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Ezekiel 44:17
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15 a“But the priests, the Levites, bthe sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary cwhen the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me; and they dshall stand before Me to offer to Me the efat and the blood,” says the Lord God.  
16 “They shall aenter My sanctuary, and they shall come near bMy table to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge.  
17 And it shall be, whenever they enter the gates of the inner court, that athey shall put on linen garments; no wool shall come upon them while they minister within the gates of the inner court or within the house.  
18 aThey shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen trousers on their bodies; they shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat.  
19 When they go out to the outer court, to the outer court to the people, athey shall take off their garments in which they have ministered, leave them in the holy chambers, and put on other garments; and in their holy garments they shall bnot sanctify the people.  
20 a“They shall neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow blong, but they shall keep their hair well trimmed.  
21 aNo priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court.  
22 They shall not take as wife a awidow or a divorced woman, but take virgins of the descendants of the house of Israel, or widows of priests.  
23 “And athey shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to bdiscern between the unclean and the clean.  
24 aIn controversy they shall stand as judges, and judge it according to My judgments. They shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed meetings, band they shall hallow My Sabbaths.  
25 “They shall not defile themselves by coming near a dead person. Only for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister may they defile themselves.
26 aAfter he is cleansed, they shall count seven days for him.  
Commentaries:
Barnes' Notes
<< Ezekiel 44:16   Ezekiel 44:18 >>


Ezekiel 44:17-31

Regulations as to the priests' services. The garments of the priests are defined and various rules prescribed in the Law are repeated with some additions in order to denote additional care to avoid uncleanness.

Ezekiel 44:18

The material of which the four vestments of the ordinary priest were made was "linen," or, more accurately, "byssus," the cotton stuff of Egypt. The two special qualities of the byssus - white and shining - are characteristic, and on them part of the symbolic meaning depended. Compare Revelation 19:8.

Ezekiel 44:19

They shall not sanctify the people - They shall not touch the people with their holy garments. The word "sanctify" is used because the effect of touching was to separate as holy the persons or things so touched (Exodus 29:37; Exodus 30:29; compare Leviticus 6:18). The priests wore the distinctive dress, only while performing in the temple strictly sacrificial services.

The holy chambers; see Ezekiel 42:1 ff.

Ezekiel 44:22

Restrictions and exceptions intended to mark the holiness of the office of a priest, imposing on him additional (compare the marginal reference) obligations to purity, and communicating it in some degree to his wife. In the Christian Church all the members are "priests" I Peter 2:5; Revelation 1:6; Revelation 20:6. Hence, the directions for maintaining the holiness of the "priesthood" in the new order, represent the necessity for holiness in all Christians, and the exclusion of the "uncircumcised in heart and in flesh" is equivalent to the exclusion of "all that defileth" from the New Jerusalem Revelation 21:27.

Ezekiel 44:24

There was in Herod' s Temple a council of priests, whose special duty it was to regulate every thing connected with the sanctuary. They did not ordinarily busy themselves with criminal questions, although they took a leading part in the condemnation of Jesus Mark 15:1.

Ezekiel 44:28

It shall be unto them - The remains of the sacrifices were a chief source of the priests' support. The burnt-offerings being entirely consumed, the priests had the skins, which yielded a considerable revenue; meat-offerings and drink-offerings belonged entirely to them. sin-offerings and trepass-offerings, except in particular cases, also belonged to the priests and were partaken of in the temple. Of the peace-offerings a portion dedicated to the Lord by waving was left for the priests, and the rest eaten by the officers and their friends, either in the courts of the temple, or at least within Jerusalem. The kitchen-courts (K, Plan II Ezek. Ezekiel 46:21-24), were provided in order to prepare these public meals.

Ezekiel 44:30

Oblation - Offering, margin "heave-offering" (see Ezekiel 45:1; Exodus 25:2; Exodus 29:27; Notes and Pref. to Leviticus).


 
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