Ezekiel 44

¹And he turned me back, toward the way of the gate of the outer sanctuary, which looked toward the east. And it was closed.

²And the Lord said to me: “This gate will be closed; it will not be opened. And man shall not cross through it. For the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through it, and it shall be closed

³to the prince. The prince himself will sit at it, so that he may eat bread before the Lord; he will enter by the way of the vestibule of the gate, and he will depart by the same way.”

⁴And he led me in, along the way of the north gate, in the sight of the house. And I saw, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. And I fell upon my face.

⁵And the Lord said to me: “Son of man, set within your heart, and see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I am speaking to you about all the ceremonies of the house of the Lord and about all its laws. And set your heart upon the ways of the temple, along all the exits of the sanctuary.

⁶And you shall say to the house of Israel, which provokes me: Thus says the Lord God: Let all your wicked deeds be sufficient for you, O house of Israel.

⁷For you bring in foreign sons, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, so that they may be in my sanctuary and may defile my house. And you offer my bread, the fat, and the blood, yet you have broken my covenant by all your wicked deeds.

⁸And you have not observed the precepts of my sanctuary, yet you have stationed observers of my vigil in my sanctuary for yourselves.

⁹Thus says the Lord God: Any foreigner, any foreign son who is in the midst of the sons of Israel, who is uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall not enter into my sanctuary.

¹⁰And as for the Levites, they have withdrawn far away from me, in the errors of the sons of Israel, and they have gone astray from me after their idols, and they have borne their iniquity.

¹¹They will be caretakers in my sanctuary, and doorkeepers at the gates of the house, and ministers to the house. They will slay the holocausts and the victims of the people. And they will stand before them, so that they may minister to them.

¹²But because they ministered to them in the sight their idols, and they became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, for this reason, I have lifted up my hand against them, says the Lord God, and they will bear their iniquity.

¹³And they shall not draw near to me, so as to exercise the priesthood for me, and they shall not approach to any of my holy things, which are near the Holy of Holies. Instead, they will bear their shame and their wicked deeds, which they committed.

¹⁴And I will make them doorkeepers of the house, for all its ministries and for all that will be done within it.

¹⁵But the priests and the Levites who are the sons of Zadok, who observed the ceremonies of my sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from me, these shall draw near to me, so that they may minister for me. And they shall stand in my sight, so that they may offer to me the fat and the blood, says the Lord God.

¹⁶They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall draw near to my table, so that they may minister for me, and so that they may observe my ceremonies.

¹⁷And when they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments. Neither shall anything woolen be placed over them, when they minister within the gates of the inner and the outer court.

¹⁸They shall have linen bands on their heads, and linen undergarments over their loins, and they shall not be girded so as to sweat.

¹⁹And when they go forth to the outer court to the people, they shall strip off their vestments, in which they ministered, and they shall place them in the storeroom of the sanctuary, and they shall clothe themselves with other garments. And they shall not sanctify the people in their vestments.

²⁰Now they shall not shave their heads, and they shall not grow long hair. Instead, they shall trim the hair of their heads.

²¹And no priest shall drink wine, when he will be entering into the inner court.

²²And they shall not take as wife a widow or one who has been divorced. Instead, they shall take virgins from the offspring of the house of Israel. But they may also take a widow, if she is the widow of a priest.

²³And they shall teach my people the difference between holy and defiled, and they shall distinguish for them between clean and unclean.

²⁴And when there has been a controversy, they shall stand in my judgments, and they shall judge. They shall observe my laws and my precepts, in all my solemnities, and they shall sanctify my Sabbaths.

²⁵And they shall not enter to a dead person, lest they be defiled, except to father or mother, or son or daughter, or brother, or to a sister who does not have another man. By these, they may become unclean.

²⁶And after he will have been cleansed, they shall number for him seven days.

²⁷And on the day when he enters into the sanctuary, to the inner court, so that he may minister to me in the sanctuary, he shall make an offering because of his offense, says the Lord God.

²⁸And there shall be no inheritance for them. I am their inheritance. And you shall not give them any possession in Israel. For I am their possession.

²⁹They shall eat the victim both for sin and for offenses. And every vowed offering in Israel shall be theirs.

³⁰And the first-fruits of all the firstborn, and all the libations out of all that is offered, shall belong to the priests. And you shall give the first-fruits of your foods to the priest, so that he may return a blessing to your house.

³¹The priests shall not consume anything which has died on its own, or which was seized by a beast, whether from the fowl or the cattle.”

Ezekiel 44

¹And he brought me back to the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary, which looked towards the east: and it was shut.

²And the Lord said to me: This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall pass through it: because the Lord the God of Israel hath entered in by it, and it shall be shut

³For the prince. The prince himself shall sit in it, to eat bread before the Lord: he shall enter in by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go out by the same way.

⁴And he brought me by the way of the north gate, in the sight of the house: and I saw, and behold the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord: and I fell on my face.

⁵And the Lord said to me: Son of man, attend with thy heart and behold with thy eyes, and hear with thy ears, all that I say to thee concerning all the ceremonies of the house of the Lord, and concerning all the laws thereof: and mark well the ways of the temple, with all the goings out of the sanctuary.

⁶And thou shalt say to the house of Israel that provoketh me: Thus saith the Lord God: Let all your wicked doings suffice you, O house of Israel:

⁷In that you have brought in strangers uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, and to defile my house: and you offer my bread, the fat, and the blood: and you have broken my covenant by all your wicked doings.

⁸And you have not kept the ordinances of my sanctuary: but you have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.

⁹Thus saith the Lord God: No stranger uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, no stranger that is in the midst of the children of Israel.

¹⁰Moreover the Levites that went away far from me, when the children of Israel went astray, and have wandered from me after their idols, and have borne their iniquity:

¹¹They shall be officers in my sanctuary, and doorkeepers of the gates of the house, and ministers to the house: they shall slay the holocausts, and the victims of the people: and they shall stand in their sight, to minister to them.

¹²Because they ministered to them before their idols, and were a stumblingblock of iniquity to the house of Israel: therefore have I lifted up my hand against them, saith the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity:

¹³And they shall not come near to me, to do the office of priest to me, neither shall they come near to any of my holy things that are by the holy of holies: but they shall bear their shame, and their wickednesses which they have committed.

¹⁴And I will make them doorkeepers of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.

¹⁵But the priests, and Levites, the sons of Sadoc, who kept the ceremonies of my sanctuary, when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me, to minister to me: and they shall stand before me, to offer me the fat, and the blood, saith the Lord God.

¹⁶They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and to keep my ceremonies.

¹⁷And when they shall enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments: neither shall any woollen come upon them, when they minister in the gates of the inner court and within.

¹⁸They shall have linen mitres on their heads, and linen breeches on their loins, and they shall not be girded with any thing that causeth sweat.

¹⁹And when they shall go forth to the outward court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them up in the store chamber of the sanctuary, and they shall clothe themselves with other garments: and they shall not sanctify the people with their vestments.

²⁰Neither shall they shave their heads, nor wear long hair: but they shall only poll their heads.

²¹And no priest shall drink wine when he is to go into the inner court.

²²Neither shall they take to wife a widow, nor one that is divorced, but they shall take virgins of the seed of the house of Israel: but they may take a widow also, that is, the widow of a priest.

²³And they shall teach my people the difference between holy and profane, and shew them how to discern between clean and unclean.

²⁴And when there shall be a controversy, they shall stand in my judgments, and shall judge: they shall keep my laws, and my ordinances in all my solemnities, and sanctify my sabbaths.

²⁵And they shall come near no dead person, lest they be defiled, only their father and mother, and son and daughter, and brother and sister, that hath not had another husband: for whom they may become unclean.

²⁶And after one is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days.

²⁷And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, to the inner court, to minister unto me in the sanctuary, he shall offer for his sin, saith the Lord God.

²⁸And they shall have no inheritance, I am their inheritance: neither shall you give them any possession in Israel, for I am their possession.

²⁹They shall eat the victim both for sin and for trespass: and every vowed thing in Israel shall be theirs.

³⁰And the firstfruits of all the firstborn, and all the libations of all things that are offered, shall be the priest's: and you shall give the firstfruits of your meats to the priest, that he may return a blessing upon thy house.

³¹The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself or caught by a beast, whether it be fowl or cattle.