Ezekiel
Chapter 46
1 God says: The gate of the inner yard facing east must be closed during the six workdays. But on the Sabbath, it should be opened, and also on the new moon day, it should be opened.
2 The prince will go in through the gateway’s outer porch, stand by the gatepost, and the priests will get his burnt offering and peace offerings ready. He will bow down at the gate’s entrance, then leave, and the gate will stay open until evening.
3 The local people must worship at the entrance of this gate on Sabbaths and new moon days, honoring God.
4 The sacrifice the leader gives to God on the Sabbath day should be six perfect lambs and one perfect ram.
5 The grain offering should be an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs, whatever he can afford, and a hin of oil for each ephah.
6 On the day of the new moon, there must be a young, perfect bull and six lambs and a ram, all without any defects.
7 He must bring a grain offering: one ephah for a bull, one ephah for a ram, whatever he can afford for the lambs, and one hin of oil for each ephah.
8 When the prince enters, he will use the entrance of that gate, and he will leave using that same way.
9 When the people come to worship God during the special feasts, anyone who enters through the north gate must leave through the south gate. Anyone who enters through the south gate must leave through the north gate. They should not go back the same way they came in, but leave from the opposite gate.
10 The leader among them must enter when they enter and leave when they leave.
11 During festivals and special ceremonies, offer a bushel of grain with each bull, a bushel with each ram, and as much as you can for each lamb, plus a gallon of oil for each bushel of grain.
12 When the prince wants to give a burnt offering or peace offerings to God by choice, they should open the east-facing gate for him, and he will offer them as he does on the Sabbath. After he leaves, they should close the gate.
13 Every day, you must offer a perfect first-year lamb in a burnt sacrifice to God; do this each morning.
14 Every morning, make a food offering of one-sixth of an ephah of flour and one-third of a hin of oil to mix with the flour. This is to be a regular food offering to God forever.
15 They must get the lamb, the grain offering, and the oil ready every morning for a regular burnt offering.
16 God says, if a ruler gives a gift to his sons, it will belong to them; it will be theirs by right of inheritance.
17 If he gives a servant a gift from his inheritance, it belongs to the servant until the Year of Freedom. Then it goes back to the ruler, but his children keep his inheritance.
18 The leader must not take the people’s land by force or push them out of their property; instead, he should give his children land from his own property, so my people aren’t forced away from their land.
19 He led me to the side entrance of the gate to the priests’ holy rooms facing north. There I saw a space to the west on both sides.
20 He told me, “This is where the priests will cook the guilt and sin offerings and bake the grain offerings, so they don’t have to take them to the outer courtyard and make the people holy.”
21 He took me out to the outer courtyard and led me to each of its four corners; in every corner, there was a smaller courtyard.
22 In the four corners of the courtyard, there were connected courts, each 40 units long and 30 units wide; all four corners were the same size.
23 There was a row of buildings around them, all four sides, with cooking places built underneath the rows all around.
24 He told me, “These are the kitchens where the temple workers will cook the people’s sacrifices.”