Ezekiel 44 :: Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)

The Gate of the Prince

Then He brought^H7725 me back^H7725 by the way^H1870 of the outer^H2435 gate^H8179 of the sanctuary^H4720, which faces^H6437 the east^H6921; and it was shut^H5462.

Eze 44:2

Eze 44:2Yahweh said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for Yahweh, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut.

Eze 44:3

Eze 44:3“As for the prince, he shall sit in it as prince to eat bread before Yahweh; he shall enter by way of the porch of the gate and shall go out [fn]by the same way.”

Eze 44:4

Then He brought^H935 me by way^H1870 of the north^H6828 gate^H8179 to the front^H6440 of the house^H1004; and I looked^H7200, and behold^H2009, the glory^H3519 of Yahweh^H3068 filled^H4390 the house^H1004 of Yahweh^H3068, and I fell^H5307 on my face^H6440.

Eze 44:5

Eze 44:5Then Yahweh said to me, “Son of man, set your heart on and see with your eyes and hear with your ears all that I say to you concerning all the statutes of the house of Yahweh and concerning all its laws; and set your heart on the entrance of the house, with all exits of the sanctuary.

Eze 44:6

Eze 44:6“And you shall say to the [fn]rebellious ones, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Enough of all your abominations, O house of Israel,

Eze 44:7

Eze 44:7when you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to profane it, even My house, when you brought near My food, the fat and the blood. So they made My covenant void—this in addition to all your abominations.

Eze 44:8

Eze 44:8“And you have not kept the responsibility of My holy things yourselves, but you have set foreigners as keepers of the responsibility given by Me for My sanctuary.”

Eze 44:9

‘Thus^H3541 says^H559 Lord^H136 Yahweh^H3068, “No^H3605^H3808 foreigner^H1121^H5236, uncircumcised^H6189 in heart^H3820 and uncircumcised^H6189 in flesh^H1320, of all^H3605 the foreigners^H1121^H5236 who^H834 are among^H8432 the sons^H1121 of Israel^H3478, shall enter^H935 My sanctuary^H4720.

Eze 44:10

Eze 44:10“But the Levites who went far from Me when Israel went astray, who went astray from Me after their idols, shall bear the punishment for their iniquity.

Eze 44:11

Eze 44:11“Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the house and ministering in the house; they shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them.

Eze 44:12

Eze 44:12“Because they ministered to them before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have [fn]sworn against them,” declares Lord Yahweh, “that they shall bear the punishment for their iniquity.

Eze 44:13

Eze 44:13“And they shall not approach Me to minister as a priest to Me, nor approach any of My holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they will bear their dishonor and their abominations which they have done.

Eze 44:14

Eze 44:14“Yet I will [fn]appoint them as keepers of the responsibility for the house, of all its service and of all that shall be done in it.

The Levitical Responsibilities

Eze 44:15

“But the Levitical^H3881 priests^H3548, the sons^H1121 of Zadok^H6659, who^H834 kept^H8104 the responsibility^H4931 of My sanctuary^H4720 when the sons^H1121 of Israel^H3478 went^H8582 astray^H8582 from Me, shall come^H7126 near^H7126 to Me to minister^H8334 to Me; and they shall stand^H5975 before^H6440 Me to bring^H7126 near^H7126 to Me the fat^H2459 and the blood^H1818,” declares^H5002 Lord^H136 Yahweh^H3068.

Eze 44:16

Eze 44:16“They shall enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My table to minister to Me and keep the responsibility given by Me.

Eze 44:17

Eze 44:17“And it will be that when they enter at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and wool shall not [fn]be on them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner court and in the house.

Eze 44:18

Eze 44:18“Linen headdresses shall be on their heads, and linen undergarments shall be on their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything which makes them sweat.

Eze 44:19

Eze 44:19“And when they go out into the outer court, into the outer court to the people, they shall 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 not transmit holiness to the people with their garments.

Eze 44:20

Eze 44:20“Also they shall not shave their heads, yet they shall not let their locks [fn]grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads.

Eze 44:21

Eze 44:21“Nor shall any of the priests drink wine when they enter the inner court.

Eze 44:22

Eze 44:22“And they shall not [fn]take a widow or a divorced woman as a wife but shall take virgins from the seed of the house of Israel or a widow who is the widow of a priest.

Eze 44:23

Eze 44:23“Moreover, they shall instruct My people about the difference between the holy and the profane, and make them know the difference between the unclean and the clean.

Eze 44:24

Eze 44:24“And in a dispute, they shall take their stand to judge; they shall judge it according to My judgments. They shall also keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed times and keep My sabbaths holy.

Eze 44:25

Eze 44:25“But [fn]they shall not go to a dead person to make themselves unclean; however, for father, for mother, for son, for daughter, for brother, or for a sister who has not had a husband, they may make themselves unclean.

Eze 44:26

Eze 44:26“And after he is cleansed, seven days shall be counted for him.

Eze 44:27

Eze 44:27“And on the day that he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court to minister in the sanctuary, he shall bring near his sin offering,” declares Lord Yahweh.

Eze 44:28

“And it shall be with regard to an inheritance^H5159 for them, that I am their inheritance^H5159; and you shall give^H5414 them no^H3808 possession^H272 in Israel^H3478—I am their possession^H272.

Eze 44:29

Eze 44:29“They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; and every [fn]devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs.

Eze 44:30

Eze 44:30“And the first of all the first fruits of every kind and every [fn]contribution of every kind, from all your [fn]contributions, shall be for the priests; you shall also give to the priest the first of your [fn]dough to cause a blessing to rest on your house.

Eze 44:31