Ezekiel, 44

1. He brought me back to the outer east gate of the sanctuary. It was shut.

1. Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east; and it was shut.

2. Yahweh said to me, 'This gate will be kept shut. No one may open it or go through it, since Yahweh, God of Israel, has been through it. And so it must be kept shut.

2. And he said to me, "This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it; for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall remain shut.

3. The prince himself, however, may sit there to take his meal in the presence of Yahweh. He must enter and leave through the porch of the gate.'

3. Only the prince may sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go out by the same way."

4. He led me through the north gate to the front of the Temple. And then I looked; I saw the glory of Yahweh filling the Temple of Yahweh; and I fell to the ground.

4. Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple; and I looked, and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple of the LORD; and I fell upon my face.

5. Yahweh said to me, 'Son of man, pay attention, look carefully and listen closely to everything I explain; these are all the arrangements of the Temple of Yahweh and all its laws. Be careful about who is admitted to the Temple and who is excluded from the sanctuary.

5. And the LORD said to me, "Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I shall tell you concerning all the ordinances of the temple of the LORD and all its laws; and mark well those who may be admitted to the temple and all those who are to be excluded from the sanctuary.

6. And say to the rebels of the House of Israel, "The Lord Yahweh says this: You have gone beyond all bounds with all your loathsome practices, House of Israel,

6. And say to the rebellious house, to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: O house of Israel, let there be an end to all your abominations,

7. by admitting aliens, uncircumcised in heart and body, to frequent my sanctuary and profane my Temple, while offering my food, the fat and the blood, and breaking my covenant with all your loathsome practices.

7. in admitting foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to be in my sanctuary, profaning it, when you offer to me my food, the fat and the blood. You have broken my covenant, in addition to all your abominations.

8. Instead of maintaining the service of my holy things, you have deputed someone else to maintain my service in my sanctuary.

8. And you have not kept charge of my holy things; but you have set foreigners to keep my charge in my sanctuary.

9. The Lord Yahweh says this: No alien, uncircumcised in heart and body, may enter my sanctuary, none of the aliens living among the Israelites.

9. "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, shall enter my sanctuary.

10. "As regards the Levites who abandoned me when Israel strayed far from me by following its idols, they must bear the weight of their own sin.

10. But the Levites who went far from me, going astray from me after their idols when Israel went astray, shall bear their punishment.

11. They must be servants in my sanctuary, responsible for guarding the Temple gates and serving the Temple. They will kill the burnt offerings and the sacrifice for the people, and hold themselves at the service of the people.

11. They shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the temple, and serving in the temple; they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall attend on the people, to serve them.

12. Since they used to be at their service in front of their idols and were an occasion of guilt for the House of Israel, very well, I stretch out my hand against them -- declares the Lord Yahweh -- they will bear the weight of their guilt.

12. Because they ministered to them before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have sworn concerning them, says the Lord GOD, that they shall bear their punishment.

13. They may never approach me again to perform the priestly office in my presence, nor touch my holy things and my most holy things; they must bear the disgrace of their loathsome practices.

13. They shall not come near to me, to serve me as priest, nor come near any of my sacred things and the things that are most sacred; but they shall bear their shame, because of the abominations which they have committed.

14. I shall give them the responsibility of serving the Temple; I shall make them responsible for serving it and for everything to be done in it.

14. Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the temple, to do all its service and all that is to be done in it.

15. "As regards the levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who maintained the service of my sanctuary when the Israelites strayed far from me, they will approach me to serve me; they will stand in my presence to offer me the fat and blood -- declares the Lord Yahweh.

15. "But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me to minister to me; and they shall attend on me to offer me the fat and the blood, says the Lord GOD;

16. They will enter my sanctuary and approach my table to serve me; they will maintain my service.

16. they shall enter my sanctuary, and they shall approach my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge.

17. Once they enter the gates of the inner court, they must wear linen vestments; they must wear no wool when they serve inside the gates of the inner court and in the Temple.

17. When they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall wear linen garments; they shall have nothing of wool on them, while they minister at the gates of the inner court, and within.

18. They must wear linen caps on their heads and linen breeches on their loins; they may not wear anything round their waists that makes them sweat.

18. They shall have linen turbans upon their heads, and linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything that causes sweat.

19. When they go out to the people in the outer court, they must remove the vestments in which they have performed the liturgy and leave them in the rooms of the Holy Place, and put on other clothes, so as not to hallow the people with their vestments.

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, and lay them in the holy chambers; and they shall put on other garments, lest they communicate holiness to the people with their garments.

20. They may neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow long, but must cut their hair carefully.

20. They shall not shave their heads or let their locks grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads.

21. No priest may drink wine on the day he enters the inner court.

21. No priest shall drink wine, when he enters the inner court.

22. They may not marry widows or divorced women, but only virgins of the race of Israel; they may, however, marry a widow, if she is the widow of a priest.

22. They shall not marry a widow, or a divorced woman, but only a virgin of the stock of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest.

23. They must teach my people the difference between what is sacred and what is profane and make them understand the difference between what is clean and what is unclean.

23. They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.

24. They must be judges in law-suits; they must judge in the spirit of my judgements; they must follow my laws and ordinances at all my feasts and keep my Sabbaths holy.

24. In a controversy 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 they shall keep my sabbaths holy.

25. They may not go near a dead person, in case they become unclean, except in these permissible cases, that is, for father, mother, daughter, son, brother or unmarried sister.

25. 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. After one of them has been purified, seven days must elapse;

26. After he is defiled, he shall count for himself seven days, and then he shall be clean.

27. then, the day he enters the Holy Place in the inner court to minister in the Holy Place, he must offer his sacrifice for sin -- declares the Lord Yahweh.

27. And on the day that he goes into the holy place, into the inner court, to minister in the holy place, he shall offer his sin offering, says the Lord GOD.

28. They may have no heritage; I myself shall be their heritage. You may give them no patrimony in Israel; I myself shall be their patrimony.

28. "They shall have no inheritance; I am their inheritance: and you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession.

29. Their food must be the oblation, the sacrifice for sin and the sacrifice of reparation. Everything dedicated by vow in Israel shall be for them.

29. They shall eat the cereal offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs.

30. The best of all your first-fruits and of all the dues and of everything you offer, must go to the priests; and the best of your dough you must also give to the priests, so that a blessing may rest on your house.

30. And the first of all the first fruits of all kinds, and every offering of all kinds from all your offerings, shall belong to the priests; you shall also give to the priests the first of your coarse meal, that a blessing may rest on your house.

31. Priests must not eat the flesh of anything that has died a natural death or been savaged, be it bird or animal." '

31. The priests shall not eat of anything, whether bird or beast, that has died of itself or is torn.