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Chapter 46

Sabbaths. Thus says the Lord God: The gate of the inner court facing east shall remain closed throughout the six working days, but on the sabbath and on the day of the new moon it shall be open. [a]Then the prince shall enter from outside by way of the vestibule of the gate and remain standing at the doorpost of the gateway while the priests sacrifice his burnt offerings and communion offerings; then he shall bow down in worship at the opening of the gate and leave. But the gate shall not be closed until evening. The people of the land also shall bow down in worship before the Lord at the opening of this gate on the sabbaths and new moons. The burnt offerings which the prince sacrifices to the Lord on the sabbath shall consist of six unblemished lambs and an unblemished ram, together with a grain offering of one ephah for the ram and whatever he pleases for the lambs, and a hin of oil for each ephah. (A)On the day of the new moon, he shall provide an unblemished young bull, six lambs, and a ram without blemish, with a grain offering of one ephah for the bull and an ephah for the ram, and for the lambs whatever he can, and for each ephah a hin of oil.(B)

Ritual Laws. When the prince enters, he shall always enter and depart by the vestibule of the gate. When the people of the land come before the Lord to bow down on the festivals, if they enter by the north gate they shall leave by the south gate, and if they enter by the south gate they shall leave by the north gate. They shall not go back by the gate through which they entered; everyone shall leave by the opposite gate. 10 When they come in, the prince shall be with them; he shall also leave with them. 11 On feasts and festivals, the grain offering shall be an ephah for a bull, an ephah for a ram, but for the lambs whatever they please, and a hin of oil with each ephah. 12 When the prince makes a freewill offering to the Lord, whether a burnt offering or communion offering, the gate facing east shall be opened for him, and he shall bring his burnt offering or peace offering as he does on the sabbath. Then he shall leave, and the gate shall be closed after his departure. 13 (C)Every day you shall bring as a burnt offering to the Lord an unblemished year-old lamb; you shall offer it every morning, 14 and with it every morning a grain offering of one sixth of an ephah, with a third of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour. This grain offering for the Lord is a perpetual statute. 15 (D)The lamb, the grain offering, and the oil you must bring every morning as a perpetual burnt offering.

The Prince and the Land. 16 Thus says the Lord God: If the prince makes a gift of part of his heritage to any of his sons, it belongs to his sons; that property is their heritage. 17 But if he makes a gift of part of his heritage to one of his servants, it belongs to him until the year of release;[b] then it reverts to the prince. Only the heritage given to his sons belongs to him.(E) 18 The prince shall not seize any part of the heritage of the people by forcing them off their property. From his own property he shall provide heritage for his sons, so that none of my people will be driven off their property.

The Temple Kitchens. 19 Then he brought me through the entrance at the side of the gateway to the chambers reserved for the priests, which faced north. There I saw a place at the far west end, 20 about which he said to me, “This is the place where the priests cook the reparation offerings and the purification offerings and bake the grain offerings, so they do not have to bring them into the outer court and so transmit holiness to the people.”[c](F) 21 Then he led me into the outer court and had me cross to the four corners of the court, and there, in each corner, was another court! 22 In all four corners of the courtyard there were courts set off, each forty cubits long by thirty cubits wide, all four of them the same size. 23 A stone wall surrounded them on four sides, and ovens were built along the bottom of the walls all the way around. 24 He said to me, “These are the kitchens where the temple ministers cook the sacrifices of the people.”

Footnotes

  1. 46:2–12 The prophet describes the inner eastern gateway opening on the inner court of the priests in front of the Temple itself where the altar of sacrifice stands. The people may watch the priests making offerings on sabbaths and feast days only by looking through the open gate; the prince, however, may stand inside the gate, in the vestibule on the edge of the inner court, to observe the offerings. Only priests could stand in the court itself.
  2. 46:17 The year of release: the jubilee year; cf. Lv 25:23–55.
  3. 46:20 Cf. note on 44:19.

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