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Text -- Ezekiel 44:1-30 (NET)
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Strongs On/Off
Context
The Closed Gate
44:1 Then he brought me back by way of the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces east , but it was shut .
44:2 The Lord said to me: “This gate will be shut ; it will not be opened , and no one will enter by it. For the Lord , the God of Israel , has entered by it; therefore it will remain shut .
44:3 Only the prince may sit in it to eat a sacrificial meal before the Lord ; he will enter by way of the porch of the gate and will go out by the same way .”
44:4 Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple . As I watched , I noticed the glory of the Lord filling the Lord’s temple , and I threw myself face down .
44:5 The Lord said to me: “Son of man , pay attention , watch closely and listen carefully to everything I tell you concerning all the statutes of the Lord’s house and all its laws . Pay attention to the entrances to the temple with all the exits of the sanctuary .
44:6 Say to the rebellious , to the house of Israel , ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says : Enough of all your abominable practices , O house of Israel !
44:7 When you bring foreigners , those uncircumcised in heart and in flesh , into my sanctuary , you desecrate it– even my house – when you offer my food , the fat and the blood . You have broken my covenant by all your abominable practices .
44:8 You have not kept charge of my holy things , but you have assigned foreigners to keep charge of my sanctuary for you.
44:9 This is what the sovereign Lord says : No foreigner , who is uncircumcised in heart and flesh among all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel , will enter into my sanctuary .
44:10 “‘But the Levites who went far from me, straying off from me after their idols when Israel went astray , will be responsible for their sin .
44:11 Yet they will be ministers in my sanctuary , having oversight at the gates of the temple , and serving the temple . They will slaughter the burnt offerings and the sacrifices for the people , and they will stand before them to minister to them.
44:12 Because they used to minister to them before their idols , and became a sinful obstacle to the house of Israel , consequently I have made a vow concerning them, declares the sovereign Lord , that they will be responsible for their sin .
44:13 They will not come near me to serve me as priest , nor will they come near any of my holy things , the things which are most sacred . They will bear the shame of the abominable deeds they have committed .
44:14 Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the temple , all of its service and all that will be done in it.
The Levitical Priests
44:15 “‘But the Levitical priests , the descendants of Zadok who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, will approach me to minister to me; they will stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood , declares the sovereign Lord .
44:16 They will enter my sanctuary , and approach my table to minister to me; they will keep my charge .
44:17 “‘When they enter the gates of the inner court , they must wear linen garments ; they must not have any wool on them when they minister in the inner gates of the court and in the temple .
44:18 Linen turbans will be on their heads and linen undergarments will be around their waists ; they must not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat .
44:19 When they go out to the outer court to the people , they must remove the garments they were ministering in, and place them in the holy chambers ; they must put on other garments so that they will not transmit holiness to the people with their garments .
44:20 “‘They must not shave their heads nor let their hair grow long ; they must only trim their heads .
44:21 No priest may drink wine when he enters the inner court .
44:22 They must not marry a widow or a divorcee , but they may marry a virgin from the house of Israel or a widow who is a priest’s widow .
44:23 Moreover, they will teach my people the difference between the holy and the common , and show them how to distinguish between the ceremonially unclean and the clean .
44:24 “‘In a controversy they will act as judges ; they will judge according to my ordinances . They will keep my laws and my statutes regarding all my appointed festivals and will observe my Sabbaths .
44:25 “‘They must not come near a dead person or they will be defiled ; however, for father , mother , son , daughter , brother or sister , they may defile themselves.
44:26 After a priest has become ceremonially clean , they must count off a period of seven days for him.
44:27 On the day he enters the sanctuary , into the inner court to serve in the sanctuary , he must offer his sin offering , declares the sovereign Lord .
44:28 “‘This will be their inheritance : I am their inheritance , and you must give them no property in Israel ; I am their property .
44:29 They may eat the grain offering , the sin offering , and the guilt offering , and every devoted thing in Israel will be theirs.
44:30 The first of all the first fruits and all contributions of any kind will be for the priests ; you will also give to the priest the first portion of your dough , so that a blessing may rest on your house .
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
Temple |
Vision |
Ezekiel |
PRIESTS AND LEVITES |
CRITICISM |
Priest |
Sin |
EZEKIEL, 2 |
Church |
Levites |
Minister |
Memphis |
Breeches |
LINEN |
Idolatry |
SACRIFICE, IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, 2 |
Sweat |
CIRCUMCISION |
Wool |
Regeneration |
more
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Eze 44:3; Eze 44:4; Eze 44:5; Eze 44:5; Eze 44:5; Eze 44:6; Eze 44:7; Eze 44:7; Eze 44:8; Eze 44:8; Eze 44:9; Eze 44:10; Eze 44:12; Eze 44:12; Eze 44:12; Eze 44:15; Eze 44:19; Eze 44:20; Eze 44:20; Eze 44:22; Eze 44:23; Eze 44:24; Eze 44:24; Eze 44:25; Eze 44:26; Eze 44:26; Eze 44:28; Eze 44:30
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NET Notes: Eze 44:4 The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been tr...
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NET Notes: Eze 44:5 The Syriac, Vulgate, and Targum read the plural. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:618.
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NET Notes: Eze 44:7 The Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions read “you.” The Masoretic text reads “they.”
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NET Notes: Eze 44:15 Zadok was a descendant of Aaron through Eleazar (1 Chr 6:50-53), who served as a priest during David’s reign (2 Sam 8:17).
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NET Notes: Eze 44:19 For a similar concept of the transmitting of holiness, see Exod 19:12-14; Lev 10:1-2; 2 Sam 6:7. Similar laws concerning the priest are found in Lev 1...
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NET Notes: Eze 44:20 Letting the hair grow was associated with the taking of a vow (Num 6:5; Acts 21:23-26).
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NET Notes: Eze 44:26 One medieval Hebrew ms, the LXX, and the Syriac along with Lev 15:13, 28 read the verb as singular.
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