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Ezekiel 44:20

20 1They shall not shave their heads or 2let their locks grow long; they shall surely trim the hair of their heads.

Ezekiel 44:20 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 44:20

Neither shall they shave their heads
As the priests and worshippers of Isis and Serapis did, as Jerom on the text observes; and as the Romish priests now do, from whom the Lord's faithful ministers must be distinguished: nor suffer their locks to grow long;
as the Nazarites, that a distinction might be preserved between those who were and were not such; or rather, after the manner of women, their locks hanging down, and flowing about their shoulders, as a token of levity, wantonness, effeminacy, pride, and vanity; see ( 1 Corinthians 11:14 1 Corinthians 11:15 ) : they shall only poll their heads;
observe a medium between both; neither shave their heads close, nor let their hair grow long, but keep it in an even moderate length; for which reason godly men of the last age among us were called "round heads".

Ezekiel 44:20 In-Context

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 and lay them in the holy chambers. And they shall put on other garments, lest they transmit holiness to the people with their garments.
20 They shall not shave their heads or let their locks grow long; they shall surely trim the hair of their heads.
21 No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court.
22 They shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but only virgins of the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest.

Cross References 2

  • 1. Leviticus 21:5; [Ezekiel 5:1]
  • 2. [Numbers 6:5]
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.