Ezekiel 46:9

9 And when the people of the land come {before} Yahweh at the festivals, [the] one coming [by] way of [the] gate of [the] north to bow down must go out [by] [the] way of [the] gate of [the] south, and the [one] coming [by] way of [the] gate of [the] south must go out [by the] way of [the] gate of [the] north, [so] he must not return [by] the way of the gate [by] which he came, but before it he shall go out opposite it.

Ezekiel 46:9 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 46:9

But when the people of the land shall come before the Lord
in the solemn feasts
To worship the Lord, to pray and praise; to honour the Lord, and keep the solemn feast of love, the Lord's supper: he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go
out by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth in by the way
of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate;
that so such as were coming in, and going out, might not meet, and stop and hinder one another in going out and coming in: no mention is made of entering in by the east gate, which was only for the prince, ( Ezekiel 44:1 Ezekiel 44:2 ) , and there was no entering in, or going out, on the west: he shall not return by the way of the gate he came in, but shall go
forth over against it;
signifying, that those that come to the house of God to worship, and join in communion with the saints, should not return to their former ways and practices; to their former rites, customs, and ceremonies in religion, used by them; and to their former principles and errors in doctrines; and to their former sinful courses of life; but go straight on and thorough stitch with it in their profession of Christ and his Gospel, and in the practice of spiritual and evangelic worship; see ( Luke 9:62 ) ( Hebrews 10:38 Hebrews 10:39 ) .

Ezekiel 46:9 In-Context

7 And an ephah for each bull and an ephah for the ram he must provide [as] a grain offering, and [also] for the male lambs {as much as he can afford} and a hin [of] olive oil for each ephah.

8 And when the prince comes, on the way of the portico of the gate he shall come and by this way he shall go out.

9 And when the people of the land come {before} Yahweh at the festivals, [the] one coming [by] way of [the] gate of [the] north to bow down must go out [by] [the] way of [the] gate of [the] south, and the [one] coming [by] way of [the] gate of [the] south must go out [by the] way of [the] gate of [the] north, [so] he must not return [by] the way of the gate [by] which he came, but before it he shall go out opposite it.

10 And the prince [will be] in the midst of them; he will come in when they come in, and when they go out he will go out.

11 And at the festivals and at the appointed times, the grain offering will be an ephah with a bull and an ephah with the ram and with the male lambs, {as much as he wants to give}, and a hin of olive oil {for each ephah}.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "to the face of"
• [b]. Or "to worship"
• [c]. Hebrew "came by it"
• [d]. According to the reading tradition (Qere)