| Holman Christian Standard Bible | NET Bible |
| 1The man then brought me back toward the sanctuary's outer gate that faced east, and it was closed. | 1Then he brought me back by way of the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces east, but it was shut. |
| 2The LORD said to me: "This gate will remain closed. It will not be opened, and no one will enter through it, because the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered through it. Therefore it will remain closed. | 2The LORD said to me: "This gate will be shut; it will not be opened, and no one will enter by it. For the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it will remain shut. |
| 3The prince himself will sit in the gateway to eat a meal before the LORD. He must enter by way of the portico of the gate and go out the same way." | 3Only the prince may sit in it to eat a sacrificial meal before the LORD; he will enter by way of the porch of the gate and will go out by the same way." |
| 4Then the man brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked, and the glory of the LORD filled His temple. And I fell facedown. | 4Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. As I watched, I noticed the glory of the LORD filling the LORD's temple, and I threw myself face down. |
| 5The LORD said to me: "Son of man, pay attention; look with your eyes and listen with your ears to everything I tell you about all the statutes and laws of the LORD's temple. Take careful note of the entrance of the temple along with all the exits of the sanctuary." | 5The LORD said to me: "Son of man, pay attention, watch closely and listen carefully to everything I tell you concerning all the statutes of the LORD's house and all its laws. Pay attention to the entrances to the temple with all the exits of the sanctuary. |
| 6Say to the rebellious people, the house of Israel: This is what the Lord GOD says: I have had enough of all your detestable practices, house of Israel. | 6Say to the rebellious, to the house of Israel, 'This is what the sovereign LORD says: Enough of all your abominable practices, O house of Israel! |
| 7When you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in both heart and flesh, to occupy My sanctuary, you defiled My temple while you offered My food--the fat and the blood. You broke My covenant by all your detestable practices. | 7When you bring foreigners, those uncircumcised in heart and in flesh, into my sanctuary, you desecrate it--even my house--when you offer my food, the fat and the blood. You have broken my covenant by all your abominable practices. |
| 8You have not kept charge of My holy things but have appointed others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you." | 8You have not kept charge of my holy things, but you have assigned foreigners to keep charge of my sanctuary for you. |
| 9This is what the Lord GOD says: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, may enter My sanctuary, not even a foreigner who is among the Israelites. | 9This is what the sovereign LORD says: No foreigner, who is uncircumcised in heart and flesh among all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, will enter into my sanctuary. |
| 10Surely the Levites who wandered away from Me when Israel went astray, and who strayed from Me after their idols, will bear the consequences of their sin. | 10"'But the Levites who went far from me, straying off from me after their idols when Israel went astray, will be responsible for their sin. |
| 11Yet they will occupy My sanctuary, serving as guards at the temple gates and ministering at the temple. They will slaughter the burnt offerings and other sacrifices for the people and will stand before them to serve them. | 11Yet they will be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the temple, and serving the temple. They will slaughter the burnt offerings and the sacrifices for the people, and they will stand before them to minister to them. |
| 12Because they ministered to the house of Israel before their idols and became a sinful stumbling block to them, therefore I swore an oath against them"--this is the declaration of the Lord GOD--"that they would bear the consequences of their sin. | 12Because they used to minister to them before their idols, and became a sinful obstacle to the house of Israel, consequently I have made a vow concerning them, declares the sovereign LORD, that they will be responsible for their sin. |
| 13They must not approach Me to serve Me as priests or come near any of My holy things or the most holy things. They will bear their disgrace and the consequences of the detestable acts they committed. | 13They will not come near me to serve me as priest, nor will they come near any of my holy things, the things which are most sacred. They will bear the shame of the abominable deeds they have committed. |
| 14Yet I will make them responsible for the duties of the temple--for all its work and everything done in it." | 14Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the temple, all of its service and all that will be done in it. |
| 15But the Levitical priests descended from Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from Me, will approach Me to serve Me. They will stand before Me to offer Me fat and blood." This is the declaration of the Lord GOD." | 15"'But the Levitical priests, the descendants of Zadok who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, will approach me to minister to me; they will stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the sovereign LORD. |
| 16They are the ones who may enter My sanctuary and draw near to My table to serve Me. They will keep My mandate. | 16They will enter my sanctuary, and approach my table to minister to me; they will keep my charge. |
| 17When they enter the gates of the inner court they must wear linen garments; they must not have on them anything made of wool when they minister at the gates of the inner court and within it. | 17"'When they enter the gates of the inner court, they must wear linen garments; they must not have any wool on them when they minister in the inner gates of the court and in the temple. |
| 18They must wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists. They are not to put on anything that makes them sweat. | 18Linen turbans will be on their heads and linen undergarments will be around their waists; they must not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat. |
| 19Before they go out to the outer court, to the people, they must take off the clothes they have been ministering in, leave them in the holy chambers, and dress in other clothes so that they do not transmit holiness to the people through their clothes." | 19When they go out to the outer court to the people, they must remove the garments they were ministering in, and place them in the holy chambers; they must put on other garments so that they will not transmit holiness to the people with their garments. |
| 20They may not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but must carefully trim their hair. | 20"'They must not shave their heads nor let their hair grow long; they must only trim their heads. |
| 21No priest may drink wine before he enters the inner court. | 21No priest may drink wine when he enters the inner court. |
| 22He is not to marry a widow or a divorced woman, but must marry a virgin from the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. | 22They must not marry a widow or a divorcee, but they may marry a virgin from the house of Israel or a widow who is a priest's widow. |
| 23They must teach My people the difference between the holy and the common, and explain to them the difference between the clean and the unclean." | 23Moreover, they will teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the ceremonially unclean and the clean. |
| 24In a dispute, they will officiate as judges and decide the case according to My ordinances. They must observe My laws and statutes regarding all My appointed festivals, and keep My Sabbaths holy. | 24"'In a controversy they will act as judges; they will judge according to my ordinances. They will keep my laws and my statutes regarding all my appointed festivals and will observe my Sabbaths. |
| 25A priest may not come near a dead person so that he becomes defiled. However, he may defile himself for a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, a brother, or an unmarried sister. | 25"'They must not come near a dead person or they will be defiled; however, for father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister, they may defile themselves. |
| 26After he is cleansed, he is to count off seven days for himself. | 26After a priest has become ceremonially clean, they must count off a period of seven days for him. |
| 27On the day he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court to minister in the sanctuary, he must present his sin offering." This is the declaration of the Lord GOD." | 27On the day he enters the sanctuary, into the inner court to serve in the sanctuary, he must offer his sin offering, declares the sovereign LORD. |
| 28This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance. You are to give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession. | 28"'This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance, and you must give them no property in Israel; I am their property. |
| 29They will eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the restitution offering. Everything in Israel that is permanently dedicated to the LORD will belong to them. | 29They may eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, and every devoted thing in Israel will be theirs. |
| 30The best of all the firstfruits of every kind and contribution of every kind from all your gifts will belong to the priests. You are to give your first batch of dough to the priest so that a blessing may rest on your homes. | 30The first of all the first fruits and all contributions of any kind will be for the priests; you will also give to the priest the first portion of your dough, so that a blessing may rest on your house. |
| 31The priests may not eat any bird or animal that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts." | 31The priests will not eat any bird or animal that has died a natural death or was torn to pieces by a wild animal. |
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