1 T hen he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which looks toward the east; and it was shut.

Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the holy place, toward the east, and it was shut.

2 Y ahweh said to me, This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, neither shall any man enter in by it; for Yahweh, the God of Israel, has entered in by it; therefore it shall be shut.

The Lord said to me, “This gate must stay shut. It must not be opened. No one may come in through it, for the Lord God of Israel has come in through it. So it must stay shut.

3 A s for the prince, he shall sit therein as prince to eat bread before Yahweh; he shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.

Only the ruler may sit at the gate to eat bread before the Lord. He must come in through the porch of the gate, and go out the same way.” Those Who Could Go In to the House of God

4 T hen he brought me by the way of the north gate before the house; and I looked, and behold, Yahweh’s glory filled Yahweh’s house: and I fell on my face.

Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the house. There I saw the shining-greatness of the Lord filling the Lord’s house, and I fell with my face to the ground.

5 Y ahweh said to me, Son of man, mark well, and see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I tell you concerning all the ordinances of Yahweh’s house, and all its laws; and mark well the entrance of the house, with every exit of the sanctuary.

The Lord said to me, “Son of man, be careful to see with your eyes and to hear with your ears everything that I say to you about all the rules and laws of the Lord’s house. Be careful to learn which persons are allowed to go in and out of the Lord’s house, and which persons are not allowed.

6 Y ou shall tell the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: you house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations,

Tell the sinful people of Israel, ‘The Lord God says, “Enough of your hated sins, O people of Israel!

7 i n that you have brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to profane it, even my house, when you offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant, to add to all your abominations.

You have brought in strangers, who had not gone through the religious act of becoming a Jew, and who were sinful in their heart. You brought them into My holy place to make it unclean, when you brought My food of the fat and the blood. You have broken My agreement by all your hated sins.

8 Y ou have not performed the duty of my holy things; but you have set performers of my duty in my sanctuary for yourselves.

And you have not taken care of My holy things yourselves. You have let strangers take care of My holy place.”

9 T hus says the Lord Yahweh, No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any foreigners who are among the children of Israel.

‘So the Lord God says, “No stranger among the people of Israel who has not gone through the religious act of becoming a Jew, and is sinful in his heart, may come into My holy place. Levites Cannot Be Religious Leaders

10 B ut the Levites who went far from me, when Israel went astray, who went astray from me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity.

“The Levites who went far from Me when Israel left Me to follow their false gods, will be punished for their sin.

11 Y et they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the house, and ministering in the house: they shall kill the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them.

They may do the work in My holy place. They may watch over the gates of the house and do the work in the house. They may kill the burnt gifts and the gifts brought by the people. And they may stand in front of the people to serve them.

12 B ecause they ministered to them before their idols, and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel; therefore have I lifted up my hand against them, says the Lord Yahweh, and they shall bear their iniquity.

But because they served them in front of their false gods and caused the people of Israel to sin, I have promised,” says the Lord God, “that they will be punished for their sin.

13 T hey shall not come near to me, to execute the office of priest to me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed.

They must not come near Me to serve Me as a religious leader. They must not come near any of My holy things and the things that are most holy. But they must suffer their shame because of the hated sins they have done.

14 Y et will I make them performers of the duty of the house, for all its service, and for all that shall be done therein.

Yet I will have them take care of the house and do all the work that is needed to be done in it. Zadok’s Sons to Serve in the House of God

15 B ut the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who performed the duty of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister to me; and they shall stand before me to offer to me the fat and the blood, says the Lord Yahweh:

“But the Levite religious leaders of the sons of Zadok took care of My holy place when the people of Israel left Me. So they will come near Me to serve Me. They will stand before Me to give Me the fat and the blood,” says the Lord God.

16 t hey shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my instruction.

“They will come into My holy place and come near My table, to serve Me and to do My work.

17 I t shall be that, when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come on them, while they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within.

When they come through the gates of the inner open space, they will be dressed in linen clothing. They must not wear any wool while they are serving inside the gates of the inner open space or in the house.

18 T hey shall have linen tires on their heads, and shall have linen breeches on their waists; they shall not clothe themselves with anything that makes them sweat.

They will wear linen head-coverings and linen underclothes. They must not dress in anything that makes their bodies wet with heat.

19 W hen they go out into the outer court, even into the outer court to the people, they shall put off their garments in which they minister, and lay them in the holy rooms; and they shall put on other garments, that they not sanctify the people with their garments.

When they go out to the people in the outer open space, they must take off the clothes they wear while they serve Me, and lay them in the holy rooms. Then they will put on other clothes, so that they do not make the people holy because of their clothing.

20 N either shall they shave their heads, nor allow their locks to grow long; they shall only cut off the hair of their heads.

And they must not cut all the hair from their heads, yet they must not let their hair grow long. They must only cut their hair shorter.

21 N either shall any of the priests drink wine, when they enter into the inner court.

None of the religious leaders may drink wine when they come into the inner open space.

22 N either shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her who is put away; but they shall take virgins of the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest.

They must not marry a woman whose husband has died, or who has been divorced. But they may marry women of Israel who have never had a man, or a woman whose husband was a religious leader before he died.

23 T hey shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

They will teach My people the difference between what is holy and what is not. And they will teach them to know what is unclean and what is clean.

24 I n a controversy they shall stand to judge; according to my ordinances shall they judge it: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts; and they shall make my Sabbaths holy.

In an argument, the religious leaders will serve as judges, and will judge by My Laws. They will also keep My Laws in all My special suppers. And they will keep My Day of Rest holy.

25 T hey shall go in to no dead person to defile themselves; but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister who has had no husband, they may defile themselves.

They must not make themselves unclean by going near a dead person. But they may make themselves unclean if the dead person is their father or mother, son or daughter, brother, or sister who was not married.

26 A fter he is cleansed, they shall reckon to him seven days.

After a religious leader has become clean again, he must wait seven days.

27 I n the day that he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, says the Lord Yahweh.

And on the day he goes into the holy place, into the inner open space to serve in the holy place, he must bring his sin gift,” says the Lord God.

28 T hey shall have an inheritance: I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession.

“I am to be the only part that the religious leaders have. You must not give them any land in Israel for their own. I am their part.

29 T hey shall eat the meal offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs.

They will eat the grain gift, the sin gift, and the guilt gift. Everything in Israel that is set apart to Me will be theirs.

30 T he first of all the first fruits of every thing, and every offering of everything, of all your offerings, shall be for the priest: you shall also give to the priests the first of your dough, to cause a blessing to rest on your house.

The first of all the first fruits of every kind, and every kind of gift you bring, will be for the religious leaders. And you must give them the first of your grain, so that good will come to your house.

31 T he priests shall not eat of anything that dies of itself, or is torn, whether it is bird or animal.

The religious leaders must not eat any bird or animal that has died of itself or has been torn to pieces.