Ezekiel 46
Contemporary English Version
Various Laws for the Ruler and the People
46 The Lord said:
The east gate of the inner courtyard must remain closed during the six working days of each week. But on the Sabbath and on the first day of the month, this gate will be opened. 2 Israel's ruler will go from the outer courtyard into the entrance room of this gate and stand in the doorway while the priest offers sacrifices to ask my blessing[a] and sacrifices to please me.[b] The ruler will bow with his face to the ground to show that he has worshiped me. Then he will leave, and the gate will remain open until evening.
3 Each Sabbath and on the first day of each month, the people of Israel must also come to the east gate and worship me. 4 On the Sabbath, the ruler will bring six lambs and one ram to be offered as sacrifices to please me. There must be nothing wrong with any of these animals. 5 With the ram, he is to offer nine kilograms of grain, and with each of the lambs, he can offer as much as he wants. He must also offer three liters of olive oil with every nine kilograms of grain.
6 The ruler is to bring six lambs, a bull, and a ram to be offered as sacrifices at the New Moon Festival. There must be nothing wrong with any of these animals. 7 With the bull and the ram, he is to offer nine kilograms of grain, and with each of the lambs, he can offer as much as he wants. He must also offer three liters of olive oil with every nine kilograms of grain. 8 The ruler must come through the entrance room of the east gate and leave the same way.
9 When my people come to worship me during any festival, they must always leave by the opposite gate from which they came: Those who come in the north gate must leave by the south gate, and those who come in the south gate must leave by the north gate. 10 Their ruler will come in at the same time they do and leave at the same time they leave.
11 At all other festivals and celebrations, nine kilograms of grain will be offered with a bull, and nine kilograms will be offered with a ram. The worshipers can offer as much grain as they want with each lamb. Three liters of olive oil must be offered with every nine kilograms of grain.
12 If the ruler voluntarily offers a sacrifice to please me or to ask my blessing, the east gate of the inner courtyard will be opened for him. He will offer his sacrifices just as he does on each Sabbath; then he will leave, and the gate will be closed.
13 Each morning a year-old lamb that has nothing wrong with it must be offered as a sacrifice to please me. 14 Along with it, two kilograms of fine flour mixed with a liter of olive oil must be offered as a grain sacrifice. This law will never change— 15 the lamb, the flour, and the olive oil will be offered to me every morning for all time.
Laws about the Ruler's Land
16 The Lord God said:
If the ruler of Israel gives some of his land to one of his children, it will belong to the ruler's child as part of the family property. 17 (A) But if the ruler gives some of his land to one of his servants, the land will belong to the servant until the Year of Celebration, when it will be returned to the ruler.[c] Only the ruler's children can keep what is given to them.
18 The ruler must never abuse my people by taking land from them. Any land he gives his children must already belong to him.
The Sacred Kitchens
19 The man who was showing me the temple[d] then took me back to the inner courtyard. We walked to the south side of the courtyard and stopped at the door to the sacred rooms that belonged to the priests. He showed me more rooms at the western edge of the courtyard 20 and said, “These are the kitchens where the priests must boil the meat to be offered as sacrifices to make things right[e] and as sacrifices for sin.[f] They will also bake the grain for sacrifices in these kitchens. That way, these sacred offerings won't have to be carried through the outer courtyard, where someone could accidentally touch them and be harmed.”[g]
21 We went back to the outer courtyard and walked past the four corners. 22 At each corner I saw a smaller courtyard, 20 meters long and 15 meters wide. 23 Around the inside of these smaller courtyards was a low wall of stones, and against the wall were places to build fires.[h] 24 The man said, “These are the kitchens where the temple workers will boil the meat that worshipers offer as sacrifices.”
Footnotes
- 46.2 sacrifices to ask my blessing: See the note at 43.27.
- 46.2 sacrifices to please me: See the note at 40.38,39.
- 46.17 the Year of Celebration … to the ruler: This was a sacred year for Israel, traditionally called the “Year of Jubilee.” During this year, all property had to go back to its original owner (see Leviticus 25.8-34).
- 46.19 The man … temple: See 40.3.
- 46.20 sacrifices to make things right: See the note at 40.38,39.
- 46.20 sacrifices for sin: See the note at 40.38,39.
- 46.20 someone … touch them and be harmed: See the note at 44.19.
- 46.23 fires: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 23.
Ezekiel 46
Easy-to-Read Version
The Ruler and the Festivals
46 This is what the Lord God says: “The east gate of the inner courtyard will be closed on the six working days. But it will be opened on the Sabbath day and on the day of the New Moon. 2 The ruler will go into the porch of that gate and stand by the gatepost. Then the priests will offer the ruler’s burnt offering and fellowship offerings. The ruler will worship at the opening of that gate and then go out. But the gate will not be shut until evening. 3 On the Sabbath day and on the day of the New Moon, the common people will also worship the Lord at that gate.
4 “The ruler will offer burnt offerings to the Lord on the Sabbath. He must provide six lambs that have nothing wrong with them and a ram that has nothing wrong with it. 5 He must give an ephah of grain offering with the ram. As for the grain offering with the lambs, the ruler can give as much as he wants. But he must give 1 hin of olive oil for each ephah of grain.
6 “On the day of the New Moon he must offer a young bull that has nothing wrong with it. He will also offer six lambs and a ram that have nothing wrong with them. 7 The ruler must give an ephah of grain as an offering with the bull and an ephah of grain as an offering with the ram. As for the grain offering with the lambs, he can give as much as he wants. But he must give 1 hin of olive oil for each ephah of grain.
8 “When the ruler goes in, he must enter at the porch of the east gate—and he must leave that same way.
9 “When the common people come to meet with the Lord at the special festivals, whoever enters through the north gate to worship will go out through the south gate, and whoever enters through the south gate will go out through the north gate. People must not return the same way they entered. Each person must go out straight ahead. 10 The ruler should be there among the people. When the people go in, the ruler will go in with them, and when they go out, the ruler will too.
11 “At the festivals and other special meetings, an ephah of grain as an offering must be offered with each young bull, and an ephah of grain as an offering must be offered with each ram. As for the grain offering with the lambs, the ruler can give as much as he wants. But he must give 1 hin of olive oil for each ephah of grain.
12 “When the ruler gives a freewill offering to the Lord—it might be a burnt offering, a fellowship offering, or a freewill offering—the east gate will be opened for him. Then he will offer his burnt offering and his fellowship offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. After he leaves, the gate will be shut.
The Daily Offering
13 “Every day you will provide a year-old lamb that has nothing wrong with it. It will be for a burnt offering to the Lord. You will provide it every morning. 14 Also, you will offer a grain offering with the lamb every morning. You will give 1/6 ephah[a] of flour and 1/3 hin[b] of oil to make the fine flour moist. It will be the daily grain offering to the Lord. 15 So they will give the lamb, the grain offering, and the oil every morning for a burnt offering forever.”
Laws of Inheritance for the Ruler
16 This is what the Lord God says: “If the ruler gives a gift from part of his land to any of his sons, it will belong to his sons. It is their property. 17 But if the ruler gives a gift from part of his land to one of his slaves, the gift will belong to the slave only until the year of freedom.[c] Then the gift will go back to the ruler. Only the ruler’s sons will keep a gift of land from the ruler. 18 And the ruler will not take any of the people’s land or force them to leave their land. He must give some of his own land to his sons. In that way my people will not be forced to lose their land.”
The Special Kitchens
19 The man led me through the entrance at the side of the gate. He led me to the holy rooms for the priests on the north side. There I saw a place at the west end of the path. 20 The man said to me, “This is where the priests will boil the guilt offering and the sin offering and will bake the grain offering. Why? So they will not need to bring these offerings out into the outer courtyard. So they will not bring those holy things out where the common people are.”
21 Then the man led me out to the outer courtyard. He led me to the four corners of the courtyard. I saw smaller courtyards in each corner of the large courtyard. 22 There was a small, enclosed area in each of the four corners of the courtyard. Each small courtyard was 40 cubits[d] long and 30 cubits[e] wide. The four areas measured the same. 23 There was a brick wall around each of the four small courtyards, and there were places built into the brick walls for cooking. 24 The man said to me, “These are the kitchens where those who serve at the Temple cook the sacrifices for the people.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 46:14 1/6 ephah 14 cups (3.67 l).
- Ezekiel 46:14 1/3 hin A liquid measure (1/3 gallon or 1 l).
- Ezekiel 46:17 year of freedom Or “Jubilee.” See “Jubilee” in the Word List.
- Ezekiel 46:22 40 cubits 68' 1/4" (20.73 m).
- Ezekiel 46:22 30 cubits 51' 3/16" (15.55 m).
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