The Prince, the Levites, and the Priests Described

¹ And he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary that is facing east, and it was shut.

² And Yahweh said to me, “This gate will be shut. It shall not be opened, and ⌞no one⌟¹ will go through it, for Yahweh, the God of Israel, has entered it, and it will be shut.

1. Literally “and a man not”

³ The prince, he may sit in it to eat food ⌞before⌟¹ Yahweh; he will come from the way² of the portico of the gate and by means of its way he will also go out.”

1. Literally “to the face of”
2. Or “direction”

⁴ Then he brought me by the way of the gate of the north to the front of the temple,¹ and I looked,² and look! The glory of Yahweh filled the temple³ of Yahweh, and I fell on my face.

1. Or “house”
2. Or “saw”
3. Or “house”

⁵ And Yahweh said, “Son of man,¹ set your heart² and look with your eyes and with your ears hear ⌞everything⌟³ I am saying to you concerning all the statutes of the temple⁴ of Yahweh and concerning all its laws,⁵ and you must listen with your heart concerning the entrance of the temple⁶ with all of the exits of the sanctuary.

1. Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
2. Or “pay close attention” or “listen closely”
3. Literally “all of which/what”
4. Or “house”
5. According to the reading tradition (Qere); cf. BHS
6. Or “house”

⁶ And you must say to the rebellious, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Enough for you, house of Israel, of¹ all of your detestable things!

1. Or “from”

⁷ At¹ your bringing ⌞foreigners⌟² who are uncircumcised of heart and uncircumcised of flesh to be in my sanctuary to profane it, my temple,³ ⌞as you offered my food, fat, and blood⌟,⁴ so⁵ you broke my covenant by all of your detestable things.

1. Or “in”
2. Literally “children/people of a foreign land”
3. Or “house”
4. Literally “in/at your offering my food and fat and blood”
5. Or “and”

⁸ And you did not observe the responsibility of my sanctuary, but¹ you appointed them² as the keepers of my responsibility in my sanctuary for you.”

1. Or “and”
2. That is, foreigners

⁹ Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Every ⌞foreigner⌟¹ uncircumcised of heart and uncircumcised of flesh shall not come into my sanctuary—not any of the ⌞foreigners⌟² who are in the midst of the ⌞Israelites⌟.³

1. Literally “child of a foreign land”
2. Literally “child of a foreign land”
3. Literally “sons/children of Israel”

¹⁰ ⌞But⌟¹ the Levites who removed themselves from me ⌞at the going astray of Israel⌟,² who went astray from me and went after their idols, as a result they will bear their guilt.

1. Literally “For if”
2. Or “when Israel went astray”

¹¹ Then they will be¹ in my sanctuary, those serving in my sanctuary, as sentries² at the gates of the temple³ and as those serving the temple;⁴ they will slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they will stand ⌞before them⌟⁵ to serve them,

1. Or “may be”
2. Or “guards”
3. Or “house”
4. Or “house”
5. Literally “to the face of them”

¹² ⌞because⌟¹ they used to serve them ⌞before⌟² their idols and they were for the house of Israel like a stumbling block of iniquity. Therefore ⌞I swore⌟³ concerning them,” ⌞declares⌟⁴ the Lord Yahweh, “that they will bear their iniquity.

1. Literally “because that”
2. Literally “to the face of”
3. Literally “I raised my hand”
4. Literally “declaration of”

¹³ And they shall not approach me to serve as a priest for me and to come near to all of¹ my holy objects, ⌞to the most holy objects⌟,² and they will bear their disgrace and the results of their detestable things they have done.

1. Or “any of”
2. Literally “to the holy objects of the holy objects”

¹⁴ And I will appoint them as the keepers of the responsibility of¹ the temple, for all of its work² and ⌞everything⌟³which will be done in it.

1. Or “toward”
2. Or “tasks”
3. Literally “all”

¹⁵ But the Levitical priests, the descendants¹ of Zadok, who cared for the responsibility of my sanctuary ⌞when the Israelites went astray⌟² from me, they will approach me to serve me, and they will stand ⌞before me⌟³ to offer to me fat and blood,” ⌞declares⌟⁴ the Lord Yahweh.

1. Or “sons”
2. Literally “at going astray the children of Israel”
3. Literally “to the face of me”
4. Literally “declaration of”

¹⁶ “They shall come to my sanctuary, and they shall approach my table to serve me, and they will observe my requirement.

¹⁷ ⌞And then⌟¹ ⌞when they come⌟² to the gates of the inner courtyards, they shall put on their³ inner linen garments and not wear wool garments ⌞when they serve⌟⁴ in the gates of the inner courtyard and ⌞inside⌟⁵ the temple.

1. Literally “and it will happen”
2. Literally “at their coming”
3. Hebrew “the”
4. Literally “at their serving”
5. Literally “and toward”

¹⁸ Linen turbans shall be on their head and linen undergarments shall be on their waists; they shall not gird themselves with material causing perspiration.

¹⁹ When they go out to the outer courtyard to the people, they must take off their garment in which they were serving, and they must place them ⌞in the holy chambers⌟,¹ and they must put on other garments, so that they will not make the people holy with their garments.

1. Literally “in the chambers of the holiness”

²⁰ And their head they shall not shave, or long hair they shall not let grow; short they shall clip their heads.

²¹ And no priest shall drink wine when they come into the inner courtyard.

²² And a widow or divorced woman they shall not take for themselves as wives, ⌞but only⌟¹ a virgin from the offspring of the house of Israel, or the widow who is a widow for a priest they may take.

1. Literally “but if”

²³ And they will teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is unholy, and the difference between unclean and clean they must show them.

²⁴ And at a legal dispute they themselves shall stand to judge; employing¹ my judgments they shall judge it, and with respect to my laws and my statutes. All my festivals they shall keep and my Sabbaths they shall consecrate.

1. Or “with”

²⁵ And ⌞near a dead person⌟¹ he² shall not come to be defiled, ⌞but only⌟³ for a father and for a mother and for a son and for a daughter, for a brother and for a sister ⌞who was not married⌟⁴ may they defile themselves.

1. Literally “and to a dead person of a man”
2. That is, the priest
3. Literally “but if”
4. Literally “who not she was for a man”

²⁶ And, after his¹ cleansing, they shall count for him seven days,

1. That is, the priest

²⁷ and then on the day of his coming into the sanctuary to the inner courtyard to serve in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering,” ⌞declares⌟¹ the Lord Yahweh.

1. Literally “declaration of”

²⁸ And thus it will be to them as regards inheritance, that I am their inheritance, and so you shall not give to them property in Israel; I am their property.

²⁹ The grain offering and the sin offering and the guilt offering, they themselves may eat them, and also all the consecrated possessions¹ in Israel will be theirs.

1. Hebrew “possession”

³⁰ And also what is first of all of the firstfruits of everything, and of all of the contribution of everything from all of your contributions, to the priest ⌞it belongs⌟,¹ and what is first of your dough you shall give to the priest, so that a blessing may rest on your house.

1. Literally “it shall be”

³¹ Any dead body or mangled carcass from the birds¹ or from the animals,² the priests shall not eat.”

1. Hebrew “bird”
2. Hebrew “animal”