Ezekiel 44:5

5 The Lord said to me: Mortal, mark well, look closely, and listen attentively to all that I shall tell you concerning all the ordinances of the temple of the Lord and all its laws; and mark well those who may be admitted to the temple and all those who are to be excluded from the sanctuary.

Ezekiel 44:5 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 44:5

And the Lord said unto me, son of man
This is still the voice of the Lord speaking out of the house to the prophet, ( Ezekiel 43:6 ) : mark well;
or, "set thine heart" F6; be attentive to what is about to be said, as being of great concern and importance: and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say
unto thee;
heart, eyes, and ears, are all to be employed in the most diligent manner in regarding the things hereafter delivered; the same expressions exciting attention were used at the first of this vision, ( Ezekiel 40:4 ) : concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord, and all the laws thereof; (See Gill on Ezekiel 43:11), mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the
sanctuary;
the way of entrance into the Gospel church, and the manner of exclusion from it, and the laws and rules concerning these; the prophet is bid particularly to observe these well, because it was in these things God's professing people chiefly offended, as appears by what follows; they were not so careful as they should have been in the admission of persons among them, or in the exclusion of delinquents.


FOOTNOTES:

F6 (Kbl Myv) "pone cor tuum", V. L. Vatablus, Paguinus, Montanus; "pone ad cor tuum", Starckius.

Ezekiel 44:5 In-Context

3 Only the prince, because he is a prince, may sit in it to eat food before the Lord; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go out by the same way.
4 Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple; and I looked, and lo! the glory of the Lord filled the temple of the Lord; and I fell upon my face.
5 The Lord said to me: Mortal, mark well, look closely, and listen attentively to all that I shall tell you concerning all the ordinances of the temple of the Lord and all its laws; and mark well those who may be admitted to the temple and all those who are to be excluded from the sanctuary.
6 Say to the rebellious house, to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: O house of Israel, let there be an end to all your abominations
7 in admitting foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to be in my sanctuary, profaning my temple when you offer to me my food, the fat and the blood. You have broken my covenant with all your abominations.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Cn: Heb [the entrance of]
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.