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Ezekiel 40-44

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Ezekiel 40

¹In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth [day] of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day, the hand of Jehovah was upon me, and he brought me thither.

²In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me down upon a very high mountain, whereon was as it were the frame of a city on the south.

³And he brought me thither; and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.

⁴And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thy heart upon all that I shall show thee; for, to the intent that I may show them unto thee, art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel.

⁵And, behold, a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring reed six cubits long, of a cubit and a handbreadth each: so he measured the thickness of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.

⁶Then came he unto the gate which looketh toward the east, and went up the steps thereof: and he measured the threshold of the gate, one reed broad; and the other threshold, one reed broad.

⁷And every lodge was one reed long, and one reed broad; and [the space] between the lodges was five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate toward the house was one reed.

⁸He measured also the porch of the gate toward the house, one reed.

⁹Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was toward the house.

¹⁰And the lodges of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side; they three were of one measure: and the posts had one measure on this side and on that side.

¹¹And he measured the breadth of the opening of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits;

¹²and a border before the lodges, one cubit [on this side], and a border, one cubit on that side; and the lodges, six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side.

¹³And he measured the gate from the roof of the one lodge to the roof of the other, a breadth of five and twenty cubits; door against door.

¹⁴He made also posts, threescore cubits; and the court [reached] unto the posts, round about the gate.

¹⁵And [from] the forefront of the gate at the entrance unto the forefront of the inner porch of the gate were fifty cubits.

¹⁶And there were closed windows to the lodges, and to their posts within the gate round about, and likewise to the arches; and windows were round about inward; and upon [each] post were palm-trees.

¹⁷Then brought he me into the outer court; and, lo, there were chambers and a pavement, made for the court round about: thirty chambers were upon the pavement.

¹⁸And the pavement was by the side of the gates, answerable unto the length of the gates, even the lower pavement.

¹⁹Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate unto the forefront of the inner court without, a hundred cubits, [both] on the east and on the north.

²⁰And the gate of the outer court whose prospect is toward the north, he measured the length thereof and the breadth thereof.

²¹And the lodges thereof were three on this side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first gate: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.

²²And the windows thereof, and the arches thereof, and the palm-trees thereof, were after the measure of the gate whose prospect is toward the east; and they went up unto it by seven steps; and the arches thereof were before them.

²³And there was a gate to the inner court over against the [other] gate, [both] on the north and on the east; and he measured from gate to gate a hundred cubits.

²⁴And he led me toward the south; and, behold, a gate toward the south: and he measured the posts thereof and the arches thereof according to these measures.

²⁵And there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.

²⁶And there were seven steps to go up to it, and the arches thereof were before them; and it had palm-trees, one on this side, and another on that side, upon the posts thereof.

²⁷And there was a gate to the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south a hundred cubits.

²⁸Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures;

²⁹and the lodges thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about; it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.

³⁰And there were arches round about, five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad.

³¹And the arches thereof were toward the outer court; and palm-trees were upon the posts thereof: and the ascent to it had eight steps.

³²And he brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures;

³³and the lodges thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows therein and in the arches thereof round about; it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.

³⁴And the arches thereof were toward the outer court; and palm-trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the ascent to it had eight steps.

³⁵And he brought me to the north gate: and he measured [it] according to these measures;

³⁶the lodges thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof: and there were windows therein round about; the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.

³⁷And the posts thereof were toward the outer court; and palm-trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the ascent to it had eight steps.

³⁸And a chamber with the door thereof was by the posts at the gates; there they washed the burnt-offering.

³⁹And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to slay thereon the burnt-offering and the sin-offering and the trespass-offering.

⁴⁰And on the [one] side without, as one goeth up to the entry of the gate toward the north, were two tables; and on the other side, which belonged to the porch of the gate, were two tables. [

⁴¹Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, whereupon they slew [the sacrifices] .

⁴²And there were four tables for the burnt-offering, of hewn stone, a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high; whereupon they laid the instruments wherewith they slew the burnt-offering and the sacrifice.

⁴³And the hooks, a handbreadth long, were fastened within round about: and upon the tables was the flesh of the oblation.

⁴⁴And without the inner gate were chambers for the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward the south; one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north.

⁴⁵And he said unto me, This chamber, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house;

⁴⁶and the chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok, who from among the sons of Levi come near to Jehovah to minister unto him.

⁴⁷And he measured the court, a hundred cubits long, and a hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar was before the house.

⁴⁸Then he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate was three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side.

⁴⁹The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits; even by the steps whereby they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side.

Ezekiel 41

¹And he brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tabernacle.

²And the breadth of the entrance was ten cubits; and the sides of the entrance were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side: and he measured the length thereof, forty cubits, and the breadth, twenty cubits.

³Then went he inward, and measured each post of the entrance, two cubits; and the entrance, six cubits; and the breadth of the entrance, seven cubits.

⁴And he measured the length thereof, twenty cubits, and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple: and he said unto me, This is the most holy place.

⁵Then he measured the wall of the house, six cubits; and the breadth of every side-chamber, four cubits, round about the house on every side.

⁶And the side-chambers were in three stories, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which belonged to the house for the side-chambers round about, that they might have hold [therein], and not have hold in the wall of the house.

⁷And the side-chambers were broader as they encompassed [the house] higher and higher; for the encompassing of the house went higher and higher round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house [continued] upward; and so one went up [from] the lowest [chamber] to the highest by the middle [chamber] .

⁸I saw also that the house had a raised basement round about: the foundations of the side-chambers were a full reed of six great cubits.

⁹The thickness of the wall, which was for the side-chambers, on the outside, was five cubits: and that which was left was the place of the side-chambers that belonged to the house.

¹⁰And between the chambers was a breadth of twenty cubits round about the house on every side.

¹¹And the doors of the side-chambers were toward [the place] that was left, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south: and the breadth of the place that was left was five cubits round about.

¹²And the building that was before the separate place at the side toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick round about, and the length thereof ninety cubits.

¹³So he measured the house, a hundred cubits long; and the separate place, and the building, with the walls thereof, a hundred cubits long;

¹⁴also the breadth of the face of the house, and of the separate place toward the east, a hundred cubits.

¹⁵And he measured the length of the building before the separate place which was at the back thereof, and the galleries thereof on the one side and on the other side, a hundred cubits; and the inner temple, and the porches of the court;

¹⁶the thresholds, and the closed windows, and the galleries round about on their three stories, over against the threshold, ceiled with wood round about, and [from] the ground up to the windows, (now the windows were covered),

¹⁷to [the space] above the door, even unto the inner house, and without, and by all the wall round about within and without, by measure.

¹⁸And it was made with cherubim and palm-trees; and a palm-tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces;

¹⁹so that there was the face of a man toward the palm-tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm-tree on the other side. [thus was it] made through all the house round about:

²⁰from the ground unto above the door were cherubim and palm-trees made; thus was the wall of the temple.

²¹As for the temple, the door-posts were squared; and as for the face of the sanctuary, the appearance [thereof] was as the appearance [of the temple] .

²²The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and the length thereof two cubits; and the corners thereof, and the length thereof, and the walls thereof, were of wood: and he said unto me, This is the table that is before Jehovah.

²³And the temple and the sanctuary had two doors.

²⁴And the doors had two leaves [apiece], two turning leaves: two [leaves] for the one door, and two leaves for the other.

²⁵And there were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubim and palm-trees, like as were made upon the walls; and there was a threshold of wood upon the face of the porch without.

²⁶And there were closed windows and palm-trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch: thus were the side-chambers of the house, and the thresholds.

Ezekiel 42

¹Then he brought me forth into the outer court, the way toward the north: and he brought me into the chamber that was over against the separate place, and which was over against the building toward the north.

²Before the length of a hundred cubits was the north door, and the breadth was fifty cubits.

³Over against the twenty [cubits] which belonged to the inner court, and over against the pavement which belonged to the outer court, was gallery against gallery in the third story.

⁴And before the chambers was a walk of ten cubits' breadth inward, a way of one cubit; and their doors were toward the north.

⁵Now the upper chambers were shorter; for the galleries took away from these, more than from the lower and the middlemost, in the building.

⁶For they were in three stories, and they had not pillars as the pillars of the courts: therefore [the uppermost] was straitened more than the lowest and the middlemost from the ground.

⁷And the wall that was without by the side of the chambers, toward the outer court before the chambers, the length thereof was fifty cubits.

⁸For the length of the chambers that were in the outer court was fifty cubits: and, lo, before the temple were a hundred cubits.

⁹And from under these chambers was the entry on the east side, as one goeth into them from the outer court.

¹⁰In the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, before the separate place, and before the building, there were chambers.

¹¹And the way before them was like the appearance of [the way of] the chambers which were toward the north; according to their length so was their breadth: and all their egresses were both according to their fashions, and according to their doors.

¹²And according to the doors of the chambers that were toward the south was a door at the head of the way, even the way directly before the wall toward the east, as one entereth into them.

¹³Then said he unto me, The north chambers and the south chambers, which are before the separate place, they are the holy chambers, where the priests that are near unto Jehovah shall eat the most holy things: there shall they lay the most holy things, and the meal-offering, and the sin-offering, and the trespass-offering; for the place is holy.

¹⁴When the priests enter in, then shall they not go out of the holy place into the outer court, but there they shall lay their garments wherein they minister; for they are holy: and they shall put on other garments, and shall approach to that which pertaineth to the people.

¹⁵Now when he had made an end of measuring the inner house, he brought me forth by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east, and measured it round about.

¹⁶He measured on the east side with the measuring reed five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about.

¹⁷He measured on the north side five hundred reeds with the measuring reed round about.

¹⁸He measured on the south side five hundred reeds with the measuring reed.

¹⁹He turned about to the west side, and measured five hundred reeds with the measuring reed.

²⁰He measured it on the four sides: it had a wall round about, the length five hundred, and the breadth five hundred, to make a separation between that which was holy and that which was common. [

Ezekiel 43

¹Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east.

²And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shined with his glory.

³And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city; and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face.

⁴And the glory of Jehovah came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.

⁵And the Spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of Jehovah filled the house.

⁶And I heard one speaking unto me out of the house; and a man stood by me.

⁷And he said unto me, Son of man, [this is] the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever. And the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, and by the dead bodies of their kings [in] their high places;

⁸in their setting of their threshold by my threshold, and their door-post beside my door-post, and there was [but] the wall between me and them; and they have defiled my holy name by their abominations which they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger.

⁹Now let them put away their whoredom, and the dead bodies of their kings, far from me; and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever.

¹⁰Thou, son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern.

¹¹And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, make known unto them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the egresses thereof, and the entrances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof; and write it in their sight; that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them.

¹²This is the law of the house: upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.

¹³And these are the measures of the altar by cubits (the cubit is a cubit and a handbreadth): the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about a span; and this shall be the base of the altar.

¹⁴And from the bottom upon the ground to the lower ledge shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser ledge to the greater ledge shall be four cubits, and the breadth a cubit.

¹⁵And the upper altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar hearth and upward there shall be four horns.

¹⁶And the altar hearth shall be twelve [cubits] long by twelve broad, square in the four sides thereof.

¹⁷And the ledge shall be fourteen [cubits] long by fourteen broad in the four sides thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit round about; and the steps thereof shall look toward the east.

¹⁸And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt-offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon.

¹⁹Thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that are of the seed of Zadok, who are near unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord Jehovah, a young bullock for a sin-offering.

²⁰And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the ledge, and upon the border round about: thus shalt thou cleanse it and make atonement for it.

²¹Thou shalt also take the bullock of the sin-offering, and it shall be burnt in the appointed place of the house, without the sanctuary.

²²And on the second day thou shalt offer a he-goat without blemish for a sin-offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse it with the bullock.

²³When thou hast made an end of cleansing it, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish.

²⁴And thou shalt bring them near before Jehovah, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt-offering unto Jehovah.

²⁵Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a sin-offering: they shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish.

²⁶Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and purify it; so shall they consecrate it.

²⁷And when they have accomplished the days, it shall be that upon the eighth day, and forward, the priests shall make your burnt-offerings upon the altar, and your peace-offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord Jehovah.

Ezekiel 44

¹Then he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which looketh toward the east; and it was shut.

²And 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.

³As for the prince, he shall sit therein as prince to eat bread before Jehovah; he shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.

⁴Then he brought me by the way of the north gate before the house; and I looked, and, behold, the glory of Jehovah filled the house of Jehovah: and I fell upon my face.

⁵And Jehovah said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of Jehovah, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entrance of the house, with every egress of the sanctuary.

⁶And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations,

⁷in that ye have brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to profane it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant, [to add] unto all your abominations.

⁸And ye have not kept the charge of my holy things; but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.

⁹Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any foreigners that are among the children of Israel.

¹⁰But the Levites that went far from me, when Israel went astray, that went astray from me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity.

¹¹Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the house, and ministering in the house: they shall slay the burnt-offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them.

¹²Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and became a stumblingblock of iniquity unto the house of Israel; therefore have I lifted up my hand against them, saith the Lord Jehovah, and they shall bear their iniquity.

¹³And they shall not come near unto me, to execute the office of priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, unto the things that are most holy; but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed.

¹⁴Yet will I make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.

¹⁵But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me; and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord Jehovah:

¹⁶they shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.

¹⁷And it shall be that, when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, while they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within.

¹⁸They shall have linen tires upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with [anything that causeth] sweat.

¹⁹And when they go forth into the outer court, even into the outer court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they minister, and lay them in the holy chambers; and they shall put on other garments, that they sanctify not the people with their garments.

²⁰Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only cut off the hair of their heads.

²¹Neither shall any of the priests drink wine, when they enter into the inner court.

²²Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away; but they shall take virgins of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that is the widow of a priest.

²³And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

²⁴And in a controversy they shall stand to judge; according to mine ordinances shall they judge it: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.

²⁵And they shall go in to no dead person to defile themselves; but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves.

²⁶And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days.

²⁷And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin-offering, saith the Lord Jehovah.

²⁸And they shall have an inheritance: I am their inheritance; and ye shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession.

²⁹They shall eat the meal-offering, and the sin-offering, and the trespass-offering; and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs.

³⁰And the first of all the first-fruits of every thing, and every oblation of everything, of all your oblations, shall be for the priest: ye shall also give unto the priests the first of your [ dough, to cause a blessing to rest on thy house.

³¹The priests shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself, or is torn, whether it be bird or beast.

Commentary Insights

Study and Reflection

Explore devotional and study commentary connected to this passage.

Matthew Henry Concise Commentary

Pastoral and devotional reflections focused on spiritual formation and application.

Ezekiel 40:1-999 Chapter 40

The Vision of the Temple. Here is a vision, beginning at Ezek. 40, and continued to the end of the book, Ezek. 48, which is justly looked upon to be one of the most difficult portions in all the book of God. When we despair to be satisfied as to any difficulty we meet with, let us bless God that our salvation does not depend upon it, but that things necessary are plain enough; and let us wait till God shall reveal even this unto us. This chapter describes two outward courts of the temple. Whether the personage here mentioned was the Son of God, or a created angel, is not clear. But Christ is both our Altar and our Sacrifice, to whom we must look with faith in all approaches to God; and he is Salvation in the midst of the earth, Ps. 74:12, to be looked unto from all quarters.

Ezekiel 41:1-999 Chapter 41

After the prophet had observed the courts, he was brought to the temple. If we attend to instructions in the plainer parts of religion, and profit by them, we shall be led further into an acquaintance with the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.

Ezekiel 42:1-999 Chapter 42

In this chapter are described the priests' chambers, their use, and the dimensions of the holy mount on which the temple stood. These chambers were many. Jesus said, In my Father's house are many mansions: in his house on earth there are many; multitudes, by faith, are lodging in his sanctuary, and yet there is room. These chambers, though private, were near the temple. Our religious services in our chambers, must prepare for public devotions, and further us in improving them, as our opportunities are.

Ezekiel 43:1-999 Chapter 43

After Ezekiel had surveyed the temple of God, he had a vision of the glory of God. When Christ crucified, and the things freely given to us of God, through Him, are shown to us by the Holy Ghost, they make us ashamed for our sins. This frame of mind prepares us for fuller discoveries of the mysteries of redeeming love; and the whole of the Scriptures should be opened and applied, that men may see their sins, and repent of them. We are not now to offer any atoning sacrifices, for by one offering Christ has perfected for ever those that are sanctified, Heb. 10:14; but the sprinkling of his blood is needful in all our approaches to God the Father. Our best services can be accepted only as sprinkled with the blood which cleanses from all sin.

Ezekiel 44:1-999 Chapter 44

This chapter contains ordinances relative to the true priests. The prince evidently means Christ, and the words in Ezek. 44:2, may remind us that no other can enter heaven, the true sanctuary, as Christ did; namely, by virtue of his own excellency, and his personal holiness, righteousness, and strength. He who is the Brightness of Jehovah's glory entered by his own holiness; but that way is shut to the whole human race, and we all must enter as sinners, by faith in his blood, and by the power of his grace.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary

Historical, contextual, and verse-level study notes for deeper biblical exploration.

Ezekiel 40:1 The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth,

beginning of the year--the ecclesiastical year, the first month of which was Nisan. the city ... thither--Jerusalem, the center to which all the prophet's thoughts tended.

Ezekiel 40:1-49 The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth,

Give an Ideal Picture of the Restored Jewish Temple. The arrangements as to the land and the temple are, in many particulars, different from those subsisting before the captivity. There are things in it so improbable physically as to preclude a purely literal interpretation. The general truth seems to hold good that, as Israel served the nations for his rejection of Messiah, so shall they serve him in the person of Messiah, when he shall acknowledge Messiah (Isa 60:12; Zec 14:17-19; compare Ps 72:11). The ideal temple exhibits, under Old Testament forms (used as being those then familiar to the men whom Ezekiel, a priest himself, and one who delighted in sacrificial images, addresses), not the precise literal outline, but the essential character of the worship of Messiah as it shall be when He shall exercise sway in Jerusalem among His own people, the Jews, and thence to the ends of the earth. The very fact that the whole is a vision (Eze 40:2), not an oral face-to-face communication such as that granted to Moses (Nu 12:6-8), implies that the directions are not to be understood so precisely literally as those given to the Jewish lawgiver. The description involves things which, taken literally, almost involve natural impossibilities. The square of the temple, in Eze 42:20, is six times as large as the circuit of the wall enclosing the old temple, and larger than all the earthly Jerusalem. Ezekiel gives three and a half miles and one hundred forty yards to his temple square. The boundaries of the ancient city were about two and a half miles. Again, the city in Ezekiel has an area between three or four thousand square miles, including the holy ground set apart for the prince, priests, and Levites. This is nearly as large as the whole of Judea west of the Jordan. As Zion lay in the center of the ideal city, the one-half of the sacred portion extended to nearly thirty miles south of Jerusalem, that is, covered nearly the whole southern territory, which reached only to the Dead Sea (Eze 47:19), and yet five tribes were to have their inheritance on that side of Jerusalem, beyond the sacred portion (Eze 48:23-28). Where was land to be found for them there? A breadth of but four or five miles apiece would be left. As the boundaries of the land are given the same as under Moses, these incongruities cannot be explained away by supposing physical changes about to be effected in the land such as will meet the difficulties of the purely literal interpretation. The distribution of the land is in equal portions among the twelve tribes, without respect to their relative numbers, and the parallel sections running from east to west. There is a difficulty also in the supposed separate existence of the twelve tribes, such separate tribeships no longer existing, and it being hard to imagine how they could be restored as distinct tribes, mingled as they now are. So the stream that issued from the east threshold of the temple and flowed into the Dead Sea, in the rapidity of its increase and the quality of its waters, is unlike anything ever known in Judea or elsewhere in the world. Lastly, the catholicity of the Christian dispensation, and the spirituality of its worship, seem incompatible with a return to the local narrowness and "beggarly elements" of the Jewish ritual and carnal ordinances, disannulled "because of the unprofitableness thereof" [Fairbairn], (Ga 4:3, 9; 5:1; Heb 9:10; 10:18). "A temple with sacrifices now would be a denial of the all-sufficiency of the sacrifice of Christ. He who sacrificed before confessed the Messiah. He who should sacrifice now would solemnly deny Him" [Douglas]. These difficulties, however, may be all seeming, not real. Faith accepts God's Word as it is, waits for the event, sure that it will clear up all such difficulties. Perhaps, as some think, the beau ideal of a sacred commonwealth is given according to the then existing pattern of temple services, which would be the imagery most familiar to the prophet and his hearers at the time. The minute particularizing of details is in accordance with Ezekiel's style, even in describing purely ideal scenes. The old temple embodied in visible forms and rites spiritual truths affecting the people even when absent from it. So this ideal temple is made in the absence of the outward temple to serve by description the same purpose of symbolical instruction as the old literal temple did by forms and acts. As in the beginning God promised to be a "sanctuary" (Eze 11:16) to the captives at the Chebar, so now at the close is promised a complete restoration and realization of the theocratic worship and polity under Messiah in its noblest ideal (compare Jer 31:38-40). In Re 21:22 "no temple" is seen, as in the perfection of the new dispensation the accidents of place and form are no longer needed to realize to Christians what Ezekiel imparts to Jewish minds by the imagery familiar to them. In Ezekiel's temple holiness stretches over the entire temple, so that in this there is no longer a distinction between the different parts, as in the old temple: parts left undeterminate in the latter obtain now a divine sanction, so that all arbitrariness is excluded. So that it is be a perfect manifestation of the love of God to His covenant-people (Eze 40:1-43:12); and from it, as from a new center of religious life, there gushes forth the fulness of blessings to them, and so to all people (Eze 47:1-23) [Fairbairn and Havernick]. The temple built at the return from Babylon can only very partially have realized the model here given. The law is seemingly opposed to the gospel (Mt 5:21, 22, 27, 28, 33, 34). It is not really so (compare Mt 5:17, 18; Ro 3:31; Ga 3:21, 22). It is true Christ's sacrifice superseded the law sacrifices (Heb 10:12-18). Israel's province may hereafter be to show the essential identity, even in the minute details of the temple sacrifices, between the law and gospel (Ro 10:8). The ideal of the theocratic temple will then first be realized.

Ezekiel 40:2 The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth,

visions of God--divinely sent visions. very high mountain--Moriah, very high, as compared with the plains of Babylon, still more so as to its moral elevation (Eze 17:22; 20:40). by which--Ezekiel coming from the north is set down at (as the Hebrew for "upon" may be translated) Mount Moriah, and sees the city-like frame of the temple stretching southward. In Eze 40:3, "God brings him thither," that is, close up to it, so as to inspect it minutely (compare Re 21:10). In this closing vision, as in the opening one of the book, the divine hand is laid on the prophet, and he is borne away in the visions of God. But the scene there was by the Chebar, Jehovah having forsaken Jerusalem; now it is the mountain of God, Jehovah having returned thither; there, the vision was calculated to inspire terror; here, hope and assurance.

Ezekiel 40:3 The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth,

man--The Old Testament manifestations of heavenly beings as men prepared men's minds for the coming incarnation. brass--resplendent. line--used for longer measurements (Zec 2:1). reed--used in measuring houses (Re 21:15). It marked the straightness of the walls.

Ezekiel 40:5 The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth,

Measures were mostly taken from the human body. The greater cubit, the length from the elbow to the end of the middle finger, a little more than two feet: exceeding the ordinary cubit (from the elbow to the wrist) by an hand-breadth, that is, twenty-one inches in all. Compare Eze 43:13, with Eze 40:5. The palm was the full breadth of the hand, three and a half inches. breadth of the building--that is, the boundary wall. The imperfections in the old temple's boundary wall were to have no place here. The buildings attached to it had been sometimes turned to common uses; for example, Jeremiah was imprisoned in one (Jer 20:2; 29:26). But now all these were to be holy to the Lord. The gates and doorways to the city of God were to be imprinted in their architecture with the idea of the exclusion of everything defiled (Re 21:27). The east gate was to be especially sacred, as it was through it the glory of God had departed (Eze 11:23), and through it the glory was to return (Eze 43:1, 2; 44:2, 3).

Ezekiel 40:6 The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth,

the stairs--seven in number (Eze 40:26). threshold--the sill [Fairbairn]. other threshold--Fairbairn considers there is but one threshold, and translates, "even the one threshold, one rod broad." But there is another threshold mentioned in Eze 40:7. The two thresholds here seem to be the upper and the lower.

Ezekiel 40:7 The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth,

chamber--These chambers were for the use of the Levites who watched at the temple gates; guard-chambers (2Ki 22:4; 1Ch 9:26, 27); also used for storing utensils and musical instruments.

Ezekiel 40:9 The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth,

posts--projecting column-faced fronts of the sides of the doorway, opposite to one another.

Ezekiel 40:12 The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth,

space--rather, "the boundary."

Ezekiel 40:16 The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth,

narrow--latticed [Henderson]. The ancients had no glass, so they had them latticed, narrow in the interior of the walls, and widening at the exterior. "Made fast," or "firmly fixed in the chambers" [Maurer]. arches--rather, "porches."

Ezekiel 40:17 The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth,

pavement--tesselated mosaic (Es 1:6). chambers--serving as lodgings for the priests on duty in the temple, and as receptacles of the tithes of salt, wine, and oil.

Ezekiel 40:18 The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth,

The higher pavement was level with the entrance of the gates, the lower was on either side of the raised pavement thus formed. Whereas Solomon's temple had an outer court open to alterations and even idolatrous innovations (2Ki 23:11, 12; 1Ch 20:5), in this there was to be no room for human corruptions. Its compass was exactly defined, one hundred cubits; and the fine pavement implied it was to be trodden only by clean feet (compare Isa 35:8). 20-27. The different approaches corresponded in plan. In the case of these two other gates, however, no mention is made of a building with thirty chambers such as was found on the east side. Only one was needed, and it was assigned to the east as being the sacred quarter, and that most conveniently situated for the officiating priests.

Ezekiel 40:23 The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth,

and toward the east--an elliptical expression for "The gate of the inner court was over against the (outer) gate toward the north (just as the inner gate was over against the outer gate) toward the east." 28-37. The inner court and its gates. according to these measures--namely, the measures of the outer gate. The figure and proportions of the inner answered to the outer.

Ezekiel 40:30 The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth,

This verse is omitted in the Septuagint, the Vatican manuscript, and others. The dimensions here of the inner gate do not correspond to the outer, though Eze 40:28 asserts that they do. Havernick, retaining the verse, understands it of another porch looking inwards toward the temple. arches--the porch [Fairbairn]; the columns on which the arches rest [Henderson].

Ezekiel 40:31 The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth,

eight steps--The outer porch had only seven (Eze 40:26).

Ezekiel 40:37 The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth,

posts--the Septuagint and Vulgate read, "the porch," which answers better to Eze 40:31-34. "The arches" or "porch" [Maurer].

Ezekiel 40:38 The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth,

chambers ... entries--literally, "a chamber and its door." by the posts--that is, at or close by the posts or columns. where they washed the burnt offering--This does not apply to all the gates but only to the north gate. For Le 1:11 directs the sacrifices to be killed north of the altar; and Eze 8:5 calls the north gate, "the gate of the altar." And Eze 40:40 particularly mentions the north gate.

Ezekiel 40:43 The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth,

hooks--cooking apparatus for cooking the flesh of the sacrifices that fell to the priests. The hooks were "fastened" in the walls within the apartment, to hang the meat from, so as to roast it. The Hebrew comes from a root "fixed" or "placed."

Ezekiel 40:44 The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth,

the chambers of the singers--two in number, as proved by what follows: "and their prospect (that is, the prospect of one) was toward the south, (and) one toward the north." So the Septuagint.

Ezekiel 40:46 The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth,

Zadok--lineally descended from Aaron. He had the high priesthood conferred on him by Solomon, who had set aside the family of Ithamar because of the part which Abiathar had taken in the rebellion of Adonijah (1Ki 1:7; 2:26, 27).

Ezekiel 40:47 The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth,

court, an hundred cubits ... foursquare--not to be confounded with the inner court, or court of Israel, which was open to all who had sacrifices to bring, and went round the three sides of the sacred territory, one hundred cubits broad. This court was one hundred cubits square, and had the altar in it, in front of the temple. It was the court of the priests, and hence is connected with those who had charge of the altar and the music. The description here is brief, as the things connected with this portion were from the first divinely regulated.

Ezekiel 40:48-49 The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth,

These two verses belong to the forty-first chapter, which treats of the temple itself.

Ezekiel 40:49 The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth,

twenty ... eleven cubits--in Solomon's temple (1Ki 6:3) "twenty ... ten cubits." The breadth perhaps was ten and a half; 1Ki 6:3 designates the number by the lesser next round number, "ten"; Ezekiel here, by the larger number, "eleven" [Menochius]. The Septuagint reads "twelve." he brought me by the steps--They were ten in number [Septuagint].

Ezekiel 41:1 The Chambers and Ornaments of the Temple.

tabernacle--As in the measurement of the outer porch he had pointed to Solomon's temple, so here in the edifice itself, he points to the old tabernacle, which being eight boards in breadth (each one and a half cubits broad) would make in all twelve cubits, as here. On the interior it was only ten cubits.

Ezekiel 41:2 The Chambers and Ornaments of the Temple.

length thereof--namely, of the holy place [Fairbairn].

Ezekiel 41:3 The Chambers and Ornaments of the Temple.

inward--towards the most holy place.

Ezekiel 41:4 The Chambers and Ornaments of the Temple.

thereof--of the holy of holies. before the temple--that is, before, or in front of the most holy place (so "temple" is used in 1Ki 6:3). The angel went in and measured it, while Ezekiel stood in front, in the only part of the temple accessible to him. The dimensions of the two apartments are the same as in Solomon's temple, since being fixed originally by God, they are regarded as finally determined.

Ezekiel 41:5 The Chambers and Ornaments of the Temple.

side chamber--the singular used collectively for the plural. These chambers were appendages attached to the outside of the temple, on the west, north, and south; for on the east side, the principal entrance, there were no chambers. The narrowness of the chambers was in order that the beams could be supported without needing pillars. The plan is similar to that of the hall at Koyunjik, a large central hall, called the oracle, with smaller rooms built round it.

Ezekiel 41:6 The Chambers and Ornaments of the Temple.

might ... hold, but ... not hold in ... wall of the house--1Ki 6:6 tells us there were rests made in the walls of the temple for supports to the side chambers; but the temple walls did not thereby become part of this side building; they stood separate from it. "They entered," namely, the beams of the chambers, which were three-storied and thirty in consecutive order, entered into the wall, that is, were made to lean on rests projecting from the wall.

Ezekiel 41:7 The Chambers and Ornaments of the Temple.

the breadth ... so increased from the lowest ... to the highest--that is, the breadth of the interior space above was greater than that below.

Ezekiel 41:8 The Chambers and Ornaments of the Temple.

foundations ... six ... cubits--the substructure, on which the foundations rested, was a full reed of six cubits. great--literally, "to the extremity" or root, namely, of the hand [Henderson]. "To the joining," or point, where the foundation of one chamber ceased and another began [Fairbairn].

Ezekiel 41:9 The Chambers and Ornaments of the Temple.

that which was left--There was an unoccupied place within chambers that belonged to the house. The buildings in this unoccupied place, west of the temple, and so much resembling it in size, imply that no place was to be left which was to be held, as of old, not sacred. Manasseh (2Ki 23:11) had abused these "suburbs of the temple" to keeping horses sacred to the sun. All excuse for such abominations was henceforth to be taken away, the Lord claiming every space, and filling up this also with sacred erections [Fairbairn].

Ezekiel 41:10 The Chambers and Ornaments of the Temple.

the chambers--that is, of the priests in the court: between these and the side chambers was the wideness, &c. While long details are given as to the chambers, &c., no mention is made of the ark of the covenant. Fairbairn thus interprets this: In future there was to be a perfect conformity to the divine idea, such as there had not been before. The dwellings of His people should all become true sanctuaries of piety. Jehovah Himself, in the full display of the divine Shekinah, shall come in the room of the ark of the covenant (Jer 3:16, 17). The interior of the temple stands empty, waiting for His entrance to fill it with His glory (Eze 43:1-12). It is the same temple, but the courts of it have become different to accommodate a more numerous people. The entire compass of the temple mount has become a holy of holies (Eze 43:12). 12-15. Sum of the measures of the temple, and of the buildings behind and on the side of it.

Ezekiel 41:15 The Chambers and Ornaments of the Temple.

galleries--terrace buildings. On the west or back of the temple, there was a separate place occupied by buildings of the same external dimensions as the temple, that is, one hundred cubits square in the entire compass [Fairbairn].

Ezekiel 41:16 The Chambers and Ornaments of the Temple.

covered--being the highest windows they were "covered" from the view below. Or else "covered with lattice-work."

Ezekiel 41:17 The Chambers and Ornaments of the Temple.

by measure--Measurements were taken [Fairbairn].

Ezekiel 41:21 The Chambers and Ornaments of the Temple.

appearance of the one as the appearance of the other--The appearance of the sanctuary or holy of holies was similar to that of the temple. They differed only in magnitude.

Ezekiel 41:22 The Chambers and Ornaments of the Temple.

table ... before the Lord--the altar of incense (Eze 44:16). At it, not at the table of showbread, the priests daily ministered. It stood in front of the veil, and is therefore said to be "before the Lord." It is called a table, as being that at which the Lord will take delight in His people, as at a feast. Hence its dimensions are larger than that of old--three cubits high, two broad, instead of two and one.

Ezekiel 41:25 The Chambers and Ornaments of the Temple.

thick planks--a thick-plank work at the threshold.

Ezekiel 42:2 Chambers of the Priests: Measurements of the Temple.

Before the length of an hundred cubits--that is, before "the separate place," which was that length (Eze 41:13). He had before spoken of chambers for the officiating priests on the north and south gates of the inner court (Eze 40:44-46). He now returns to take a more exact view of them.

Ezekiel 42:5 Chambers of the Priests: Measurements of the Temple.

shorter--that is, the building became narrower as it rose in height. The chambers were many: so "in My Father's house are many mansions" (Joh 14:2); and besides these there was much "room" still left (compare Lu 14:22). The chambers, though private, were near the temple. Prayer in our chambers is to prepare us for public devotions, and to help us in improving them.

Ezekiel 42:16 Chambers of the Priests: Measurements of the Temple.

five hundred reeds--the Septuagint substitutes "cubits" for "reeds," to escape the immense compass assigned to the whole, namely, a square of five hundred rods or three thousand cubits (two feet each; Eze 40:5), in all a square of one and one-seventh miles, that is, more than all ancient Jerusalem; also, there is much space thus left unappropriated. Fairbairn rightly supports English Version, which agrees with the Hebrew. The vast extent is another feature marking the ideal character of the temple. It symbolizes the great enlargement of the kingdom of God, when Jehovah-Messiah shall reign at Jerusalem, and from thence to the ends of the earth (Isa 2:2-4; Jer 3:17; Ro 11:12, 15).

Ezekiel 42:20 Chambers of the Priests: Measurements of the Temple.

wall ... separation between ... sanctuary and ... profane--No longer shall the wall of partition be to separate the Jew and the Gentile (Eph 2:14), but to separate the sacred from the profane. The lowness of it renders it unfit for the purpose of defense (the object of the wall, Re 21:12). But its square form (as in the city, Re 21:16) is the emblem of the kingdom that cannot be shaken (Heb 12:28), resting on prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ being the chief corner-stone.

Ezekiel 43:1-27 Jehovah's Return to the Temple.

Everything was now ready for His reception. As the Shekinah glory was the peculiar distinction of the old temple, so it was to be in the new in a degree as much more transcendent as the proportions of the new exceeded those of the old. The fact that the Shekinah glory was not in the second temple proves that it cannot be that temple which is meant in the prophecy.

Ezekiel 43:2 Jehovah's Return to the Temple.

the way of the east--the way whereby the glory had departed (Eze 11:22, 23), and rested on Mount Olivet (compare Zec 14:4). his voice ... like ... many waters--So English Version rightly, as in Eze 1:24, "voice of the Almighty"; Re 1:15; 14:2, prove this. Not as Fairbairn translates, "its noise." earth his glory--(Re 18:1).

Ezekiel 43:3 Jehovah's Return to the Temple.

when I came to destroy the city--that is, to pronounce God's word for its destruction. So completely did the prophets identify themselves with Him in whose name they spake.

Ezekiel 43:6 Jehovah's Return to the Temple.

the man--who had been measuring the buildings (Eze 40:3).

Ezekiel 43:7 Jehovah's Return to the Temple.

the place--that is, "behold the place of My throne"--the place on which your thoughts have so much dwelt (Isa 2:1-3; Jer 3:17; Zec 14:16-20; Mal 3:1). God from the first claimed to be their King politically as well as religiously: and He had resisted their wish to have a human king, as implying a rejection of Him as the proper Head of the state. Even when He yielded to their wish, it was with a protest against their king ruling except as His vicegerent. When Messiah shall reign at Jerusalem, He shall then first realize the original idea of the theocracy, with its at once divine and human king reigning in righteousness over a people all righteous (Eze 43:12; Isa 52:1; 54:13; 60:21).

Ezekiel 43:9 Jehovah's Return to the Temple.

carcasses of their kings--It is supposed that some of their idolatrous kings were buried within the bounds of Solomon's temple [Henderson]. Rather, "the carcasses of their idols," here called "kings," as having had lordship over them in past times (Isa 26:13); but henceforth Jehovah, alone their rightful lord, shall be their king, and the idols that had been their "king" would appear but as "carcasses." Hence these defunct kings are associated with the "high places" in Eze 43:7 [Fairbairn]. Le 26:30 and Jer 16:18, confirm this. Manasseh had built altars in the courts of the temple to the host of heaven (2Ki 21:5; 23:6). I will dwell in the midst ... for ever--(Re 21:3).

Ezekiel 43:10 Jehovah's Return to the Temple.

show the house ... that they may be ashamed of their iniquities--When the spirituality of the Christian scheme is shown to men by the Holy Ghost, it makes them "ashamed of their iniquities."

Ezekiel 43:12 Jehovah's Return to the Temple.

whole ... most holy--This superlative, which had been used exclusively of the holy of holies (Ex 26:34), was now to characterize the entire building. This all-pervading sanctity was to be "the law of the (whole) house," as distinguished from the Levitical law, which confined the peculiar sanctity to a single apartment of it. 13-27. As to the altar of burnt offering, which was the appointed means of access to God.

Ezekiel 43:15 Jehovah's Return to the Temple.

altar--Hebrew, Harel, that is, "mount of God"; denoting the high security to be imparted by it to the restored Israel. It was a high place, but a high place of God, not of idols. from the altar--literally, "the lion of God," Ariel (in Isa 29:1, "Ariel" is applied to Jerusalem). Menochius supposes that on it four animals were carved; the lion perhaps was the uppermost, whence the horns were made to issue. Gesenius regards the two words as expressing the "hearth" or fireplace of the altar.

Ezekiel 43:16 Jehovah's Return to the Temple.

square in the four squares--square on the four sides of its squares [Fairbairn].

Ezekiel 43:17 Jehovah's Return to the Temple.

settle--ledge [Fairbairn]. stairs--rather, "the ascent," as "steps" up to God's altar were forbidden in Ex 20:26. 18-27. The sacrifices here are not mere commemorative, but propitiatory ones. The expressions, "blood" (Eze 43:18), and "for a sin offering" (Eze 43:19, 21, 22), prove this. In the literal sense they can only apply to the second temple. Under the Christian dispensation they would directly oppose the doctrine taught in Heb 10:1-18, namely, that Christ has by one offering for ever atoned for sin. However, it is possible that they might exist with a retrospective reference to Christ's sufferings, as the Levitical sacrifices had a prospective reference to them; not propitiatory in themselves, but memorials to keep up the remembrance of His propitiatory sufferings, which form the foundation of His kingdom, lest they should be lost sight of in the glory of that kingdom [De Burgh]. The particularity of the directions make it unlikely that they are to be understood in a merely vague spiritual sense.

Ezekiel 43:20 Jehovah's Return to the Temple.

cleanse--literally, "make expiation for."

Ezekiel 43:21 Jehovah's Return to the Temple.

burn it ... without the sanctuary--(Heb 13:11).

Ezekiel 43:26 Jehovah's Return to the Temple.

Seven days--referring to the original directions of Moses for seven days' purification services of the altar (Ex 29:37). consecrate themselves--literally, "fill their hands," namely, with offerings; referring to the mode of consecrating a priest (Ex 29:24, 35).

Ezekiel 43:27 Jehovah's Return to the Temple.

I will accept you--(Eze 20:40, 41; Ro 12:1; 1Pe 2:5).

Ezekiel 44:2 Ordinances for the Prince and the Priests.

shut ... not be opened--(Job 12:14; Isa 22:22; Re 3:7). "Shut" to the people (Ex 19:21, 22), but open to "the prince" (Eze 44:3), he holding the place of God in political concerns, as the priests do in spiritual. As a mark of respect to an Eastern monarch, the gate by which he enters is thenceforth shut to all other persons (compare Ex 19:24).

Ezekiel 44:3 Ordinances for the Prince and the Priests.

the prince--not King Messiah, as He never would offer a burnt offering for Himself, as the prince is to do (Eze 46:4). The prince must mean the civil ruler under Messiah. His connection with the east gate (by which the Lord had returned to His temple) implies, that, as ruling under God, he is to stand in a place of peculiar nearness to God. He represents Messiah, who entered heaven, the true sanctuary, by a way that none other could, namely, by His own holiness; all others must enter as sinners by faith in His blood, through grace. eat bread before the Lord--a custom connected with sacrifices (Ge 31:54; Ex 18:12; 24:11; 1Co 10:18). 4-6. Directions as to the priests. Their acts of desecration are attributed to "the house of Israel" (Eze 44:6, 7), as the sins of the priesthood and of the people acted and reacted on one another; "like people, like priest" (Jer 5:31; Ho 4:9).

Ezekiel 44:7 Ordinances for the Prince and the Priests.

uncircumcised in heart--Israelites circumcised outwardly, but wanting the true circumcision of the heart (De 10:16; Ac 7:51). uncircumcised in flesh--not having even the outward badge of the covenant-people.

Ezekiel 44:8 Ordinances for the Prince and the Priests.

keepers ... for yourselves--such as you yourselves thought fit, not such as I approve of. Or else, "Ye have not yourselves kept the charge of My holy things, but have set others as keepers of My charge in My sanctuary for yourselves" [Maurer].

Ezekiel 44:10-11 Ordinances for the Prince and the Priests.

Levites ... shall ... bear--namely, the punishment of their iniquity ... Yet they shall be ministers--So Mark, a Levite, nephew of Barnabas (Ac 4:36), was punished by Paul for losing an opportunity of bearing the cross of Christ, and yet was afterwards admitted into his friendship again, and showed his zeal (Ac 13:13; 15:37; Col 4:10; 2Ti 4:11). One may be a believer, and that too in a distinguished place, and yet lose some special honor--be acknowledged as pious, yet be excluded from some dignity [Bengel]. charge at the gates--Better to be "a doorkeeper in the house of God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness" (Ps 84:10). Though standing as a mere doorkeeper, it is in the house of God, which hath foundations: whereas he who dwells with the wicked, dwells in but shifting tents.

Ezekiel 44:15 Ordinances for the Prince and the Priests.

Zadok--The priests of the line of Ithamar were to be discharged from ministrations in the temple, because of their corruptions, following in the steps of Eli's sons, against whom the same denunciation was uttered (1Sa 2:32, 35). Zadok, according to his name (which means "righteous") and his line, were to succeed (1Ki 2:35; 1Ch 24:3), as they did not take part in the general apostasy to the same degree, and perhaps [Fairbairn] the prophet, referring to their original state, speaks of them as they appeared when first chosen to the office.

Ezekiel 44:17 Ordinances for the Prince and the Priests.

linen--symbolical of purity. Wool soon induces perspiration in the sultry East and so becomes uncleanly.

Ezekiel 44:18 Ordinances for the Prince and the Priests.

bonnets--turbans.

Ezekiel 44:19 Ordinances for the Prince and the Priests.

not sanctify the people with their garments--namely, those peculiarly priestly vestments in which they ministered in the sanctuary.

Ezekiel 44:20 Ordinances for the Prince and the Priests.

Neither ... shave ... heads--as mourners do (Le 21:1-5). The worshippers of the Egyptian idols Serapis and Isis shaved their heads; another reason why Jehovah's priests are not to do so. nor suffer ... locks to grow long--as the luxurious, barbarians, and soldiers in warfare did [Jerome].

Ezekiel 44:21 Ordinances for the Prince and the Priests.

Neither ... wine--lest the holy enthusiasm of their devotion should be mistaken for inebriation, as in Peter's case (Ac 2:13, 15, 18).

Ezekiel 44:28 Ordinances for the Prince and the Priests.

I am their inheritance--(Nu 18:20; De 10:9; 18:1; Jos 13:14, 32).

Ezekiel 44:30 Ordinances for the Prince and the Priests.

give ... priest the first ... that he may cause the blessing to rest--(Pr 3:9, 10; Mal 3:10).

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Key Words in This Passage

Cubits 79 in this passage Side 52 in this passage Temple 43 in this passage Gate 32 in this passage Court 29 in this passage Long 29 in this passage Measured 29 in this passage Chambers 27 in this passage Portico 27 in this passage Around 26 in this passage Outer 26 in this passage Gateway 25 in this passage Sanctuary 25 in this passage Wide 25 in this passage Inner 24 in this passage Lord 23 in this passage Offerings 19 in this passage Hundred 18 in this passage Man 18 in this passage Holy 17 in this passage Facing 16 in this passage North 16 in this passage Wall 16 in this passage East 15 in this passage

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Peace offerings (Heb. shelamim), detailed regulations regarding given in Lev. 3; 7:11-21,… Burnt offering Hebrew olah; i.e., "ascending," the whole being consumed by fire,… Purification The process by which a person unclean, according to the… Handbreadth A measure of four fingers, equal to about four inches… Holy place One of the two portions into which the tabernacle was… Son of man (1.) Denotes mankind generally, with special reference to their weakness… Palm tree (Heb. tamar), the date-palm characteristic of Palestine. It is described… Threshold (1.) Heb. miphtan, probably a projecting beam at a higher… East gate (Jer. 19:2), properly the Potter's gate, the gate which led… Foreigner A Gentile. Such as resided among the Hebrews were required… Sacrifice The offering up of sacrifices is to be regarded as… Atonement This word does not occur in the Authorized Version of… Sanctuary Denotes, (1) the Holy Land (Ex. 15:17; comp. Ps. 114:2);… Northward (Heb. tsaphon), a "hidden" or "dark place," as opposed to… Jerusalem Called also Salem, Ariel, Jebus, the "city of God," the… Holiness In the highest sense belongs to God (Isa. 6:3; Rev.… Pavement It was the custom of the Roman governors to erect… Building Among the Jews was suited to the climate and conditions…

Ezekiel 40-44

Ezekiel 40

Ezekiel 41

Ezekiel 42

Ezekiel 43

Ezekiel 44

Study and Reflection

Matthew Henry Concise Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary

Key Words and Topics

Key Words in This Passage

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Alliance and Society with the Enemies of God: Israel Ezekiel 44:7

Altar in Solomon's Temple: Ezekiel's Vision of Ezekiel 43:13–27

Altar in the Tabernacle: See Ezekiel 43:18–27

Altar: See Ezekiel 43:13

Blood: Sacrificial: Sprinkled on Altar and People Ezekiel 43:18, 20

Bonnet: Worn by Priests Ezekiel 44:18

Breeches for the Priests Ezekiel 44:18

Chebar: A River of Mesopotamia Ezekiel 43:3

Cherubim in Ezekiel's Vision of the Temple Ezekiel 41:18–20, 25

Christian Minister: Duties of Ezekiel 44:23

Christian Minister: Emoluments (Benefits) of Ezekiel 44:28

Christian Minister: False and Corrupt Ezekiel 44:8, 10

Church of Israel: Persons Excluded From Ezekiel 44:7, 9

Church: Holy Place Ezekiel 41:4

Church: House of the Lord Ezekiel 44:4

Church: Membership In Ezekiel 44:6, 7, 9

Church: Place of God's Throne Ezekiel 43:7

Church: Sanctuary Ezekiel 42:20

Circumcision: Necessary to Enjoying the Privileges of the Jewish State Ezekiel 44:7

Courts of Justice: Judges of To Decide According to the Law Ezekiel 44:24

Cubit: A Measure of Distance Ezekiel 40:5

Dedication: Things Dedicated to God for Support of Priests Ezekiel 44:29

Defilement of Priests Ezekiel 44:25, 26

Dough: Part of, for Priest Ezekiel 44:30

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