The Prince’s Offerings
46 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “The gate of the inner courtyard that faces east shall be shut during the six working days, but it shall be opened on the Sabbath day and opened on the day of the New Moon. 2 The prince shall enter by the porch (portico) of the gate from outside and stand by the post of the gate. The priests shall prepare and provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship [a]at the threshold of the gate and then go out; but the gate shall not be shut until evening. 3 The people of the land shall also worship at the entrance of that gate before the Lord on the Sabbaths and on the New Moons. 4 The burnt offering which the prince shall offer to the Lord on the Sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish. 5 The grain offering shall be an ephah with the ram, and the grain offering with the lambs as much as he is able to give, and a hin of oil with an ephah. 6 On the day of the New Moon he shall offer a young bull without blemish, also six lambs and a ram, without blemish. 7 And he shall provide a grain offering, an ephah with the bull and an ephah with the ram, and with the lambs as much as he is able, and a hin of oil with an ephah. 8 When the prince enters, he shall enter by way of the porch of the gate and go out by the same way. 9 But when the people of the land come before the Lord at the appointed feasts, he who enters by way of the north gate to worship shall go out by way of the south gate. And he who enters by way of the south gate shall go out by way of the north gate. No one shall return by way of the gate through which he entered, but shall go out straight ahead [through the opposite gate].(A) 10 When they go in, the prince shall go in among them; and when they go out, he shall go out.
11 “At the feasts and the appointed festivals the grain offering shall be an ephah with a bull and an ephah with a ram, and with the lambs [b]as much as one is able to give, and a hin of oil with an ephah. 12 When the prince provides a freewill offering, a burnt offering, or peace offerings voluntarily to the Lord, the gate that faces east shall be opened for him, and he shall provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he goes out the gate shall be shut.
13 “And you [priests] shall provide a lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord each day; morning by morning you shall provide it. 14 Also you shall provide a grain offering with it morning by morning, one-sixth of an ephah with one-third of a hin of oil to sprinkle on the finely-milled flour. This is a perpetual ordinance for a continual grain offering to the Lord. 15 Thus they shall provide the lamb, the grain offering and the oil every morning as a continual burnt offering.”
16 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “If the prince gives a gift to any of his sons from his inheritance, it shall belong to his sons [permanently]; it is their possession by inheritance. 17 But if he gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall be his until the year of liberty [the Year of Jubilee]; after that it shall be returned to the prince. His inheritance shall be only his sons’ [permanently]; it shall belong to them. 18 Moreover, the prince shall not take from the people’s inheritance by oppression and by evicting them from their property; he shall give his sons an inheritance from his own possession, so that My people will not be scattered, anyone from his possession.”’”
The Boiling Places
19 Then he [my guide] brought me through the entrance, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers for the priests, which faced the north; and behold, a place was there at their extreme westward end. 20 He said to me, “This is the place where the priests shall boil (cook) the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the grain offering, so that they do not bring them out into the outer courtyard to transmit holiness to the people.”
21 Then he brought me out into the outer courtyard and led me across to the four corners of the courtyard; and behold, in every corner of the courtyard there was a small courtyard. 22 In the four corners of the courtyard there were enclosed courtyards, forty cubits long and thirty wide; these four in the corners were the same size. 23 There was a row of masonry all around inside them, around [each of] the four courtyards, and it was made with cooking hearths under the rows all around. 24 Then he said to me, “These are the [c]kitchens of the cooks, where the ministers (Levites) of the temple shall boil (cook) the sacrifices of the people.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 46:2 Only the priests will be allowed in the inner courtyard.
- Ezekiel 46:11 Lit a gift of his hand.
- Ezekiel 46:24 Lit houses.