Parallel Bible results for "ezekiel 44"

Ezekiel 44

Revised Standard Version RSV

1 Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east; and it was shut.

2 And he said to me, "This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it; for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall remain shut.

3 Only the prince may sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go out by the same way."

4 Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple; and I looked, and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple of the LORD; and I fell upon my face.

5 And the LORD said to me, "Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I shall tell you concerning all the ordinances of the temple of the LORD and all its laws; and mark well those who may be admitted to the temple and all those who are to be excluded from the sanctuary.

6 And say to the rebellious house, to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: O house of Israel, let there be an end to all your abominations,

7 in admitting foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to be in my sanctuary, profaning it, when you offer to me my food, the fat and the blood. You have broken my covenant, in addition to all your abominations.

8 And you have not kept charge of my holy things; but you have set foreigners to keep my charge in my sanctuary.

9 "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, shall enter my sanctuary.

10 But the Levites who went far from me, going astray from me after their idols when Israel went astray, shall bear their punishment.

11 They shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the temple, and serving in the temple; they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall attend on the people, to serve them.

12 Because they ministered to them before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have sworn concerning them, says the Lord GOD, that they shall bear their punishment.

13 They shall not come near to me, to serve me as priest, nor come near any of my sacred things and the things that are most sacred; but they shall bear their shame, because of the abominations which they have committed.

14 Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the temple, to do all its service and all that is to be done in it.

15 "But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me to minister to me; and they shall attend on me to offer me the fat and the blood, says the Lord GOD;

16 they shall enter my sanctuary, and they shall approach my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge.

17 When they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall wear linen garments; they shall have nothing of wool on them, while they minister at the gates of the inner court, and within.

18 They shall have linen turbans upon their heads, and linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything that causes sweat.

19 And when they go out into the outer court to the people, they shall put off the garments in which they have been ministering, and lay them in the holy chambers; and they shall put on other garments, lest they communicate holiness to the people with their garments.

20 They shall not shave their heads or let their locks grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads.

21 No priest shall drink wine, when he enters the inner court.

22 They shall not marry a widow, or a divorced woman, but only a virgin of the stock of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest.

23 They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.

24 In a controversy they shall act as judges, and they shall judge it according to my judgments. They shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts, and they shall keep my sabbaths holy.

25 They shall not defile themselves by going near to a dead person; however, for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister they may defile themselves.

26 After he is defiled, he shall count for himself seven days, and then he shall be clean.

27 And on the day that he goes into the holy place, into the inner court, to minister in the holy place, he shall offer his sin offering, says the Lord GOD.

28 "They shall have no inheritance; I am their inheritance: and you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession.

29 They shall eat the cereal offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs.

30 And the first of all the first fruits of all kinds, and every offering of all kinds from all your offerings, shall belong to the priests; you shall also give to the priests the first of your coarse meal, that a blessing may rest on your house.

31 The priests shall not eat of anything, whether bird or beast, that has died of itself or is torn.

GOD'S WORD Translation GW

1 Then the man took me back to the outer east gate of the holy place, and the gate was shut.

2 The LORD said to me, "This gate will stay shut and will not be opened. No one may enter through it because the LORD God of Israel entered through it. It must be kept shut.

3 Only the prince may sit there and eat food in the presence of the LORD. He will enter through the entrance hall of the gateway and leave the same way."

4 The man brought me through the north gate in front of the temple. When I looked, I saw the LORD's glory fill the LORD's temple. I immediately bowed down.

5 The LORD said to me, "Son of man, pay close attention. Look, and listen to everything I'm going to tell you. Listen to all the rules and regulations for the LORD's temple. Pay close attention to everyone who enters the temple and leaves from the holy place.

6 Tell the rebellious people of Israel, 'This is what the Almighty LORD says: I've had enough of all the disgusting things that you have done, people of Israel.

7 You brought godless foreigners into my holy place. You dishonored my temple when you offered fat and blood to me. You rejected my promise so that you could do all your disgusting things.

8 You didn't take care of my holy things. You put foreigners in charge of my temple.

9 So this is what the Almighty LORD says: Any godless foreigner who lives among the Israelites may not enter my holy place.

10 "'Some Levites went far away from me when Israel wandered off to follow their idols. They must be punished for their sins.

11 They could have served in my holy place. They could have guarded the gates of the temple. They could have served in the temple by slaughtering the animals for the burnt offerings and the sacrifices for the people. They could have stood in front of the people and served them.

12 But they served the people by standing in front of their idols and by making Israel fall into sin. So I raised my hand and swore that they would be punished for their sins, declares the LORD.

13 They must not come near me and serve me as priests. They must not come near any of my holy things or my most holy things. They must suffer disgrace because of the disgusting things that they have done.

14 I will assign them all of the less important work in the temple.

15 "'But the priests who are Levites and descendants of Zadok took care of my holy place when the Israelites wandered away from me. They may come near me and serve me, and they may stand in my presence. They may bring fat and blood to me, declares the Almighty LORD.

16 They may enter my holy place, come near my table to serve me, and take care of everything I gave them.

17 When they enter the gateways to the inner courtyard, they must wear linen clothes. They must have no wool on them while they serve in the gateways to the inner courtyard and in the temple.

18 They must wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments. They must not wear anything that makes them sweat.

19 When they go out among the people in the outer courtyard, they must take off the clothes that they wore as they served. They must leave their clothes in the side rooms of the holy place and put on other clothes so that they do not transfer the holiness from their clothes to the people.

20 "'They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long. They must keep the hair on their heads trimmed.

21 None of the priests may drink wine when they enter the inner courtyard.

22 They must not marry widows or women who have been divorced. They may marry only virgins from the nation of Israel or widows of priests.

23 They must teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is unholy. They must show the people how to tell the difference between what is clean and what is unclean.

24 In all disputes the priests must act as judges and make decisions based on my laws. They must obey my rules and my regulations at all my festivals. They must observe holy days to worship me.

25 "'A priest must not make himself unclean by going near a dead body. But a priest may become unclean if the dead person is his father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or unmarried sister.

26 After a priest is made clean, he must wait seven days.

27 When he enters the inner courtyard of the holy place to serve in the holy place, he must bring his offering for sin, declares the Almighty LORD.

28 "'The priests will have no inheritance. I am their inheritance. Don't give them any possessions in Israel. The priests belong to me.

29 They will eat grain offerings, offerings for sin, and guilt offerings. Everything in Israel that is devoted to the LORD will belong to them.

30 The priests should have the best of all the first ripened fruits. The best of every gift from all your contributions must go to the priests. The best of your dough must go to the priests. This will cause a blessing to rest on your home.

31 The priests must never eat any bird or animal that has died naturally or was killed by other wild animals.