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Ezekiel 46

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Regulations for the East Gate 1–8

1
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened. ​
2
And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate; and the priests shall prepare his burnt-offering and his peace-offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. ​
3
And the people of the land shall worship at the door of that gate before Jehovah on the sabbaths and on the new moons. ​
4
And the burnt-offering that the prince shall offer unto Jehovah shall be on the sabbath day six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish; ​
5
and the meal-offering shall be an ephah for the ram, and the meal-offering for the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah.
6
And on the day of the new moon it shall be a young bullock without blemish, and six lambs, and a ram; they shall be without blemish:
7
and he shall prepare a meal-offering, an ephah for the bullock, and an ephah for the ram, and for the lambs according as he is able, and a hin of oil to an ephah.
8
And when the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof.

Movement of the People During Feasts 9–12

9
But when the people of the land shall come before Jehovah in the appointed feasts, he that entereth by the way of the north gate to worship shall go forth by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth straight before him. ​
10
And the prince, when they go in, shall go in in the midst of them; and when they go forth, they shall go forth together. ​
11
And in the feasts and in the solemnities the meal-offering shall be an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah.
12
And when the prince shall prepare a freewill-offering, a burnt-offering or peace-offerings as a freewill-offering unto Jehovah, one shall open for him the gate that looketh toward the east; and he shall prepare his burnt-offering and his peace-offerings, as he doth on the sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall shut the gate. ​

The Daily Continual Offering 13–15

13
And thou shalt prepare a lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt-offering unto Jehovah daily: morning by morning shalt thou prepare it. ​
14
And thou shalt prepare a meal-offering with it morning by morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of a hin of oil, to moisten the fine flour; a meal-offering unto Jehovah continually by a perpetual ordinance.
15
Thus shall they prepare the lamb, and the meal-offering, and the oil, morning by morning, for a continual burnt-offering.

Regulations for the Prince’s Inheritance 16–18

16
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, it is his inheritance, it shall belong to his sons; it is their possession by inheritance. ​
17
But if he give of his inheritance a gift to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty; then it shall return to the prince; but as for his inheritance, it shall be for his sons. ​
18
Moreover the prince shall not take of the people’s inheritance, to thrust them out of their possession; he shall give inheritance to his sons out of his own possession, that my people be not scattered every man from his possession. ​

Sacrificial Kitchens and Boiling Places 19–24

19
Then he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers for the priests, which looked toward the north: and, behold, there was a place on the hinder part westward. ​
20
And he said unto me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass-offering and the sin-offering, and where they shall bake the meal-offering; that they bring them not forth into the outer court, to sanctify the people. ​
21
Then he brought me forth into the outer court, and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and, behold, in every corner of the court there was a court.
22
In the four corners of the court there were courts inclosed, forty cubits long and thirty broad: these four in the corners were of one measure.
23
And there was a wall round about in them, round about the four, and boiling-places were made under the walls round about.
24
Then said he unto me, These are the boiling-houses, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Ezekiel 46

Verse 1

the six working days — This is the inner east gate. The outer east gate was shut for good because 'the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it' (44:2). This one is shut on the six working days and opened on the sabbath and the new moon, the days Isaiah names for worship: 'from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another' (Isa 66:23).

Verse 2

worship at the threshold — The prince comes in by the porch and stands by the gate-post while 'the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings'. He bows down (shachah) at the threshold (miphtan) and goes out. The gate stays open 'until the evening'. This matches the prince's entry in 44:3.

Verse 3

the people of the land — Ordinary Israelites worship on the same days, 'at the door of this gate before the LORD'. They stand at the opening (pethach) of the gate where the prince stands at the threshold (v.2). The sabbaths and new moons of v.1 are the days for all the people, with the priests, as well as for the prince.

Verse 4

six lambs without blemish, and a ram — The sabbath offering that falls to the prince (45:17). The Law of Moses sets 'two lambs of the first year' on the sabbath, 'beside the continual burnt offering' (Num 28:9–10); here it is six lambs and a ram. 'Without blemish' is tamim, whole, the word used again for the daily lamb in v.13.

Verse 9

the north gate… the south gate — At 'the solemn feasts' (mo'ed, appointed times), the people who come in at the north gate go out at the south, and the reverse. No one returns by the gate he entered, but 'over against it'. The three yearly feasts of Deut 16:16, when every male appeared 'before the LORD', are the likely occasions, and the crowd passes straight through the court.

Verse 10

in the midst of them — Tavek, middle. At the feasts the prince enters with the worshippers and leaves with them, using the north or south gate as they do (v.9). On the sabbaths and new moons he stands alone at the east gate (v.2), but on the feast days he takes his place among the people.

Verse 12

a voluntary burnt offering — Nedabah, a freewill gift, the word of 'freewill offerings' in Lev 22:18: an offering given of his own choice, not required by the calendar. For it 'one shall then open him the gate that looketh toward the east', as on the sabbath, and shut it again as soon as he has gone out, unlike the sabbath, when it stays open 'until the evening' (v.2).

Verse 13

every morning — The daily burnt offering is a lamb 'of the first year without blemish', literally a lamb 'son of a year'. Ex 29:38–39 sets two lambs, one in the morning and one 'at even', but here only the morning lamb is named, with its meat offering and oil (vv.14–15). 'Continual' is tamid (vv.14–15), the offering never to lapse.

Verse 16

the inheritance thereof shall be his sons' — The chapter turns from offerings to land. A gift from the prince to a son becomes the son's permanent 'possession by inheritance' (nachalah, achuzzah). Vv.17–18 add gifts to servants and the people's land, answering 45:8, 'my princes shall no more oppress my people', and 45:9, 'remove violence and spoil'.

Verse 17

the year of liberty — A gift of land to a servant holds only 'to the year of liberty', then 'it shall return to the prince'. Deror, liberty, is the word of Lev 25:10, 'proclaim liberty throughout all the land', in the jubile, when every man returned to his possession. The phrase 'year of liberty' occurs only here in the KJV.

Verse 18

by oppression — The prince may not 'thrust' the people out of their possession (yanah, to oppress). Ahab's seizing of Naboth's vineyard is the standing example: Naboth had said, 'The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers' (1 Kings 21:3), yet Ahab 'rose up… to take possession of it' (21:16). The prince gives his sons from 'his own possession'.

Verse 19

the holy chambers of the priests — The guide brings Ezekiel through the entry at the side of the gate to the priests' chambers on the north (lishkah), the 'holy chambers' where the priests lay the garments they ministered in (44:19). 'A place on the two sides westward' lies beyond them, and v.20 says what it is for.

Verse 20

to sanctify the people — The priests boil the trespass offering and the sin offering and bake the meat offering here, so that they do not carry them 'into the utter court, to sanctify the people'. Holy things pass their holiness on by touch: 'Whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy' (Lev 6:27). The priests eat these offerings (44:29), so they are prepared inside.

Verse 24

the ministers of the house — These are the boiling places of the outer court's corner courts (vv.21–23). The 'ministers' (sharath, those who serve) boil 'the sacrifice of the people' (zebach). They are the Levites, who 'slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people' (44:11). The priests' own kitchens are those of v.20.