Ezekiel 44:21-31

21 Priests must not drink any wine before going into the inner courtyard. 1
22 No priest may marry a divorced woman; he is to marry only an Israelite virgin or the widow of another priest. 2
23 "The priests are to teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is not, and between what is ritually clean and what is not. 3
24 When a legal dispute arises, the priests are to decide the case according to my laws. They are to keep the religious festivals according to my rules and regulations, and they are to keep the Sabbaths holy.
25 "A priest is not to become ritually unclean by touching a corpse, unless it is one of his parents, one of his children or a brother or an unmarried sister. 4
26 After he has become clean again, he must wait seven days
27 and then go into the inner courtyard of the Temple and offer a sacrifice for his purification, so that he can serve in the Temple again. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken.
28 "The priests have the priesthood as their share of what I have given Israel to be handed down from one generation to another. They are not to hold property in Israel; I am all they need. 5
29 The grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the repayment offerings will be the priests' food, and they are to receive everything in Israel that is set apart for me. 6
30 The priests are to have the best of all the first harvest and of everything else that is offered to me. Each time the people bake bread, they are to give the priests the first loaf as an offering, and my blessing will rest on their homes.
31 The priests must not eat any bird or animal that dies a natural death or is killed by another animal." 7

Ezekiel 44:21-31 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.

Cross References 7

  • 1. 44.21Leviticus 10.9.
  • 2. 44.22Leviticus 21.7, 13, 14.
  • 3. 44.23Leviticus 10.10.
  • 4. 44.25Leviticus 21.1-4.
  • 5. 44.28Numbers 18.20.
  • 6. 44.29, 30Numbers 18.8-19.
  • 7. 44.31Leviticus 22.8.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.