Ezekiel 44

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 He brought me back to the outer east gate of the sanctuary. It was shut.	1 Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, facing the east; but it was closed.
2 Yahweh said to me, 'This gate will be kept shut. No one may open it or go through it, since Yahweh,God of Israel, has been through it. And so it must be kept shut.	2 He said to me: This gate is to remain closed; it is not to be opened for anyone to enter by it; since the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered by it, it shall remain closed.
3 The prince himself, however, may sit there to take his meal in the presence of Yahweh. He must enterand leave through the porch of the gate.'	3 Only the prince may sit down in it to eat his meal in the presence of the LORD. He must enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and leave by the same way.
4 He led me through the north gate to the front of the Temple. And then I looked; I saw the glory ofYahweh filling the Temple of Yahweh; and I fel to the ground.	4 Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the facade of the temple, and when I looked I saw the glory of the LORD filling the LORD'S temple, and I fell prone.
5 Yahweh said to me, 'Son of man, pay attention, look careful y and listen closely to everything I explain;these are all the arrangements of the Temple of Yahweh and al its laws. Be careful about who is admitted to theTemple and who is excluded from the sanctuary.	5 Then he said to me: Son of man, pay strict attention, look carefully, and listen intently to all that I will tell you about the statutes and laws of the LORD'S temple; be attentive in regard to those who are to be admitted to the temple and all those who are to be excluded from the sanctuary.
6 And say to the rebels of the House of Israel, "The Lord Yahweh says this: You have gone beyond albounds with al your loathsome practices, House of Israel,	6 Say to that rebellious house, the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord GOD: Enough of all these abominations of yours, O house of Israel!
7 by admitting aliens, uncircumcised in heart and body, to frequent my sanctuary and profane myTemple, while offering my food, the fat and the blood, and breaking my covenant with all your loathsomepractices.	7 You have admitted foreigners, uncircumcised both in heart and flesh, to my sanctuary to profane it when you offered me food, fat, and blood; thus you have broken my covenant by all your abominations.
8 Instead of maintaining the service of my holy things, you have deputed someone else to maintain myservice in my sanctuary.	8 Instead of caring for the service of my temple, you have appointed such as these to serve me in my sanctuary in your stead.
9 The Lord Yahweh says this: No alien, uncircumcised in heart and body, may enter my sanctuary, noneof the aliens living among the Israelites.	9 Thus says the Lord GOD: No foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and in flesh, shall ever enter my sanctuary; none of the foreigners who live among the Israelites.
10 "As regards the Levites who abandoned me when Israel strayed far from me by fol owing its idols,they must bear the weight of their own sin.	10 But as for the Levites who departed from me when Israel strayed from me to pursue their idols, they shall bear the consequences of their sin.
11 They must be servants in my sanctuary, responsible for guarding the Temple gates and serving theTemple. They wil kil the burnt offerings and the sacrifice for the people, and hold themselves at the service ofthe people.	11 They shall serve in my sanctuary as gatekeepers and temple servants; they shall slaughter the holocausts and the sacrifices for the people, and they shall stand before the people to minister for them.
12 Since they used to be at their service in front of their idols and were an occasion of guilt for theHouse of Israel, very wel , I stretch out my hand against them -- declares the Lord Yahweh -- they wil bear theweight of their guilt.	12 Because they used to minister for them before their idols, and became an occasion of sin to the house of Israel, therefore I have sworn an oath against them, says the Lord GOD: they shall bear the consequences of their sin.
13 They may never approach me again to perform the priestly office in my presence, nor touch my holythings and my most holy things; they must bear the disgrace of their loathsome practices.	13 They shall no longer draw near me to serve as my priests, nor shall they touch any of my sacred things, or the most sacred things. Thus they shall bear their disgrace because of all their abominable deeds.
14 I shal give them the responsibility of serving the Temple; I shal make them responsible for serving itand for everything to be done in it.	14 But I will set them to the service of the temple, for all its work and for everything that is to be done in it.
15 "As regards the levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who maintained the service of my sanctuarywhen the Israelites strayed far from me, they wil approach me to serve me; they will stand in my presence tooffer me the fat and blood -- declares the Lord Yahweh.	15 As for the levitical priests, however, the Zadokites who cared for my sanctuary when the Israelites strayed from me, they shall draw near me to minister to me, and they shall stand before me to offer me fat and blood, says the Lord GOD.
16 They will enter my sanctuary and approach my table to serve me; they wil maintain my service.	16 It is they who shall enter my sanctuary, they who shall approach my table to minister to me, and they who shall carry out my service.
17 Once they enter the gates of the inner court, they must wear linen vestments; they must wear nowool when they serve inside the gates of the inner court and in the Temple.	17 Whenever they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall wear linen garments; they shall not put on anything woolen when they minister at the gates of the inner court or within the temple.
18 They must wear linen caps on their heads and linen breeches on their loins; they may not wearanything round their waists that makes them sweat.	18 They shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen drawers on their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything that causes sweat.
19 When they go out to the people in the outer court, they must remove the vestments in which theyhave performed the liturgy and leave them in the rooms of the Holy Place, and put on other clothes, so as not tohallow the people with their vestments.	19 When they are to go out to the people in the outer court, they shall take off the garments in which they ministered and leave them in the chambers of the sanctuary, putting on other garments; thus they will not transmit holiness to the people with their garments.
20 They may neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow long, but must cut their hair careful y.	20 They shall not shave their heads nor let their hair hang loose, but they shall keep their hair carefully trimmed.
21 No priest may drink wine on the day he enters the inner court.	21 No priest shall drink wine when he is to enter the inner court.
22 They may not marry widows or divorced women, but only virgins of the race of Israel; they may,however, marry a widow, if she is the widow of a priest.	22 They shall not take for their wives either widows or divorced women, but only virgins of the race of Israel; however, they may marry women who are the widows of priests.
23 They must teach my people the difference between what is sacred and what is profane and makethem understand the difference between what is clean and what is unclean.	23 They shall teach my people to distinguish between the sacred and the profane, and make known to them the difference between the clean and the unclean.
24 They must be judges in law-suits; they must judge in the spirit of my judgements; they must fol ow mylaws and ordinances at al my feasts and keep my Sabbaths holy.	24 In capital cases they shall stand as judges, judging them according to my decrees. They shall observe my laws and statutes on all my festivals, and keep my sabbaths holy.
25 They may not go near a dead person, in case they become unclean, except in these permissiblecases, that is, for father, mother, daughter, son, brother or unmarried sister.	25 They shall not make themselves unclean by coming near any dead person, unless it be their father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or maiden sister; for these they may make themselves unclean.
26 After one of them has been purified, seven days must elapse;	26 After a priest has been cleansed, he must wait an additional seven days,
27 then, the day he enters the Holy Place in the inner court to minister in the Holy Place, he must offerhis sacrifice for sin -- declares the Lord Yahweh.	27 and on the day he enters the inner court to minister in the sanctuary, he shall present his sin offering, says the Lord GOD.
28 They may have no heritage; I myself shal be their heritage. You may give them no patrimony inIsrael; I myself shal be their patrimony.	28 They shall have no inheritance, for I am their inheritance; you shall give them no property in Israel, for I am their property.
29 Their food must be the oblation, the sacrifice for sin and the sacrifice of reparation. Everythingdedicated by vow in Israel shall be for them.	29 They shall eat the cereal offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; whatever is under the ban in Israel shall be theirs.
30 The best of al your first-fruits and of al the dues and of everything you offer, must go to the priests;and the best of your dough you must also give to the priests, so that a blessing may rest on your house.	30 All the choicest first fruits of every kind, and all the best of your offerings of every kind, shall belong to the priests; likewise the best of your dough you shall give to the priests to bring a blessing down upon your house.
31 Priests must not eat the flesh of anything that has died a natural death or been savaged, be it bird oranimal." '	31 The priests shall not eat anything, whether flesh or fowl, that has died of itself or has been killed by wild beasts.