44 He reproveth the people for their offense. 7 The uncircumcised in heart, and in the flesh. 9 Who are to be admitted to the service of the Temple, and who to be refused.
1 Then he brought me toward the gate of the outward Sanctuary, which turneth toward the East, and it was shut.
2 Then said the Lord unto me, This gate shall be [a]shut, and shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel hath entered by it, and it shall be shut.
3 It appertaineth to the Prince: the Prince himself 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.
4 ¶ Then brought he me toward the North gate before the house: and when I looked, behold, the glory of the Lord, filled the house of the Lord, and I fell upon my face.
5 And the Lord said unto me, Son of man, [b]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.
6 And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God, O house of Israel, ye have enough of all your abominations,
7 Seeing that ye have brought into my Sanctuary [c]strangers uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my Sanctuary, to pollute mine house, when ye offer my bread, even fat, and blood: and they have broken my covenant, because of all your abominations.
8 For ye have not kept the [d]ordinances of mine holy things: but you yourselves have set others to take the charge of my Sanctuary.
9 Thus 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,
10 Neither yet the [e]Levites that are gone back from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray from me after their idols, but they shall bear their iniquity.
11 And they shall serve in my Sanctuary, and keep the gates of the House, and minister in the House: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people: and they shall stand before them to serve them.
12 Because they served 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,
13 And they shall not come near unto me to do the office of the Priest unto me, neither shall they come near unto any of mine holy things in the most holy place, but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations, which they have committed.
14 And I will make them keepers of the watch of the House, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.
15 But the Priests of the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that [f]kept the charge of my Sanctuary, when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to serve me, and they shall stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God.
16 They shall enter into my Sanctuary, and shall come near to my table, to serve me, and they shall keep my charge.
17 And when they shall enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments, and no wool shall come upon them while they serve in the gates of the inner court, and within.
18 They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins: they shall not gird themselves in the sweating places.
19 But when they go forth into the utter court, even to 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: for they shall not sanctify the people with their garments.
20 They shall not also [g]shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long, but round their heads.
21 (A)Neither shall any Priests drink wine when they enter into the inner court.
22 Neither shall they take for their (B)wives a widow, or her that is divorced: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that hath been the widow of a Priest.
23 And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
24 And in controversy they shall stand to judge, 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 sanctify my Sabbaths.
25 (C)And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves, except at their father or mother, or son or daughter, brother or sister, that hath had yet none husband: in these may they [h]be defiled.
26 And when he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days.
27 And when he goeth into the Sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the Sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, saith the Lord God.
28 (D)And the Priesthood shall be their inheritance, yea, I am their inheritance: therefore shall ye give them no possession in Israel, for I am their possession.
29 They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering, and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs.
30 (E)And all the first of all the firstborn, and every oblation, even all of every sort of your oblations shall be the Priest’s. Ye shall also give unto the Priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house.
31 The Priests shall not eat of anything that is (F)dead, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 44:2 Meaning, from the common people, but not from the Priests, nor the Prince, read Ezek. 46:8,9.
- Ezekiel 44:5 Hebrew, set thine hearts.
- Ezekiel 44:7 For they had brought idolaters which were of other countries, to teach them their idolatry, Ezek. 23:40.
- Ezekiel 44:8 Ye have not offered unto me according to my Law.
- Ezekiel 44:10 The Levites which had committed idolatry, were put from their dignity and could not be received into the Priests’ office, although they had been of the house of Aaron, but must serve in the inferior offices, as to watch and to keep the doors, read 2 Kings 23:9.
- Ezekiel 44:15 Which observed the Law of God, and fell not to idolatry.
- Ezekiel 44:20 As did the infidels and heathen.
- Ezekiel 44:25 They may be at their burial, which was a defiling.