Nkoba wakazhaligwa
1 Ipapo kabgwilila nami ku nkoba we bugalo gwakayengemala utjakuzhe wakalinga ku bhezhuba, ngono nkoba iwoyo wakabe wakazhaligwa. 2 Yahwe bakandidwa bakati, “Nkoba iwoyu ugale wakazhaligwa. Usitongo zhugwa, kusiyite ungangina ndiwo. Ugale wakazhaligwa ngoti Yahwe, Ndzimu we Iziraela bakangina ndiwo. 3 Ntungamili iye ndiye yega ungagala tjemukati kwe nkoba kuja zojiwa pana Yahwe. Unowongina ne nkoto we nkoba kabuya kabhuda ndiwo.”
Kuamutjigwa mu Ng'umba ye Ndzimu
4 Kudwa ipapo kandibuza nge nkoba we bunandzwa kandiyisa mbeli kwe Ng'umba ye Ndzimu. Ngono ati ndilinga abona tjedza tja Yahwe tjilizhele Ng'umba ya Yahwe, ngono awila pasi nge buso. 5 Yahwe bakandidwa bakati, “Nkololo we nthu, linga nge njele, uhwilile zubuyanana uyele njele tjimwe ne tjimwe tjandinokubudza ngekwe milayo ye Ng'umba ya Yahwe. Yela njele nkoba unongina we Ng'umba ye Ndzimu ne mikoba yose inobhudiwa ndiyo ye bugalo gwakayengemala. 6 Budza ng'umba ye bupanduki ye Iziraela uti, ‘She Yahwe bakati, Mija yenyu yose inoshimika ngaipele imwi bathu be Iziraela. 7 Makalonga bataya bana mimoyo isakathumbigwa isingandihwe, basakathumbigwa nenge mu nyama mu bugalo gwangu gwakayengemala, mugutemapadza ntome mundipa zojiwa ne mafuta ne malopa ngono muvuna tjidumano tjangu pezhugwi kwe zwinoshimisa zwamunothama. 8 Mu bumo gwe kuti mutjengete zwithu zwangu zwakayengemala mopa bataya simba le kutjengeta bugalo gwangu gwakayengemala.
9 “ ‘She Yahwe bakati, Akuna ntaya usakathumbigwa mu moyo ne mu nyama ungangina mu bugalo gwangu gwakayengemala, kose naibabo bataya banogala pakati kwe Baiziraela. 10 Koga Balevi bakati bakayenda kule nami betjutjula betobela midzimu yabo ye zwifano mu tjibaka Iziraela tjayakabe yalashika bakafanila senga mibhayilo ye tjibi tjabo. 11 Bangashinga zwabo mu bugalo gwangu gwakayengemala, betjengeta mikoba naiyo Ng'umba ye Ndzimu beshinga zwabo muili, bangabhayila bathu zwibhayilo bakabuya bakama mbeli kwe bathu bakabashingila. 12 Koga ngekuti bakabashingila mu buyapo gwe midzimu yabo ye zwifano ngono bakathama kuti bathu be Iziraela batjinye, ndizowali ndamilidza luboko gwangu ndituna kuti basengane ne mibhayilo ye tjibi tjabo, koleba She Yahwe. 13 Basitongo zha pejo nami kundishingila se bapirisiti, basitongo sedzela pejo ne tjimwe tjangu tjezwakayengemala kene zwipo zwangu zwakayengemala, bakafanila sengana ne mibhayilo ye mija yabo inoshimika. 14 Koga ne kwakajalo ndowobathama kuti batjengete Ng'umba ye Ndzimu, bashinge mishingo yose yakafanila shingwa.
Bapirisiti
15 “ ‘Koga bapirisiti, Balevi be ludzi gwa Zadoki ibo bakati mu tjibaka Iziraela tjayakabe yandifupatila bakalondolodza kutjengeta bugalo gwangu gwakayengemala ne nshingo mmwe ne mmwe wakabe wakafanila shingwa muili banowosedzela pejo kushinga pandili kundishingila. Banowoma mbeli kwangu beyisa zwibhayilo zwe mafuta ne malopa, kojalo She Yahwe. 16 Ibo ndibo boga bakalizanila kungina mu bugalo gwangu gwakayengemala ndibo boga bakalizanila kusedzela pa tafuli yangu bendishingila beyendisa nshingo wangu. 17 Ha bengina mikoba ye misha itjemukati baambale zwiambalo zwe jila, basitongo mbala zwiambalo zwe wulu ha beshinga pa mikoba ye nsha utjemukati kene mukati kwe Ng'umba ye Ndzimu. 18 Baambale zwiala zwe jila mu misholo ne zwiambalo zwakusi zwe jila. Basiambale tjimwe tjinotukutidza. 19 Ha bebhudila kuzhe ku nsha utjakuzhe kuna bathu, baambule zwiambalo zwababe bakaambala beshinga mukati ngono bazwisiye mu ng'umba dzakayengemala, baambale zwimwe zwiambalo kuita kuti basitongo dwa beyengemadza bathu ngekwe zwiambalo zwabo.
20 “ ‘Basitongo tesela misholo yabo kene bakaletja mavudzi abo kabe malefu, koga balizanyidze mavudzi e misholo yabo. 21 Kusitongo yita mpirisiti unong'wa nkumbi we zhambi ha engina mu nsha utjemukati. 22 Basitongo lobola tjilikadzi kene bakadzi bakathubukana ne balume babo, bangalobola baanadi be Iziraela koga kene tjilikadzi dze bapirisiti. 23 Banowodiya bathu bangu kusiyana kwe tjakayengemala ne tjisakayengemala, bebalakidza zila yabangaziba ndiyo tjakatjenapala ne tjakatemapala. 24 Ha kungabe ne kusahwanana, bapirisiti ndibo basumikilisi ngono ndebo bayipedze kuyendidzana ne milayo yangu. Balondolodze milayo yangu yose ye mizano yangu yose yakabigwa ngono bayengemadze bo Sabata bangu.
25 “ ‘Mpirisiti asitongo zwitemapadza nge kusedzela pejo ne nthu wakafa, koga ha ili kuti nfi ndi tate babe kene mmeyabe kene nkololo uwe kene nkololokadzi uwe kene mwana wa mmeyabe we tjilume kene we tjikadzi usakalobogwa, ipapo ungazwitemapadza. 26 Ha asinotjenapala agale mazhuba ali kutendeka 27 Mu zhuba laanongina mu nsha utjemukati kwe bugalo gwangu gwakayengemala kunoshinga mu bugalo gwangu gwakayengemala azwiyisile tjibhayilo tje tjibi. Koleba She Yahwe.
28 “ ‘Imi ndimi thaka ye bapirisiti. Usitongo bakobela tjimwe mu Iziraela, ndimi thundu yabo. 29 Banowoja tjipo tje mathunde ne tjibhayilo tje tjibi ne tjibhayilo tje nlandu. Tjimwe ne tjimwe tjapiwa Ndzimu mu Iziraela tjowobe tjabo. 30 Mu zwitshwa zwe kutanga, zwitshwa zwakanaka kupinda zwitshwa zose zwe kutanga ne zwipo zwakashalugwa ngezwe bapirisiti. Mubape tjiwunga tjekutanga kubidwa ha mubhika tjiwunga, kube ne dothodzo mu misha yenyu. 31 Bapirisiti basitongoja tjimwe tjawang'wa tjakafa kene tjakamwawugwa nge zwibandana zwe shango, kungabe nyuni kene phuka.
The East Gate Must Remain Closed
1 The man took me back to the outer courtyard, near the east gate of the temple area. I saw that the doors to this gate were closed. 2 The Lord said:
I, the Lord God of Israel, came through this gate, so it must remain closed forever! No one must ever use it. 3 The ruler of Israel may come here to eat a sacrificial meal that has been offered to me, but he must use only the entrance room of this gate.
People Who Are Not Allowed in the Temple
4 Then the man took me through the north gate to the front of the temple. I saw that the brightness of the Lord's glory had filled the temple, and I immediately bowed with my face to the ground.
5 The Lord said:
Ezekiel, son of man, I am going to give you the laws for my temple. So pay attention and listen carefully to what kind of people are allowed to come in the temple, and what kind are not. 6 Tell those rebellious people of Israel:
I, the Lord God, command you to stop your evil ways! 7 My temple has been disgraced, because you have let godless, stubborn foreigners come here when sacrifices are being offered to me. You have sinned and have broken our solemn agreement. 8 Instead of following the proper ways to worship me, you have put foreigners in charge of worship at my temple.
9 And so I, the Lord God, say that no godless foreigner who disobeys me will be allowed in my temple. This includes any foreigner living in Israel.
The Levites Are Punished
The Lord said:
10 Some of the Levites turned their backs on me and joined the other people of Israel in worshiping idols. So these Levites must be punished! 11 They will still be allowed to serve me as temple workers by guarding the gates and by killing the animals to be sacrificed and by helping the worshipers. 12 But because these Levites served the people of Israel when they worshiped idols, I, the Lord God, promise that the Levites will be punished. They did not stop the Israelites from sinning, 13 and now I will no longer let the Levites serve as my priests or come near anything sacred to me. They must suffer shame and disgrace for their disgusting sins. 14 They will be responsible for all the hard work that must be done in the temple.
Rules for Priests
The Lord said:
15 The priests of the Levi tribe who are descendants of Zadok the priest were faithful to me, even when the rest of the Israelites turned away. And so, these priests will continue to serve as my priests and to offer the fat and the blood of sacrifices. 16 They will come into my temple, where they will offer sacrifices at my altar and lead others in worship.
17 When they come to the inner courtyard, they must wear their linen priestly clothes. My priests must never wear anything made of wool when they are on duty in this courtyard or in the temple. 18 Even their turbans and underwear must be made of linen to keep my priests from sweating when they work. 19 And before they leave to join the other people in the outer courtyard, they must take off their priestly clothes, then place them in the sacred rooms and put on their regular clothes. That way, no one will touch their sacred clothes and be harmed.
20 Priests must never shave their heads when they are mourning. But they must keep their hair properly trimmed and not let it grow too long. 21 They must not drink wine before going to the inner courtyard.
22 A priest must not marry a divorced woman; he can marry only a virgin from Israel or the widow of another priest.
23 Priests must teach my people the difference between what is sacred and what is ordinary, and between what is clean and what is unclean. 24 They will make decisions in difficult legal cases, according to my own laws. They must also observe the religious festivals my Law requires and must always respect the Sabbath.
25 Touching a dead body will make a person unclean. So a priest must not go near a dead body, unless it is one of his parents or children, or his brother or unmarried sister. 26 If a priest touches a dead body, he is unclean and must go through a ceremony to make himself clean. Then seven days later, 27 he must go to the inner courtyard of the temple and offer a sacrifice for sin. After that, he may once again serve as my priest. I, the Lord God, have spoken.
28 I myself will provide for my priests, and so they won't receive any land of their own. 29 Instead, they will receive part of the grain sacrifices, as well as part of the sacrifices for sin and sacrifices to make things right. They will also be given everything in Israel that has been completely dedicated to me. 30 The first part of every harvest will belong to the priests. They will also receive part of all special gifts and offerings the Israelites bring to me. And whenever any of my people bake bread, they will give their first loaf as an offering to the priests, and I will bless the homes of the people when they do this.
31 Priests must not eat any bird or animal that dies a natural death or that has been killed by a wild animal.