Gate for the Prince
44 Then He brought me back by the way of the (A)outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces the east; and it was shut. 2 The Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the (B)Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. 3 As for the (C)prince, he shall sit in it as prince to (D)eat bread before the Lord; he shall (E)enter by way of the (F)porch of the gate and shall go out [a]by the same way.”
4 Then He brought me by way of the (G)north gate to the front of the house; and I looked, and behold, the (H)glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord, and I (I)fell on my face. 5 The Lord said to me, “Son of man, [b](J)mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears all that I say to you concerning all the (K)statutes of the house of the Lord and concerning all its laws; and [c]mark well the entrance of the house, with all exits of the sanctuary. 6 You shall say to the [d](L)rebellious ones, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord [e]God, “(M)Enough of all your abominations, O house of Israel, 7 when you brought in (N)foreigners, (O)uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to profane it, even My house, when you (P)offered My food, the fat and the blood; for they (Q)made My covenant void—this in addition to all your abominations. 8 And you have not (R)kept charge of My holy things yourselves, but you have set foreigners [f]to keep charge of My sanctuary.”
9 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “(S)No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the sons of Israel, shall enter My sanctuary. 10 But the Levites who went far from Me when Israel went astray, who (T)went astray from Me after their idols, shall (U)bear the punishment for their iniquity. 11 Yet they shall be (V)ministers in My sanctuary, having (W)oversight at the gates of the house and (X)ministering in the house; they shall (Y)slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall (Z)stand before them to minister to them. 12 Because they ministered to them (AA)before their idols and became a (AB)stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have [g](AC)sworn against them,” declares the Lord God, “that they shall (AD)bear the punishment for their iniquity. 13 And they shall (AE)not come near to Me to serve as a priest to Me, nor come near to any of My holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they will (AF)bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. 14 Yet I will [h]appoint them [i]to (AG)keep charge of the house, of all its service and of all that shall be done in it.
Ordinances for the Levites
15 “But the (AH)Levitical priests, the sons of (AI)Zadok, who (AJ)kept charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel (AK)went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me; and they shall (AL)stand before Me to offer Me the (AM)fat and the blood,” declares the Lord God. 16 “They shall (AN)enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My (AO)table to minister to Me and keep My charge. 17 It shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with (AP)linen garments; and wool shall not [j]be on them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner court and in the house. 18 Linen (AQ)turbans shall be on their heads and (AR)linen undergarments shall be on their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything which makes them sweat. 19 When they go out into the outer court, into the outer court to the people, they shall (AS)put off their garments in which they have been ministering and lay them in the holy chambers; then they shall put on other garments so that they will (AT)not transmit holiness to the people with their garments. 20 Also they shall (AU)not shave their heads, yet they shall not (AV)let their locks [k]grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads. 21 (AW)Nor shall any of the priests drink wine when they enter the inner court. 22 And they shall not [l]marry a widow or a (AX)divorced woman but shall (AY)take virgins from the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23 Moreover, they shall teach My people the (AZ)difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. 24 In a dispute (BA)they shall take their stand to judge; they shall judge it according to My ordinances. They shall also keep My laws and My statutes in all My (BB)appointed feasts and (BC)sanctify My sabbaths. 25 [m](BD)They shall not go to a dead person to defile themselves; however, for father, for mother, for son, for daughter, for brother, or for a sister who has not had a husband, they may defile themselves. 26 After he is (BE)cleansed, seven days shall [n]elapse for him. 27 On the day that he goes into the sanctuary, into the (BF)inner court to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his (BG)sin offering,” declares the Lord God.
28 “And it shall be with regard to an inheritance for them, that (BH)I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no possession in Israel—I am their possession. 29 They shall (BI)eat the grain offering, the sin offering and the guilt offering; and every [o](BJ)devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30 The first of all the (BK)first fruits of every kind and every [p]contribution of every kind, from all your [q]contributions, shall be for the priests; you shall also give to the priest the (BL)first of your [r]dough to cause a (BM)blessing to rest on your house. 31 The priests shall not eat any bird or beast that has (BN)died a natural death or has been torn to pieces.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 44:3 Lit by his way
- Ezekiel 44:5 Lit set your heart on
- Ezekiel 44:5 Lit set your heart on
- Ezekiel 44:6 Lit rebellion
- Ezekiel 44:6 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
- Ezekiel 44:8 Lit as keepers of My charge in My
- Ezekiel 44:12 Lit lifted up My hand
- Ezekiel 44:14 Lit give
- Ezekiel 44:14 Lit keepers of the charge
- Ezekiel 44:17 Lit come upon
- Ezekiel 44:20 Or hang loose
- Ezekiel 44:22 Lit take as wives for themselves
- Ezekiel 44:25 Lit He
- Ezekiel 44:26 Lit be counted
- Ezekiel 44:29 Or dedicated
- Ezekiel 44:30 Or heave offering(s)
- Ezekiel 44:30 Or heave offering(s)
- Ezekiel 44:30 Or coarse meal
Cross references
- Ezekiel 44:1 : Ezek 40:6, 17; 42:14
- Ezekiel 44:2 : Ezek 43:2-4
- Ezekiel 44:3 : Ezek 34:24; 37:25
- Ezekiel 44:3 : Gen 31:54; Ex 24:9-11
- Ezekiel 44:3 : Ezek 46:2, 8-10
- Ezekiel 44:3 : Ezek 40:9
- Ezekiel 44:4 : Ezek 40:20, 40
- Ezekiel 44:4 : Is 6:3, 4; Ezek 1:28; 3:23; 43:4, 5; Hag 2:7
- Ezekiel 44:4 : Ezek 1:28; 43:3
- Ezekiel 44:5 : Deut 32:46; Ezek 40:4
- Ezekiel 44:5 : Deut 12:32; Ezek 43:10, 11
- Ezekiel 44:6 : Ezek 2:5-7; 3:9
- Ezekiel 44:6 : Ezek 45:9; 1 Pet 4:3
- Ezekiel 44:7 : Ex 12:43-49
- Ezekiel 44:7 : Lev 26:41; Deut 10:16; Jer 4:4; 9:26
- Ezekiel 44:7 : Lev 22:25
- Ezekiel 44:7 : Gen 17:14
- Ezekiel 44:8 : Lev 22:2; Num 18:7
- Ezekiel 44:9 : Ezek 44:7; Joel 3:17; Zech 14:21
- Ezekiel 44:10 : 2 Kin 23:8, 9; Ezek 22:26; 44:12
- Ezekiel 44:10 : Num 18:23
- Ezekiel 44:11 : Num 3:5-37; 4:1-33; 18:2-7
- Ezekiel 44:11 : 1 Chr 26:1-19
- Ezekiel 44:11 : Ezek 40:45; 44:14
- Ezekiel 44:11 : 2 Chr 29:34; 30:17
- Ezekiel 44:11 : Num 16:9
- Ezekiel 44:12 : 2 Kin 16:10-16
- Ezekiel 44:12 : Ezek 14:3, 4
- Ezekiel 44:12 : Ezek 20:15, 23
- Ezekiel 44:12 : Ezek 44:10
- Ezekiel 44:13 : Num 18:3
- Ezekiel 44:13 : Ezek 16:61, 63; 39:26
- Ezekiel 44:14 : Num 18:4; 1 Chr 23:28-32; Ezek 44:11
- Ezekiel 44:15 : Jer 33:18-22
- Ezekiel 44:15 : Ezek 40:46; 43:19; 48:11
- Ezekiel 44:15 : Num 18:7; Ezek 40:45
- Ezekiel 44:15 : Ezek 44:10; 48:11
- Ezekiel 44:15 : Zech 3:1, 7
- Ezekiel 44:15 : Lev 3:16, 17; 17:5, 6; Ezek 44:7
- Ezekiel 44:16 : Num 18:5, 7, 8
- Ezekiel 44:16 : Ezek 41:22; Mal 1:7, 12
- Ezekiel 44:17 : Ex 28:42, 43; 39:27-29; Rev 19:8
- Ezekiel 44:18 : Ex 28:40; Is 3:20; Ezek 24:17, 23
- Ezekiel 44:18 : Ex 28:42; Lev 16:4
- Ezekiel 44:19 : Lev 6:10; 16:4, 23, 24; Ezek 42:14
- Ezekiel 44:19 : Lev 6:27; Ezek 46:20
- Ezekiel 44:20 : Lev 21:5
- Ezekiel 44:20 : Num 6:5
- Ezekiel 44:21 : Lev 10:9
- Ezekiel 44:22 : Lev 21:7, 14
- Ezekiel 44:22 : Lev 21:13
- Ezekiel 44:23 : Lev 10:10; Ezek 22:26; Hos 4:6; Mic 3:9-11; Zeph 3:4; Hag 2:11-13; Mal 2:6-8
- Ezekiel 44:24 : Deut 17:8, 9; 19:17; 21:5; 1 Chr 23:4; 2 Chr 19:8-10
- Ezekiel 44:24 : Lev 23:2, 4, 44
- Ezekiel 44:24 : Ezek 20:12, 20
- Ezekiel 44:25 : Lev 21:1-4
- Ezekiel 44:26 : Num 19:13-19
- Ezekiel 44:27 : Ezek 44:17
- Ezekiel 44:27 : Lev 5:3, 6; Num 6:9-11
- Ezekiel 44:28 : Num 18:20; Deut 10:9; 18:1, 2; Josh 13:33
- Ezekiel 44:29 : Num 18:9, 14; Josh 13:14
- Ezekiel 44:29 : Lev 27:21, 28; Num 18:14
- Ezekiel 44:30 : Num 18:12, 13; 2 Chr 31:4-6, 10; Neh 10:35-37
- Ezekiel 44:30 : Num 15:20, 21
- Ezekiel 44:30 : Mal 3:10
- Ezekiel 44:31 : Lev 22:8; Deut 14:21; Ezek 4:14