Open English Translation EZE Chapter 46

46 The master Yahweh says this: The eastern gate of the inner courtyard will be shut for the six days of work, but it’ll be opened on rest days and on the day of the new moon. 2 The leader will enter the outer courtyard by the path to that gate and its outside porch, and he’ll stand at the doorposts of the inner gate while the priests perform his burnt offering and peace offering. Then he’ll worship right there at the inner gate and then leave again, but the gate won’t be shut until evening. 3 The people will also worship in front of Yahweh at the entrance to that gate on rest days and new moons. 4 The burnt offering that the leader offers to Yahweh on the rest day will be six unblemished lambs and an unblemished ram. 5 The grain offering that he gives with the ram is twenty-two litres of flour, and with the lambs it should be as much as he pleases, along with one litre of olive oil for every twenty-two litres of flour. 6 On the day of the new moon he must offer a bull, six lambs, and a ram—all without any defects. 7 He must also provide a grain offering of twenty-two litres of flour with the bull, the same with the ram, and as much as he wants with the lambs, along with a litre of olive oil with every twenty-two litres of flour. 8 The leader enters by the path to the gate and its porch, and he must leave by the same path.

9 But when the land’s people come in front of Yahweh at the scheduled festivals, anyone entering through the north gate to worship must leave through the south gate, and anyone entering through the south gate must leave through the north gate. No one is allowed to turn back to the gate through which they entered, because everyone must keep going straight ahead until they get out. 10 The leader must be amongst them in their midst—when they go in, he must go in, and when they leave, he must leave. 11 During the festivals that you hold for me, the king must present twenty-two litres of flour along with a bull or a ram, and as much flour as he wants to with the lambs, along with a litre of olive oil with every twenty-two litres of flour.

12 When the leader gives a voluntary offering to Yahweh (either a burnt offering or a peace offering), the eastern gate will be opened for him. He’ll offer his burnt offering or his peace offering just like he does on the rest day. Then he must go out, and after he’s gone out, the gate will be shut.

13 In addition, every morning someone[fn] must provide a one year old lamb with no defects to be completely burnt up as an offering to Yahweh. 14 Also every morning someone must provide an offering of four litres of flour mixed with a litre of olive oil, and that’s a permanent requirement. 15 They’ll prepare the lamb, the grain offering, and the oil, every morning—a permanent daily burnt offering.

16 The master Yahweh says this: If the leader gives a gift to any of his sons, it becomes his inheritance—that is, it’ll become his sons’ property because it’s an inheritance. 17 But if he gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, then it’ll belong to that servant until the year of liberty, and then it’ll return to the leader. His inheritance must definitely be for his own sons.[ref] 18 The leader mustn’t take the people’s inheritance away from them, evicting them from their own property—he must provide for his sons from his own property so that my people won’t be forced off their own inherited land.”

19 Next the man brought me through the entrance at the gate to the sacred rooms for the priests which were north-facing, and what’s more, there was a place toward the west. 20 He told me, “That’s the place where the priests must boil the guilt offering and the sin offering and where they must bake the grain offering. They mustn’t bring the offerings into the outer courtyard, because then the people would become sacred (and not be able to leave).”

21 Then he brought me to the outer courtyard and led me past the four corners of that courtyard, and I saw that in every corner of the courtyard there was another enclosed area, 22 and each was twenty-two metres long and sixteen metres wide. 23 Around the inside of each of those enclosed areas was a stone ledge, with cooking hearths all around under the ledge. 24 The man told me, “Those are the places where the temple workers will boil the people’s sacrifices.”