| Holman Christian Standard Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1The man then brought me back toward the sanctuary's outer gate that faced east, and it was closed. | 1Then the Lord GOD brought me back through the east-facing outer gate of the sanctuary. 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 told me, "This gate is to remain shut. It will not be opened. No man is to enter through it, because the LORD God of Israel entered through it, so it is to 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." | 3The Regent Prince will be seated there, as Regent Prince, and will dine in the LORD's presence, entering through the portico of the gate and exiting through it also." |
| 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 through the north-facing gate to the front of the Temple. As I looked, the glory of the LORD filled the LORD's Temple, and I fell flat on my face! |
| 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." | 5Then the LORD told me, "Son of Man, watch carefully, listen closely, and remember everything I'm going to be telling you about all the statutes pertaining to the LORD's Temple and all of its laws. Pay careful attention to the entrance to the Temple, along with all of the exits to 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. | 6"You are to tell the Resistance—that is, the house of Israel, 'This is what the Lord GOD says: "I've had enough of all of your loathsome behavior, you 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. | 7You kept on bringing in foreigners, those who were uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to profane my sanctuary by being inside my Temple, and by doing so you've emptied my covenant, all the while offering my food—the fat and the blood—in addition to all of the other loathsome things you've done. |
| 8You have not kept charge of My holy things but have appointed others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you." | 8Furthermore, you haven't paid attention to the requirements for my holy things. Instead, you placed foreigners in charge of my sanctuary."' |
| 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. | 9"This is what the Lord GOD says, 'No foreigner who is both uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the Israelis is to enter 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. | 10But the descendants of Levi, who went far away from me when Israel abandoned me, who left me to follow their idols, are to bear the punishment of their iniquity. |
| 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. | 11Nevertheless, they are to serve in my sanctuary, overseeing the gates of the Temple, taking care of the Temple, slaughtering the burnt offerings and the sacrifices presented for the people, standing in the presence of the people, and ministering 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 kept serving them in the presence of their idols, becoming a sin-filled stumbling block to the house of Israel,' declares the Lord GOD. "'I have sworn to them that they are to bear the consequences of their iniquity. |
| 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 are not to come near me to serve me as a priest, nor approach any of my holy things, including the most holy things. Instead, they are to bear the shame of the loathsome things that they have done. |
| 14Yet I will make them responsible for the duties of the temple--for all its work and everything done in it." | 14Nevertheless, I will appoint them to take care of my Temple, including all of its service and everything that is to be done inside of 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"The descendants of Zadok, Levitical priests who took care of my sanctuary when the Israelis wandered away from me, are to come near me to minister to me. They are to stand before me to offer the fat and the blood to me," declares the Lord GOD. |
| 16They are the ones who may enter My sanctuary and draw near to My table to serve Me. They will keep My mandate. | 16"They are to enter my sanctuary, approach my table to minister to me, and carry out my requirements. |
| 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. | 17Whenever they enter at the gates of the inner court, they are to be clothed with linen garments. They are not to wear wool when they are ministering within the gates of the inner courtyard or 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 are to be on their heads, and they are to wear linen undergarments. Also, they are not to clothe themselves with anything that makes them perspire. |
| 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." | 19"When they enter the outer courtyard, that is, the outer courtyard where the people are, they are to take off their garments in which they were ministering, lay them in the consecrated chambers, and put on different garments so they will not transfer holiness to the people through their garments. |
| 20They may not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but must carefully trim their hair. | 20Also, they are not to shave their heads nor let their hair grow long. Instead, they are certainly to trim the hair on their heads. |
| 21No priest may drink wine before he enters the inner court. | 21None of the priests are to drink wine after entering the inner courtyard. |
| 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 are not to marry a widow or a divorced woman. Instead, they are to marry virgins from the descendants of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest." |
| 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." | 23"They are to teach my people how to discern what is holy in contrast to what is common, showing them how to discern between what is unclean and 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. | 24When disputes arise, they are to serve as a judge, adjudicating matters according to my ordinances. They are to enforce my laws, my statutes, all of my appointed festivals, and they are to sanctify 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. | 25They are not to come in contact with a dead body, so they don't defile themselves, except in the case of their father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or for an unmarried sister, on whose behalf they may defile themselves. |
| 26After he is cleansed, he is to count off seven days for himself. | 26After he is cleansed from that contact, he is to not to minister for seven days. |
| 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 that he returns to the sanctuary's inner court to minister, he is to offer his own sin offering," declares the Lord GOD. |
| 28This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance. You are to give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession. | 28"Now with respect to the priests' inheritances, I am to be their inheritance, and you are to give them no possession in Israel, since I am their possession. |
| 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 are to eat the grain offerings, sin offering, and guilt offering. Everything consecrated in Israel is to belong to them. |
| 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 portion of all the first fruits of every kind and every offering of any kind is to be for the priests. You are to give the priest the first portion of your grain. As a result a blessing will rest on your household. |
| 31The priests may not eat any bird or animal that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts." | 31However, the priests are not to eat any bird or animal that has died a natural death or that has been torn apart." |
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