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The Prince, Levites, and Priests
Then the man brought me back to the east gateway in the outer wall of the Temple area, but it was closed.
Then the man brought me back to the east gateway in the outer wall of the Temple area, but it was closed.
East Gate Assigned to the Prince
And he brought me back toward the outer gate of the sanctuary which looked toward the east; and it was shut.
And he brought me back toward the outer gate of the sanctuary which looked toward the east; and it was shut.
And the LORD said to me, “This gate must remain closed; it will never again be opened. No one will ever open it and pass through, for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered here. Therefore, it must always remain shut.
And Jehovah said unto me, This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter in by it: for Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it; and it shall be shut.
Only the prince himself may sit inside this gateway to feast in the LORD’s presence. But he may come and go only through the entry room of the gateway.”
As for the prince, he, the prince, shall sit in it to eat bread before Jehovah: he shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.
Then the man brought me through the north gateway to the front of the Temple. I looked and saw that the glory of the LORD filled the Temple of the LORD, and I fell face down on the ground.
And he brought me the way of the north gate before the house; and I beheld, and lo, the glory of Jehovah filled the house of Jehovah: and I fell upon my face.
And the LORD said to me, “Son of man, take careful notice. Use your eyes and ears, and listen to everything I tell you about the regulations concerning the LORD’s Temple. Take careful note of the procedures for using the Temple’s entrances and exits.
And Jehovah said unto me, Son of man, apply thy heart, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the statutes of the house of Jehovah, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary;
And give these rebels, the people of Israel, this message from the Sovereign LORD: O people of Israel, enough of your detestable sins!
and say to the rebellious, to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Let it suffice you of all your abominations, O house of Israel,
You have brought uncircumcised foreigners into my sanctuary — people who have no heart for God. In this way, you defiled my Temple even as you offered me my food, the fat and blood of sacrifices. In addition to all your other detestable sins, you have broken my covenant.
in that ye have brought strangers, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to profane it, [even] my house, when ye offered my bread, the fat and the blood; and they have broken my covenant besides all your abominations.
Instead of safeguarding my sacred rituals, you have hired foreigners to take charge of my sanctuary.
And ye have not kept the charge of my holy things, but have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.
“So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: No foreigners, including those who live among the people of Israel, will enter my sanctuary if they have not been circumcised and have not surrendered themselves to the LORD.
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: No stranger, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel.
But the Levites who went away far from me, when Israel went astray, going astray from me after their idols, they shall even bear their iniquity;
They may still be Temple guards and gatekeepers, and they may slaughter the animals brought for burnt offerings and be present to help the people.
but they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the house, and doing the service of the house: they shall slaughter the burnt-offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them.
But they encouraged my people to worship idols, causing Israel to fall into deep sin. So I have taken a solemn oath that they must bear the consequences for their sins, says the Sovereign LORD.
Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and were unto the house of Israel a stumbling-block of iniquity; therefore have I lifted up my hand against them, saith the Lord Jehovah, that they shall bear their iniquity.
They may not approach me to minister as priests. They may not touch any of my holy things or the holy offerings, for they must bear the shame of all the detestable sins they have committed.
And they shall not draw near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to draw near to any of my holy things, [even] to the most holy; but they shall bear their confusion, and their abominations which they have committed.
They are to serve as the Temple caretakers, taking charge of the maintenance work and performing general duties.
And I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.
“However, the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok continued to minister faithfully in the Temple when Israel abandoned me for idols. These men will serve as my ministers. They will stand in my presence and offer the fat and blood of the sacrifices, says the Sovereign LORD.
Rules for the Levites
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 approach unto me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to present unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord Jehovah.
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 approach unto me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to present unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord Jehovah.
They alone will enter my sanctuary and approach my table to serve me. They will fulfill all my requirements.
They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall approach unto my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.
“When they enter the gateway to the inner courtyard, they must wear only linen clothing. They must wear no wool while on duty in the inner courtyard or in the Temple itself.
And it shall come to pass 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, when they minister in the gates of the inner court, and towards the house.
They must wear linen turbans and linen undergarments. They must not wear anything that would cause them to perspire.
They shall have linen tires upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird on anything that causeth sweat.
When they return to the outer courtyard where the people are, they must take off the clothes they wear while ministering to me. They must leave them in the sacred rooms and put on other clothes so they do not endanger anyone by transmitting holiness to them through this clothing.
And when they go forth into the outer court, into the outer court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy cells; and they shall put on other garments, that they may not hallow the people with their garments.
“They must neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow too long. Instead, they must trim it regularly.
Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long: they shall duly poll their heads.
The priests must not drink wine before entering the inner courtyard.
Neither shall any priest drink wine when they enter into the inner court.
They may choose their wives only from among the virgins of Israel or the widows of the priests. They may not marry other widows or divorced women.
And they shall not 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 is the widow of a priest.
They will teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is common, what is ceremonially clean and unclean.
And they shall teach my people [the difference] between holy and profane, and cause them to discern between unclean and clean.
“They will serve as judges to resolve any disagreements among my people. Their decisions must be based on my regulations. And the priests themselves must obey my instructions and decrees at all the sacred festivals, and see to it that the Sabbaths are set apart as holy days.
And in controversy they shall stand to judge: they shall judge it according to my judgments; and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my solemnities; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.
“A priest must not defile himself by being in the presence of a dead person unless it is his father, mother, child, brother, or unmarried sister. In such cases it is permitted.
And they shall come at no dead person to become unclean; but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may become unclean.
Even then, he can return to his Temple duties only after being ceremonially cleansed and then waiting for seven days.
And after he is cleansed, they shall count unto him seven days.
The first day he returns to work and enters the inner courtyard and the sanctuary, he must offer a sin offering for himself, says the Sovereign LORD.
And on the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall present his sin-offering, saith the Lord Jehovah.
“The priests will not have any property or possession of land, for I alone am their special possession.
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 shall eat the oblation and the sin-offering and the trespass-offering; and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs.
The first of the ripe fruits and all the gifts brought to the LORD will go to the priests. The first batch of dough must also be given to the priests so the LORD will bless your homes.
And the first of all the first-fruits of every [kind], and every heave-offering of every [kind], of all your heave-offerings, shall be for the priests; ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest on thy house.