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46 ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: The gate of the temple's inside yard that opens to the east must stay shut for the six days that you work. You must only open it on each Sabbath day and on the day of each new moon. On those days, the ruler will go through the entrance room for this gate. It is his way in from the outside yard. He must stand beside the posts of the gate. The priests will then offer the ruler's burnt offering and his friendship offerings. The ruler will bend down low to worship me while he stands at the gate. Then he will go out. But they must not shut the gate until the evening. On Sabbath days and on new moon days, the people must stand in front of the east gate. They will bend down low to worship me, the Lord.

Every Sabbath day, the ruler will bring six lambs and a male sheep as a burnt offering to the Lord. These animals must have nothing wrong with them. The ruler will also bring grain offerings. He will offer an ephah of grain with the male sheep. For each of the lambs, he may give as much grain as he chooses. For each ephah of grain, he will offer a hin of olive oil.[a]

On the day of the new moon the ruler must offer a young bull, six lambs and a male sheep. These animals must have nothing wrong with them. He will also bring grain offerings. He will offer an ephah of grain with the bull and an ephah with the sheep. For each of the lambs, he may give as much grain as he chooses. For each ephah of grain, he will offer a hin of olive oil. When the ruler goes in, he must go through the gate's entrance room. And he must go out the same way.

The people will come to the temple to worship the Lord at the times of the festivals. If they come in through the north gate they must go out through the south gate. And if they come in through the south gate they must go out through the north gate. Nobody may go out of the gate through which he came in. He must go out by the opposite gate. 10 When the people go in, the ruler will go in with them. When the people go out, the ruler will also go out. 11 At the times of festivals and on other special days, the grain offering with each bull and each sheep will be an ephah. For each of the lambs, a person may give as much grain as they choose. They will give a hin of olive oil with each ephah of grain.

12 The ruler may choose to make a special gift to the Lord. It may be a burnt offering or a friendship offering. They must open the east gate of the inside yard for the ruler. He will make his offering at the gate, as he does on Sabbath days. Then he must go out. After he has left, they will shut the gate.

13 Every day, you must provide a lamb that is one year old and that has nothing wrong with it. Offer it to the Lord as a burnt offering. You must do that every morning, day after day. 14 With the lamb, you must give a grain offering. It will be one sixth of an ephah of grain. Mix a third of a hin of olive oil with the flour. This rule about the grain offering to the Lord will never change. 15 You must offer the lamb, with the grain offering and the olive oil, for a burnt offering every morning.

16 This is what the Almighty Lord says: The ruler may choose to give some of his land as a gift to one of his sons. If he does that, the land will belong to his son and to his descendants. It will always belong to their family. 17 The king may also choose to give some of his land to one of his servants. If he does that, the servant can keep the land until the year of Jubilee.[b] After that, the land will belong to the ruler again. The ruler's land will always belong to the ruler and to his descendants. 18 The king must not take for himself any land that belongs to the people. He must not take them away from their own land. He can only give his own land to his sons. Nobody may take any of my people away from the land that belongs to them.’

19 The man took me through the entrance beside the gate. We came to the holy rooms that belong to the priests. These rooms opened to the north. He showed me a place at the west end of these rooms. 20 He said to me, ‘This is the place where the priests will cook the meat for the sin offerings and for the guilt offerings. They will bake the grain offerings here, too. In this way, they will not have to take these holy things into the outside yard. If they did that, someone might touch them and become holy.’

21 Then the man took me to the outside yard. He took me around the yard to see its four corners. In each corner I saw that there was a small yard 22 These four small yards were 20 metres long and 15 metres wide. They were all the same size. 23 They had stone walls around them. At the bottom of the walls they had made places for fires to burn.

24 The man said to me, ‘The temple servants will use these kitchens to cook meat that the people bring for sacrifices.’

Footnotes

  1. 46:5 An ephah was about 22 litres. A hin was about 3 litres.
  2. 46:17 The year of Jubilee came every 50 years. See Leviticus 25:8-13.

46 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The gate of the inner court(A) facing east(B) is to be shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day and on the day of the New Moon(C) it is to be opened. The prince is to enter from the outside through the portico(D) of the gateway and stand by the gatepost. The priests are to sacrifice his burnt offering(E) and his fellowship offerings. He is to bow down in worship at the threshold of the gateway and then go out, but the gate will not be shut until evening.(F) On the Sabbaths(G) and New Moons the people of the land are to worship in the presence of the Lord at the entrance of that gateway.(H) The burnt offering the prince brings to the Lord on the Sabbath day is to be six male lambs and a ram, all without defect. The grain offering given with the ram is to be an ephah,[a] and the grain offering with the lambs is to be as much as he pleases, along with a hin[b] of olive oil for each ephah.(I) On the day of the New Moon(J) he is to offer a young bull, six lambs and a ram, all without defect.(K) He is to provide as a grain offering one ephah with the bull, one ephah with the ram, and with the lambs as much as he wants to give, along with a hin of oil for each ephah.(L) When the prince enters, he is to go in through the portico(M) of the gateway, and he is to come out the same way.(N)

“‘When the people of the land come before the Lord at the appointed festivals,(O) whoever enters by the north gate to worship is to go out the south gate; and whoever enters by the south gate is to go out the north gate. No one is to return through the gate by which they entered, but each is to go out the opposite gate. 10 The prince is to be among them, going in when they go in and going out when they go out.(P) 11 At the feasts and the appointed festivals, the grain offering is to be an ephah with a bull, an ephah with a ram, and with the lambs as much as he pleases, along with a hin of oil for each ephah.(Q)

12 “‘When the prince provides(R) a freewill offering(S) to the Lord—whether a burnt offering or fellowship offerings—the gate facing east is to be opened for him. He shall offer his burnt offering or his fellowship offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he has gone out, the gate will be shut.(T)

13 “‘Every day you are to provide a year-old lamb without defect for a burnt offering to the Lord; morning by morning(U) you shall provide it.(V) 14 You are also to provide with it morning by morning a grain offering, consisting of a sixth of an ephah[c] with a third of a hin[d] of oil(W) to moisten the flour. The presenting of this grain offering to the Lord is a lasting ordinance.(X) 15 So the lamb and the grain offering and the oil shall be provided morning by morning for a regular(Y) burnt offering.(Z)

16 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: If the prince makes a gift from his inheritance to one of his sons, it will also belong to his descendants; it is to be their property by inheritance.(AA) 17 If, however, he makes a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, the servant may keep it until the year of freedom;(AB) then it will revert to the prince. His inheritance belongs to his sons only; it is theirs. 18 The prince must not take(AC) any of the inheritance(AD) of the people, driving them off their property. He is to give his sons their inheritance out of his own property, so that not one of my people will be separated from their property.’”

19 Then the man brought me through the entrance(AE) at the side of the gate to the sacred rooms facing north,(AF) which belonged to the priests, and showed me a place at the western end. 20 He said to me, “This is the place where the priests are to cook the guilt offering and the sin offering[e] and bake the grain offering, to avoid bringing them into the outer court and consecrating(AG) the people.”(AH)

21 He then brought me to the outer court and led me around to its four corners, and I saw in each corner another court. 22 In the four corners of the outer court were enclosed[f] courts, forty cubits long and thirty cubits wide;[g] each of the courts in the four corners was the same size. 23 Around the inside of each of the four courts was a ledge of stone, with places for fire built all around under the ledge. 24 He said to me, “These are the kitchens where those who minister at the temple are to cook the sacrifices of the people.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 46:5 That is, probably about 35 pounds or about 16 kilograms; also in verses 7 and 11
  2. Ezekiel 46:5 That is, about 1 gallon or about 3.8 liters; also in verses 7 and 11
  3. Ezekiel 46:14 That is, probably about 6 pounds or about 2.7 kilograms
  4. Ezekiel 46:14 That is, about 1 1/2 quarts or about 1.3 liters
  5. Ezekiel 46:20 Or purification offering
  6. Ezekiel 46:22 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  7. Ezekiel 46:22 That is, about 70 feet long and 53 feet wide or about 21 meters long and 16 meters wide