English Standard Version

New Living Translation

1Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east. And it was shut.

1Then the man brought me back to the east gateway in the outer wall of the Temple area, but it was closed.

2And the LORD said to me, “This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered by it. Therefore it shall remain shut.

2And 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.

3Only the prince may sit in it to eat bread before the LORD. He shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go out by the same way.”

3Only 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.”

4Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple, and I looked, and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple of the LORD. And I fell on my face.

4Then 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.

5And the LORD said to me, “Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I shall tell you concerning all the statutes of the temple of the LORD and all its laws. And mark well the entrance to the temple and all the exits from the sanctuary.

5And 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.

6And say to the rebellious house, to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: O house of Israel, enough of all your abominations,

6And give these rebels, the people of Israel, this message from the Sovereign LORD: O people of Israel, enough of your detestable sins!

7in admitting foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to be in my sanctuary, profaning my temple, when you offer to me my food, the fat and the blood. You have broken my covenant, in addition to all your abominations.

7You 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.

8And you have not kept charge of my holy things, but you have set others to keep my charge for you in my sanctuary.

8Instead of safeguarding my sacred rituals, you have hired foreigners to take charge of my sanctuary.

9“Thus says the Lord GOD: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, shall enter my sanctuary.

9“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.

10But the Levites who went far from me, going astray from me after their idols when Israel went astray, shall bear their punishment.

10And the men of the tribe of Levi who abandoned me when Israel strayed away from me to worship idols must bear the consequences of their unfaithfulness.

11They shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the temple and ministering in the temple. They shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before the people, to minister to them.

11They may still be Temple guards and gatekeepers, and they may slaughter the animals brought for burnt offerings and be present to help the people.

12Because they ministered to them before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have sworn concerning them, declares the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their punishment.

12But 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.

13They shall not come near to me, to serve me as priest, nor come near any of my holy things and the things that are most holy, but they shall bear their shame and the abominations that they have committed.

13They 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.

14Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the temple, to do all its service and all that is to be done in it.

14They are to serve as the Temple caretakers, taking charge of the maintenance work and performing general duties.

15“But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me to minister to me. And they shall stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the Lord GOD.

15“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.

16They shall enter my sanctuary, and they shall approach my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge.

16They alone will enter my sanctuary and approach my table to serve me. They will fulfill all my requirements.

17When they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall wear linen garments. They shall have nothing of wool on them, while they minister at the gates of the inner court, and within.

17“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.

18They shall have linen turbans on their heads, and linen undergarments around their waists. They shall not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat.

18They must wear linen turbans and linen undergarments. They must not wear anything that would cause them to perspire.

19And when they go out into the outer court to the people, they shall put off the garments in which they have been ministering and lay them in the holy chambers. And they shall put on other garments, lest they transmit holiness to the people with their garments.

19When 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.

20They shall not shave their heads or let their locks grow long; they shall surely trim the hair of their heads.

20“They must neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow too long. Instead, they must trim it regularly.

21No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court.

21The priests must not drink wine before entering the inner courtyard.

22They shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but only virgins of the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest.

22They 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.

23They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.

23They will teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is common, what is ceremonially clean and unclean.

24In a dispute, they shall act as judges, and they shall judge it according to my judgments. They shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts, and they shall keep my Sabbaths holy.

24“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.

25They shall not defile themselves by going near to a dead person. However, for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister they may defile themselves.

25“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.

26After he has become clean, they shall count seven days for him.

26Even then, he can return to his Temple duties only after being ceremonially cleansed and then waiting for seven days.

27And on the day that he goes into the Holy Place, into the inner court, to minister in the Holy Place, he shall offer his sin offering, declares the Lord GOD.

27The 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.

28“This shall be their inheritance: I am their inheritance: and you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession.

28“The priests will not have any property or possession of land, for I alone am their special possession.

29They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs.

29Their food will come from the gifts and sacrifices brought to the Temple by the people—the grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings. Whatever anyone sets apart for the LORD will belong to the priests.

30And the first of all the firstfruits of all kinds, and every offering of all kinds from all your offerings, shall belong to the priests. You shall also give to the priests the first of your dough, that a blessing may rest on your house.

30The 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.

31The priests shall not eat of anything, whether bird or beast, that has died of itself or is torn by wild animals.

31The priests may not eat meat from any bird or animal that dies a natural death or that dies after being attacked by another animal.

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.