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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.
The Holy District
45 “When (BO)you allot the land as an inheritance, (BP)you shall set apart for the Lord a portion of the land as a holy district, 25,000 cubits[e] long and 20,000[f] cubits broad. It shall be holy throughout its whole extent. 2 (BQ)Of this a square plot of 500 by 500 cubits shall be for the sanctuary, with fifty cubits for (BR)an open space around it. 3 And (BS)from this measured district you shall measure off a section 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 broad, (BT)in which shall be the sanctuary, (BU)the Most Holy Place. 4 (BV)It shall be the holy portion of the land. It shall be for the priests, who minister in the sanctuary and approach the Lord to minister to him, and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. 5 (BW)Another section, 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits broad, shall be for the Levites who minister at the temple, as their possession for cities to live in.[g]
6 “Alongside the portion set apart as the holy district (BX)you shall assign for the property of the city an area 5,000 cubits broad and 25,000 cubits long. (BY)It shall belong to the whole house of Israel.
The Portion for the Prince
7 (BZ)“And to (CA)the prince shall belong the land on both sides of the holy district and the property of the city, alongside the holy district and the property of the city, on the west and on the east, corresponding in length to one of the tribal portions, and extending from the western to the eastern boundary 8 of the land. It is to be his property in Israel. And (CB)my princes shall no more oppress my people, but (CC)they shall let the house of Israel have the land according to their tribes.
9 “Thus says the Lord God: (CD)Enough, O princes of Israel! Put away violence and oppression, and execute justice and righteousness. Cease (CE)your evictions of my people, declares the Lord God.
10 (CF)“You shall have just balances, a just ephah, and a just bath.[h] 11 The ephah and the bath shall be (CG)of the same measure, (CH)the bath containing one tenth of a homer,[i] and the ephah one tenth of a homer; the homer shall be the standard measure. 12 (CI)The shekel shall be twenty gerahs;[j] twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels shall be your mina.[k]
Greeting
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of (A)the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to (B)the foreknowledge of God the Father, (C)in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and (D)for sprinkling with his blood:
May (E)grace and (F)peace be multiplied to you.
Born Again to a Living Hope
3 (G)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! (H)According to his great mercy, (I)he has caused us to be born again to a living hope (J)through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to (K)an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and (L)unfading, (M)kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded (N)through faith for a salvation (O)ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by (P)various trials, 7 so that (Q)the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes (R)though it is tested by (S)fire—may be found to result in (T)praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 (U)Though you have not seen him, you love him. (V)Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining (W)the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation, (X)the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring (Y)what person or time[a] (Z)the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating (AA)when he predicted (AB)the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 (AC)It was revealed to them that (AD)they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you (AE)by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, (AF)things into which angels long to look.
Gimel
17 (A)Deal bountifully with your servant,
(B)that I may live and keep your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of your law.
19 I am (C)a sojourner on the earth;
(D)hide not your commandments from me!
20 My soul is consumed with (E)longing
for your rules[a] at all times.
21 You rebuke (F)the insolent, (G)accursed ones,
who (H)wander from your commandments.
22 Take away from me (I)scorn and contempt,
(J)for I have kept your testimonies.
23 Even though (K)princes sit plotting against me,
your servant will (L)meditate on your statutes.
24 Your testimonies are my (M)delight;
they are my (N)counselors.
Daleth
25 (O)My soul clings to the dust;
(P)give me life (Q)according to your word!
26 When (R)I told of my ways, you answered me;
(S)teach me your statutes!
27 (T)Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will (U)meditate on your wondrous works.
28 (V)My soul melts away for sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word!
29 Put false ways far from me
and graciously (W)teach me your law!
30 I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
I (X)set your rules before me.
31 I cling to your testimonies, O Lord;
(Y)let me not be put to shame!
32 I will run in the way of your commandments
when you (Z)enlarge my heart![b]
8 Whoever multiplies his wealth (A)by interest and profit[a]
(B)gathers it for him who is (C)generous to the poor.
9 If one turns away his ear from hearing the law,
even his (D)prayer is an abomination.
10 Whoever misleads the upright into an evil way
(E)will fall into his own pit,
but the blameless (F)will have a goodly inheritance.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.