1Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut.2Then 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.3It 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.4Then 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.5And 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.6And 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,7In 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.8And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.9Thus 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.10And 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.11Yet 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.12Because 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.13And 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.14But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.15But 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:16They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.17And 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.18They 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.19And 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.20Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads.21Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court.22Neither 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.23And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.24And 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.25And 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.26And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days.27And 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.28And 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.29They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs.30And the first of all the firstfruits of all things , and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest': ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house.31The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.
Ezekiel 44
English Standard Version
The Gate for the Prince
1Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east. And it was shut. (Eze 43:1; Eze 43:5)2And the Lord 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. (Eze 43:4)3Only 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.” (Ge 31:54; Eze 34:24; Eze 37:25; Eze 45:7; Eze 46:2; Eze 46:12)4Then 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 on my face. (Eze 1:28; Eze 40:20; Eze 43:5)5And 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 statutes of the temple of the Lord and all its laws. And mark well the entrance to the temple and all the exits from the sanctuary. (Eze 2:1; Eze 40:4; Eze 43:11)6And say to the rebellious house,[1] to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: O house of Israel, enough of all your abominations, (Eze 2:3; Eze 40:4; Eze 45:9; 1Pe 4:3)7in admitting foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to be in my sanctuary, profaning my temple, when you offer to me my food, the fat and the blood. You[2] have broken my covenant, in addition to all your abominations. (Ne 7:64; Jer 9:26; Eze 23:39; Eze 44:9; Ac 7:51; Ac 21:28)8And you have not kept charge of my holy things, but you have set others to keep my charge for you in my sanctuary. (Eze 22:26)9“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. (Eze 44:7)10But the Levites who went far from me, going astray from me after their idols when Israel went astray, shall bear their punishment.[3] (Eze 4:4; Eze 44:15; Eze 48:11)11They shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the temple and ministering in the temple. They shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before the people, to minister to them. (Nu 16:9; 1Ch 26:1; Eze 46:24)12Because 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, declares the Lord God, and they shall bear their punishment. (Ps 106:26; Eze 7:19; Eze 14:3; Eze 14:7; Mal 2:8)13They 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 they shall bear their shame and the abominations that they have committed. (Nu 18:3; 2Ki 23:9; Eze 32:24)14Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the temple, to do all its service and all that is to be done in it. (1Ch 23:28; 1Ch 23:32; Eze 40:45)
Rules for Levitical Priests
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 stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the Lord God. (De 10:8; Eze 43:19; Eze 44:7; Eze 44:10; Eze 44:11; Eze 44:14)16They shall enter my sanctuary, and they shall approach my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge. (Eze 41:22)17When 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. (Ex 28:39; Ex 39:27)18They shall have linen turbans on their heads, and linen undergarments around their waists. They shall not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat.19And 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 transmit holiness to the people with their garments. (Ex 29:37; Ex 30:29; Le 6:11; Le 6:27; Eze 42:14; Eze 46:20)20They shall not shave their heads or let their locks grow long; they shall surely trim the hair of their heads. (Le 21:5; Nu 6:5; Eze 5:1)21No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court. (Le 10:9)22They 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. (Le 21:7; Le 21:13)23They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. (Le 10:10; Eze 22:26)24In 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 they shall keep my Sabbaths holy. (De 17:8; 2Ch 19:8; Eze 22:26)25They 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. (Le 21:1)26After he[4] has become clean, they shall count seven days for him. (Nu 19:11)27And 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, declares the Lord God. (Le 4:2; Eze 40:39; Eze 42:13; Eze 44:17; Eze 44:21)28“This shall be their inheritance: I am their inheritance: and you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession. (Nu 18:20; Eze 45:4)29They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. (Le 6:14; Le 6:25; Le 7:1; Le 27:21; Le 27:28; Nu 18:14)30And the first of all the firstfruits 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 dough, that a blessing may rest on your house. (Ex 23:19; Nu 15:20; Mal 3:10)31The priests shall not eat of anything, whether bird or beast, that has died of itself or is torn by wild animals. (Ex 22:31; Le 7:24; Le 22:8; Eze 4:14)