44 Then the man brought me back to the outside gate on the east side of the temple yard. But the gate was shut.
2 The Lord said to me, ‘This gate must stay shut. Nobody may go through it. Nobody may open it again. The Lord , Israel's God, has gone through it. So it must stay shut. 3 Only Israel's ruler is allowed to sit in the gate's entrance. He may sit there to eat a holy meal in front of the Lord . He may only go in and out through the entrance room of that gate.’
4 Then the man took me through the north gate of the temple yard. We went to the front of the temple building. As I watched, I saw that the Lord 's glory filled his temple. I bent down low with my face on the ground.
5 The Lord said to me, ‘Son of man, listen to what I tell you. Think carefully about it. These are the rules and laws about the Lord 's temple. Understand about its entrances and the people who are allowed to go in and out of the temple. 6 Israel's people refuse to obey me. Say to them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: Israel's people, you have done too many disgusting things! 7 You brought foreigners into my temple. They were not circumcised and they did not want to belong to me. In that way, you made my own temple unclean. You did that when you offered food, fat and blood to me there. You did not obey my covenant with you, when you did all these disgusting things. 8 You did not take care of my holy things yourselves. Instead you chose foreigners to take care of my holy place on your behalf. 9 This is what the Almighty Lord God says: No foreigner may go into my holy place if he is not circumcised and he does not want to obey me. Even if that foreigner lives among my people, the Israelites, he must not go in there.
10 As well as other Israelites, some Levite men turned away from me to worship idols. I will punish them as they deserve for their sin. 11 But they may continue to serve me in the work of the temple. They can be guards at the temple gates. They can kill the animals that people bring for burnt offerings and other sacrifices. They can help the people who come to worship me. 12 But I promise that I will punish them as they deserve for their sin. That is because they helped the people to worship their idols. In that way, they caused Israel's people to do bad things. I, the Almighty Lord , promise that I will punish them. 13 They must not come near to me to serve me as the priests do. They must not touch any of my holy things or the most holy offerings. Instead, they must be ashamed of the disgusting things that they have done. 14 But I will allow them to take care of the temple and all the ordinary work that is done there.
15 Only the priests who are descendants of Zadok, the Levite, may come near to me and serve me. [ a ] When Israel's people turned away from me, only the priests of Zadok's family faithfully served me in my temple. So now Zadok's descendants may offer to me the fat and the blood of sacrifices. That is what the Almighty Lord says. 16 Only they can come into my holy place and serve me at the altar. They will do what I tell them to do.
17 When they come through the gates into the inside yard, they must wear linen clothes. The clothes that they wear while they serve me must not have any wool in them. They must wear linen clothes when they work at the gates of the inside yard or in the temple. 18 They must wear linen cloths around their heads. The trousers that they wear next to their skin must also be made of linen. They must not tie anything around their body that makes them sweat. [ b ] 19 Before they go out to the outside yard to meet the ordinary people, they must take off their special clothes. They must leave the clothes that they wore when they were serving me in one of the rooms in the holy place. They must put on other clothes before they go out. Then their special clothes will not touch the people and make them holy.
20 The priests must not cut all the hair off their heads. They must not let it grow long either. They must keep their hair short. 21 When a priest goes into the inside yard of the temple, he must not drink anywine. 22 Priests must not marry a widow, or a woman whose husband has sent her away. They may only marry Israelite women who have never had sex. Or they may marry a widow whose husband had been a priest. 23 They must teach my people that holy things are different from ordinary things. They must also show them how to know if something is clean or unclean.
24 If people have an argument, the priests must be their judges. They must use my laws to decide who is right. They must obey the rules about my special festivals. They must respect Sabbath days as holy.
25 A priest must not go near to a dead person. It would make him unclean. But if the dead person is his father, his mother, his son, his daughter, his brother or his sister who has not married, he may go near them. It makes him unclean but he may do that. 26 After this, he must make himself clean. Then he must wait seven days. 27 Then he can go into the inside yard of the temple to serve me there. On the day that he goes back there, he must make a sin offering for himself. That is what the Almighty Lord says.
28 Do not give the priests their own land in Israel to keep for their descendants. I myself will be the gift that they receive. I will take care of them and their families. 29 They will receive the grain offerings, the sin offerings and the guilt offerings. They are allowed to eat some of those offerings that the people bring. All the special things that people give to the Lord will belong to the priests. 30 The best of all the first crops from people's land and all their special gifts will belong to the priests. You must also give to the priests the first flour that you make from your grain. Then I will bless the people who live in your house. 31 The priests must not eat any bird or any animal that people find dead. They must not eat anything that a wild animal has killed.” ’
44 Then the man brought me back to the east gate of the Temple area. We were outside the gate and the gate was shut. 2 The Lord said to me, “This gate will stay shut. It will not be opened. No one will enter through it, because the Lord of Israel has entered through it. So it must stay shut. 3 Only the ruler of the people may sit at this gate when he eats a meal with the Lord . He must enter through the porch of the gateway and go out the same way.”
4 Then the man led me through the north gate to the front of the Temple. I looked and saw the Glory of the Lord filling the Lord ’s Temple. I bowed with my face touching the ground. 5 The Lord said to me, “Son of man, [ a ] look very carefully! Use your eyes and ears. Look at these things, and listen very carefully to everything that I tell you about all the rules and laws about the Lord ’s Temple. Look carefully at the entrances to the Temple and at all the exits from the holy place. 6 Then give this message to all the people of Israel who refused to obey me. Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God said: Family of Israel, I have had enough of the terrible things you have done! 7 You brought foreigners into my Temple who are not circumcised and have not given themselves to me. [ b ] In this way you made my Temple unclean. You broke our agreement and did terrible things, and then you gave me the offerings of bread, the fat, and the blood. But this only made my Temple unclean. 8 You did not take care of my holy things. No, you let foreigners have responsibility of my holy place!’”
9 This is what the Lord God says: “A foreigner who is not truly circumcised must not come into my Temple—not even a foreigner living permanently among the people of Israel. He must be circumcised, and he must give himself completely to me before he can come into my Temple. 10 In the past, the Levites left me when Israel turned away from me. Israel left me to follow their idols. The Levites will be punished for their sin. 11 The Levites were chosen to serve in my holy place. They guarded the gates of the Temple. They served in the Temple. They killed the animals for the sacrifices and burnt offerings for the people. They were chosen to help the people and to serve them. 12 But the Levites helped the people sin against me! They helped the people worship their idols! So I am making this promise against them: ‘They will be punished for their sin.’” This is what the Lord God said.
13 “So the Levites will not bring offerings to me like the priests. They will not come near any of my holy things or the things that are most holy. They must carry their shame because of the terrible things that they did. 14 But I will let them take care of the Temple. They will work in the Temple and do the things that must be done in it.
15 “The priests are all from the tribe of Levi. But only priests from Zadok’s family took care of my holy place when the people of Israel turned away from me. So only Zadok’s descendants will bring offerings to me. They will stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood from the animals they sacrifice.” This is what the Lord God said! 16 “They will enter my holy place and come near my table to serve me. They will take care of the things I gave them. 17 When they enter the gates of the inner courtyard, they will wear linen clothes. They will not wear wool while they serve at the gates of the inner courtyard and in the Temple. 18 They will wear linen turbans on their heads, and they will wear linen underwear. They will not wear anything that makes them sweat. 19 Before they go out into the outer courtyard to the people, they will take off the clothes they wear while serving me. They will put these clothes away in the holy rooms. Then they will put on other clothes. In this way they will not let people touch those holy clothes.
20 “These priests will not shave their heads or let their hair grow long. [ c ] The priests may only trim the hair of their heads. 21 None of the priests may drink wine when they go into the inner courtyard. 22 The priests must not marry a widow or a divorced woman. No, they must only marry a virgin from the family of Israel or a woman whose dead husband was a priest.
23 “Also, the priests must teach my people the difference between things that are holy and things that are not holy. They must help my people know what is clean and what is unclean. 24 The priests will be the judges in court. They will follow my laws when they judge people. They will obey my laws and my rules at all my special feasts. They will respect my special days of rest and keep them holy. 25 They will not go near a dead person to make themselves unclean. But they may make themselves unclean if the dead person is their father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or a sister who is not married. 26 After the priest has been made clean, he must wait seven days. 27 Then he can go back into the holy place. But on the day he goes into the inner courtyard to serve in the holy place, he must offer a sin offering for himself.” This is what the Lord God said.
28 “About the land that will belong to the Levites: I am their property. You will not give the Levites any land in Israel. I am their share in Israel. 29 They will have the right to eat the grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings. Also, anything in Israel that is a special gift to God [ d ] will belong to them. 30 And the first part of the harvest from every kind of crop will be for the priests. You will also give the priests the first part of your flour. This will bring blessings to your house. 31 The priests must not eat any bird or animal that has died a natural death or has been torn to pieces by a wild animal.
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.
44 Then He brought me back by way of the ( A ) outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east; and it was shut. 2 And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the ( B ) Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. 3 As for the ( C ) prince, he shall sit in it as prince to ( D ) eat bread before the Lord ; he shall ( E ) enter by way of the ( F ) porch of the gate and shall go out [ a ] by the same way.”
4 Then He brought me by way of the ( G ) north gate to the front of the house; and I looked, and behold, the ( H ) glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord , and I ( I ) fell on my face. 5 And the Lord said to me, “Son of man, [ b ] ( J ) pay attention, see with your eyes and hear with your ears everything that I say to you concerning all the ( K ) statutes of the house of the Lord and all its laws; and [ c ] pay attention to the entrance of the house, with all the exits of the sanctuary. 6 You shall say to the [ d ] ( L ) rebellious ones, to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord [ e ] God says: “ ( M ) Enough of all your abominations, house of Israel, 7 when you brought in ( N ) foreigners, ( O ) uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to profane it, My house, when you ( P ) offered My food, the fat, and the blood and they ( Q ) broke My covenant— this in addition to all your abominations. 8 And you have not [ f ] ( R ) taken responsibility for My holy things yourselves, but you have appointed foreigners [ g ] to take responsibility for My sanctuary.”
9 ‘This is what the Lord God says: “ ( S ) No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the sons of Israel, shall enter My sanctuary. 10 But the Levites who went far from Me when Israel went astray, who ( T ) went astray from Me [ h ] following their idols, shall ( U ) suffer the punishment for their wrongdoing. 11 Yet they shall be ( V ) ministers in My sanctuary, having ( W ) oversight at the gates of the house and ( X ) ministering in the house; they shall ( Y ) slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall ( Z ) stand before them to minister to them. 12 Since they ministered to them ( AA ) before their idols and became a ( AB ) stumbling block of wrongdoing to the house of Israel, for that reason I have [ i ] ( AC ) sworn against them,” declares the Lord God , “that they shall ( AD ) suffer the punishment for their wrongdoing. 13 And they shall ( AE ) not approach Me to serve as priests for Me, nor approach any of My holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they will ( AF ) bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. 14 Nevertheless I will [ j ] appoint them [ k ] to ( AG ) take responsibility for the house, of all its service and of everything that shall be done in it.
15 “But the ( AH ) Levitical priests, the sons of ( AI ) Zadok, who [ l ] ( AJ ) took responsibility for My sanctuary when the sons of Israel ( AK ) went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to serve Me; and they shall ( AL ) stand before Me to offer Me the ( AM ) fat and the blood,” declares the Lord God . 16 “They shall ( AN ) enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My ( AO ) table to serve Me and [ m ] assume the responsibility I give them. 17 And it shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner courtyard, they shall be clothed with ( AP ) linen garments; and wool shall not [ n ] be worn by them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner courtyard or in the house. 18 Linen ( AQ ) turbans shall be on their heads and ( AR ) linen undergarments shall be around their waists; they shall not put on anything that makes them sweat. 19 And when they go out into the outer courtyard, into the outer courtyard to the people, they shall ( AS ) take off their garments in which they have been ministering and lay them in the holy chambers; then they shall put on other garments, so that they will ( AT ) not transfer holiness to the people with their garments. 20 Also they shall ( AU ) not shave their heads, yet they shall not ( AV ) let their locks [ o ] grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads. 21 ( AW ) Nor shall any of the priests drink wine when they enter the inner courtyard. 22 And they shall not [ p ] marry a widow or a ( AX ) divorced woman, but shall ( AY ) take virgins from the descendants of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23 Moreover, they shall teach My people the ( AZ ) difference between the holy and the [ q ] common, and teach them to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. 24 In a dispute ( BA ) they shall take their stand to judge; they shall judge it according to My ordinances. They shall also keep My laws and My statutes in all My ( BB ) appointed feasts, and ( BC ) sanctify My Sabbaths. 25 [ r ] ( BD ) They shall not go to a dead person to defile themselves ; however, for father, for mother, for son, for daughter, for brother, or for a sister who has not had a husband, they may defile themselves. 26 And after he is ( BE ) cleansed, seven days [ s ] shall elapse for him. 27 On the day that he goes into the sanctuary, to the ( BF ) inner courtyard to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his ( BG ) sin offering,” declares the Lord God .
28 “And it shall be regarding an inheritance for them, that ( BH ) I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no property in Israel—I am their property. 29 They shall ( BI ) eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; and everything ( BJ ) banned from secular use in Israel shall be theirs. 30 And the first of all the ( BK ) first fruits of every kind and every [ t ] contribution of every kind, from all your [ u ] contributions, shall be for the priests; you shall also give to the priest the ( BL ) first of your [ v ] dough, to make a ( BM ) blessing rest on your house. 31 The priests shall not eat any bird or animal that has ( BN ) died a natural death or has been torn to pieces by animals.
44 Then the man brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, the one facing east, ( A ) and it was shut. 2 The Lord said to me, “This gate is to remain shut. It must not be opened; no one may enter through it. ( B ) It is to remain shut because the Lord , the God of Israel, has entered through it. 3 The prince himself is the only one who may sit inside the gateway to eat in the presence ( C ) of the Lord . He is to enter by way of the portico of the gateway and go out the same way. ( D ) ”
4 Then the man brought me by way of the north gate ( E ) to the front of the temple. I looked and saw the glory of the Lord filling the temple ( F ) of the Lord , and I fell facedown. ( G )
5 The Lord said to me, “Son of man, look carefully, listen closely and give attention to everything I tell you concerning all the regulations and instructions regarding the temple of the Lord . Give attention to the entrance ( H ) to the temple and all the exits of the sanctuary. ( I ) 6 Say to rebellious Israel, ( J ) ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Enough of your detestable practices, people of Israel! 7 In addition to all your other detestable practices, you brought foreigners uncircumcised in heart ( K ) and flesh into my sanctuary, desecrating my temple while you offered me food, fat and blood, and you broke my covenant. ( L ) 8 Instead of carrying out your duty in regard to my holy things, you put others in charge of my sanctuary. ( M ) 9 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and flesh is to enter my sanctuary, not even the foreigners who live among the Israelites. ( N )
10 “‘The Levites who went far from me when Israel went astray ( O ) and who wandered from me after their idols must bear the consequences of their sin. ( P ) 11 They may serve in my sanctuary, having charge of the gates of the temple and serving in it; they may slaughter the burnt offerings ( Q ) and sacrifices for the people and stand before the people and serve them. ( R ) 12 But because they served them in the presence of their idols and made the people of Israel fall ( S ) into sin, therefore I have sworn with uplifted hand ( T ) that they must bear the consequences of their sin, declares the Sovereign Lord . ( U ) 13 They are not to come near to serve me as priests or come near any of my holy things or my most holy offerings; they must bear the shame ( V ) of their detestable practices. ( W ) 14 And I will appoint them to guard the temple for all the work that is to be done in it. ( X )
15 “‘But the Levitical priests, who are descendants of Zadok ( Y ) and who guarded my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, are to come near to minister before me; they are to stand before me to offer sacrifices of fat ( Z ) and blood, declares the Sovereign Lord . ( AA ) 16 They alone are to enter my sanctuary; they alone are to come near my table ( AB ) to minister before me and serve me as guards. ( AC )
17 “‘When they enter the gates of the inner court, they are to wear linen clothes; ( AD ) they must not wear any woolen garment while ministering at the gates of the inner court or inside the temple. 18 They are to wear linen turbans ( AE ) on their heads and linen undergarments ( AF ) around their waists. They must not wear anything that makes them perspire. ( AG ) 19 When they go out into the outer court where the people are, they are to take off the clothes they have been ministering in and are to leave them in the sacred rooms, and put on other clothes, so that the people are not consecrated ( AH ) through contact with their garments. ( AI )
20 “‘They must not shave ( AJ ) their heads or let their hair grow long, but they are to keep the hair of their heads trimmed. ( AK ) 21 No priest is to drink wine when he enters the inner court. ( AL ) 22 They must not marry widows or divorced women; they may marry only virgins of Israelite descent or widows of priests. ( AM ) 23 They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common ( AN ) and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. ( AO )
24 “‘In any dispute, the priests are to serve as judges ( AP ) and decide it according to my ordinances. They are to keep my laws and my decrees for all my appointed festivals, ( AQ ) and they are to keep my Sabbaths holy. ( AR )
25 “‘A priest must not defile himself by going near a dead person; however, if the dead person was his father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried sister, then he may defile himself. ( AS ) 26 After he is cleansed, he must wait seven days. ( AT ) 27 On the day he goes into the inner court of the sanctuary ( AU ) to minister in the sanctuary, he is to offer a sin offering [ a ] ( AV ) for himself, declares the Sovereign Lord .
28 “‘I am to be the only inheritance ( AW ) the priests have. You are to give them no possession in Israel; I will be their possession. 29 They will eat ( AX ) the grain offerings, the sin offerings and the guilt offerings; and everything in Israel devoted [ b ] to the Lord ( AY ) will belong to them. ( AZ ) 30 The best of all the firstfruits ( BA ) and of all your special gifts will belong to the priests. You are to give them the first portion of your ground meal ( BB ) so that a blessing ( BC ) may rest on your household. ( BD ) 31 The priests must not eat anything, whether bird or animal, found dead ( BE ) or torn by wild animals. ( BF )
