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 1 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 2 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, 3 watch closely and listen carefully to 4 everything I tell you concerning all the statutes of the Lord’s house and all its laws. Pay attention to the entrances 5 to the temple with all the exits of the sanctuary. 44:6 Say to the rebellious, 6 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 7 it – even my house – when you offer my food, the fat and the blood. You 8 have broken my covenant by all your abominable practices.
1 tn Heb “to eat bread.”
2 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
3 tn Heb “set your heart” (so also in the latter part of the verse).
4 tn Heb “Set your mind, look with your eyes, and with your ears hear.”
5 tc The Syriac, Vulgate, and Targum read the plural. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:618.
6 tc The LXX reads “house of rebellion.”
7 tn Heb “to desecrate.”
8 tc The Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions read “you.” The Masoretic text reads “they.”