Ezekiel 44

The East Gate and the Prince

1 Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary *Ezek. 43:1which faces toward the east, but it was shut. 2 And the Lord said to me, "This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, *Ezek. 43:2–4because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. 3 Asfor the *Gen. 31:54; Ex. 24:9–11; (1 Cor. 10:18)prince, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to *Ezek. 46:2, 8eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway, and go out the same way."

Those Admitted to the Temple

4 Also He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple; so I looked, and *Is. 6:3; Ezek. 3:23; 43:5behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord; *Ezek. 1:28; 43:3and I fell on my face. 5 And the Lord said to me, *Deut. 32:46; Ezek. 40:4"Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears, all that I say to you concerning all the *Deut. 12:32; Ezek. 43:10, 11ordinances of the house of the Lord and all its laws. Mark well who may enter the house and all who go out from the sanctuary.

6 "Now say to the *Ezek. 2:5rebellious, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: "O house of Israel, *Ezek. 45:9; 1 Pet. 4:3let Us have no more of all your abominations. 7 *Ezek. 43:8; Acts 21:28When you brought in *Lev. 22:25foreigners, *Lev. 26:41; Deut. 10:16; Jer. 4:4; 9:26; (Acts 7:51)uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to defile it—My house—and when you offered *Lev. 21:17My food, *Lev. 3:16the fat and the blood, then they broke My covenant because of all your abominations. 8 And you have not *Lev. 22:2; Num. 18:7kept charge of My holy things, but you have set others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you." 9 Thus says the Lord God: *Ezek. 44:7; Joel 3:17; Zech. 14:21"No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel.

Laws Governing Priests

10 *2 Kin. 23:8; Ezek. 48:11"And the Levites who went far from Me, when Israel went astray, who strayed away from Me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity. 11 Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, *1 Chr. 26:1–19as gatekeepers of the house and ministers of the house; *2 Chr. 29:34; 30:17they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and *Num. 16:9they shall stand before them to minister to them. 12 Because they ministered to them before their idols and *Is. 9:16; Mal. 2:8caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity, therefore I have *Ps. 106:26raised My hand in an oath against them," says the Lord God, "that they shall bear their iniquity. 13 *Num. 18:3; 2 Kin. 23:9And they shall not come near Me to minister to Me as priest, nor come near any of My holy things, nor into the Most Holy Place; but they shall *Ezek. 32:30bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. 14 Nevertheless I will make them *Num. 18:4; 1 Chr. 23:28–32; Ezek. 44:11keep charge of the temple, for all its work, and for all that has to be done in it.

15 *Ezek. 40:46"But the priests, the Levites, *(1 Sam. 2:35); 2 Sam. 15:27; Ezek. 43:19; 48:11the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary *Ezek. 44:10when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me; and they *Deut. 10:8shall stand before Me to offer to Me the *Lev. 3:16, 17; 17:5, 6; Ezek. 44:7fat and the blood," says the Lord God. 16 "They shall *Num. 18:5, 7, 8enter My sanctuary, and they shall come near *Ezek. 41:22; Mal. 1:7, 12My table to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge. 17 And it shall be, whenever they enter the gates of the inner court, that *Ex. 28:39–43; 39:27–29; Rev. 19:8they shall put on linen garments; no wool shall come upon them while they minister within the gates of the inner court or within the house. 18 *Ex. 28:40; 39:28; Is. 3:20; Ezek. 24:17, 23They shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen trousers on their bodies; they shall not clothe themselves with anythingthatcauses sweat. 19 When they go out to the outer court, to the outer court to the people, *Lev. 6:10; 16:4, 23, 24; Ezek. 42:14they shall take off their garments in which they have ministered, leave them in the holy chambers, and put on other garments; and in their holy garments they shall *Ex. 30:29; Lev. 6:27; Ezek. 46:20; (Matt. 23:17)not sanctify the people.

20 *Lev. 21:5"They shall neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow *Num. 6:5long, but they shall keep their hair well trimmed. 21 *Lev. 10:9No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court. 22 They shall not take as wife a *Lev. 21:7, 13, 14widow or a divorced woman, but take virgins of the descendants of the house of Israel, or widows of priests.

23 "And *Lev. 10:10, 11; Ezek. 22:26; Hos. 4:6; Mic. 3:9–11; Zeph. 3:4; Hag. 2:11–13; Mal. 2:6–8they shall teach My people thedifference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to *Lev. 20:25discern between the unclean and the clean. 24 *Deut. 17:8, 9; 1 Chr. 23:4; 2 Chr. 19:8–10In controversy they shall stand as judges, and judge it according to My judgments. They shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed meetings, *Ezek. 22:26and they shall hallow My Sabbaths.

25 "They shall not defile themselves by coming near a dead person. Only for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister may they defile themselves. 26 *Num. 6:10; 19:11, 13–19After he is cleansed, they shall count seven days for him. 27 And on the day that he goes to the sanctuary to minister in the sanctuary, *Lev. 5:3, 6; Num. 6:9–11he must offer his sin offering *Ezek. 44:17in the inner court," says the Lord God.

28 "It shall be, in regard to their inheritance, that I *Num. 18:20; Deut. 10:9; 18:1, 2; Josh. 13:14, 33am their inheritance. You shall give them no *Ezek. 45:4possession in Israel, for I am their possession. 29 *Lev. 7:6They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering; *Lev. 27:21, 28; Num. 18:14every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30 The *Ex. 13:2; 22:29; 23:19; Num. 3:13; 18:12best of all firstfruits of any kind, and every sacrifice of any kind from all your sacrifices, shall be the priest’s; also you *Num. 15:20; Neh. 10:37shall give to the priest the first of your ground meal, *Prov. 3:9; (Mal. 3:10)to cause a blessing to rest on your house. 31 The priests shall not eat anything, bird or beast, that *Ex. 22:31; Lev. 22:8; Deut. 14:21; Ezek. 4:14died naturally or was torn bywildbeasts.