1 Then he brought me back the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary which looks toward the east; and it was shut.
2 Then said the LORD (Yehovah) to me; "This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it (therefore the prince of v.3 is more than man: either the risen David, or the Messiah Himself); because the LORD, the God (Elohim) of Israel (See Isa. 29:25), has entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.
3 It is for the prince; the prince (Heb. the Prince! as prince: i.e. the risen Davis, the Vice-regent of the Messiah; or, the Messiah Himself), he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same."
4 Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell upon my face.
5 And the LORD said to me, "Son of man (see 2:1), mark well, and behold with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I say to you concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and set your heart (your mind) on the entrance of the house, with every outgoings of the sanctuary.
6 And you shall say to the rebellious [people], even to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD (Adonai Yehovah); 'O you house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations,
7 In that you have brought into My sanctuary aliens, uncircumcised in heart (see Lev. 26:41. Deut. 10:16. Cp. Jer. 9:25,25), and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary, to profane it, even My house, when you bring near My bread, the fat and the blood (see Lev. 3:16,17), and you have broken My covenant because of all your abominations.
8 And you have not kept the charge of M holy things: but you have set keepers of My charge in My sanctuary for yourselves.' (I.e. for your own pleasure.)
F3 S1 9-14. The Levites.
S2 15-31. The Priests.
S1 T q 9,10. Prohibitions. [Negative.]
r 11. Ministry. [Positive.]
U 12. Reason.
T q 13. Prohibitions. [Negative.]
r 14. Ministry. [Positive.]
9 Thus says the Lord GOD; 'No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into My sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the sons of Israel.
10 And the Levites (these are distinguished her from the priests [vv.17-27]. See 43:19 and Deut. 17:9) that are gone away far from Me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from Me after their dirty idols; they shall even bear their iniquity (put for punishment do to it).
11 Yet (refers to the portion of service reserved for these Levites) they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the People (i.e. the Nation), and they shall stand before them to minister to them. (See Deut. 10:8. Cp. v.15 and Num. 16:9)
12 Because they ministered to them before their dirty idols, and were to the house of Israel a stumbling block of iniquity; therefore have I lifted up My hand against them, says the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity.
13 And they shall not come near to Me, to do the office of a priest (see 43:19) to Me, nor to come near to any of My holy things, in the holy of holies: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed.
14 But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.
S2 V s 15,16. Public. Ceremonial.
t 17-22. Personal. "
W 23,24. Moral.
V t 25. Personal. Ceremonial.
s 26,27. Public. "
W 28-31. Moral.
15 But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of My sanctuary when the sons 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 GOD:
16 They shall enter into My sanctuary, and they shall come near to My table, to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge.
17 And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments (see Ex. 28:42); and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and toward [the house].
18 They shall have linen head-dresses (or, turbans. [Ex. 39:28]. Cp. Isa. 61:10) upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causes sweat.
19 And when they go forth into the outer court, even into the outer court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the People with their garments.
20 Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long (see Lev. 21:5); they shall surely clip their heads.
21 Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court. (See Lev. 10:9. They might do so at other times.)
22 Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before. (See Lev. 21:14.)
23 And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. (See Lev. 10:11.)
24 And in strife they shall stand in judgment (see Deut. 17:9); and they shall judge it according to My judgments: and they shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed seasons; and they shall hallow My sabbaths. (See Lev. 19:30. They need to learn because they were Biblically illiterate, they were never taught.)
25 And they shall come at no dead human being (spiritually dead. Mortal = liable to die. Ones that didn't make the 1st resurrection) to defile themselves (cp. Lev. 21:1): but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that has had no husband, they may defile themselves. (Family only.)
26 And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon to him seven days. (See Num. 6:10)
27 And in the day that he goes into the sanctuary, to the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, says the Lord GOD.
28 And it shall be to them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance (see Num. 18:20. Deut. 10:9; 18:1,2): and you shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.
29 They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering: and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs. (See Num. 18:14.)
30 And the first of all the first-fruits of all things (see Ex. 13:2; 22:29,30; 23:19. Num. 3:13; 18:12,13), and every heave offering of all (see Ex. 29:27), of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest's: you shall also give to the priest the first of your dough (see Num. 15:20), that he may cause the blessing to rest in your house.
31 The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast. (See Lev. 22:8)