Ezekiel 44

Then the man brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, the one that faces east. It was shut.

1Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut.

Note"The man" is the guide with the measuring rod who has been showing Ezekiel around the temple since chapter 40; the whole tour is a vision, not a walk through a building that then existed. The "outer gate" is the main gateway in the outer wall, facing the sunrise. Gateways in such walls were deep structures, more like tunnels with rooms and a porch than a doorway.

2The LORD said to me, "This gate is to stay shut. It must not be opened, and no one may go in through it, because the LORD, the God of Israel, has gone in through it. So it must stay shut.

2Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.

NoteEarlier in the book (chapters 10-11) Ezekiel saw the presence of the LORD leave the temple by the east side; in chapter 43 he saw it return by this same gate. In the ancient world a gate used by a king on a formal entry was often sealed afterward and not used again by ordinary traffic.

3The gate belongs to the prince, the ruler. The prince alone may sit inside that gateway to eat a meal in the presence of the LORD. He must come in through the covered entrance of that gate and leave the same way."

3It is for the prince; the prince, 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.

Note"Prince" translates a Hebrew word meaning chief or leader. Ezekiel consistently uses it, rather than "king," for the ruler in these final chapters. To "eat a meal in the presence of the LORD" means to eat his portion of a sacrifice: with most offerings only part was burned on the altar and the rest was eaten as a meal at the sanctuary by the worshiper and the priests.

4Then the man brought me to the front of the temple by way of the north gate. I looked, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple of the LORD, and I fell facedown on the ground.

4Then 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.

Note"The glory of the LORD" is the visible radiance, elsewhere described as fire and cloud, that stood for God's presence in the temple. Falling facedown on the ground was the ordinary posture of someone brought before a king.

5The LORD said to me, "Son of man, pay close attention. Look with your eyes and listen with your ears to everything I tell you about all the rules and laws for the temple of the LORD. Set your heart on the entrance of the temple and on every exit of the sanctuary.

5And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary.

Note"Son of man" is Hebrew for "human being" or "mortal." It is how God addresses Ezekiel throughout the book, over ninety times; it is a form of address, not a title.

6Say to the rebellious people of Israel: This is what the Lord GOD says. People of Israel, you have gone far enough with all your detestable practices.

6And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations,

Note"Detestable practices" (KJV "abominations") is the standard term in this book for acts that made people and places unfit for God's presence, above all the worship of other gods and the rites that went with it.

7You brought foreigners into my sanctuary, men whose hearts and bodies were not circumcised, and you let them stay there. That made my temple unclean, even while you offered me my food, the fat and the blood. And they broke my covenant, on top of all your detestable practices.

7In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations.

NoteCircumcision was the cutting away of the foreskin, performed on every Israelite male in infancy as the physical mark of belonging to the covenant. "Uncircumcised in heart" is a figure of speech in the same vein: unwilling, closed, not really belonging. "My food, the fat and the blood" reflects the old way of speaking about sacrifice: the fat was burned on the altar and the blood poured out at its base, described as food set before God. A "covenant" is a formal binding agreement, here between God and Israel, with obligations on both sides.

8You did not take care of my holy things yourselves. Instead you put others in charge of my sanctuary in your place.

8And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.

9This is what the Lord GOD says: No foreigner whose heart and body are not circumcised may enter my sanctuary, not even a foreigner who lives among the people of Israel.

9Thus saith the Lord GOD; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel.

10But the Levites, the temple workers from the tribe of Levi, who went far away from me when Israel wandered off, and who left me to follow their idols, must carry the guilt of what they did.

10And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity.

NoteThe Levites were the descendants of Levi, one of Jacob's twelve sons. Their tribe was assigned to work at the sanctuary instead of receiving farmland. Within the tribe, one family, the descendants of Aaron, served as priests at the altar; the rest were assistants who handled gates, gear, butchering and singing. This chapter turns on that distinction. "Carry the guilt" is an idiom meaning bear the consequences or punishment for it.

11Even so, they will serve in my sanctuary. They will be in charge of the temple gates and do the work of the temple. They will kill the animals for the burnt offerings and the other sacrifices for the people, and they will stand before the people to serve them.

11Yet 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, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them.

NoteA burnt offering was an animal burned whole on the altar; other sacrifices were only partly burned and the rest eaten. Slaughtering and butchering the animal was not priestly work: it was done by the worshiper or an assistant, while the priest handled the blood and the altar.

12Because they served the people in front of their idols, and made the people of Israel stumble into sin, I raised my hand and swore an oath against them, declares the Lord GOD. They must carry the guilt of what they did.

12Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity.

NoteRaising the hand was the physical gesture that accompanied swearing an oath, much as a raised hand accompanies testimony in a courtroom today.

13They must not come near me to serve me as priests, or come near any of my holy things or the most holy things. They must carry their shame for the detestable things they have done.

13And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed.

Note"The most holy things" is genuinely ambiguous in the Hebrew: it can mean the innermost room of the temple (the KJV takes it that way, "the most holy place") or the highest grade of offerings, which only priests were allowed to eat.

14Yet I will put them in charge of the work of the temple, all its service and everything that is done in it.

14But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.

15But the priests from the tribe of Levi who are descended from Zadok, who took care of my sanctuary when the people of Israel wandered away from me, may come near me to serve me. They will stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the Lord GOD.

15But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD:

NoteZadok was a priest in the time of David who supported Solomon's succession; his descendants held the chief priesthood in Jerusalem from then until the exile. "The priests from the tribe of Levi who are descended from Zadok" is thus a narrower group than the Levites of verse 10.

16They are the ones who may enter my sanctuary and come near my table to serve me. They will do the duties I have given them.

16They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.

Note"My table" is the altar, spoken of as the table on which God's food was set, the same image as "my food, the fat and the blood" in verse 7.

17When they enter the gates of the inner courtyard, they must wear linen clothes. They must not wear anything made of wool while they serve at the gates of the inner courtyard or inside the temple.

17And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within.

NoteLinen is made from flax: light, cool, and not prone to holding heat. Wool is warm and makes the wearer sweat. The prescribed priestly dress in Exodus 28 was likewise linen throughout.

18They must wear linen turbans on their heads and linen underclothes around their waists. They must not wear anything that makes them sweat.

18They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.

NoteA turban was a length of cloth wound round the head. The "linen underclothes" were short breeches reaching from waist to thigh, required in Exodus 28 so that no nakedness would be exposed while serving at the altar. Sweat was classed with other bodily discharges, which made a person temporarily unfit for service at the sanctuary.

19When they go out to the outer courtyard where the people are, they must take off the clothes they served in and leave them in the holy rooms. They must put on other clothes, so they do not pass holiness on to the people through their clothes.

19And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter 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.

NoteHoliness was treated as something transferable by contact: a person or object that touched holy things came under the restrictions attached to them, whether or not they knew it. Changing clothes before going out to the people kept ordinary Israelites from being caught by those rules unawares.

20They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long. They are to keep their hair trimmed.

20Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads.

NoteBoth extremes carried a meaning the priests were to avoid. Shaving the head was a mourning rite practiced across the region, and long uncut hair marked a person under a Nazirite vow (Numbers 6). Priests were to signal neither, and simply keep their hair trimmed.

21No priest may drink wine when he goes into the inner courtyard.

21Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court.

NoteThe same rule appears in Leviticus 10:9. Wine was the ordinary alcoholic drink; the restriction applies to time on duty, not to a priest's life generally.

22They must not marry a widow or a divorced woman. They are to marry a virgin from the descendants of Israel, or a widow whose husband was a priest.

22Neither 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.

Note"Virgin" here means a woman who has never been married. The restriction concerns the standing of a priest's household and the undisputed parentage of his children, since the priesthood was inherited. A priest's widow is permitted because she already belonged to a priestly household.

23They are to teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is ordinary, and show them how to tell what is unclean from what is clean.

23And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

NoteThese are two separate pairs, not one. Holy versus ordinary (KJV "profane," which in 1611 simply meant everyday, not blasphemous) is the distinction between what is set apart for God and what is for common use. Clean versus unclean is a ritual state, not dirt and not morality: touching a corpse, certain foods, certain illnesses and normal bodily functions all made a person temporarily unclean and barred from the sanctuary until a set period and washing had passed.

24When people have a dispute, the priests are to serve as judges and decide the case by my rules. They must keep my laws and my rules for all my appointed gatherings, and they must keep my Sabbath days holy.

24And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.

Note"My appointed gatherings" are the fixed festivals of the Israelite calendar, Passover, the Festival of Weeks, the Festival of Shelters and the rest. Disputes over the law were brought to the sanctuary for decision, so judging was part of the priests' work, not a separate office.

25A priest must not go near a dead body, because that would make him unclean. But for a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, a brother, or a sister who has no husband, he may do so.

25And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves: but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves.

NoteContact with a dead body, including being under the same roof, made a person unclean for seven days, which for a priest meant no temple duty. The exemption for close relatives allowed a priest to attend to his own family's burial. "A sister who has no husband" means one still unmarried and so still counted a member of her father's household; a married sister belonged to her husband's family, whose duty the burial then was.

26After he has been made clean again, seven more days must be counted for him.

26And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days.

NoteThe counting is on top of the purification rite itself: after being made clean, a further seven days had to pass before he could return to duty.

27On the day he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner courtyard, to serve there, he must offer his sin offering, declares the Lord GOD.

27And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, saith the Lord GOD.

NoteA sin offering was a sacrifice that cleansed, the Hebrew term covers purification from ritual uncleanness as much as guilt for wrongdoing. Here it clears the priest for a return to service after contact with the dead.

28This is what the priests receive as their inheritance: I am their inheritance. You are to give them no property in Israel, because I am their property.

28And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.

NoteIn Israel land was divided among the tribes and passed down within families as a permanent holding, which is what "inheritance" and "possession" mean here. The tribe of Levi was given no such territory; the priests lived on the offerings brought to the sanctuary, listed in the next two verses.

29They will eat the grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings. Everything in Israel that is set apart for the LORD will belong to them.

29They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering: and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs.

NoteThe grain offering (KJV "meat offering", in 1611 "meat" meant food of any kind) was flour, oil and incense, with no flesh in it at all. The guilt offering was the sacrifice required where a wrong also demanded compensation. Something "set apart for the LORD" translates a term for what was irrevocably devoted to God: it could not be bought back, sold or put to ordinary use.

30The best of all the first crops you harvest, and every gift from all your offerings, will belong to the priests. You are also to give the priest the first of your ground flour, so that a blessing may rest on your home.

30And the first of all the firstfruits of all things, and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest’s: ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house.

NoteFirstfruits were the first and best of a harvest, handed over before any of the rest could be used. "The first of your ground flour" is the first batch of dough made from the new grain, given to the priest rather than baked for the household.

31The priests must not eat any bird or animal that died on its own or was torn apart by wild animals.

31The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.

NoteAn animal that died of itself or was killed by a predator had not been drained of its blood, which the law forbade Israelites to consume. The prohibition applied to everyone; here it is restated for priests without exception.