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The East Gate Must Remain Closed
44 The man took me back to the outer courtyard, near the east gate of the temple area. I saw that the doors to this gate were closed. 2 The Lord said:
I, the Lord God of Israel, came through this gate, so it must remain closed forever! No one must ever use it. 3 The ruler of Israel may come here to eat a sacrificial meal that has been offered to me, but he must use only the entrance room of this gate.
People Who Are Not Allowed in the Temple
4 Then the man took me through the north gate to the front of the temple. I saw that the brightness of the Lord's glory had filled the temple, and I immediately bowed with my face to the ground.
5 The Lord said:
Ezekiel, son of man, I am going to give you the laws for my temple. So pay attention and listen carefully to what kind of people are allowed to come in the temple, and what kind are not. 6 Tell those rebellious people of Israel:
I, the Lord God, command you to stop your evil ways! 7 My temple has been disgraced, because you have let godless, stubborn foreigners come here when sacrifices are being offered to me. You have sinned and have broken our solemn agreement. 8 Instead of following the proper ways to worship me, you have put foreigners in charge of worship at my temple.
9 And so I, the Lord God, say that no godless foreigner who disobeys me will be allowed in my temple. This includes any foreigner living in Israel.
The Levites Are Punished
The Lord said:
10 Some of the Levites turned their backs on me and joined the other people of Israel in worshiping idols. So these Levites must be punished! 11 They will still be allowed to serve me as temple workers by guarding the gates and by killing the animals to be sacrificed and by helping the worshipers. 12 But because these Levites served the people of Israel when they worshiped idols, I, the Lord God, promise that the Levites will be punished. They did not stop the Israelites from sinning, 13 and now I will no longer let the Levites serve as my priests or come near anything sacred to me. They must suffer shame and disgrace for their disgusting sins. 14 They will be responsible for all the hard work that must be done in the temple.
Rules for Priests
The Lord said:
15 The priests of the Levi tribe who are descendants of Zadok the priest were faithful to me, even when the rest of the Israelites turned away. And so, these priests will continue to serve as my priests and to offer the fat and the blood of sacrifices. 16 They will come into my temple, where they will offer sacrifices at my altar and lead others in worship.
17 (A) When they come to the inner courtyard, they must wear their linen priestly clothes. My priests must never wear anything made of wool when they are on duty in this courtyard or in the temple. 18 Even their turbans and underwear must be made of linen to keep my priests from sweating when they work. 19 (B) And before they leave to join the other people in the outer courtyard, they must take off their priestly clothes, then place them in the sacred rooms and put on their regular clothes.[a] That way, no one will touch their sacred clothes and be harmed.[b]
20 (C) Priests must never shave their heads when they are mourning. But they must keep their hair properly trimmed and not let it grow too long. 21 (D) They must not drink wine before going to the inner courtyard.
22 (E) A priest must not marry a divorced woman; he can marry only a virgin from Israel or the widow of another priest.
23 (F) Priests must teach my people the difference between what is sacred and what is ordinary, and between what is clean and what is unclean. 24 They will make decisions in difficult legal cases, according to my own laws. They must also observe the religious festivals my Law requires and must always respect the Sabbath.
25 (G) Touching a dead body will make a person unclean. So a priest must not go near a dead body, unless it is one of his parents or children, or his brother or unmarried sister. 26 If a priest touches a dead body, he is unclean and must go through a ceremony to make himself clean. Then seven days later, 27 he must go to the inner courtyard of the temple and offer a sacrifice for sin. After that, he may once again serve as my priest. I, the Lord God, have spoken.
28 (H) I myself will provide for my priests, and so they won't receive any land of their own. 29 (I) Instead, they will receive part of the grain sacrifices, as well as part of the sacrifices for sin and sacrifices to make things right. They will also be given everything in Israel that has been completely dedicated to me.[c] 30 The first part of every harvest will belong to the priests. They will also receive part of all special gifts and offerings the Israelites bring to me. And whenever any of my people bake bread, they will give their first loaf as an offering to the priests, and I will bless the homes of the people when they do this.
31 (J) Priests must not eat any bird or animal that dies a natural death or that has been killed by a wild animal.
The Lord's Sacred Land
The Lord said:
45 When the land of Israel is divided among the twelve tribes, you must set aside an area that will belong to me. This sacred area will be 12.5 kilometers long and 10 kilometers[d] wide. 2 The temple will be on a piece of land 255 meters square, and the temple will be completely surrounded by an open space 25 meters wide.
3-4 I will give half of my sacred land, a section 12.5 kilometers long and 5 kilometers wide, to the priests who serve in the temple. Their houses will be in this half, as well as my temple, which is the most sacred place of all.
5 I will give the other half of my land to the Levites who work in my temple, and the towns[e] where they will live will be there.
6 Next to my sacred land will be an area 12.5 kilometers long and 3 kilometers wide. This will belong to the people of Israel and will include the city of Jerusalem.
Land for Israel's Ruler
The Lord said:
7-8 The regions west and east of my sacred land and the city of Jerusalem will belong to the ruler of Israel. He will be given the region between the western edge of my land and the Mediterranean Sea, and between the eastern edge of my land and the Jordan River. This will mean that the length of his property will be the same as the sections of land given to the tribes.
This property will belong to every ruler of Israel, so they will always be fair to my people and will let them live peacefully in the land given to their tribes.
Israel's Rulers Must Be Honest
9 The Lord God said:
You leaders of Israel have cheated and abused my people long enough! I want you to stop sinning and start doing what is right and fair. You must never again force my people off their own land. I, the Lord, have spoken.
10 (K) So from now on, you must use honest weights and measures. 11 The ephah will be the standard dry measure, and the bath will be the standard liquid measure. Their size will be based on the homer, which will equal ten ephahs or ten baths.[f]
12 The standard unit of weight will be the shekel.[g] One shekel will equal 20 gerahs, and 60 shekels will equal one mina.
1 From Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.
To God's people who are scattered like foreigners in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.
2 God the Father decided to choose you as his people, and his Spirit has made you holy. You have obeyed Jesus Christ and are sprinkled with his blood.[a]
I pray that God will be kind to you and will keep on giving you peace!
A Real Reason for Hope
3 Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is so good, and by raising Jesus from death, he has given us new life and a hope that lives on. 4 (A) God has something stored up for you in heaven, where it will never decay or be ruined or disappear.
5 You have faith in God, whose power will protect you until the last day.[b] Then he will save you, just as he has always planned to do. 6 On that day you will be glad, even if you have to go through many hard trials for a while. 7 (B) Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. They will show that you will be given praise and honor and glory when Jesus Christ returns.
8 You have never seen Jesus, and you don't see him now. But still you love him and have faith in him, and no words can tell how glad and happy 9 you are to be saved. This is why you have faith.
10 Some prophets told how God would treat you with undeserved grace, and they searched hard to find out more about the way you would be saved. 11 The Spirit of Christ was in them and was telling them how Christ would suffer and would then be given great honor. So they searched to find out exactly who Christ would be and when this would happen. 12 But they were told that they were serving you and not themselves. They preached to you by the power of the Holy Spirit, who was sent from heaven. And their message was only for you, even though angels would like to know more about it.
17 Treat me with kindness, Lord,
so that I may live
and do what you say.
18 Open my mind
and let me discover
the wonders of your Law.
19 I live here as a stranger.
Don't keep me from knowing
your commands.
20 What I want most
and at all times
is to honor your laws.
21 You punish those boastful,
worthless nobodies who turn
from your commands.
22 Don't let them sneer
and insult me
for following you.
23 I keep thinking about
your teachings, Lord,
even if rulers plot
against me.
24 Your laws are my greatest joy!
I follow their advice.
25 I am at the point of death.
Let your teachings
breathe new life into me.
26 When I told you my troubles,
you answered my prayers.
Now teach me your laws.
27 Help me to understand
your teachings,
and I will think about
your marvelous deeds.
28 I am overcome with sorrow.
Encourage me,
as you have promised to do.
29 Keep me from being deceitful,
and be kind enough
to teach me your Law.
30 I am determined to be faithful
and to respect your laws.
31 I follow your rules, Lord.
Don't let me be ashamed.
32 I am eager to learn all
that you want me to do;
help me to understand more.
8 If you make money by charging
high interest rates,
you will lose it all to someone
who cares for the poor.
9 God cannot stand the prayers
of anyone who disobeys
his Law.
10 By leading good people to sin,
you dig a pit for yourself,
but all who live right
will have a bright future.
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