Ezekiel 44:10-20

10 But ¹the Levites who went far from me, going astray from me after their idols ²when Israel went astray, ³shall bear their punishment.^[a]

11 They shall be ⁴ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight ⁵at the gates of the temple and ministering in the temple. They shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and ⁶they shall stand before the people, to minister to them.

12 Because they ministered to them before their idols and became ⁷a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have ⁸sworn concerning them, declares the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their punishment.

13 They ⁹shall not come near to me, to serve me as priest, nor come near any of my holy things and the things that are most holy, but ¹⁰they shall bear their shame and the abominations that they have committed.

14 Yet I will appoint them to keep ¹¹charge of the temple, ¹²to do all its service and all that is to be done in it.

Rules for Levitical Priests

15 "But ¹³the Levitical priests, ¹⁴the sons of Zadok, who kept ¹⁵the charge of my sanctuary ¹⁶when the people of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me ¹⁷to minister to me. And they shall stand before me to offer me ¹⁸the fat and the blood, declares the Lord GOD.

16 They shall enter my sanctuary, and they shall approach ¹⁹my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge.

17 When they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall wear ²⁰linen garments. They shall have nothing of wool on them, while they minister at the gates of the inner court, and within.

18 They shall have linen turbans on their heads, and linen undergarments around their waists. They shall not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat.

19 And when they go out into the outer court to the people, they shall put off the garments in which they have been ministering ²¹and lay them in the holy chambers. And ²²they shall put on other garments, ²³lest they transmit holiness to the people with their garments.

20 ²⁴They shall not shave their heads or ²⁵let their locks grow long; they shall surely trim the hair of their heads.

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Ezekiel 44:10-20 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 44

This chapter treats of the eastern gate of the temple being appropriated to the use of the prince, Eze 44:1-3, of the sin of the Lord's people, in admitting strangers and unholy persons into the sanctuary, either to officiate or communicate there, Eze 44:4-9 of the degrading of the Levites, that went astray, assigning them inferior posts and service in the house of God, Eze 44:10-14 and of the establishment of the sons of Zadok in their ministry, who were faithful, Eze 44:15,16, then follow various laws relating to their garments; shaving of their heads; drinking wine; their marriage; performance of their ministerial work; their regard to the dead, and their food and maintenance, Eze 44:17-31.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 25

1. [ver. 15; Ezekiel 48:11]
2. Ezekiel 48:11
3. See Ezekiel 4:4
4. Ezekiel 46:24
5. [1 Chronicles 26:1]
6. Numbers 16:9
7. Ezekiel 7:19; Ezekiel 14:3, 4, 7; [Malachi 2:8]
8. Psalms 106:26
9. Numbers 18:3; 2 Kings 23:9
10. See Ezekiel 32:24
11. See Ezekiel 40:45
12. 1 Chronicles 23:28, 32
13. See Ezekiel 43:19
14. See Ezekiel 43:19
15. [See ver. 14 above]
16. [See ver. 10 above]
17. [ver. 11; Deuteronomy 10:8]
18. [ver. 7]
19. See Ezekiel 41:22
20. Exodus 28:39; Exodus 39:27
21. Ezekiel 42:14
22. Leviticus 6:11
23. [Ezekiel 46:20; Exodus 29:37; Exodus 30:29; Leviticus 6:27]
24. Leviticus 21:5; [Ezekiel 5:1]
25. [Numbers 6:5]

Footnotes 1

[a]. Or iniquity; also verse 12

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.