Open English Translation EZE Chapter 44

44 Then the man took me back to the outer sanctuary gate facing east, but it was shut, 2 and Yahweh told me, “This gate has been sealed shut—it won’t be opened. No person will go through it, because Yisrael’s god Yahweh entered through it, so it’s now closed. 3 Only Yisrael’s ruler will sit by it to eat food in front of Yahweh, but he’ll enter via the gate’s porch, and leave the same way.”

4 Then he took me to the front of the temple by way of the northern gate, and I looked, and wow, Yahweh’s brilliance filled his temple, and I fell to my knees with my face bowed towards the ground. 5 Then Yahweh told me, “Humanity’s child, pay attention and look with your eyes and listen with your ears to everything that I’m declaring to you: all the instructions about Yahweh’s temple and all its regulations. Take special note of the temple’s entrance and exits. 6 Then tell the rebellious Israelis that the master Yahweh says this: Let all your disgusting actions be enough for you Israeli people—7 that you brought foreigners with uncircumcised hearts and uncircumcised flesh to be in my sanctuary, profaning my temple, while you people were offering me food, fat, and blood. You people have broken my agreement with all your disgusting actions. 8 You haven’t carried out your duties regarding my sacred things, but instead, you people appointed others to take up your duties, and you assigned them to care for my sacred place.

9 “The master Yahweh says this: No foreigner, from any of those who live among the Israeli people, may enter my sacred place if they’re not physically circumcised or if they haven’t declared themself to be one of my people.

10 The Levites went far from me—wandering away from me and going after their idols, but they’ll be punished. 11 They’re still servants in my sanctuary, watching the temple gates and serving inside, and they slaughter the burnt offerings and the people’s sacrifices, and they’ll stand in front of the people and serve them. 12 However, because they sacrificed to their idols, they became sinful stumbling blocks for the Israeli people, therefore I’ve promised to take action against them, and they’ll pay for their disobedience. That’s the master Yahweh’s declaration. 13 They mustn’t come near to me to act as my priests or to approach any of my sacred things, the most sacred things. Instead, they’ll bear their shame and their guilt for the disgusting things they’ve done, 14 but I’ll place them as housekeepers in the temple—for all its mundane duties and all the menial work that’s done in it.

15 Then the Levitical priests, those descendants of Tsadok who fulfilled the duties of my sanctuary when the Israeli people were wandering away from me, they’ll approach me to worship me. They’ll stand in front of me to offer me the fat and the blood. That’s the master Yahweh’s declaration. 16 They’ll come to my sanctuary and approach my table to worship me and to fulfill their duties to me. 17 When they come to the gates of the inner courtyard, they’ll have to dress in linen clothing, because they mustn’t wear wool inside the courtyard gates or in the temple.[ref] 18 They must wear linen turbans on their heads and linen underclothes around their waists. They mustn’t dress in clothing that makes them sweat. 19 When they go back out to the outer courtyard to go back again to the people, they must take off the clothes they wore when they served—they must take them off and lay them down in a sacred room, so they don’t make other people sacred by contact with their special clothing.[ref]

20 The priests mustn’t shave their heads or allow their hair to hang loosely, but they must keep the hair on their heads neatly trimmed. 21 No priest should drink wine before he comes to the inner court.[ref] 22 Also, priests can’t marry widows of men who weren’t priests, or women who’ve been divorced—they’re permitted to marry only Israeli women who’ve never been married, or widows of other priests.

23 They must teach the people the difference between things that are sacred and things that are not, and teach them how to know what things are acceptable to me and what things are not.[ref] 24 In a dispute they must judge in accordance with my instructions and regulations. They must keep my law and my statutes at every religious celebration, and they must observe my sacred rest days.

25 Priests mustn’t defile themselves by going near a person’s dead body. However, if the dead person was his father or mother, son or daughter, or brother or unmarried sister, then they can defile themselves, 26 and after they’ve been purified, they must wait for seven days. 27 Then after that, when he goes into the inner courtyard to serve in the sacred place, he must bring a sin offering for himself. That’s the master Yahweh’s declaration.

28 The priests must not own any land—I am their inheritance and I’ll be their property.[ref] 29 They’ll have the food offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings to eat, plus everything in Yisrael that’s devoted to Yahweh will be theirs.[ref] 30 The best of the firstfruits from every harvest and every contribution from the people will belong to the priests, and you Israelis will give the first of your bread dough[fn] to the priests so that blessing may rest on your home. 31 Priests must not eat the meat of any bird or animal that’s found dead or that’s been killed by any other animal.[ref]