekiel 44:6 tc The LXX reads “house of rebellion.”
- Ezekiel 44:7 tn Heb “to desecrate.”
- Ezekiel 44:7 tc The Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions read “you.” The Masoretic text reads “they.”
- Ezekiel 44:8 tc Instead of an energic ו (nun), the text may have read a third masculine plural suffix ם (mem), “them,” which was confused with ן (nun) in the old script. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:621. tn This word is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied from the context.
- Ezekiel 44:9 sn Tobiah, an Ammonite (Neh 13:8), was dismissed from the temple.
- Ezekiel 44:10 tn Heb “will bear.”
- Ezekiel 44:12 tn Heb “a stumbling block of iniquity.” This is a unique phrase of the prophet Ezekiel (cf. also Ezek 7:19; 14:3, 4, 7; 18:30).
- Ezekiel 44:12 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
- Ezekiel 44:12 tn Heb “will bear.”
- Ezekiel 44:15 sn Zadok was a descendant of Aaron through Eleazar (1 Chr 6:50-53) who served as a priest during David’s reign (2 Sam 8:17).
- Ezekiel 44:19 sn For a similar concept of transmitting holiness, see Exod 19:12-14; Lev 10:1-2; 2 Sam 6:7. Comparable laws concerning the priest are found in Lev 10 and 21.
- Ezekiel 44:20 sn The shaving of the head was associated with mourning (Ezek 7:18).
- Ezekiel 44:20 sn Letting the hair grow was associated with taking a vow (Num 6:5; Acts 21:23-26).
- Ezekiel 44:22 tn Heb “from the offspring of the house of Israel.”
- Ezekiel 44:23 sn This task was a fundamental role of the priest (Lev 10:10).
- Ezekiel 44:24 sn For a historical illustration of the priest carrying out this function, see 2 Chr 19:9-11.
- Ezekiel 44:24 tn Heb “sanctify, set apart.”
- Ezekiel 44:25 sn This law was part of the legal code for priests (Lev 21:1-3).
- Ezekiel 44:26 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the priest) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Ezekiel 44:26 tc One medieval Hebrew ms, the LXX, and the Syriac, along with Lev 15:13, 28, read the verb as singular.
- Ezekiel 44:28 sn See Num 18:20; Deut 10:9; 18:2; Josh 13:33; 18:7.
- Ezekiel 44:30 tn Heb has in addition “from your contributions,” a repetition unnecessary in English.
- Ezekiel 44:31 tn The words “by a wild animal” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation as a clarification of the circumstances.sn For this law, see Lev 7:24 and 17:15.
Ezekiel 44
Common English Bible
The closed gate
44 He brought me back to the outer sanctuary gate that faces east. It was closed. 2 The Lord said to me, This gate remains closed. It shouldn’t be opened. No one should come in through it because the Lord, Israel’s God, has entered through it. It will remain closed. 3 As for the prince, he may sit in it to eat bread in the Lord’s presence. He may come in and go out by way of the gate’s porch.
Foreigners, Levites, Zadokites
4 Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked, and suddenly the Lord’s glory filled the Lord’s temple, and I fell on my face. 5 Then the Lord said to me: Human one, pay close attention! Use your eyes and ears and listen to all that I say to you concerning the regulations of the Lord’s temple and all its instructions. Pay close attention to the access to the temple through all the sanctuary portals.[a] 6 Speak to the rebels, to the house of Israel, The Lord God proclaims: Enough of your detestable practices, house of Israel! 7 You made my temple unclean because you brought into my sanctuary foreigners who were physically and spiritually uncircumcised. When you offered my food of fat and blood to me, you[b] broke my covenant with all your detestable practices. 8 You didn’t keep charge of my holy things. On the contrary, you appointed them[c] to keep charge in my sanctuary for you.
9 The Lord God proclaims: Foreigners who are spiritually and physically uncircumcised must not enter my sanctuary; that is, all foreigners among the Israelites. 10 But the Levites, who went far from me when Israel went astray, who went astray from me after their idols, will bear their guilt. 11 They will keep charge in my sanctuary, and they will oversee the temple gates and keep charge of the temple. They will slaughter the entirely burned offerings and the sacrifices for the people, and they will stand before them to minister to them. 12 Because they ministered to them before their idols, they brought about the downfall of the house of Israel. For that reason I made a solemn pledge against them—this is what the Lord God says—and they will bear their guilt. 13 They won’t approach me to officiate for me as priests or approach any of my holy things or the most holy place. Though they will bear their humiliation and the consequences of their detestable practices, 14 I will appoint them to keep charge of the temple, all its work, and all that is done in it.
15 As for the priests of the levitical family of Zadok who did keep charge of my sanctuary when the Israelites strayed away from me, they will draw near to me to serve me. They will stand in my presence to present fat and blood to me. This is what the Lord God says. 16 They will come into my sanctuary, and they will approach my table to minister to me. They will keep my charge. 17 When they come through the gates to the inner courtyard, they will wear linen garments. They won’t wear any wool when they minister at the gates of the inner courtyard or in the temple. 18 They will have linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists. They won’t wear anything that makes them sweat. 19 When they go out to the outer courtyard to the people, they will remove the garments in which they were ministering. They will lay them aside in the holy chambers and wear other clothing. They must not transfer holiness to the people through their clothing. 20 They must neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow long, but they will trim the hair on their heads. 21 None of the priests should drink wine when they come into the inner courtyard. 22 They must not marry widows or divorced women, but only Israelite virgins. Priests may, however, marry the widows of other priests. 23 They must teach my people the difference between the holy and the ordinary, and show them the difference between clean and unclean. 24 They must execute judgments according to my case laws in cases of civil conflict. They must observe my instructions and my regulations regarding all my festivals. They must keep my sabbaths holy. 25 In order to avoid uncleanness, they must not approach the dead. They may, however, become unclean for their father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried sister. 26 Once the priest is clean again, he must count off seven days. 27 On the day that he comes into the holy place, the inner courtyard, to minister in the holy place, he will present his purification offering. This is what the Lord God says. 28 As for their inheritance, I am their inheritance. They won’t be given family property in Israel; I am their family property. 29 They will eat the grain offerings, the purification offerings, and the compensation offerings. Every dedicated thing in Israel belongs to them. 30 The best of the early produce of every kind, and every contribution, all of them, belong to the priests. You will give the best of your bread dough to the priest so that a blessing may come to rest on your household. 31 The priests must not eat any bird or animal that dies naturally or is torn apart by prey.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 44:5 Or exits
- Ezekiel 44:7 LXX, Syr, Vulg; MT they
- Ezekiel 44:8 Heb lacks them.
Ezekiel 44
Biblija: suvremeni hrvatski prijevod
Vanjska istočna vrata
44 Tada me moj vodič doveo natrag do vanjskih istočnih vrata hramskoga kompleksa. Bila su zatvorena. 2 BOG mi je rekao: »Ova vrata trebaju ostati zatvorena. Neka se ne otvaraju i neka nitko ne ulazi na njih. Neka stalno budu zatvorena jer je BOG Izraela prošao kroz njih. 3 Samo vladar naroda smije ovdje sjesti i jesti pred BOGOM. Tada mora ući i izaći kroz trijem ulaznog prostora.«
Svetost Hrama
4 Zatim me vodič uveo kroz sjeverna vrata do pročelja Hrama. Vidio sam kako BOŽJA Slava ispunjava BOŽJI Hram. Pao sam licem na zemlju. 5 BOG mi je rekao: »Čovječe, pažljivo gledaj i budno slušaj sve što ću ti reći o pravilima i zakonima BOŽJEGA Hrama. Pomno pazi na ulaz u Hram, kao i na sve izlaze iz hramskoga kompleksa. 6 Reci buntovnom narodu Izraela da im Gospodar BOG poručuje: ‘Izraelci, dosta je vaših gadosti! 7 Dovodili ste u moje svetište strance koji nisu obrezani niti meni predani[a]. Na taj ste način oskvrnuli moj Hram. Moj je savez prekršen zbog svih vaših odvratnih grijeha iako ste prinosili kruh, mast i krv kao hranu za mene. 8 Niste čuvali moje svetinje. Strancima ste prepustili da čuvaju moje svetište.’
9 Stoga, Gospodar BOG kaže: ‘Ni jedan stranac, koji nije obrezan i posvećen meni, više neće ući u moje svetište. To se odnosi i na sve strance koji žive među Izraelcima. 10 I Leviti, koji su se udaljili od mene kad je Izrael krenuo krivim putem slijedeći svoje idole, morat će snositi kaznu za svoj grijeh. 11 Leviti će i dalje služiti u mom svetištu kao čuvari hramskih vrata i obavljati druge poslove. Klat će životinje za žrtve paljenice i druge žrtve koje prinosi narod. Imat će dužnost pomagati narodu. 12 No zaklinjem se, bit će kažnjeni za svoj grijeh’, kaže Gospodar BOG, ‘jer su pomagali narodu da štuje idole koji su ih navodili na grijeh.
13 Zato mi više neće prilaziti da bi služili kao moji svećenici. Neće smjeti prilaziti ni jednom od mojih svetih predmeta niti mojim najsvetijim stvarima. Nosit će svoju sramotu zbog svih gadosti koje su počinili. 14 No, ipak, postavit ću ih za čuvare hramskoga kompleksa i da ondje obavljaju sve potrebne poslove.
15 A levitsko svećenstvo, Sadokovi potomci, vjerno su obavljali svoju čuvarsku dužnost u mojem svetištu, čak i onda kad su me napustili Izraelci i krenuli krivim putem. Oni će mi prilaziti i služiti, stajati preda mnom i prinositi mi loj i krv žrtava’, kaže Gospodar BOG. 16 ‘Oni će ulaziti u moje svetište, prilaziti mom stolu i posluživati me. Oni će čuvati sve što sam im povjerio. 17 Kad budu ulazili na vrata unutrašnjeg dvorišta, moraju imati lanenu odjeću na sebi. Ne smiju biti u vunenoj odjeći dok služe na vratima unutrašnjeg dvorišta i unutar Hrama. 18 Neka nose lanene turbane i laneno donje rublje. Ne smiju na sebi imati ništa od čega bi se znojili. 19 Kad izlaze među ljude u vanjsko dvorište, sa sebe neka skinu odjeću u kojoj su služili i neka je ostave u svetim prostorijama. Neka se presvuku, da ljudi ne bi stradali dirajući svete predmete.
20 Oni neće brijati svoje glave, ali niti puštati dugu kosu. Moraju je redovno potkraćivati. 21 Ni jedan svećenik ne smije piti vino kad ide u unutrašnje dvorište. 22 Svećenici se ne mogu oženiti udovicom niti ženom koja se razvela. Za ženu smiju uzeti samo djevojku, djevicu iz izraelskog naroda, ili udovicu drugog svećenika.
23 Svećenici neka poučavaju moj narod da razlikuje što je sveto, a što nije. Neka im pokažu kako raspoznati što je čisto, a što nečisto. 24 U sporovima, svećenici trebaju biti suci. Njihove presude neka budu u skladu s mojim zakonima. Moraju držati moje upute i pravila za sve moje svete blagdane i držati svetost mog šabata. 25 Svećenik se ne smije onečistiti prilazeći blizu mrtvog tijela. Samo iznimno, ako su mu umrli otac ili majka, sin ili kći, brat ili neudana sestra, smije se onečistiti. 26 Nakon očišćenja, svećenik neka čeka sedam dana. 27 Na dan kada opet bude ulazio u unutrašnje dvorište, da bi služio u svetištu, neka prinese svoju žrtvu očišćenja’, kaže Gospodar BOG.
28 ‘Svećenicima ne pripada nikakvo nasljedstvo zemlje jer imaju mene. Neće im se dodjeljivati posjed u Izraelu jer sam ja njihov posjed. 29 Hranit će se žitnim žrtvama, žrtvama očišćenja i žrtvama naknadnicama. Sve što se u Izraelu posvećuje Bogu, pripast će njima. 30 Svećenicima pripadaju svi najbolji prvi plodovi berbe, sve vrste vaših prinosa i najbolji udio vašeg brašna. Tako će vaši domovi uživati blagoslov. 31 Svećenici ne smiju jesti ptice niti životinje koje su uginule ili su ih rastrgale divlje životinje.’«
Footnotes
- 44,7 nisu obrezani niti meni predani Doslovno: »neobrezanog srca i tijela«. Značenje pojma »obrezanje« vidi u Kazalu pojmova. Isto u 9. retku.
Ezekiel 44
King James Version
44 Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut.
2 Then said the Lord unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.
3 It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.
4 Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord: and I fell upon my face.
5 And the Lord said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary.
6 And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations,
7 In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations.
8 And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.
9 Thus saith the Lord God; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel.
10 And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity.
11 Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them.
12 Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity.
13 And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed.
14 But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.
15 But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God:
16 They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.
17 And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within.
18 They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.
19 And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments.
20 Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads.
21 Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court.
22 Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before.
23 And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
24 And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.
25 And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves: but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves.
26 And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days.
27 And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, saith the Lord God.
28 And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.
29 They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering: and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs.
30 And the first of all the firstfruits of all things, and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest's: ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house.
31 The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.
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