Psalm 102:1-28 Hopeful Prayer on a Dark Day
Psalm 102:1 “(Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before Yahweh) Hear my prayer, Yahweh! Let my cry come to You. 2 Don’t hide Your face from me in the day of my distress...4 My heart is blighted like grass, and withered, for I forget to eat my bread. 8 My enemies reproach me all day. Those who are mad at me use my name as a curse. 9 For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mixed my drink with tears, 10 Because of Your indignation and Your wrath, for You have taken me up, and thrown me away. 11 My days are like a long shadow. I have withered like grass.
12 But You, Yahweh, will remain forever; Your renown endures to all generations. 13 You will arise and have mercy on Zion; for it is time to have pity on her. Yes, the set time has come. 14 For Your servants take pleasure in her stones, and have pity on her dust. 15 So the nations will fear the name of Yahweh; all the kings of the earth Your glory. 16 For Yahweh has built up Zion. He has appeared in His glory. 17 He has responded to the prayer of the destitute, and has not despised their prayer.
18 This will be written for the generation to come. A people which will be created will praise Yah. 19 For He has looked down from the height of His sanctuary. From heaven, Yahweh saw the earth; 20 to hear the groans of the prisoner; to free those who are condemned to death; 21 that men may declare the name of Yahweh in Zion, and His praise in Jerusalem; 22 when the peoples are gathered together, the kingdoms, to serve Yahweh. 23 He weakened my strength along the course. He shortened my days. 24 I said, "My God, don’t take me away in the midst of my days. Your years are throughout all generations. 25 Of old, You laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the work of Your hands. 26 They will perish, but You will endure. Yes, all of them will wear out like a garment. You will change them like a cloak, and they will be changed. 27 But You are the same. Your years will have no end. 28 The children of Your servants will continue. Their seed will be established before You."
Observations: 102:1-11 God's wrath is not random nor arbitrary, but always a response to sin. The afflicted author is overwhelmed with the consequences of sin (both personal and national), and feels that his heart has withered, and God has tossed him out in the trash.
102:12-17 In contrast to the impermanence of man, God remains strong and glorious, and able to respond to the prayer of the destitute.
102:18-27 God has built up Zion for a purpose, the revelation of His glory, and that purpose is not yet fulfilled. Shifting from the human to the divine perspective gives hope. The psalmist starts looking forward to the time when God will act, and future generations will praise Him in Zion, probably during the days of the Messiah.
Application: In bleak times when things are looking down, look up to the eternal God who is working out His purposes on the earth.
Prayer: Eternal God, we all perish because of sin, but You intervene to save those who call out to You in faith and hope and loyal love. Answer for the sake of Your servants and Your glory. Thanks. Amen.
Proverbs 23:20-23 Practical Advice for a Young Man
Observations: 23:20-28 When given freedom fools chase pleasure that results in pain. The wise use freedom to seek truth. A typically foolish adolescent goes through an advanced toddler stage, where they think they know more than their parents and even more than God. Some never grow out of this toddler stage, gorging themselves on whatever they think will give them gratification, from wine to women, until the consequences catch up with them, and they find themselves imprisoned by their abuse of freedom. Failing to listen to parents, not seeking their counsel, or despising their advise are telltale signs of a fool. Paying the cost to acquire truth, and applying it, getting wisdom, instruction and understanding are the hallmarks of a righteous and wise person. That's the child who brings joy and delight to the parents who have properly trained their offspring. The wise are righteous and bring delight to God as well as themselves.
Application: Keep your heart (values) and eyes (desires) on wise paths and you'll reach a pleasant destination. That's the only way to get there.
Prayer: Lord, may I always seek truth and apply wisdom to my life, so that I, and those around me, experience joy. Amen.
Ezekiel 44-48 These last chapters of Ezekiel are usually skimmed at a rapid rate, but there are a couple of gems tucked away, which most miss. Chapter 44 has some surprising insights into life in the Millennium which must be included in one's theology if they wish to be Biblical. The Millennium is the thousand year reign of the Messiah on the earth (Revelation 20) between the world as we know it (before the Tribulation trashes most of it, as recorded in the bulk of the Book of Revelation), and the Eternal State that follows it (Revelation 21-22). We'll look at more eschatological considerations in the Book of Daniel (beginning next post). For today, we'll see the glory of God in the Temple, worship in the Millennial Temple, Inalienable rights, the River of Life (which will flow from under the altar and revive the Dead Sea) and the division of land in the Millennium. If you're short on time, 44 and 47 are the most worthwhile chapters in the post. The chart below summarize most of these chapters.
Ezekiel 44 Biblical Teaching Results in Blessing
Ezk 44:1 "Then he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which looks toward the east; and it was shut. 2 Yahweh said to me, This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, neither shall any man enter in by it; for Yahweh, the God of Israel, has entered in by it; therefore it shall be shut. 3 As for the prince, he shall sit therein as prince to eat bread before Yahweh; he shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.
4 Then he brought me by the way of the north gate before the house; and I looked, and behold, the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh: and I fell on my face. 5 Yahweh said to me, Son of man, mark well, and see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I tell you concerning all the ordinances of the house of Yahweh, and all its laws; and mark well the entrance of the house, with every exit of the sanctuary. 6 You shall tell the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: you house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations, 7 in that you have brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to profane it, even my house, when you offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant, to add to all your abominations. 8 You have not performed the duty of my holy things; but you have set performers of my duty in my sanctuary for yourselves. 9 Thus says the Lord Yahweh, No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any foreigners who are among the children of Israel.
10 But the Levites who went far from me, when Israel went astray, who went astray from me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity/punishment. 11 Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the house, and ministering in the house: they shall kill the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them. 12 Because they ministered to them before their idols, and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel; therefore have I lifted up my hand against them, says the Lord Yahweh, and they shall bear their iniquity/punishment. 13 They shall not come near to me, to execute the office of priest to me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. 14 Yet will I make them performers of the duty of the house, for all its service, and for all that shall be done therein.
15 But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who performed the duty of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister to me; and they shall stand before me to offer to me the fat and the blood, says the Lord Yahweh: 16 they shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my instruction.
17 It shall be that, when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come on them, while they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. 18 They shall have linen tires on their heads, and shall have linen breeches on their waists; they shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat. 19 When they go forth into the outer court, even into the outer court to the people, they shall put off their garments in which they minister, and lay them in the holy rooms; and they shall put on other garments, that they not sanctify the people with their garments. 20 Neither shall they shave their heads, nor allow their locks to grow long; they shall only cut off the hair of their heads. 21 Neither shall any of the priests drink wine, when they enter into the inner court. 22 Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her who is put away; but they shall take virgins of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23 They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. 24 In a controversy they shall stand to judge; according to my ordinances shall they judge it: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts; and they shall make my Sabbaths holy. 25 They shall go in to no dead person to defile themselves; but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister who has had no husband, they may defile themselves. 26 After he is cleansed, they shall reckon to him seven days. 27 In the day that he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, says the Lord Yahweh. 28 They shall have an inheritance: I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession. 29 They shall eat the meal offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30 The first of all the first fruits of every thing, and every offering of everything, of all your offerings, shall be for the priest: you shall also give to the priests the first of your dough, to cause a blessing to rest on your house. 31 The priests shall not eat of anything that dies of itself, or is torn, whether it be bird or animal."
Observations: 44:1-14 God brings Ezekiel to see the shut eastern gate, which shall remain that way, because Yahweh had permanently entered the sanctuary for His glory to dwell there (and would not leave). This is not the gate of the temple mount in modern day Jerusalem, but rather that of the Millennial temple which will be constructed north of the city (Ezekiel 40:2). The prince (David?? cf 45:22) enters by way the porch to eat before Yahweh. In the Ancient Near East, eating food offered to the gods was a means of divine strengthening and fellowship with the gods. God chastises the rebellious people who had treated Him as common, and set servants in place to please themselves, rather than God (44:9). The uncircumcised of heart and flesh would be excluded from God's presence, as would the priests who had defiled themselves. The defiled priests would still be servants in the gates and in the priestly things related to the people (like killing their sin offerings during the Millennium – Ezekiel 40:38-43, a task the offender did under the Mosaic law), but they would bear their iniquity/punishment (NASB) and therefore not be in the direct presence of God. There were enduring consequences for their sin.
44:15-30 The priests who had remained loyal to God would be able to come into the presence of God, but they too had to be careful to follow God's rules and requirements for themselves and the ordinances for the temple service. Note that the sacrifice offered in verse 27 is for defilement caused by touching a dead person, and is not memorial in nature, but appears to look back on the Suffering Servant's sacrifice, just like earlier Levitical offerings looked forward to it. They had to teach the people the difference between holy and common, that is, between doing things God's way and the way the rest of the world lived. They had to teach folks to discern or discriminate between the unclean (which preempted people from God's presence) and the clean (which resulted in a state that enable them to be recipients of God's blessing). This is the same task that Biblical teachers have today. It's not about pork or beef, but about being blessable or not. It's not about the ritual, but the relationship. They did have to follow the regulations God mandated for Israel, especially the Sabbath, the sign of the Mosaic covenant. Careful readers will note that the requirements of that covenant apply even in the Millennium for the Israelite participants in the New Covenant (so do consequences for sin, as seen in the first half of the chapter). The Biblical priests would be honored for their service, because they not only pleased God, but enabled those they taught to be blessed by God (“blessing to rest/remain on your house”).
Application: The point of Biblical teaching is for people to be blessed by obeying God. If a person doesn't know what they need to do to be pleasing to God and blessed by Him, the teaching, teacher, and people have fallen short of the glory of God.
Prayer: Glorious God, thank Your for making it possible to dwell in Your presence; may my life be pleasing to You, and my service enable others to experience Your presence and blessing. Amen.
Ezekiel 45 Land for the Temple, and its Regulations
9 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Let it suffice you, princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute justice and righteousness; stop dispossessing my people, says the Lord Yahweh. 10 You shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath. 11 The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of a homer, and the ephah the tenth part of a homer: its measure shall be after the homer. 12 The shekel shall be twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels shall be your mina.
13 This is the offering that you shall offer: the sixth part of an ephah from a homer of wheat; and you shall give the sixth part of an ephah from a homer of barley; 14 and the set portion of oil, of the bath of oil, the tenth part of a bath out of the cor, which is ten baths, even a homer; (for ten baths are a homer;) 15 and one lamb of the flock, out of two hundred, from the well-watered pastures of Israel—for a meal offering, and for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings, to make atonement for them, says the Lord Yahweh. 16 All the people of the land shall give to this offering for the prince in Israel. 17 It shall be the prince’s part to give the burnt offerings, and the meal offerings, and the drink offerings, in the feasts, and on the new moons, and on the Sabbaths, in all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meal offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel.
18 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: In the first month, in the first day of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish; and you shall cleanse the sanctuary. 19 The priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering, and put it on the door posts of the house, and on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the posts of the gate of the inner court. 20 So you shall do on the seventh day of the month for everyone who errs, and for him who is simple: so you shall make atonement for the house. 21 In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. 22 On that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering. 23 The seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to Yahweh, seven bulls and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days; and a male goat daily for a sin offering. 24 He shall prepare a meal offering, an ephah for a bull, and an ephah for a ram, and a hin of oil to an ephah. 25 In the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, in the feast, shall he do the like the seven days; according to the sin offering, according to the burnt offering, and according to the meal offering, and according to the oil."
Observations: 45:1-8 God specifies the division of the land around the temple by lot (see map). This is yet future, since it follows the return of the glory to the temple and no historic arrangement is anything close to this.
45:9-17 God charges the princes to execute justice and righteousness rather than oppress the people which indicates that participants in the New Covenant are not robots but have the choice to obey or disobey. God establishes a just and uniform standard of measure. He also charges the princes with providing the animals and drink and grain for corporate offerings, Sabbaths, and feasts.
45:18-25 At the beginning of each year, the cleansing of the Temple and observance of the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread (seven days following the Passover) are mandated (just like under the Mosaic-Levitical law). The Feast of Tabernacles/Booths matches 45:25. First-fruits, Pentecost (Harvest/Weeks), Trumpets, and Day of Atonement are omitted (even though most things are spelled out in detail). One could argue that only Feasts which had changes are mentioned and 45:17 assumes all other Feasts are as specified in the Mosaic-Levitical law. On the other hand, one could see how Pentecost was fulfilled by the Spirit being given in the New Covenant; Trumpets by the Second Coming of the Messiah; and the Day of Atonement by the sacrifice of the Suffering Servant. Pre-trib fans will immediately hazard a guess for why First-fruits as a festival is missing; others will note that the giving of first fruits to the priests was covered in 44:30, and some will say it is as specified by Moses.
Application: Justice and righteousness are forever required by God, since those are extensions of His character.
Prayer: God may I be rightly related to You and those around me, and deal justly with others, as I would have them deal with me; show me where I'm deceived or out of line, so I can bring my life into conformity with Your desires for me. Thanks. Amen.
Ezekiel 46 Housekeeping and Inalienable Rights
11 In the feasts and in the solemnities the meal offering shall be an ephah for a bull, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah. 12 When the prince shall prepare a freewill offering, a burnt offering or peace offerings as a freewill offering to Yahweh, one shall open for him the gate that looks toward the east; and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he does on the Sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall shut the gate. 13 You shall prepare a lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering to Yahweh daily: morning by morning you shall prepare it. 14 You shall prepare a meal offering with it morning by morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of a hin of oil, to moisten the fine flour; a meal offering to Yahweh continually by a perpetual ordinance. 15 Thus shall they prepare the lamb, and the meal offering, and the oil, morning by morning, for a continual burnt offering.
16 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: If the prince give a gft to any of his sons, it is his inheritance, it shall belong to his sons; it is their possession by inheritance. 17 But if he give of his inheritance a gift to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty; then it shall return to the prince; but as for his inheritance, it shall be for his sons. 18 Moreover the prince shall not take of the people’s inheritance, to thrust them out of their possession; he shall give inheritance to his sons out of his own possession, that my people not be scattered every man from his possession.
19 Then he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy rooms for the priests, which looked toward the north: and behold, there was a place on the hinder part westward. 20 He said to me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the meal offering; that they not bring them forth into the outer court, to sanctify the people. 21 Then he brought me forth into the outer court, and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and behold, in every corner of the court there was a court. 22 In the four corners of the court there were courts enclosed, forty cubits long and thirty broad: these four in the corners were of one measure."
Observations: 46:1-10 This chapter has mainly housekeeping details and regulations for the unidentified prince (which most think is a resurrected David or one of his descendents).
The prince enters and leaves by the same gate, but is not allowed into the inner vestibule since he is not a priest. The people enter from the north and leave by the south, maybe for traffic control. On the major feasts, the prince joins with the people, worshiping as one of them.
46:11-15 The Mosaic law specified a morning and evening sacrifice. Here there is only a morning sacrifice as the continual offering. Perhaps there is no evening because of the continual presence of God which gives light (Revelation 21:23, although that is in the context of the New Jerusalem).
46:16-22 The laws of gifts and inheritance ensure that people would be able to maintain their possessions, and develop them for their livelihoods. Even in the almost idyllic setting of the Millennium, God knows there is a need to remind the leadership not to oppress the people nor seize their property.
Application: God is a big believer in individual property rights and limiting the power of government to oppress people. Those are ideals worth protecting.
Prayer: Creator God, may our leaders be very conscious that You are God and they are not, and may they maintain the inalienable rights with which You have endowed Your creatures. Amen.
Ezekiel 47 Life Giving Revelation
13 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: This shall be the border, by which you shall divide the land for inheritance according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions. 14 You shall inherit it, one as well as another; for I swore to give it to your fathers: and this land shall fall to you for inheritance. 15 This shall be the border of the land: On the north side, from the great sea... 21 So you shall divide this land to you according to the tribes of Israel. 22 It shall happen, that you shall divide it by lot for an inheritance to you and to the aliens who live among you, who shall father children among you; and they shall be to you as the native-born among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. 23 It shall happen, that in what tribe the stranger lives, there you shall give him his inheritance, says the Lord Yahweh."
Observation: 47:1-12 From under the altar comes water that eventually becomes a river that goes all the way to the Dead Sea. This is probably not a “natural” spring, because of the source, quantity, and ability to “heal the dead sea. When it reaches the Sea (which has a mineral/salt content about five times normal, which prevents aquatic life) it will heal the Sea so all kinds of fish will grow. Along it's banks will be trees for food and whose leaves will be used for healing. This is similar to, but not identical to, the Water and Tree of Life description in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 22:1-2). In a dry region, without water there is no life. With water, things grow. The water from under the altar will not only give life to the region, but will reverse the barrenness of Dead Sea.
47:13-23 God specifies the borders of the land that will be split up among the tribes by lot for their inheritances. The amazing thing is that foreigners and strangers who had joined themselves to Israel as God had predicted would happen when He regathered Israel, would get inheritance rights in the land. Joseph would get the double portion as Jacob/Israel had promised.
Application: The life-giving and healing waters flow from that upon which the altar/sacrificial system is based, the Revelation of God.
Prayer: Lord, may my life be healed and watered by Your word; may I be like a fruitful tree drawing my nourishment continually from the river of Your Revelation. Amen.
Ezekiel 48 God Keeps His Promises
31 and the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel, three gates northward: the gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; the gate of Levi, one. 32 At the east side four thousand and five hundred reeds, and three gates: even the gate of Joseph, one; the gate of Benjamin, one; the gate of Dan, one. 33 At the south side four thousand and five hundred reeds by measure, and three gates: the gate of Simeon, one; the gate of Issachar, one; the gate of Zebulun, one. 34 At the west side four thousand and five hundred reeds, with their three gates: the gate of Gad, one; the gate of Asher, one; the gate of Naphtali, one. 35 It shall be eighteen thousand reeds around: and the name of the city from that day shall be, Yahweh is there."
Observation: 48:1-31 God specifies the boundaries of the land for each tribe, the “offering” for the Temple area, the choice spot for the faithful sons of Zadok, and the places for the Levites, the Prince, and the city. See the map.
48:32-35 There are twelve gates for the twelve tribes (Joseph and Levi replace Ephraim and Manasseh). The name of the city is now “Yahweh-Shammah” (Yahweh is there). It wasn't easy, and takes thousand of years, but God is finally able to bless Israel as He intended and promised.
Application: God always fulfills His promises, in this case, to give the land to Jacob's descendents and dwell in the midst of them. We can trust Him to do everything He has said.
Prayer: God, I praise You are so trustworthy; I know I can always rely upon You to do what You said You'd do. Amen.
Hebrews 11:6 "Without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is (who He said He is), and that He (will do what He said He'll do) is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
Digging Deeper:
God in a nutshell: God keeps His promises, and requires obedience at all times. God wants to live in the midst of His people Israel, giving them the land as He promised to Abraham, Isaac,and Jacob. It has taken thousands of years so far, but eventually He will get a blessable Israel in the land and bless them permanently (as He did temporarily in the days of Joshua and David/Solomon and a few other good kings). He will include Gentiles, who join themselves to Israel, in their inheritance. He will require sacrifices and observance of many of the Mosaic commandments during the Millennium, and Israel will get it right. Millennial worship will be a response to revelation, just as it is now.
Us in a nutshell: We will always reap the consequences of our actions whether for good or bad (2Cor 5). Even when living with the Spirit within us, we can do what we want rather than what God wants. Even though engaged in serving God, we will bear the consequences of our sin, though forgiven (which should spur us on to greater commitment to obedience and service).
Where to Go for More:
Ezekiel 44-48 (complete text)
Ezekiel 44
44:1 Then he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which looks toward the east; and it was shut. 2 Yahweh said to me, This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, neither shall any man enter in by it; for Yahweh, the God of Israel, has entered in by it; therefore it shall be shut. 3 As for the prince, he shall sit therein as prince to eat bread before Yahweh; he shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.
4 Then he brought me by the way of the north gate before the house; and I looked, and behold, the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh: and I fell on my face. 5 Yahweh said to me, Son of man, mark well, and see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I tell you concerning all the ordinances of the house of Yahweh, and all its laws; and mark well the entrance of the house, with every exit of the sanctuary. 6 You shall tell the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: you house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations, 7 in that you have brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to profane it, even my house, when you offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant, to add to all your abominations. 8 You have not performed the duty of my holy things; but you have set performers of my duty in my sanctuary for yourselves. 9 Thus says the Lord Yahweh, No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any foreigners who are among the children of Israel.
10 But the Levites who went far from me, when Israel went astray, who went astray from me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity. 11 Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the house, and ministering in the house: they shall kill the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them. 12 Because they ministered to them before their idols, and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel; therefore have I lifted up my hand against them, says the Lord Yahweh, and they shall bear their iniquity. 13 They shall not come near to me, to execute the office of priest to me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. 14 Yet will I make them performers of the duty of the house, for all its service, and for all that shall be done therein. 15 But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who performed the duty of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister to me; and they shall stand before me to offer to me the fat and the blood, says the Lord Yahweh: 16 they shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my instruction.
17 It shall be that, when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come on them, while they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. 18 They shall have linen tires on their heads, and shall have linen breeches on their waists; they shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat. 19 When they go forth into the outer court, even into the outer court to the people, they shall put off their garments in which they minister, and lay them in the holy rooms; and they shall put on other garments, that they not sanctify the people with their garments. 20 Neither shall they shave their heads, nor allow their locks to grow long; they shall only cut off the hair of their heads. 21 Neither shall any of the priests drink wine, when they enter into the inner court. 22 Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her who is put away; but they shall take virgins of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23 They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. 24 In a controversy they shall stand to judge; according to my ordinances shall they judge it: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts; and they shall make my Sabbaths holy. 25 They shall go in to no dead person to defile themselves; but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister who has had no husband, they may defile themselves. 26 After he is cleansed, they shall reckon to him seven days. 27 In the day that he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, says the Lord Yahweh. 28 They shall have an inheritance: I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession. 29 They shall eat the meal offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30 The first of all the first fruits of every thing, and every offering of everything, of all your offerings, shall be for the priest: you shall also give to the priests the first of your dough, to cause a blessing to rest on your house. 31 The priests shall not eat of anything that dies of itself, or is torn, whether it be bird or animal.
Ezekiel 45
45:1 Moreover, when you shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, you shall offer an offering to Yahweh, a holy portion of the land; the length shall be the length of twenty-five thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten thousand: it shall be holy in all its border all around. 2 Of this there shall be for the holy place five hundred in length by five hundred in breadth, square all around; and fifty cubits for its suburbs all around. 3 Of this measure you shall measure a length of twenty-five thousand, and a breadth of ten thousand: and in it shall be the sanctuary, which is most holy. 4 It is a holy portion of the land; it shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who come near to minister to Yahweh; and it shall be a place for their houses, and a holy place for the sanctuary. 5 Twenty-five thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth, shall be to the Levites, the ministers of the house, for a possession to themselves, for twenty rooms. 6 You shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and twenty-five thousand long, side by side with the offering of the holy portion: it shall be for the whole house of Israel. 7 Whatever is for the prince shall be on the one side and on the other side of the holy offering and of the possession of the city, in front of the holy offering and in front of the possession of the city, on the west side westward, and on the east side eastward; and in length answerable to one of the portions, from the west border to the east border. 8 In the land it shall be to him for a possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more oppress my people; but they shall give the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.
9 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Let it suffice you, princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute justice and righteousness; dispossessing my people, says the Lord Yahweh. 10 You shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath. 11 The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of a homer, and the ephah the tenth part of a homer: its measure shall be after the homer. 12 The shekel shall be twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels shall be your mina.
13 This is the offering that you shall offer: the sixth part of an ephah from a homer of wheat; and you shall give the sixth part of an ephah from a homer of barley; 14 and the set portion of oil, of the bath of oil, the tenth part of a bath out of the cor, which is ten baths, even a homer; (for ten baths are a homer;) 15 and one lamb of the flock, out of two hundred, from the well-watered pastures of Israel—for a meal offering, and for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings, to make atonement for them, says the Lord Yahweh. 16 All the people of the land shall give to this offering for the prince in Israel. 17 It shall be the prince’s part to give the burnt offerings, and the meal offerings, and the drink offerings, in the feasts, and on the new moons, and on the Sabbaths, in all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meal offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel. 18 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: In the first month, in the first day of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish; and you shall cleanse the sanctuary. 19 The priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering, and put it on the door posts of the house, and on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the posts of the gate of the inner court. 20 So you shall do on the seventh day of the month for everyone who errs, and for him who is simple: so you shall make atonement for the house. 21 In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. 22 On that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering. 23 The seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to Yahweh, seven bulls and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days; and a male goat daily for a sin offering. 24 He shall prepare a meal offering, an ephah for a bull, and an ephah for a ram, and a hin of oil to an ephah. 25 In the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, in the feast, shall he do the like the seven days; according to the sin offering, according to the burnt offering, and according to the meal offering, and according to the oil.
Ezekiel 46
46:1 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: The gate of the inner court that looks toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened. 2 The prince shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate outside, and shall stand by the post of the gate; and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. 3 The people of the land shall worship at the door of that gate before Yahweh on the Sabbaths and on the new moons. 4 The burnt offering that the prince shall offer to Yahweh shall be on the Sabbath day six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish; 5 and the meal offering shall be an ephah for the ram, and the meal offering for the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah. 6 On the day of the new moon it shall be a young bull without blemish, and six lambs, and a ram; they shall be without blemish: 7 and he shall prepare a meal offering, an ephah for the bull, and an ephah for the ram, and for the lambs according as he is able, and a hin of oil to an ephah. 8 When the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and he shall go forth by its way. 9 But when the people of the land shall come before Yahweh in the appointed feasts, he who enters by the way of the north gate to worship shall go forth by the way of the south gate; and he who enters by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate by which he came in, but shall go forth straight before him. 10 The prince, when they go in, shall go in with of them; and when they go out, he shall go out. 11 In the feasts and in the solemnities the meal offering shall be an ephah for a bull, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah. 12 When the prince shall prepare a freewill offering, a burnt offering or peace offerings as a freewill offering to Yahweh, one shall open for him the gate that looks toward the east; and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he does on the Sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall shut the gate. 13 You shall prepare a lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering to Yahweh daily: morning by morning you shall prepare it. 14 You shall prepare a meal offering with it morning by morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of a hin of oil, to moisten the fine flour; a meal offering to Yahweh continually by a perpetual ordinance. 15 Thus shall they prepare the lamb, and the meal offering, and the oil, morning by morning, for a continual burnt offering.
16 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: If the prince give a gift to any of his sons, it is his inheritance, it shall belong to his sons; it is their possession by inheritance. 17 But if he give of his inheritance a gift to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty; then it shall return to the prince; but as for his inheritance, it shall be for his sons. 18 Moreover the prince shall not take of the people’s inheritance, to thrust them out of their possession; he shall give inheritance to his sons out of his own possession, that my people not be scattered every man from his possession.
19 Then he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy rooms for the priests, which looked toward the north: and behold, there was a place on the hinder part westward. 20 He said to me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the meal offering; that they not bring them forth into the outer court, to sanctify the people. 21 Then he brought me forth into the outer court, and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and behold, in every corner of the court there was a court. 22 n the four corners of the court there were courts enclosed, forty cubits long and thirty broad: these four in the corners were of one measure.
Ezekiel 47
47:1 He brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward; (for the forefront of the house was toward the east;) and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar. 2 Then he brought me out by the way of the gate northward, and led me round by the way outside to the outer gate, by the way of the gate that looks toward the east; and behold, there ran out waters on the right side. 3 When the man went forth eastward with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the ankles. 4 Again he measured one thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the knees. Again he measured one thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the waist. 5 Afterward he measured one thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass through; for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. 6 He said to me, Son of man, have you seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the bank of the river. 7 Now when I had returned, behold, on the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. 8 Then he said to me, These waters issue forth toward the eastern region, and shall go down into the Arabah; and they shall go toward the sea; into the sea shall the waters go which were made to issue forth; and the waters shall be healed. 9 It shall happen, that every living creature which swarms, in every place where the rivers come, shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters have come there, and the waters of the sea shall be healed, and everything shall live wherever the river comes. 10 It shall happen, that fishermen shall stand by it: from En Gedi even to En Eglaim shall be a place for the spreading of nets; their fish shall be after their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. 11 But the miry places of it, and its marshes, shall not be healed; they shall be given up to salt. 12 By the river on its bank, on this side and on that side, shall grow every tree for food, whose leaf shall not wither, neither shall its fruit fail: it shall bring forth new fruit every month, because its waters issue out of the sanctuary; and its fruit shall be for food, and its leaf for healing.
13 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: This shall be the border, by which you shall divide the land for inheritance according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions. 14 You shall inherit it, one as well as another; for I swore to give it to your fathers: and this land shall fall to you for inheritance. 15 This shall be the border of the land: On the north side, from the great sea, by the way of Hethlon, to the entrance of Zedad; 16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazer Hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran. 17 The border from the sea, shall be Hazar Enon at the border of Damascus; and on the north northward is the border of Hamath. This is the north side. 18 The east side, between Hauran and Damascus and Gilead, and the land of Israel, shall be the Jordan; from the north border to the east sea you shall measure. This is the east side. 19 The south side southward shall be from Tamar as far as the waters of Meriboth Kadesh, to the brook of Egypt, to the great sea. This is the south side southward. 20 The west side shall be the great sea, from the south border as far as over against the entrance of Hamath. This is the west side. 21 So you shall divide this land to you according to the tribes of Israel. 22 It shall happen, that you shall divide it by lot for an inheritance to you and to the aliens who live among you, who shall father children among you; and they shall be to you as the native-born among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. 23 It shall happen, that in what tribe the stranger lives, there you shall give him his inheritance, says the Lord Yahweh.
Ezekiel 48
48:1 Now these are the names of the tribes: From the north end, beside the way of Hethlon to the entrance of Hamath, Hazar Enan at the border of Damascus, northward beside Hamath, (and they shall have their sides east and west), Dan, one portion. 2 By the border of Dan, from the east side to the west side, Asher, one portion. 3 By the border of Asher, from the east side even to the west side, Naphtali, one portion. 4 By the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west side, Manasseh, one portion. 5 By the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west side, Ephraim, one portion. 6 By the border of Ephraim, from the east side even to the west side, Reuben, one portion. 7 By the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west side, Judah, one portion. 8 By the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side, shall be the offering which you shall offer, twenty-five thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the portions, from the east side to the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in its midst. 9 The offering that you shall offer to Yahweh shall be twenty-five thousand reeds in length, and ten thousand in breadth. 10 For these, even for the priests, shall be the holy offering: toward the north twenty-five thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south twenty-five thousand in length: and the sanctuary of Yahweh shall be in its midst. 11 It shall be for the priests who are sanctified of the sons of Zadok, who have kept my instruction, who didn’t go astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray. 12 It shall be to them an offering from the offering of the land, a thing most holy, by the border of the Levites. 13 Answerable to the border of the priests, the Levites shall have twenty-five thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be twenty-five thousand, and the breadth ten thousand. 14 They shall sell none of it, nor exchange it, nor shall the first fruits of the land be alienated; for it is holy to Yahweh. 15 The five thousand that are left in the breadth, in front of the twenty-five thousand, shall be for common use, for the city, for dwelling and for suburbs; and the city shall be in its midst. 16 These shall be its measures: the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred. 17 The city shall have suburbs: toward the north two hundred fifty, and toward the south two hundred fifty, and toward the east two hundred fifty, and toward the west two hundred fifty. 18 The remainder in the length, answerable to the holy offering, shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward; and it shall be answerable to the holy offering; and its increase shall be for food to those who labour in the city. 19 Those who labour in the city, out of all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it. 20 All the offering shall be twenty-five thousand by twenty-five thousand: you shall offer the holy offering foursquare, with the possession of the city. 21 The residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy offering and of the possession of the city; in front of the twenty-five thousand of the offering toward the east border, and westward in front of the twenty-five thousand toward the west border, answerable to the portions, it shall be for the prince: and the holy offering and the sanctuary of the house shall be in its midst. 22 Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince’s, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, it shall be for the prince. 23 As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west side, Benjamin, one portion. 24 By the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, Simeon, one portion. 25 By the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, Issachar, one portion. 26 By the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, Zebulun, one portion. 27 By the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side, Gad, one portion. 28 By the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar to the waters of Meribath Kadesh, to the brook of Egypt, to the great sea. 29 This is the land which you shall divide by lot to the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their several portions, says the Lord Yahweh. 30 These are the exits of the city: On the north side four thousand and five hundred reeds by measure;
31 ¶ and the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel, three gates northward: the gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; the gate of Levi, one. 32 At the east side four thousand and five hundred reeds, and three gates: even the gate of Joseph, one; the gate of Benjamin, one; the gate of Dan, one. 33 At the south side four thousand and five hundred reeds by measure, and three gates: the gate of Simeon, one; the gate of Issachar, one; the gate of Zebulun, one. 34 At the west side four thousand and five hundred reeds, with their three gates: the gate of Gad, one; the gate of Asher, one; the gate of Naphtali, one. 35 It shall be eighteen thousand reeds around: and the name of the city from that day shall be, Yahweh is there.
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