1Derefter førte manden mig tilbage til den ydre østport, men den var nu lukket.2„Denne port skal forblive lukket,” sagde Herren. „Intet menneske må gå igennem den, for Herren, Israels Gud, kom ind gennem denne port, og derfor skal den fra nu af være lukket.3Kun folkets leder[1] må sidde inden for denne port og spise brød for Herrens ansigt. Han må dog ikke gå igennem døren i porten, men skal gå ind og ud gennem forhallen i portkomplekset.”
Templets og præsternes hellighed
4Så førte manden mig gennem nordporten ind i den indre forgård og hen foran templet. Jeg så, at Herrens herlighed fyldte templet, og jeg kastede mig ned med ansigtet mod jorden i tilbedelse.5„Du menneske,” sagde Herren. „Hold øjne og ører åbne og læg nøje mærke til alt, hvad jeg siger om alle lovene og forskrifterne for templet. Jeg vil fortælle dig, hvem der må få adgang til templet.6Sig så til mit oprørske folk: Hør, hvad Herren siger, Israel! Nu er det nok med jeres afskyelige handlinger.7I lod uomskårne og vantro fremmede komme ind og vanhellige min helligdom, alt imens I tilberedte min mad, mit fedt og mit blod. I har brudt min pagt ved alle jeres afskyelige handlinger.8I har ikke overholdt de love, jeg gav jer angående de hellige offergaver, for I har ansat fremmede folk til at udføre tempeltjenesten.9Men jeg, Herren, siger jer: Intet uomskåret og vantro menneske må gå ind i min helligdom. Det gælder alle de fremmede, som bor iblandt jer.10Levitterne, der vendte sig fra mig, da Israels folk begyndte at dyrke afguder, skal straffes for deres utroskab.11De kan få lov at være tempelvagter og portnere, og de kan få lov at hjælpe folk med at slagte offerdyrene.12Men fordi de hjalp med at slagte offerdyr til afguderne og var med til at føre mit folk på afveje, så sværger jeg på, at de skal få deres straf.13De får ikke lov at fungere som præster, og de får heller ikke lov til at røre ved nogen af de hellige ting. De må bære skammen for den synd, de har begået.14De må nøjes med at udføre de praktiske opgaver i templet.15Men de levitter af Zadoks slægt, som trofast fortsatte deres tjeneste i mit tempel, selv om resten af folket vendte sig til afguderne, de skal være mine præster. De skal stå for mit ansigt og ofre fedtet og blodet fra offerdyrene, siger Gud Herren.16De skal have fri adgang til min helligdom og træde hen til alteret for at tjene mig. Ja, de skal sørge for, at alle forskrifterne nøje overholdes.17De må ikke gå i tøj af uld, men skal være iført linnedklæder, når de opholder sig i templet eller den indre forgård.18Også deres turbaner og deres undertøj skal være af linned, for de må ikke have noget tøj på, som får dem til at svede.19Før de vender tilbage til den ydre forgård og blander sig med den menige befolkning, skal de skifte til deres eget tøj og efterlade de indviede klæder i de hellige værelser, for ingen almindelige mennesker har lov til at røre de hellige klæder.20De må hverken lade deres hår vokse langt eller rage det af, men de skal sørge for jævnligt at blive klippet.21Ingen præst må drikke vin, lige før han skal gøre tjeneste i helligdommen,22og han må kun gifte sig med en israelitisk jomfru eller en præsteenke. Han må ikke gifte sig med en fraskilt eller en almindelig enke.23Præsterne skal lære mit folk, hvad der er helligt, og hvad der ikke er helligt, hvad der er rent, og hvad der er urent.24Præsterne skal varetage opgaven som dommere i retssager blandt mit folk, og de skal træffe afgørelser baseret på min lov. De skal adlyde mine love og forskrifter for de religiøse højtider og sørge for, at sabbatsdagen holdes hellig.25En præst må ikke gøre sig uren ved at komme i nærheden af et lig, medmindre det drejer sig om hans far eller mor, en søn eller datter, en bror eller en ugift søster.26Er han blevet uren, skal han gennemgå renselsesceremonien, og derefter skal der gå yderlige syv dage, før han kan betragtes som ren igen.27Den dag, han vender tilbage til tempeltjenesten i den indre forgård og i helligdommen, skal han bringe et syndoffer, siger Gud Herren.28Præsterne får ikke tildelt nogen jord eller ejendom i Israel, for jeg vil selv sørge for deres behov. De skal være helt afhængige af mig.29Præsterne skal leve af de offergaver, som folket bringer til templet: afgrødeofrene, syndofrene og skyldofrene.30Den første del af afgrøden og alle de ofre og afgifter, som tilhører mig, skal gå til præsterne. Også det første groftmalede mel af kornhøsten skal I give til præsterne, så jeg kan velsigne jeres hjem.31Præsterne må ikke spise kød af selvdøde dyr eller af fugle eller dyr, der er blevet dræbt af andre dyr.”
1Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east. And it was shut. (Ez 43,1; Ez 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. (Ez 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.” (1.Mos 31,54; Ez 34,24; Ez 37,25; Ez 45,7; Ez 46,2; Ez 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. (Ez 1,28; Ez 40,20; Ez 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. (Ez 2,1; Ez 40,4; Ez 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, (Ez 2,3; Ez 40,4; Ez 45,9; 1.Pet 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. (Neh 7,64; Jer 9,26; Ez 23,39; Ez 44,9; Ap G 7,51; Ap G 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. (Ez 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. (Ez 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] (Ez 4,4; Ez 44,15; Ez 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. (4.Mos 16,9; 1.Krøn 26,1; Ez 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. (Salm 106,26; Ez 7,19; Ez 14,3; Ez 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. (4.Mos 18,3; 2.Kong 23,9; Ez 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. (1.Krøn 23,28; 1.Krøn 23,32; Ez 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. (5.Mos 10,8; Ez 43,19; Ez 44,7; Ez 44,10; Ez 44,11; Ez 44,14)16They shall enter my sanctuary, and they shall approach my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge. (Ez 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. (2.Mos 28,39; 2.Mos 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. (2.Mos 29,37; 2.Mos 30,29; 3.Mos 6,11; 3.Mos 6,27; Ez 42,14; Ez 46,20)20They shall not shave their heads or let their locks grow long; they shall surely trim the hair of their heads. (3.Mos 21,5; 4.Mos 6,5; Ez 5,1)21No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court. (3.Mos 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. (3.Mos 21,7; 3.Mos 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. (3.Mos 10,10; Ez 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. (5.Mos 17,8; 2.Krøn 19,8; Ez 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. (3.Mos 21,1)26After he[4] has become clean, they shall count seven days for him. (4.Mos 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. (3.Mos 4,2; Ez 40,39; Ez 42,13; Ez 44,17; Ez 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. (4.Mos 18,20; Ez 45,4)29They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. (3.Mos 6,14; 3.Mos 6,25; 3.Mos 7,1; 3.Mos 27,21; 3.Mos 27,28; 4.Mos 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. (2.Mos 23,19; 4.Mos 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. (2.Mos 22,31; 3.Mos 7,24; 3.Mos 22,8; Ez 4,14)