Ezekiel 44

Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut.

He guided me back to the eastern gate of the sacred sanctuary, but it was closed.

Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.

The Lord told me, "This door must remain closed. No one can pass through it because it's the path I, the God of Israel, have taken. So, it must stay sealed."

It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.

This sacred space is reserved for the leader. He will dine in the presence of the LORD, entering and exiting through the same grand entrance.

Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell upon my face.

He guided me to the northern entrance of the sanctuary. As I looked, I was awestruck by the divine radiance that filled God's house, and I was moved to fall to my knees in reverence.

And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary.

The Lord spoke to me, "Pay attention, my child. See with your eyes, listen with your ears to everything I tell you about the rules and laws of my house. Notice carefully how people enter and leave the sanctuary."

And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations,

Speak to those who resist, particularly to the people of Israel. Say this, as the Lord God commands: Enough, people of Israel! Your wrongdoings have gone too far.

In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations.

You've brought foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and in body, into my sacred space, tainting it. This is my home you're defiling when you offer me my food, the fat and the blood. You've shattered my covenant, on top of all your vile practices.

And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.

You've neglected the sacred duties I entrusted to you, instead, you've selfishly appointed guardians for my sanctuary to serve your own interests.

Thus saith the Lord GOD; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel.

The Lord God declares: No foreigner who is uncircumcised in heart or in body will be allowed in my sacred place. This applies to any foreigner living among the people of Israel.

And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity.

The Levites who strayed far from me when Israel chased false idols will bear the punishment for their sin.

Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them.

They will serve in my sacred place, overseeing the entrance and caring for the house. They will prepare the offerings and sacrifices for the people, standing before them to serve with devotion.

Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity.

They served their idols, leading Israel into sin. So, I, the Lord God, have raised my hand against them. They will face the consequences of their wrongdoings.

And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed.

They are not allowed to serve me as priests or approach my sacred objects, especially in the holiest place. They must carry the burden of their disgrace and the wrongs they've done.

But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.

I will entrust them with the responsibility of the house, overseeing all its services and everything that happens within.

But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD:

The faithful priests, descendants of Zadok, who remained loyal when others abandoned me, will be rewarded. They will serve me closely, standing before me, offering their sacrifices, declares the Lord God.

They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.

They will be welcomed into my sacred space, drawn close to my table to serve me, and they will faithfully fulfill my commands.

And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within.

When they step through the gates of the sacred court, they will be draped in linen attire. Not a thread of wool will touch them as they serve within the heart of the court.

They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.

They will wear linen hats on their heads and linen pants around their waists; they won't wear anything that makes them sweat.

And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments.

When they step out into the public courtyard, they must remove their ceremonial clothes used for worship, leaving them in the sacred rooms. They must change into different clothes so that their holy garments don't pass holiness on to the people.

Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads.

They shouldn't shave their heads completely, nor let their hair grow too long; they should simply keep their hair neatly trimmed.

Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court.

No priest should consume wine before stepping into the sacred inner sanctuary.

Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before.

They should not marry a widow or a divorced woman. Instead, they should marry virgins of Israelite descent, or a widow who was previously married to a priest.

And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

They will guide my people to understand what's sacred and what's not, helping them distinguish between what's pure and impure.

And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.

When disagreements arise, they will stand for justice, using my wisdom as their guide. They will honor my rules and principles in every gathering, and they will respect my sacred days.

And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves: but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves.

They must not touch the dead and become impure, except for their closest family - parents, children, siblings, or a sister who never married, for them, it's allowed.

And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days.

Once he is purified, they should count seven days for him.

And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, saith the Lord GOD.

On the day he steps into the sacred place, into the heart of the sanctuary to serve, he must present his offering for his wrongdoings, as commanded by the Lord God.

And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.

They will inherit me, I am their true wealth. Don't give them any land in Israel, for I am their true home.

They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering: and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs.

They will eat the grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings, and all things dedicated in Israel will belong to them.

And the first of all the firstfruits of all things, and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest’s: ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house.

Give the priest the first and best of everything you have, including your offerings and even the first portion of your bread dough. This way, he can bless your home with abundance and peace.

The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.

Priests must not consume any creature, bird or beast, that has died naturally or been mauled.