441 Then the man brought me back to the outside gate complex of the Sanctuary that faces east. But it was shut. 2 God spoke to me: "This gate is shut and it's to stay shut. No one is to go through it because God, the God of Israel, has gone through it. It stays shut. 3 Only the prince, because he's the prince, may sit there to eat in the presence of God. He is to enter the gate complex through the porch and leave by the same way."

4 The man led me through the north gate to the front of the Temple. I looked, and - oh! - the bright Glory of God filling the Temple of God! I fell on my face in worship. 5 God said to me, "Son of man, get a grip on yourself. Use your eyes, use your ears, pay careful attention to everything I tell you about the ordinances of this Temple of God, the way all the laws work, instructions regarding it and all the entrances and exits of the Sanctuary. 6 "Tell this bunch of rebels, this family Israel, 'Message of God, the Master: No more of these vile obscenities, Israel, 7 dragging irreverent and unrepentant outsiders, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, into my Sanctuary, feeding them the sacrificial offerings as if it were the food for a neighborhood picnic. With all your vile obscenities, you've broken trust with me, the solemn covenant I made with you. 8 You haven't taken care of my holy things. You've hired out the work to foreigners who care nothing for this place, my Sanctuary. 9 No irreverent and unrepentant aliens, uncircumcised in heart or flesh, not even the ones who live among Israelites, are to enter my Sanctuary.'

10 "The Levites who walked off and left me, along with everyone else - all Israel - who took up with all the no-god idols, will pay for everything they did wrong. 11 From now on they'll do only the menial work in the Sanctuary: guard the gates and help out with the Temple chores - and also kill the sacrificial animals for the people and serve them. 12 Because they acted as priests to the no-god idols and made my people Israel stumble and fall, I've taken an oath to punish them. Decree of God, the Master. Yes, they'll pay for what they've done. 13 They're fired from the priesthood. No longer will they come into my presence and take care of my holy things. No more access to The Holy Place! They'll have to live with what they've done, carry the shame of their vile and obscene lives. 14 From now on, their job is to sweep up and run errands. That's it. 15 "But the Levitical priests who descend from Zadok, who faithfully took care of my Sanctuary when everyone else went off and left me, are going to come into my presence and serve me. They are going to carry out the priestly work of offering the solemn sacrifices of worship. Decree of God, the Master. 16 They're the only ones permitted to enter my Sanctuary. They're the only ones to approach my table and serve me, accompanying me in my work.

17 "When they enter the gate complex of the inside courtyard, they are to dress in linen. No woolens are to be worn while serving at the gate complex of the inside courtyard or inside the Temple itself. 18 They're to wear linen turbans on their heads and linen underclothes - nothing that makes them sweat. 19 When they go out into the outside courtyard where the people gather, they must first change out of the clothes they have been serving in, leaving them in the sacred rooms where they change to their everyday clothes, so that they don't trivialize their holy work by the way they dress. 20 "They are to neither shave their heads nor let their hair become unkempt, but must keep their hair trimmed and neat. 21 "No priest is to drink on the job - no wine while in the inside courtyard. 22 "Priests are not to marry widows or divorcees, but only Israelite virgins or widows of priests. 23 "Their job is to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, to show them how to discern between unclean and clean. 24 "When there's a difference of opinion, the priests will arbitrate. They'll decide on the basis of my judgments, laws, and statutes. They are in charge of making sure the appointed feasts are honored and my Sabbaths kept holy in the ways I've commanded. 25 "A priest must not contaminate himself by going near a corpse. But when the dead person is his father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried sister, he can approach the dead. 26 But after he has been purified, he must wait another seven days. 27 Then, when he returns to the inside courtyard of the Sanctuary to do his priestly work in the Sanctuary, he must first offer a sin offering for himself. Decree of God, the Master. 28 "As to priests owning land, I am their inheritance. Don't give any land in Israel to them. I am their 'land,' their inheritance. 29 They'll take their meals from the grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings. Everything in Israel offered to God in worship is theirs. 30 The best of everything grown, plus all special gifts, comes to the priests. All that is given in worship to God goes to them. Serve them first. Serve from your best and your home will be blessed. 31 "Priests are not to eat any meat from bird or animal unfit for ordinary human consumption, such as carcasses found dead on the road or in the field.

31 He told me, "Son of man, eat what you see. Eat this book. Then go and speak to the family of Israel." 2 As I opened my mouth, he gave me the scroll to eat, 3 saying, "Son of man, eat this book that I am giving you. Make a full meal of it!" So I ate it. It tasted so good - just like honey. 4 Then he told me, "Son of man, go to the family of Israel and speak my Message. 5 Look, I'm not sending you to a people who speak a hard-to-learn language with words you can hardly pronounce. 6 If I had sent you to such people, their ears would have perked up and they would have listened immediately. 7 "But it won't work that way with the family of Israel. They won't listen to you because they won't listen to me. They are, as I said, a hard case, hardened in their sin. 8 But I'll make you as hard in your way as they are in theirs. 9 I'll make your face as hard as rock, harder than granite. Don't let them intimidate you. Don't be afraid of them, even though they're a bunch of rebels." 10 Then he said, "Son of man, get all these words that I'm giving you inside you. Listen to them obediently. Make them your own. 11 And now go. Go to the exiles, your people, and speak. Tell them, 'This is the Message of God, the Master.' Speak your piece, whether they listen or not." 12 Then the Spirit picked me up. Behind me I heard a great commotion - "Blessed be the Glory of God in his Sanctuary!" 13 - the wings of the living creatures beating against each other, the whirling wheels, the rumble of a great earthquake. 14 The Spirit lifted me and took me away. I went bitterly and angrily. I didn't want to go. But God had me in his grip. 15 I arrived among the exiles who lived near the Kebar River at Tel Aviv. I came to where they were living and sat there for seven days, appalled.

A Watchman to Israel

16 At the end of the seven days, I received this Message from God: 17 "Son of man, I've made you a watchman for the family of Israel. Whenever you hear me say something, warn them for me. 18 If I say to the wicked, 'You are going to die,' and you don't sound the alarm warning them that it's a matter of life or death, they will die and it will be your fault. I'll hold you responsible. 19 But if you warn the wicked and they keep right on sinning anyway, they'll most certainly die for their sin, but you won't die. You'll have saved your life. 20 "And if the righteous turn back from living righteously and take up with evil when I step in and put them in a hard place, they'll die. If you haven't warned them, they'll die because of their sins, and none of the right things they've done will count for anything - and I'll hold you responsible. 21 But if you warn these righteous people not to sin and they listen to you, they'll live because they took the warning - and again, you'll have saved your life."

The Prophet Made Dumb

22 God grabbed me by the shoulder and said, "Get up. Go out on the plain. I want to talk with you." 23 So I got up and went out on the plain. I couldn't believe my eyes: the Glory of God! Right there! It was like the Glory I had seen at the Kebar River. I fell to the ground, prostrate. 24 Then the Spirit entered me and put me on my feet. He said, "Go home and shut the door behind you." 25 And then something odd: "Son of man: They'll tie you hand and foot with ropes so you can't leave the house. 26 I'll make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so you won't be able to talk and tell the people what they're doing wrong, even though they are a bunch of rebels. 27 "But then when the time is ripe, I'll free your tongue and you'll say, 'This is what God, the Master, says: . . .' From then on it's up to them. They can listen or not listen, whichever they like. They are a bunch of rebels!