Ezekiel 44:2 - Forerunner Commentary

Ezekiel 44:2

The East Gate and the Prince

1 Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary ^awhich faces toward the east, but it was shut.

2 And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, ^abecause the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut.

3 As for the ^aprince, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to ^beat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway, and go out the same way.”

Those Admitted to the Temple

4 Also He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the¹ temple; so I looked, and ^abehold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord; ^band I fell on my face.

5 And the Lord said to me, ^a“Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears, all that I say to you concerning all the ^bordinances of the house of the Lord and all its laws. Mark well who may enter the house and all who go out from the sanctuary.

6 “Now say to the ^arebellious, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “O house of Israel, ^blet Us have no more of all your abominations.

7 ^aWhen you brought in ^bforeigners, ^cuncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to defile it—My house—and when you offered ^dMy food, ^ethe fat and the blood, then they broke My covenant because of all your abominations.

8 And you have not ^akept charge of My holy things, but you have set others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you.”

9 Thus says the Lord God: ^a“No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel.

Laws Governing Priests

10 ^a“And the Levites who went far from Me, when Israel went astray, who strayed away from Me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity.

11 Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, ^aas gatekeepers of the house and ministers of the house; ^bthey shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and ^cthey shall stand before them to minister to them.

12 Because they ministered to them before their idols and ^acaused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity, therefore I have ^braised My hand in an oath against them,” says the Lord God, “that they shall bear their iniquity.

13 ^aAnd they shall not come near Me to minister to Me as priest, nor come near any of My holy things, nor into the Most Holy Place; but they shall ^bbear their shame and their abominations which they have committed.

14 Nevertheless I will make them ^akeep charge of the temple, for all its work, and for all that has to be done in it.

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.

Verse Comparison: Ezekiel 44:2

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American Standard Version
And Jehovah said unto me, This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, neither shall any man enter in by it; for Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it; therefore it shall be shut.

Amplified® Bible
Then the Lord said to me, This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened and no man shall enter in by it, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered in by it; therefore it shall remain shut.

Contemporary English Version
The LORD said: I, the LORD God of Israel, came through this gate, so it must remain closed forever! No one must ever use it.

Darby English Version
And Jehovah said unto me, This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter in by it: for Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it; and it shall be shut.

Good News Bible
and the LORD said to me, "This gate will stay closed and will never be opened. No human being is allowed to use it, because I, the LORD God of Israel, have entered through it. It is to remain closed.

King James Version
Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.

New American Standard Bible
The LORD said to me, "This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the LORD God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut.

New International Version
The LORD said to me, "This gate is to remain shut. It must not be opened; no one may enter through it. It is to remain shut because the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered through it.

New King James Version
And the LORD said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the LORD God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut.

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
The LORD said to me, "This gate shall remain shut; no one shall open it, and no one shall enter by it, for the LORD God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall remain shut.

Revised Standard Version
And he said to me, "This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it; for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall remain shut.

Young's Literal Translation
And Jehovah saith unto me, `This gate is shut, it is not opened, and none doth go in by it, for Jehovah, God of Israel, hath come in by it, and it hath been shut.

New English Translation
The Lord said to me: “This gate will be shut; it will not be opened, and no one will enter by it. For the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it will remain shut.

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