Ezekiel 44
The East Gate and the Prince
Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary awhich faces toward the east, but it was shut. 2 And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, abecause the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. 3 As for the aprince, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to beat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway, and go out the same way.”
Those Admitted to the Temple
4 Also He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple; so I looked, and abehold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord; band I fell on my face. 5 And the Lord said to me, a“Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears, all that I say to you concerning all the bordinances of the house of the Lord and all its laws. Mark well who may enter the house and all who go out from the sanctuary.
6 “Now say to the arebellious, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “O house of Israel, blet Us have no more of all your abominations. 7 aWhen you brought in bforeigners, cuncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to defile it—My house—and when you offered dMy food, ethe fat and the blood, then they broke My covenant because of all your abominations. 8 And you have not akept charge of My holy things, but you have set others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you.” 9 Thus says the Lord God: a“No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel.
Laws Governing Priests
10 a“And the Levites who went far from Me, when Israel went astray, who strayed away from Me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity. 11 Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, aas gatekeepers of the house and ministers of the house; bthey shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and cthey shall stand before them to minister to them. 12 Because they ministered to them before their idols and acaused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity, therefore I have braised My hand in an oath against them,” says the Lord God, “that they shall bear their iniquity. 13 aAnd they shall not come near Me to minister to Me as priest, nor come near any of My holy things, nor into the Most Holy Place; but they shall bbear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. 14 Nevertheless I will make them akeep charge of the temple, for all its work, and for all that has to be done in it.
15 a“But the priests, the Levites, bthe sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary cwhen the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me; and they dshall stand before Me to offer to Me the efat and the blood,” says the Lord God. 16 “They shall aenter My sanctuary, and they shall come near bMy table to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge. 17 And it shall be, whenever they enter the gates of the inner court, that athey shall put on linen garments; no wool shall come upon them while they minister within the gates of the inner court or within the house. 18 aThey shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen trousers on their bodies; they shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat. 19 When they go out to the outer court, to the outer court to the people, athey shall take off their garments in which they have ministered, leave them in the holy chambers, and put on other garments; and in their holy garments they shall bnot sanctify the people.
20 a“They shall neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow blong, but they shall keep their hair well trimmed. 21 aNo priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court. 22 They shall not take as wife a awidow or a divorced woman, but take virgins of the descendants of the house of Israel, or widows of priests.
23 “And athey shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to bdiscern between the unclean and the clean. 24 aIn controversy they shall stand as judges, and judge it according to My judgments. They shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed meetings, band they shall hallow My Sabbaths.
25 “They shall not defile themselves by coming near a dead person. Only for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister may they defile themselves. 26 aAfter he is cleansed, they shall count seven days for him. 27 And on the day that he goes to the sanctuary to minister in the sanctuary, ahe must offer his sin offering bin the inner court,” says the Lord God.
28 “It shall be, in regard to their inheritance, that I aam their inheritance. You shall give them no bpossession in Israel, for I am their possession. 29 aThey shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering; bevery dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30 The abest of all firstfruits of any kind, and every sacrifice of any kind from all your sacrifices, shall be the priest’s; also you bshall give to the priest the first of your ground meal, cto cause a blessing to rest on your house. 31 The priests shall not eat anything, bird or beast, that adied naturally or was torn by wild beasts.
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson.
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