Ezekiel 44

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east; and it was shut.	1 Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, facing the east; but it was closed.
2 And he 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.	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 Only 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."	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 Then 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 upon my face.	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 And 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 ordinances of the temple of the LORD and all its laws; and mark well those who may be admitted to the temple and all those who are to be 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 rebellious house, to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: O house of Israel, let there be an end to all your abominations,	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 in admitting foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to be in my sanctuary, profaning it, when you offer to me my food, the fat and the blood. You have broken my covenant, in addition to all your abominations.	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 And you have not kept charge of my holy things; but you have set foreigners to keep my charge 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 "Therefore 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 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 But the Levites who went far from me, going astray from me after their idols when Israel went astray, shall bear their punishment.	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 shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the temple, and serving in the temple; they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall attend on the people, to serve them.	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 Because 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, says the Lord GOD, that they shall bear their punishment.	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 shall not come near to me, to serve me as priest, nor come near any of my sacred things and the things that are most sacred; but they shall bear their shame, because of the abominations which they have committed.	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 Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the temple, to do all its service and all that is 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 "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 attend on me to offer me the fat and the blood, says the Lord GOD;	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 shall enter my sanctuary, and they shall approach my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge.	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 When 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 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 shall have linen turbans upon their heads, and linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything that causes 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 And 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 communicate holiness to the people with their garments.	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 shall not shave their heads or let their locks grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads.	20 They shall not shave their heads nor let their hair hang loose, but they shall keep their hair carefully trimmed.
21 No priest shall drink wine, when he enters the inner court.	21 No priest shall drink wine when he is to enter the inner court.
22 They shall not marry a widow, or a divorced woman, but only a virgin of the stock of the house of Israel, or a widow who 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 shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.	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 In a controversy 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 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 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 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 he is defiled, he shall count for himself seven days, and then he shall be clean.	26 After a priest has been cleansed, he must wait an additional seven days,
27 And 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, says the Lord GOD.	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 shall have no inheritance; I am their inheritance: and you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession.	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 They shall eat the cereal offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs.	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 And the first of all the first fruits 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 coarse meal, 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 The priests shall not eat of anything, whether bird or beast, that has died of itself or is torn.	31 The priests shall not eat anything, whether flesh or fowl, that has died of itself or has been killed by wild beasts.