Ezekiel 44 - New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Gate for the Prince

44 Then He brought me back by way of the ^(A)outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east; and it was shut. ² And 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 And the Lord said to me, “Son of man, ^[b](J)pay attention, see with your eyes and hear with your ears everything that I say to you concerning all the ^(K)statutes of the house of the Lord and all its laws; and ^[c]pay attention to the entrance of the house, with all the exits of the sanctuary. ⁶ You shall say to the ^[d](L)rebellious ones, to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord ^[e]God says: “^(M)Enough of all your abominations, 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, My house, when you ^(P)offered My food, the fat, and the blood and they ^(Q)broke My covenant—this in addition to all your abominations. ⁸ And you have not ^[f](R)taken responsibility for My holy things yourselves, but you have appointed foreigners ^[g]to take responsibility for My sanctuary.”

⁹ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “^(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 ^[h]following their idols, shall ^(U)suffer the punishment for their wrongdoing. 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 Since they ministered to them ^(AA)before their idols and became a ^(AB)stumbling block of wrongdoing to the house of Israel, for that reason I have ^[i](AC)sworn against them,” declares the Lord God, “that they shall ^(AD)suffer the punishment for their wrongdoing. ¹³ And they shall ^(AE)not approach Me to serve as priests for Me, nor approach 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 Nevertheless I will ^[j]appoint them ^[k]to ^(AG)take responsibility for the house, of all its service and of everything that shall be done in it.

Ordinances for the Levites

¹⁵ “But the ^(AH)Levitical priests, the sons of ^(AI)Zadok, who ^[l](AJ)took responsibility for My sanctuary when the sons of Israel ^(AK)went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to serve 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 serve Me and ^[m]assume the responsibility I give them. ¹⁷ And it shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner courtyard, they shall be clothed with ^(AP)linen garments; and wool shall not ^[n]be worn by them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner courtyard or in the house. ¹⁸ Linen ^(AQ)turbans shall be on their heads and ^(AR)linen undergarments shall be around their waists; they shall not put on anything that makes them sweat. ¹⁹ And when they go out into the outer courtyard, into the outer courtyard to the people, they shall ^(AS)take 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 transfer holiness to the people with their garments. ²⁰ Also they shall ^(AU)not shave their heads, yet they shall not ^(AV)let their locks ^[o]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 courtyard. ²² And they shall not ^[p]marry a widow or a ^(AX)divorced woman, but shall ^(AY)take virgins from the descendants 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 ^[q]common, and teach them to distinguish 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 [r](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 And after he is ^(BE)cleansed, seven days ^[s]shall elapse for him. ²⁷ On the day that he goes into the sanctuary, to the ^(BF)inner courtyard to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his ^(BG)sin offering,” declares the Lord God.

²⁸ “And it shall be regarding an inheritance for them, that ^(BH)I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no property in Israel—I am their property. ²⁹ They shall ^(BI)eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; and everything ^(BJ)banned from secular use in Israel shall be theirs. ³⁰ And the first of all the ^(BK)first fruits of every kind and every ^[t]contribution of every kind, from all your ^[u]contributions, shall be for the priests; you shall also give to the priest the ^(BL)first of your ^[v]dough, to make a ^(BM)blessing rest on your house. ³¹ The priests shall not eat any bird or animal that has ^(BN)died a natural death or has been torn to pieces by animals.

Footnotes

1. Ezekiel 44:3 Lit its way
2. Ezekiel 44:5 Lit set your heart
3. Ezekiel 44:5 Lit set your heart
4. Ezekiel 44:6 Lit rebellion
5. Ezekiel 44:6 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
6. Ezekiel 44:8 Lit kept charge of
7. Ezekiel 44:8 Lit as keepers of duty to Me in My
8. Ezekiel 44:10 Lit after
9. Ezekiel 44:12 Lit lifted up My hand
10. Ezekiel 44:14 Lit give
11. Ezekiel 44:14 Lit keepers of the charge of
12. Ezekiel 44:15 Lit kept charge of
13. Ezekiel 44:16 Lit keep the duty to Me
14. Ezekiel 44:17 Lit go up on
15. Ezekiel 44:20 Or hang loose
16. Ezekiel 44:22 Lit take as wives for themselves
17. Ezekiel 44:23 Lit profane
18. Ezekiel 44:25 Lit He
19. Ezekiel 44:26 Lit they shall count
20. Ezekiel 44:30 Or uplifted offering(s)
21. Ezekiel 44:30 Or uplifted offering(s)
22. Ezekiel 44:30 Or coarse meal

Cross references

1. Ezekiel 44:1 : Ezek 40:6, 17; 42:14
2. Ezekiel 44:2 : Ezek 43:2-4
3. Ezekiel 44:3 : Ezek 34:24; 37:25
4. Ezekiel 44:3 : Gen 31:54; Ex 24:9-11
5. Ezekiel 44:3 : Ezek 46:2, 8-10
6. Ezekiel 44:3 : Ezek 40:9
7. Ezekiel 44:4 : Ezek 40:20, 40
8. Ezekiel 44:4 : Is 6:3, 4; Ezek 1:28; 3:23; 43:4, 5; Hag 2:7
9. Ezekiel 44:4 : Ezek 1:28; 43:3
10. Ezekiel 44:5 : Deut 32:46; Ezek 40:4
11. Ezekiel 44:5 : Deut 12:32; Ezek 43:10, 11
12. Ezekiel 44:6 : Ezek 2:5-7; 3:9
13. Ezekiel 44:6 : Ezek 45:9; 1 Pet 4:3
14. Ezekiel 44:7 : Ex 12:43-49
15. Ezekiel 44:7 : Lev 26:41; Deut 10:16; Jer 4:4; 9:26
16. Ezekiel 44:7 : Lev 22:25
17. Ezekiel 44:7 : Gen 17:14
18. Ezekiel 44:8 : Lev 22:2; Num 18:7
19. Ezekiel 44:9 : Ezek 44:7; Joel 3:17; Zech 14:21
20. Ezekiel 44:10 : 2 Kin 23:8, 9; Ezek 22:26; 44:12
21. Ezekiel 44:10 : Num 18:23
22. Ezekiel 44:11 : Num 3:5-37; 4:1-33; 18:2-7
23. Ezekiel 44:11 : 1 Chr 26:1-19
24. Ezekiel 44:11 : Ezek 40:45; 44:14
25. Ezekiel 44:11 : 2 Chr 29:34; 30:17
26. Ezekiel 44:11 : Num 16:9
27. Ezekiel 44:12 : 2 Kin 16:10-16
28. Ezekiel 44:12 : Ezek 14:3, 4
29. Ezekiel 44:12 : Ezek 20:15, 23
30. Ezekiel 44:12 : Ezek 44:10
31. Ezekiel 44:13 : Num 18:3
32. Ezekiel 44:13 : Ezek 16:61, 63; 39:26
33. Ezekiel 44:14 : Num 18:4; 1 Chr 23:28-32; Ezek 44:11
34. Ezekiel 44:15 : Jer 33:18-22
35. Ezekiel 44:15 : Ezek 40:46; 43:19; 48:11
36. Ezekiel 44:15 : Num 18:7; Ezek 40:45
37. Ezekiel 44:15 : Ezek 44:10; 48:11
38. Ezekiel 44:15 : Zech 3:1, 7
39. Ezekiel 44:15 : Lev 3:16, 17; 17:5, 6; Ezek 44:7
40. Ezekiel 44:16 : Num 18:5, 7, 8
41. Ezekiel 44:16 : Ezek 41:22; Mal 1:7, 12
42. Ezekiel 44:17 : Ex 28:42, 43; 39:27-29; Rev 19:8
43. Ezekiel 44:18 : Ex 28:40; Is 3:20; Ezek 24:17, 23
44. Ezekiel 44:18 : Ex 28:42; Lev 16:4
45. Ezekiel 44:19 : Lev 6:10; 16:4, 23, 24; Ezek 42:14
46. Ezekiel 44:19 : Lev 6:27; Ezek 46:20
47. Ezekiel 44:20 : Lev 21:5
48. Ezekiel 44:20 : Num 6:5
49. Ezekiel 44:21 : Lev 10:9
50. Ezekiel 44:22 : Lev 21:7, 14
51. Ezekiel 44:22 : Lev 21:13
52. 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
53. Ezekiel 44:24 : Deut 17:8, 9; 19:17; 21:5; 1 Chr 23:4; 2 Chr 19:8-10
54. Ezekiel 44:24 : Lev 23:2, 4, 44
55. Ezekiel 44:24 : Ezek 20:12, 20
56. Ezekiel 44:25 : Lev 21:1-4
57. Ezekiel 44:26 : Num 19:13-19
58. Ezekiel 44:27 : Ezek 44:17
59. Ezekiel 44:27 : Lev 5:3, 6; Num 6:9-11
60. Ezekiel 44:28 : Num 18:20; Deut 10:9; 18:1, 2; Josh 13:33
61. Ezekiel 44:29 : Num 18:9, 14; Josh 13:14
62. Ezekiel 44:29 : Lev 27:21, 28; Num 18:14
63. Ezekiel 44:30 : Num 18:12, 13; 2 Chr 31:4-6, 10; Neh 10:35-37
64. Ezekiel 44:30 : Num 15:20, 21
65. Ezekiel 44:30 : Mal 3:10
66. Ezekiel 44:31 : Lev 22:8; Deut 14:21; Ezek 4:14