The Prince and the Festivals

1The Sovereign LORD says, “The east gateway to the inner courtyard must be kept closed during the six working days, but it is to be opened on the Sabbath and at the New Moon Festival. 2The ruling prince will go from the outer courtyard into the entrance room by the gateway and stand beside the posts of the gate while the priests burn his sacrifices whole and offer his fellowship offerings. There at the gate he must worship and then go out again. The gate must not be shut until evening. 3Each Sabbath and each New Moon Festival all the people are also to bow down and worship the LORD in front of the gate.

4“On the Sabbath the prince is to bring to the LORD, as sacrifices to be burnt whole, six lambs and one ram, all without any defects. 5With each ram he is to bring an offering of 17.5 litres of corn, and with each lamb he is to bring whatever he wants to give. For each such grain offering he is to bring three litres of olive oil. 6At the New Moon Festival he will offer a young bull, six lambs, and a ram, all without any defects. 7With each bull and each ram the offering is to be 17.5 litres of corn, and with each lamb the offering is to be whatever the prince wants to give. Three litres of olive oil are to be offered with each such grain offering of corn. 8The prince must leave the entrance room of the gateway and go out by the same way as he went in.

9“When the people come to worship the LORD at any festival, those who enter by the north gate are to leave by the south gate after they have worshipped, and those who enter by the south gate are to leave by the north gate. No one may go out by the same way as he entered, but must leave by the opposite gate. 10The prince is to come in when the people come, and leave when they leave. 11On the feast days and at the festivals the grain offering will be 17.5 litres with each bull or ram, and whatever the worshipper wants to give with each lamb. Three litres of olive oil are to be offered with each such grain offering.

12“When the ruling prince wants to make a voluntary offering to the LORD, either an offering to be burnt whole or a fellowship offering, the east gate to the inner courtyard will be opened for him. He is to make the offering in the same way as he does on the Sabbath, and the gate is to be closed after he goes out again.”

The Daily Offering

13The LORD says, “Every morning a one-year-old lamb without any defects is to be burnt whole as an offering to the LORD. This offering must be made every day. 14Also an offering of two kilogrammes of flour is to be made every morning, together with one litre of olive oil for mixing with the flour. The rules for this offering to the LORD are to be in force for ever. 15The lamb, the flour, and the olive oil are to be offered to the LORD every morning for ever.”

The Prince and the Land

16The Sovereign LORD commands: “If the ruling prince gives any of the land he owns to one of his sons as a present, it will belong to that son as a part of his family property. 1746.17: Lev 25.10But if the ruling prince gives any of his land to anyone who is in his service, it will become the prince's property again when the Year of Restoration46.17 Year of Restoration: Every fifty years, all Israelites were required to give freedom to any other Israelites who had become slaves because of debts; they were also to give back to the original owner, or his heirs, any ancestral land that had been sold for debt (see Lev 25.8–55). comes round. It belongs to him, and only he and his sons can own it permanently. 18The ruling prince must not take any of the people's property away from them. Any land he gives to his sons must be from the land that is assigned to him, so that he will not oppress any of my people by taking their land.”

The Temple Kitchens

19Then the man took me to the entrance of the rooms facing north near the gate on the south side of the inner courtyard. These are holy rooms for the priests. He pointed out a place on the west side of the rooms 20and said, “This is the place where the priests are to boil the meat offered as sacrifices for sin or as repayment offerings, and to bake the offerings of flour, so that nothing holy is carried to the outer courtyard, where it might harm the people.”46.20 harm the people: See 44.19.

21-22Then he led me to the outer courtyard and showed me that in each of its four corners there was a smaller46.21–22 One ancient translation smaller; Hebrew enclosed. courtyard, twenty metres long and fifteen metres wide. 23Each one had a stone wall round it, with fireplaces built against the wall. 24The man told me, “These are the kitchens where the temple servants are to boil the sacrifices the people offer.”