Ezekiel 44

The Prince’s Privilege

1The man then brought me back toward the sanctuary’s outer gate that faced east, and it was closed. 2The Lord said to me: “This gate will remain closed. It will not be opened, and no one will enter through it, because the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through it. # Ezk 43:2-4 Therefore it will remain closed. 3The prince himself will sit in the gateway to eat a meal before the Lord. # Gn 31:54; Ex 24:9-11 He must enter by way of the portico # Ezk 46:2,8-10 of the gate and go out the same way.”

4Then the man brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked, and the glory of the Lord filled His temple. # Is 6:3; Ezk 3:23; 43:5 And I fell facedown. # Ezk 1:28; 43:3 5The Lord said to me: “Son of man, pay attention; # Dt 32:46; Ezk 40:4 look with your eyes and listen with your ears to everything I tell you about all the statutes and laws of the Lord’s temple. # Dt 12:32; Ezk 43:10-11 Take careful note of the entrance of the temple along with all the exits of the sanctuary.

The Levites’ Duties and Privileges

6“Say to the rebellious people, # Ezk 2:5-7; 3:9 the house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: I have had enough # Ezk 45:9; 1Pt 4:3 of all your detestable practices, house of Israel. 7When you brought in foreigners, # Lv 22:25 uncircumcised in both heart and flesh, # Lv 26:41; Dt 10:16; Jr 4:4; 9:26 to occupy My sanctuary, you defiled My temple while you offered My food — the fat and the blood. You # LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads They broke My covenant by all your detestable practices. 8You have not kept charge of My holy things # Lv 22:2; Nm 18:7 but have appointed others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you.

9“This is what the Lord God says: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, may enter My sanctuary, not even a foreigner who is among the Israelites. 10Surely the Levites who wandered away from Me when Israel went astray, and who strayed from Me after their idols, # 2Kg 23:8-9 will bear the consequences of their sin. # Nm 18:23 11Yet they will occupy My sanctuary, serving as guards at the temple gates # 1Ch 26:1-19 and ministering at the temple. They will slaughter the burnt offerings # 2Ch 29:34; 30:17 and other sacrifices for the people and will stand before them to serve them. # Nm 16:9 12Because they ministered to the house of Israel before their idols and became a sinful stumbling block to them, therefore I swore an oath # Lit I lifted My hand against them” # Ps 106:26 — this is the declaration of the Lord God — “that they would bear the consequences of their sin. 13They must not approach Me to serve Me as priests # 2Kg 23:9 or come near any of My holy things or the most holy things. They will bear their disgrace and the consequences of the detestable acts they committed. 14Yet I will make them responsible for the duties of the temple # Nm 18:4; 1Ch 23:28-32 — for all its work and everything done in it.

The Priests’ Duties and Privileges

15“But the Levitical priests descended from Zadok, # Ezk 40:46 who kept charge of My sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from Me, will approach Me to serve Me. They will stand before Me to offer Me fat and blood.” This is the declaration of the Lord God. 16“They are the ones who may enter My sanctuary # Nm 18:5,7-8 and draw near to My table to serve Me. # Ezk 41:22 They will keep My mandate. 17When they enter the gates of the inner court they must wear linen garments; # Ex 28:42-43; 39:27-29 they must not have on them anything made of wool when they minister at the gates of the inner court and within it. 18They must wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists. # Ex 28:40 They are not to put on anything that makes them sweat. 19Before they go out to the outer court, # Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Vg; other Hb mss read court, to the outer court to the people, they must take off the clothes they have been ministering in, leave them in the holy chambers, and dress in other clothes # Ezk 42:14 so that they do not transmit holiness to the people through their clothes. # Lv 6:27

20“They may not shave their heads # Lv 21:5 or let their hair grow long, # Nm 6:5 but must carefully trim their hair. 21No priest may drink wine before he enters the inner court. # Lv 10:9 22He is not to marry a widow or a divorced woman, but must marry a virgin from the offspring of the house of Israel, # Lv 21:7,13-14 or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23They must teach My people the difference between the holy and the common, and explain to them the difference between the clean and the unclean. # Lv 10:10; Ezk 22:26

24“In a dispute, they will officiate as judges and decide the case according to My ordinances. # Dt 17:8-9; 2Ch 19:8 They must observe My laws and statutes regarding all My appointed festivals, and keep My Sabbaths holy. # Ezk 20:20; 22:26 25A priest may not come near a dead person so that he becomes defiled. # Lv 21:1-4 However, he may defile himself for a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, a brother, or an unmarried sister. 26After he is cleansed, he is to count off seven days for himself. # Nm 19:11-19 27On the day he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court # Lv 5:3,6 to minister in the sanctuary, he must present his sin offering.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

28“This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance. # Nm 18:20; Dt 18:2; Jos 13:33 You are to give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession. 29They will eat the grain offering, the sin offering, # Nm 18:9,14; Jos 13:14 and the restitution offering. Everything in Israel that is permanently dedicated to the Lord will belong to them. # Lv 27:21,28 30The best of all the firstfruits of every kind and contribution of every kind from all your gifts will belong to the priests. # Nm 18:8-13; Neh 10:35-37 You are to give your first batch of dough to the priest # Nm 15:20-21 so that a blessing may rest on your homes. # Mal 3:10 31The priests may not eat any bird or animal that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts. # Lv 22:8

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Ezekiel 44: HCSB

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