Ezekiel 43-44

Ezekiel 43

¹And he causeth me to go to the gate, the gate that is looking eastward.

²And lo, the honour of the God of Israel hath come from the way of the east, and His voice is as the noise of many waters, and the earth hath shone from His honour.

³And according to the appearance is the appearance that I saw, as the appearance that I saw in my coming in to destroy the city, and the appearances are as the appearance that I saw at the river Chebar, and I fall on my face.

⁴And the honour of Jehovah hath come in unto the house, the way of the gate whose face is eastward.

⁵And take me up doth the Spirit, and bringeth me in unto the inner court, and lo, the honour of Jehovah hath filled the house.

⁶And I hear one speaking unto me from the house, and a man hath been standing near me,

⁷and He saith unto me: ‘Son of man, the place of My throne, And the place of the soles of My feet, Where I dwell in the midst of the sons of Israel to the age, Defile no more do the house of Israel My holy name, They, and their kings, by their whoredom, And by the carcases of their kings -- their high places.

⁸In their putting their threshold with My threshold, And their door-post near My door-post, And the wall between Me and them, And they have defiled My holy name, By their abominations that they have done, And I consume them in Mine anger.

⁹Now do they put far off their whoredom, And the carcases of their kings -- from Me, And I have dwelt in their midst to the age.

¹⁰Thou, son of man, Shew the house of Israel the house, And they are ashamed of their iniquities, And they have measured the measurement.

¹¹And since they have been ashamed of all that they have done, The form of the house, and its measurement, And its outlets, and its inlets, and all its forms, And all its statutes, even all its forms, And all its laws cause them to know, And write it before their eyes, And they observe all its forms, And all its statutes, and have done them.

¹²This is a law of the house: on the top of the mountain, all its border all round about is most holy; lo, this is a law of the house.

¹³‘And these are measures of the altar by cubits: The cubit is a cubit and a handbreadth, and the centre is a cubit, and a cubit the breadth; and its border on its edge round about is one span, and this is the upper part of the altar.

¹⁴And from the centre of the ground unto the lower border is two cubits, and the breadth one cubit, and from the lesser border unto the greater border four cubits, and the breadth a cubit.

¹⁵‘And the altar is four cubits, and from the altar and upward are four horns.

¹⁶And the altar is twelve long by twelve broad, square in its four squares.

¹⁷And the border is fourteen long by fourteen broad, at its four squares, and the border round about it is half a cubit, and the centre to it is a cubit round about, and its steps are looking eastward.'

¹⁸And He saith unto me, ‘Son of man, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: These are statutes of the altar in the day of its being made to cause burnt-offering to go up on it, and to sprinkle on it blood.

¹⁹And thou hast given unto the priests, the Levites, who are of the seed of Zadok -- who are near unto Me, an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, to serve Me -- a calf from the herd, for a sin-offering.

²⁰And thou hast taken of its blood, and hast put it on its four horns, and on the four corners of its border, and on the border round about, and hast cleansed it, and purified it.

²¹And thou hast taken the bullock of the sin-offering, and hast burnt it in the appointed place of the house at the outside of the sanctuary.

²²And on the second day thou dost bring near a kid of the goats, a perfect one, for a sin-offering, and they have cleansed the altar, as they cleansed it for the bullock.

²³In thy finishing cleansing, thou dost bring near a calf, a son of the herd, a perfect one, and a ram out of the flock, a perfect one.

²⁴And thou hast brought them near before Jehovah, and the priests have cast upon them salt, and have caused them to go up, a burnt-offering to Jehovah.

²⁵Seven days thou dost prepare a goat for a sin-offering daily, and a bullock, a son of the herd, and a ram out of the flock, perfect ones, do they prepare.

²⁶Seven days they purify the altar, and have cleansed it, and filled their hand.

²⁷And the days are completed, and it hath come to pass on the eighth day, and henceforth, the priests prepare on the altar your burnt-offerings and your peace-offerings, and I have accepted you -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.'

Ezekiel 44

¹And he causeth me to turn back the way of the gate of the outer sanctuary that is looking eastward, and it is shut.

²And Jehovah saith unto me, ‘This gate is shut, it is not opened, and none doth go in by it, for Jehovah, God of Israel, hath come in by it, and it hath been shut.

³The prince, who is prince, he sitteth by it to eat bread before Jehovah, by the way of the porch of the gate he cometh in, and by its way he goeth out.'

⁴And he bringeth me in the way of the north gate unto the front of the house, and I look, and lo, filled hath the honour of Jehovah the house of Jehovah, and I fall on my face.

⁵And Jehovah saith unto me, ‘Son of man, set thy heart, and see with thine eyes, and with thine ears hear, all that I am speaking with thee, of all the statutes of the house of Jehovah, and of all its laws; and thou hast set thy heart to the entrance of the house, with all the outlets of the sanctuary,

⁶and hast said unto the rebellious, unto the house of Israel: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Enough to you -- of all your abominations, O house of Israel.

⁷In your bringing in sons of a stranger, uncircumcised of heart, and uncircumcised of flesh, to be in My sanctuary, to pollute it, even My house, in your bringing near My bread, fat, and blood, and they break My covenant by all your abominations,

⁸and ye have not kept the charge of My holy things, and ye set them for keepers of My charge in My sanctuary for you.

⁹‘Thus said the Lord Jehovah: No son of a stranger, uncircumcised of heart, and uncircumcised of flesh, cometh in unto My sanctuary, even any son of a stranger, who is in the midst of the sons of Israel,

¹⁰but -- the Levites who have gone far off from me, in the wandering of Israel when they went astray from Me after their idols, and they have borne their iniquity.

¹¹And they have been in My sanctuary ministrants, overseers at the gates of the house, and ministrants at the house; they slay the burnt-offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they stand before them to serve them.

¹²Because that they serve them before their idols, and have been to the house of Israel for a stumbling-block of iniquity, therefore I have lifted up my hand against them -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah -- and they have borne their iniquity.

¹³And they draw not nigh unto Me to act as My priest, and to draw nigh unto any of My holy things, unto the holy of holies, and they have borne their shame and their abominations that they have done,

¹⁴and I made them keepers of the charge of the house, for all its service and for all that is done in it.

¹⁵‘And the priests, the Levites, sons of Zadok, who have kept the charge of My sanctuary in the wandering of the sons of Israel from off Me, they draw near unto Me to serve Me, and have stood before Me, to bring near to Me fat and blood -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah:

¹⁶they come in unto My sanctuary, and they draw near unto My table to serve Me, and they have kept My charge.

¹⁷And it hath come to pass, in their going in unto the gates of the inner court, linen garments they put on; and no wool cometh up on them in their ministering in the gates of the inner court and within.

¹⁸Linen bonnets are on their head, and linen trousers are on their loins, they are not restrained with sweat.

¹⁹And in their going forth unto the outer court -- unto the outer court unto the people -- they strip off their garments, in which they are ministering, and have placed them in the holy chambers, and have put on other garments; and they do not sanctify the people in their own garments.

²⁰And their head they do not shave, and the lock they do not send forth; they certainly poll their heads.

²¹And no priest doth drink wine in their coming in unto the inner court.

²²And a widow and divorced woman they do not take to them for wives: but -- virgins of the seed of the house of Israel, and the widow who is widow of a priest, do they take.

²³‘And My people they direct between holy and common, and between unclean and clean they cause them to discern.

²⁴And concerning controversy, they stand up for judgment; with My judgments they judge it; and My law and My statutes in all My appointed places they keep; and My sabbaths they sanctify.

²⁵And unto any dead man they come not for uncleanness, but for father, and for mother, and for son, and for daughter, for brother, for sister who hath not been to a man, they defile themselves.

²⁶‘And after his cleansing, seven days they number to him.

²⁷And in the day of his coming in unto the sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he bringeth near his sin-offering -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

²⁸And it hath been to them for an inheritance; I am their inheritance: and a possession ye do not give to them in Israel; I am their possession.

²⁹The present, and the sin-offering, and the guilt-offering, they do eat, and every devoted thing in Israel is theirs.

³⁰And the first of all the first-fruits of all, and every heave-offering of all, of all your heave-offerings, are the priests': and the first of your dough ye give to the priest, to cause a blessing to rest on thy house.

³¹Any carcase and torn thing, of the fowl, and of the beasts, the priests do not eat.