The Gate for the Prince

Ezekiel 44

1 Then he brought me w back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, x which faces east. And it was shut. 2 And the Lord said to me, "This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for y the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it. Therefore it shall remain shut. 3 Only z the prince may sit in it a to eat bread before the Lord. He b 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 c the north gate to the front of the temple, and I looked, and behold, d the glory of the Lord filled the temple of the Lord. And e I fell on my face. 5 And the Lord said to me, f "Son of man, mark well, g see with your eyes, g and hear with your ears all that I shall tell you concerning h all the statutes of the temple of the Lord and all its laws. And mark well h the entrance to the temple and all the exits from the sanctuary. 6 And say to i the rebellious house, 1 to the j house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: O house of Israel, k enough of all your abominations, 7 in l admitting foreigners, m uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to be in my sanctuary, n profaning my temple, when you offer to me my food, the fat and the blood. You 2 have broken my covenant, in addition to all your abominations. 8 And o you have not kept charge of my holy things, but you have set others to keep my charge for you in my sanctuary.

9 "Thus says the Lord God: p No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, shall enter my sanctuary. 10 But q the Levites who went far from me, going astray from me after their idols r when Israel went astray, s shall bear their punishment. 3 11 They shall be t ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight u at the gates of the temple and ministering in the temple. They shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and v they shall stand before the people, to minister to them. 12 Because they ministered to them before their idols and became w a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have x sworn concerning them, declares the Lord God, and they shall bear their punishment. 13 They y shall not come near to me, to serve me as priest, nor come near any of my holy things and the things that are most holy, but z they shall bear their shame and the abominations that they have committed. 14 Yet I will appoint them to keep a charge of the temple, b to do all its service and all that is to be done in it.

  1. Cross References
    Ezekiel 43:5
    The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.
  2. Cross References
    Ezekiel 43:1
    Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east.
  3. Cross References
    Ezekiel 43:4
    As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east.
  4. Cross References
    Ezekiel 34:24
    And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord ; I have spoken.
    Ezekiel 37:25
    They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever.
    Ezekiel 45:7
    And to the prince shall belong the land on both sides of the holy district and the property of the city, alongside the holy district and the property of the city, on the west and on the east, corresponding in length to one of the tribal portions, and extending from the western to the eastern boundary
    Ezekiel 46:2
    The prince shall enter by the vestibule of the gate from outside, and shall take his stand by the post of the gate. The priests shall offer his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be shut until evening.
  5. Cross References
    Genesis 31:54
    And Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country and called his kinsmen to eat bread. They ate bread and spent the night in the hill country.
  6. Cross References
    Ezekiel 46:2
    The prince shall enter by the vestibule of the gate from outside, and shall take his stand by the post of the gate. The priests shall offer his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be shut until evening.
    Ezekiel 46:12
    When the prince provides a freewill offering, either a burnt offering or peace offerings as a freewill offering to the Lord, the gate facing east shall be opened for him. And he shall offer his burnt offering or his peace offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he has gone out the gate shall be shut.
  7. Cross References
    Ezekiel 40:20
    As for the gate that faced toward the north, belonging to the outer court, he measured its length and its breadth.
  8. Cross References
    Ezekiel 43:5
    The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.
  9. Cross References
    Ezekiel 1:28
    Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
  10. Cross References
    Ezekiel 2:1
    And he said to me, "Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.
  11. Cross References
    Ezekiel 40:4
    And the man said to me, "Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.
  12. Cross References
    Ezekiel 40:4
    And the man said to me, "Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.
  13. Cross References
    Ezekiel 43:11
    And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple, its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, that is, its whole design; and make known to them as well all its statutes and its whole design and all its laws, and write it down in their sight, so that they may observe all its laws and all its statutes and carry them out.
  14. Cross References
    Ezekiel 43:11
    And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple, its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, that is, its whole design; and make known to them as well all its statutes and its whole design and all its laws, and write it down in their sight, so that they may observe all its laws and all its statutes and carry them out.
  15. Cross References
    Ezekiel 2:3
    And he said to me, "Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day.
  16. Cross References
    Ezekiel 40:4
    And the man said to me, "Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.
  17. Cross References
    Ezekiel 45:9
    Thus says the Lord God : Enough, O princes of Israel! Put away violence and oppression, and execute justice and righteousness. Cease your evictions of my people, declares the Lord God.
    1 Peter 4:3
    For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.
  18. Cross References
    Ezekiel 44:9
    Thus says the Lord God : No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, shall enter my sanctuary.
    Nehemiah 7:64 - 65
    These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but it was not found there, so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.
    Acts 21:28
    Crying out, "Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.
  19. Cross References
    Jeremiah 9:26
    Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert who cut the corners of their hair, for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.
    Acts 7:51
    You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.
  20. Cross References
    Ezekiel 23:39
    For when they had slaughtered their children in sacrifice to their idols, on the same day they came into my sanctuary to profane it. And behold, this is what they did in my house.
  21. Cross References
    Ezekiel 22:26
    Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
  22. Cross References
    Ezekiel 44:7
    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, in addition to all your abominations.
  23. Cross References
    Ezekiel 44:15
    But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me to minister to me. And they shall stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the Lord God.
    Ezekiel 48:11
    This shall be for the consecrated priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, as the Levites did.
  24. Cross References
    Ezekiel 48:11
    This shall be for the consecrated priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, as the Levites did.
  25. Cross References
    Ezekiel 4:4
    Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their punishment.
  26. Cross References
    Ezekiel 46:24
    Then he said to me, "These are the kitchens where those who minister at the temple shall boil the sacrifices of the people.
  27. Cross References
    1 Chronicles 26:1
    As for the divisions of the gatekeepers: of the Korahites, Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph.
  28. Cross References
    Numbers 16:9
    Is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to minister to them.
  29. Cross References
    Ezekiel 7:19
    They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing. Their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it. For it was the stumbling block of their iniquity.
    Ezekiel 14:3 - 4
    Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them?
    Ezekiel 14:7
    For any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel, who separates himself from me, taking his idols into his heart and putting the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to a prophet to consult me through him, I the Lord will answer him myself.
    Malachi 2:8
    But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts.
  30. Cross References
    Psalms 106:26
    Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them that he would make them fall in the wilderness.
  31. Cross References
    Numbers 18:3
    They shall keep guard over you and over the whole tent, but shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar lest they, and you, die.
    2 Kings 23:9
    However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers.
  32. Cross References
    Ezekiel 32:24
    Elam is there, and all her multitude around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised into the world below, who spread their terror in the land of the living; and they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.
  33. Cross References
    Ezekiel 40:45
    And he said to me, This chamber that faces south is for the priests who have charge of the temple.
  34. Cross References
    1 Chronicles 23:28
    For their duty was to assist the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord, having the care of the courts and the chambers, the cleansing of all that is holy, and any work for the service of the house of God.
    1 Chronicles 23:32
    Thus they were to keep charge of the tent of meeting and the sanctuary, and to attend the sons of Aaron, their brothers, for the service of the house of the Lord.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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