Ezekiel 44:23

23 They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.

Ezekiel 44:23 in Other Translations

KJV
23 And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
ESV
23 They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.
NLT
23 They will teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is common, what is ceremonially clean and unclean.
MSG
23 "Their job is to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, to show them how to discern between unclean and clean.
CSB
23 They must teach My people the difference between the holy and the common, and explain to them the difference between the clean and the unclean.

Ezekiel 44:23 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 44:23

And they shall teach my people the difference between the
holy and the profane
Persons and things; not in a ceremonial, nor merely in a moral, but in an evangelical sense, between truth and error; between the doctrine which is according to godliness, and that which is corrupt and unsound, and eats as cloth a canker; between holy worship, and superstition; between holy duties, and profane and Heathen rites and ceremonies; and between persons sanctified by the Spirit and grace of God, and unconverted ones: and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean;
impure persons, doctrines, and manners, and those which are agreeable to the word of God; the sense is, that they shall take pains to instruct persons in the knowledge of divine things, and shall do it truly, faithfully, and sincerely.

Ezekiel 44:23 In-Context

21 No priest is to drink wine when he enters the inner court.
22 They must not marry widows or divorced women; they may marry only virgins of Israelite descent or widows of priests.
23 They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.
24 “ ‘In any dispute, the priests are to serve as judges and decide it according to my ordinances. They are to keep my laws and my decrees for all my appointed festivals, and they are to keep my Sabbaths holy.
25 “ ‘A priest must not defile himself by going near a dead person; however, if the dead person was his father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried sister, then he may defile himself.

Cross References 2

  • 1. S Ezekiel 22:26
  • 2. S Genesis 7:2; Leviticus 13:50; Leviticus 15:31; Jeremiah 15:19; Haggai 2:11-13; Malachi 2:7
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