English · KJV

Ezekiel 46:9

“Movement of the People During Feasts”Ezekiel 46:9–12

King James Version
But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out 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 over against it.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

KJV (with Strong's)
But when the people H5971 of the land H776 shall come H935 before H6440 the LORD H3068 in the solemn feasts H4150, he that entereth H935 in by the way H1870 of the north H6828 gate H8179 to worship H7812 shall go out H3318 by the way H1870 of the south H5045 gate H8179; and he that entereth H935 by the way H1870 of the south H5045 gate H8179 shall go forth H3318 by the way H1870 of the north H6828 gate H8179: he shall not return H7725 by the way H1870 of the gate H8179 whereby he came in H935, but shall go forth H3318 over against H5226 it.

Bible text: King James Version with Strong's numbers · Public domain

Berean Standard Bible
When the people of the land come before the LORD at the appointed feasts, whoever enters by the north gate to worship must go out by the south gate, and whoever enters by the south gate must go out by the north gate. No one is to return through the gate by which he entered, but each must go out by the opposite gate.

Bible text: Berean Standard Bible · Public domain

American Standard Version
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.

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

World English Bible Messianic
But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the appointed feasts, he who enters by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he who enters by the way of the south gate shall go out by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate by which he came in, but shall go out straight before him.

Bible text: World English Bible, Messianic edition · Public domain

Geneva Bible (1599)
But when the people of the land shall come before the Lord in the solemne feastes, hee that entreth in by the way of the North gate to worship, shall goe out by the way of the South gate: and he that entreth by the way of the South gate, shall goe foorth by the way of the North gate: hee shall not returne by the way of the gate whereby hee came in, but they shall goe forth ouer against it.

Bible text: Geneva Bible (1599) · Public domain

Young's Literal Translation
And in the coming in of the people of the land before Jehovah at appointed times, he who hath come in the way of the north gate to bow himself, goeth out the way of the south gate, and he who hath come in the way of the south gate, goeth out by the way of the north gate: he doth not turn back the way of the gate by which he came in, but over-against it he goeth out.

Bible text: Young's Literal Translation · Public domain

King James Version — Interlinear
33 Hebrew words
  1. וּבְבוֹאu·ve·Vo'and when comesH935Conj-w ¦ Prep-b ¦ V-Qal-InfVerb Qal Infinitive Constructוּandבְwhenבוֹאcomes
  2. עַם'am[the] people ofH5971N-mscNoun Singular Masculine Construct
  3. הָאָרֶץha·'A·retzthe landH776Art ¦ N-fsNoun Singular Feminine Absoluteהָtheאָרֶץland
  4. לִפְנֵיlif·Nei[to] beforeH6440Prep-l ¦ N-mpcNoun Plural Masculine Constructלִ[to]פְנֵיbefore
  5. יְהוָהYah·wehYahwehH3068N-properNoun Proper Title
  6. בַּמּוֹעֲדִיםba·mo·'a·Dimat the appointed timesH4150Prep-b ¦ N-mpNoun Plural Masculine Absoluteבַּat theמּוֹעֲדִיםappointed times
  7. הַבָּאha·Ba'the [one who] comesH935Art ¦ V-Qal-Prtcpl-msVerb Qal Participle Singular Masculine Absoluteהַtheבָּא[one who] comes
  8. דֶּרֶךְde·rekh[the] way ofH1870N-cscNoun Singular common gender Construct
  9. שַׁעַרSha·'ar[the] gate ofH8179N-mscNoun Singular Masculine Construct
  10. צָפוֹןtza·Fon[the] northH6828N-fsNoun Singular Feminine Absolute
  11. לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֹתle·hish·ta·cha·Votto bow downH7812Prep-l ¦ V-Hishtaphel-InfVerb Hishtaphel Infinitive Constructלְtoהִשְׁתַּחֲוֹתbow down
  12. יֵצֵאye·Tze'he will go outH3318V-Qal-Imperf-3msVerb Qal Imperfect 3rd Singular Masculine
  13. דֶּרֶךְde·rekh[the] way ofH1870N-cscNoun Singular common gender Construct
  14. שַׁעַרSha·'ar[the] gate ofH8179N-mscNoun Singular Masculine Construct
  15. נֶגֶבNe·gev[the] southH5045N-msNoun Singular Masculine Absolute
  16. וְהַבָּאve·ha·Ba'and the [one who] comesH935Conj-w ¦ Art ¦ V-Qal-Prtcpl-msVerb Qal Participle Singular Masculine Absoluteוְandהַtheבָּא[one who] comes
  17. דֶּרֶךְde·rekh[the] way ofH1870N-cscNoun Singular common gender Construct
  18. שַׁעַרSha·'ar[the] gate ofH8179N-mscNoun Singular Masculine Construct
  19. נֶגֶבNe·gev[the] southH5045N-msNoun Singular Masculine Absolute
  20. יֵצֵאye·Tze'he will go outH3318V-Qal-Imperf-3msVerb Qal Imperfect 3rd Singular Masculine
  21. דֶּרֶךְde·rekh[the] way ofH1870N-cscNoun Singular common gender Construct
  22. שַׁעַרSha·'ar[the] gateH8179N-msNoun Singular Masculine Absolute
  23. צָפוֹנָהtza·Fo·nahnorth -wardH6828N-fs ¦ SfxNoun Singular Feminine Absoluteצָפוֹנָnorthה-ward
  24. לֹאlo'notH3808NegParticle Negative
  25. יָשׁוּבya·Shuvhe will returnH7725V-Qal-Imperf-3msVerb Qal Imperfect 3rd Singular Masculine
  26. דֶּרֶךְDe·rekh[the] way ofH1870N-cscNoun Singular common gender Construct
  27. הַשַּׁעַרha·Sha·'arthe gateH8179Art ¦ N-msNoun Singular Masculine Absoluteהַtheשַּׁעַרgate
  28. אֲשֶׁר'a·SherwhichH834RelParticle Relative
  29. בָּאba'he cameH935V-Qal-Perf-3msVerb Qal Perfect 3rd Singular Masculine
  30. בוֹvoby itPrep-b ¦ 3msSuffix Personal 3rd Singular Masculineבbyוֹit
  31. כִּיkiforH3588PrtParticle Conditional
  32. נִכְחוֹnikh·Choopposite itH5227Adj-msc ¦ 3msAdjective Numerical Singular Masculine Construct with suffixנִכְחoppositeוֹit
  33. יֵצֵאye·tze·'u'he will go outH3318V-Qal-Imperf-3msVerb Qal Imperfect 3rd Singular Masculine
English is a literal word-by-word gloss of the Hebrew, not the KJV's wording. Why?

This is the original text the KJV's translators worked from — each Hebrew word with its own literal English meaning in this verse, prepared by scholars at Tyndale House, Cambridge. The KJV translates whole sentences, not word by word, so its wording differs: one Hebrew word can become several English words, and the KJV may choose “the LORD” where the gloss reads “Yahweh”. Both are faithful — they answer different questions. For the KJV's own rendering, switch to the KJV text.

Words in [ ] are added by the English.

Translation
Details
In the KJVVerse 21,665 of 31,102 · 69.7%

Study this verse

Written with AI assistance. Always check it against Scripture.

This verse

At the appointed feasts every worshipper who enters by the north gate leaves by the south, and whoever enters by the south leaves by the north, so that the people move through the LORD’s courts in order.

“But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts,”

The subject changes from the prince to the ordinary worshippers. The feasts are môwʻêd, appointed times, and to come to them is to come into the LORD’s presence.

“he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate;”

The worshipper crosses the outer court from one side to the other. He comes “to worship”, and the route serves that purpose.

“and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate:”

The same rule in the other direction, so that two streams of people pass through the court in good order.

“he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it.”

The rule is summed up. Shûwb is to turn back, and each gate, shaʻar, is used one way by each worshipper. “Over against it” means the gate directly opposite.

Passage studyEzekiel 46:9–12

Through the Gates at the Appointed Feasts

9But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out 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 over against it. 10And the prince in the midst of them, when they go in, shall go in; and when they go forth, shall go forth. 11And in the feasts and in the solemnities the meat offering shall be an ephah to a bullock, and an ephah to a ram, and to the lambs as he is able to give, and an hin of oil to an ephah. 12Now when the prince shall prepare a voluntary burnt offering or peace offerings voluntarily unto the LORD, one shall then open him the gate that looketh toward the east, and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he did on the sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall shut the gate.

Summary

At the appointed feasts the people of the land come before the LORD and pass through his courts from north to south or from south to north, each leaving by the gate opposite the one he entered. The prince goes in and out among them. The grain and oil that accompany the feast offerings are measured out, and when the prince brings an offering of his own free will, the gate that faces east is opened for him and shut again when he leaves. In four verses God orders the coming, the giving and the going of his people, from the crowd at the gates to the ruler at the altar.

Where these rules stand in Ezekiel’s vision

Ezekiel saw this temple while he was an exile in Babylon, about 573 BC. The Babylonians had destroyed the temple in Jerusalem in 586 BC, and the people had lost their land, their king and the place where they met with God. Into that loss God gave a long and exact vision of a new temple and of worship restored (Ezekiel 40–48). The measurements of the building come first (Ezekiel 40–42), then the glory of the LORD returns to fill it, and then come the rules for the priests, the Levites and the prince. The same book had already promised the heart of this restoration: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you” (Ezekiel 36:26–27).

Ezekiel 45 and Ezekiel 46 deal with the prince and the offerings. The verses just before ours set out what the prince offers on sabbaths and new moons and when the gates stand open (Ezekiel 46:1–8). Verse 9 then turns to the ordinary worshippers at the great feasts. God had given the same close care to the tabernacle in the wilderness (Exodus 25–31), to the consecration of the priests (Exodus 29) and to the calendar of offerings (Numbers 28). The exiles had seen where careless and idolatrous worship ends, and here they are shown worship as God orders it.

Is this a temple that will be built?

Believers differ on how the vision is fulfilled. Some hold that it describes a physical temple that will stand in Jerusalem during a future thousand-year reign of Christ. Others hold that it is a picture of God living among a restored people in perfect order, fulfilled spiritually in the church and finally in the new heaven and new earth of Revelation 21. Others again hold that it had a first and partial fulfilment in the temple built after the exile and points on to a greater reality at the end. On each of these readings the passage teaches the same things about God: he is holy, he orders the worship of his people, and he means to live among them.

Why worshippers leave by the opposite gate

The “solemn feasts” are the appointed festivals of Leviticus 23, such as Passover, Weeks and Booths, when the whole nation went up to worship. The Hebrew word is môwʻêd, which properly means an appointment, and so a fixed time or an appointed assembly. These gatherings were appointments God himself had set, with the time and the place of his choosing. “The people of the land” are the general body of worshippers, as distinct from the priests and the prince, and they come “before the LORD”, into his presence.

The rule for them is simple. Whoever comes in by the north gate goes out by the south, and whoever comes in by the south goes out by the north. The verse then states it a third way: “he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it.” The verb shûwb means to turn back or return, and “over against it” means by the opposite gate. The word for gate, shaʻar, means an opening, a door or gate, and here the gates are the controlled ways into and out of the court.

Two reasons stand behind the rule. The first is practical. At a feast the courts were crowded with pilgrims, and a single direction of movement let everyone pass through in peace, with each person crossing the whole court as he worshipped. The second is the holiness of the place. The God who is approached here had said, “I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified” (Leviticus 10:3). Even the way his people walk through his courts is ordered by him, and the New Testament asks the same care of the church: “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40). We are to serve God “acceptably with reverence and godly fear” (Hebrews 12:28).

Does the rule picture a changed life?

The command itself is about which gate a worshipper uses, and it fits a truth Scripture teaches plainly elsewhere. Someone who has truly come before the LORD goes out a different way from the way he came. Moses promised that God would circumcise the hearts of his people so that they would love him (Deuteronomy 30:6). Paul says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17), and he speaks of believers being changed into the Lord’s image “from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18). The worshipper in Ezekiel’s court keeps moving forward through the presence of God and leaves on the far side, and the life of faith moves the same way.

The prince goes in and out with the people

Verse 10 places the prince “in the midst of them”. The word tâvek means the midst, the middle, among, and it puts the ruler inside the crowd of worshippers. The two verbs are the ordinary ones for coming and going: bôwʼ, to go or come in, and yâtsâʼ, to go or come out. When the people go in, he goes in, and when they go out, he goes out. At the feasts he keeps the same hours and the same order as everyone else.

This is leadership by example. Israel’s rulers before the exile had often been the “shepherds” who fed themselves and neglected the flock, and the LORD spoke against them through this same prophet (Ezekiel 34). The prince of the vision worships alongside his people and under the same commands. Moses had prayed for exactly such a leader, one who would go out before the people and come in before them, so that the congregation would have a shepherd (Numbers 27:16–17). The picture of ruler and people going up together also matches the gladness of the psalm: “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD” (Psalm 122:1). Believers today are likewise told to keep meeting together (Hebrews 10:25), and those who lead them belong in the middle of that gathering.

Who is the prince?

The prince is the leader of the restored people, and Ezekiel calls him nâsîyʼ, a chief or ruler, properly “an exalted one”, from the verb nâsâʼ, to lift up. Ezekiel uses this word where we might expect melech, the usual word for king. The prince’s authority comes from God and is exercised inside the limits God sets. He has his own allotted land (Ezekiel 45:7–8), and it is his duty to supply the offerings for the feasts, new moons and sabbaths (Ezekiel 45:17). The work at the altar itself belongs to the priests (Ezekiel 44:15–16), so the prince is a lay ruler who provides for worship and takes part in it.

Believers differ on who he is. Some hold that he is the Messiah himself, the ruler promised in Isaiah 9:6–7. Others hold that he is a righteous human ruler in the restored kingdom, who brings offerings for himself as well as for the people and whose faithfulness points forward to Christ. On either reading he is the kind of ruler Israel had lacked, one who obeys God and leads the people in true worship.

The grain and oil that go with the feast offerings

Verse 11 names two kinds of occasion. “Feasts” translates chag, the word for the great pilgrimage festivals of Passover, Weeks and Tabernacles. “Solemnities” is môwʻêd again, the same word as in verse 9, which takes in all the appointed times. On each of these occasions a grain offering accompanies the animals. An ephah of grain goes with a bullock and an ephah with a ram. The ʼêyphâh was a dry measure of roughly 22 litres, about six tenths of a bushel, so these were generous amounts. A hin of oil, about 3.67 litres, was added to every ephah. Oil was a regular part of the grain offering, and it speaks of anointing, of consecration and of the Holy Spirit.

For the lambs the measure is left open: “as he is able to give”. The Hebrew uses yâd, the word for hand, for what a person has the means to give. The amounts for the bullock and the ram are fixed, while the grain for the lambs follows the giver’s ability and the number of lambs brought. God sets a firm standard for worship and also takes account of what each giver has. The law of Moses had already joined flour and oil to burnt offerings in set amounts (Numbers 15:3–10), and Ezekiel’s vision gives its own measures for the restored temple. Malachi looks ahead to a day when a pure offering is brought to the LORD’s name among the nations (Malachi 1:10–11).

What is the “meat offering”?

The “meat offering” of the KJV is an offering of grain. It is the older English name for the minchah, a bloodless offering of fine flour with oil and frankincense, sometimes baked, whose law is given in Leviticus 2:1–3. It was usually brought alongside an animal sacrifice. The animal offerings dealt with sin, and the grain offering expressed thanksgiving and the dedication of a person’s work and produce to God. Together they show worship that includes both atonement and the glad giving of what we have.

The prince’s freewill offering and the east gate

The offerings of verse 12 are ones the prince chooses to bring. The word is nᵉdâbâh, from nâdab, to be willing, and it means a spontaneous or freewill gift. The KJV brings it out with “voluntary” and then “voluntarily”. Freewill offerings had always had a place in Israel’s worship. The burnt offering could be brought “of his own voluntary will” (Leviticus 1:3), and a peace offering could be a vow or a voluntary offering (Leviticus 7:16). The burnt offering, ‘olah, was wholly consumed on the altar and spoke of complete dedication. The peace offering, shelem, was an offering of fellowship and thanksgiving, shared between God, the priests and the one who brought it.

For such an offering “one shall then open him the gate that looketh toward the east”. The east side of this temple is the side by which the glory of the LORD came in (Ezekiel 43:4), and an east gate was ordered to stay shut because the LORD had entered by it (Ezekiel 44:1–2). So a gate toward the east is guarded ground. It is opened for the prince for this one purpose, and “after his going forth one shall shut the gate”. His access is real, it is given for worship, and it ends when the worship is finished.

The prince offers “as he did on the sabbath day”. A gift that begins in a willing heart is still brought in the way God has laid down. The verse holds together two things we easily separate, a free and eager love for God and careful obedience to what he has said about approaching him.

Christ, the door and the offering

The gates, the prince and the offerings all find their fullness in Jesus. He says, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture” (John 10:9), and “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). When he died, the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). The east gate opened for one man and shut behind him, and in Christ we have “a new and living way” into God’s presence that stays open (Hebrews 10:19–20).

The prince stood among his people as they worshipped. The Son of God was made flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14), and he leads us to worship the Father “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23–24). The prince held a limited office under God, and Jesus is the Prince of Peace of Isaiah’s promise and the “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16).

The prince brought offerings, and Jesus is both the high priest and the offering. He is “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). He entered the holy place once by his own blood and obtained eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:11–14), he put away sin by the sacrifice of himself (Hebrews 9:26), and by that one offering we are sanctified (Hebrews 10:10). His offering was the truest freewill offering of all, for he said of his life, “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself” (John 10:17–18). The grain offering spoke of a life dedicated to God, and his whole life was that dedication made perfect.

Because of him, God’s people now bring offerings of another kind. We are built up as a holy priesthood “to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). These are the sacrifice of praise, doing good and sharing with others (Hebrews 13:15–16), and the offering of our own bodies as “a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God” (Romans 12:1).

What the gates and offerings show us of God

These verses show a God who cares how his people come to him. He appoints the times, he opens and shuts the gates, he measures the offerings, and he gives a rule for something as small as which way a pilgrim walks. That care is the care of a holy God who wants his people near him, and who makes their coming safe and peaceful by ordering it himself.

They also show a God who is glad to receive what is freely given. He fixes the ephah for the bullock and the ram, and beside it he leaves room for “as he is able to give” and for an offering brought only because the giver wanted to bring it. What we offer him of our time, our work and our means is measured by the willing heart behind it and by what he has put in our hand.

And they show a ruler standing in the crowd. In the worship God designs, the one with the highest place goes in and out with everyone else. That is the pattern Christ himself kept when he came among us, and it is good news for anyone who comes to God through him, because the way in is open and the Prince is in the midst of his people.

Last revised

Public-domain commentary

Matthew Henry

From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry wrote on whole passages, and this entry covers Ezekiel 46:1–15. He set out his notes in a two-level outline, kept here as he numbered it.

1662–1714 · 15 verses
Passage under commentEzekiel 46:1–15
I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points

Whether the rules for public worship here laid down were designed to be observed, even in those things wherein they differed from the law of Moses, and were so observed under the second temple, is not certain; we find not in the history of that latter part of the Jewish church that they governed themselves in their worship by these ordinances, as one would think they should have done, but only by law of Moses, looking upon this then in the next age after as mystical, and not literal. We may observe, in these verses,

I.That the place of worship was fixed, and rules were given concerning that, both to prince and people.

1.The east gate, which was kept shut at other times, was to be opened on the sabbath days, on the moons (Ezekiel 46:1), and whenever the prince offered a voluntary offering, Ezekiel 46:12. Of the keeping of this gate ordinarily shut we read before (Ezekiel 44:2); whereas the other gates of the court were opened every day, this was opened only on high days and on special occasions, when it was opened for the prince, who was to go in by the way of the porch of that gate, Ezekiel 46:2, Ezekiel 46:8. Some think he went in with the priests and Levites into the inner court (for into that court this gate was the entrance), and they observe that magistrates and ministers should join forces, and go the same way, hand in hand, in promoting the service of God. But it should rather seem that he did not go through the gate (as the glory of the Lord had done), though it was open, but he went by the way of the porch of the gate, stood at the post of the gate, and worshipped at the threshold of the gate (Ezekiel 46:2), where he had a full view of the priests' performances at the altar, and signified his concurrence in them, for himself and for the people of the land, that stood behind him at the door of that gate, Ezekiel 46:3. Thus must every prince show himself to be of David's mind, who would very willingly be a door-keeper in the house of his God, and, as the word there is, lie at the threshold, Psalm 84:10. Note, The greatest of men are less than the least of the ordinances of God. Even princes themselves, when they draw near to God, must worship with reverence and godly fear, owning that even they are unworthy to approach to him. But Christ is our prince, whom God causes to draw near and approach to him, Jeremiah 30:21.

2.As to the north gate and south gate, by which they entered into the court of the people (not into the inner court), there was this rule given, that whoever came in at the north gate should go out at the south gate, and whoever came in at the south gate should go out at the north gate, Ezekiel 46:9. Some think this was to prevent thrusting and jostling one another; for God is the God of order, and not of confusion. We may suppose that they came in at the gate that was next their own houses, but, when they went away, God would have them go out at that gate which would lead them the furthest way about, that they might have time for meditation; being thereby obliged to go a great way round the sanctuary, they might have an opportunity to consider the palaces of it, and, if they improved their time well in fetching this circuit, they would call it the nearest way home. Some observe that this may remind us, in the service of God, to be still pressing forward (Philippians 3:13) and not to look back, and, in our attendance upon ordinances, not to go back as we came, but more holy, and heavenly, and spiritual.

3.It is appointed that the people shall worship at the door of the east gate, where the prince does, he at the head and they attending him, both on the sabbath and on the new moons (Ezekiel 46:3), and that, when they come in and go out, the prince shall be in the midst of them, Ezekiel 46:10. Note, Great men should, by their constant and reverent attendance on God in public worship, give a good example to their inferiors, both engaging them and encouraging them to do likewise. It is a very graceful becoming thing for persons of quality to go to church with their servants, and tenants, and poor neighbours about them, and to behave themselves there with an air of seriousness and devotion; and those who thus honour God with their honour he will delight to honour.

II.That the ordinances of worship were fixed.

Though the prince is supposed himself to be a very hearty zealous friend to the sanctuary, yet it is not left to him, no, not in concert with the priests, to appoint what sacrifices shall be offered, but God himself appoints them; for it is his prerogative to institute the rites and ceremonies of religious worship.

1.Every morning, as duly as the morning came, they must offer a lamb for a burnt-offering, Ezekiel 46:13. It is strange that no mention is made of the evening sacrifice; but Christ having come, and having offered himself now in the end of the world (Hebrews 9:26), we are to look upon him as the evening sacrifice, about the time of the offering up of which he died.

2.On the sabbath days, whereas by the law of Moses four lambs were to be offered (Numbers 28:9), it is here appointed that (at the prince's charge) there shall be six lambs offered, and a ram besides (Ezekiel 46:4), to intimate how much we should abound in sabbath work, now in gospel-time, and what plenty of the spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise we should offer up to God on that day; and, if with such sacrifice God is well-pleased, surely we have a great deal of reason to be so.

3.On the new moons, in the beginning of their months, there was over and above the usual sabbath-sacrifices the additional offering of a young bullock, Ezekiel 46:6. Those who do much for God and their souls, statedly and constantly, must yet, upon some occasions, do still more.

4.All the sacrifices were to be without blemish; so Christ, the great sacrifice, was (1 Peter 1:19), and so Christians, who are to present themselves to God as living sacrifices, should aim and endeavour to be - blameless, and harmless, and without rebuke.

5.All the sacrifices were to have their meat-offerings annexed to them, for so the law of Moses had appointed, to show what a good table God keeps in his house and that we ought to honour him with the fruit of our ground as well as with the fruit of our cattle, because in both he has blessed us, Duet. Ezekiel 28:4. In the beginning, Cain offered the one and Abel the other. Some observe that the meat-offerings here are much larger in proportion than they were by the law of Moses. Then the proportion was three tenth-deals to a bullock, and two to a ram (so many tenth parts of an ephah) and half a hin of oil at the most (Numbers 15:6-9); but here, for every bullock and every ram, a whole ephah and a whole hin of oil (p. 7), which intimates that under the gospel, the great atoning sacrifice having been offered, these unbloody sacrifices shall be more abounded in; or, in general, it intimates that as now, under the gospel, God abounds in the gifts of his grace to us, more than under the law, so we should abound in the returns of praise and duty to him. But it is observable that in the meat-offering for the lambs the prince is allowed to offer as he shall be able to give (Ezekiel 46:5, Ezekiel 46:7, Ezekiel 46:11), as his hand shall attain unto. Note, Princess themselves must spend as they can afford; and even in that which is laid out in works of piety God expects and requires but that we should do according to our ability, every man as God has prepared him, 1 Corinthians 16:2. God has not made us to serve with an offering (Isaiah 43:23), but considers our frame and state. Yet this will not countenance those who pretend a disability that is not real, or those who by their extravagances in other things disable themselves to do the good they should. And we find those praised who, in an extraordinary case of charity, went not only to their power, but beyond their power.

Historical interpretation

Historical reception

1 surviving comment on this verse from the historical church.

1 quote · AD 420
d. AD 420JeromePost-NiceneSourceCommentary on Ezekiel
(Verse 8 and following) When the prince enters, he shall enter through the gateway vestibule and exit through the same way. And when the people of the land enter in the presence of the Lord on the appointed festivals, the one who enters through the north gate to worship shall exit through the south gate, and the one who enters through the south gate shall exit through the north gate. They shall not return through the gate they entered, but rather shall exit opposite it. But the prince, in their midst, will enter when they enter, and will exit when they exit. And on market days and festivals there will be a sacrifice of one ephah of flour with a bull, and one ephah of flour with a ram. But the sacrifice of the lamb will be according to what his hand finds, and a hin of oil for each ephah. That prince, of whom it was said above, 'And the prince will enter through the way of the outer gate, and through the same gate he will enter and exit' (John 10), has free will and the power to lay down his life and take it up again. And when he comes to us or ascends to the heavens, he exercises the same authority of his majesty. Finally, he does not seek markets, nor solemnities, nor does he observe any difference in days: because every time is a celebration for him. But the people only enter and exit the markets and solemnities: and not through the same path, but through one and then another. For it is written: And when the people of the land enter before the Lord in solemnities: let the one who entered through the North gate to worship, exit through the way of the South gate, and let the one who entered through the South gate, exit through the way of the North gate: he shall not return through the gate by which he entered, but he shall exit opposite to it. This is not only commanded to those who depart from Sodom, and it is said to them: Do not look back (Gen. XIX, 17); nor to those who put their hand to the plow, so that they do not look at the things that are behind them: but even to those who are established in the house of the Lord, they are commanded not to look back and turn to the needy and weak elements, and being initiated in the spirit, to be consumed (or consumed) by the flesh ((Al. consumed)): but to proceed also from spiritual things to greater things, and to say with the Apostle: Forgetting the past, and extending myself towards the things that are before (Phil. III, 13): so that they may not know in part and prophesy in part, but may come to perfection according to the perfection that human nature can achieve, so that we understand that Gospel saying: So you also, when you have done everything you were commanded to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty' (Luke XVII, 10). And the Apostle in the same Epistle speaks of two perfections: for he writes as if he were imperfect: Not as though I have already attained, or were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13). And immediately he speaks as if he were perfect: Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, let us understand this: however many of us are perfect, let us know this. For how can the statement stand, that the one who said, 'Not because I have already received, or because I am already perfect,' dare to say, 'However many of us are perfect, let us know this?' From this it is clear that every person and the whole creation, although they have come to perfection, still need the mercy of God and possess full perfection through grace, not through merit. Therefore, it is commanded to the people of the land, that if someone enters through the gate of the North to worship, they should exit through the way of the gate of the South. Who is this people to whom this is commanded? It is surely the pagans; those who, leaving the gate of the North, from where evils flare up upon the earth, have entered the temple, should not exit except through the way of the gate of the South, to the gate of light, to the gate of heat, to the gate where the bridegroom lies at noon (Jer. I). Finally, it is said in the same Song of Songs: Arise, O north wind, and come, O south wind (Song of Solomon IV, 16). But whoever enters through the south gate should exit through the north gate. Who is this people? It is the Jews, who, abandoning the gate of the way of light, go to the north gate, of whom it is said: The north wind, a very strong wind (Jeremiah I). For even the pot of Jeremiah is lit from the face of the north. Let us also say this: Through the north gate enters the one who forgives sins, and through the south gate exits the one who follows virtues. And on the contrary, if the righteous person falls into sin, he enters indeed through the southern gate, but he exits through the way of the northern gate. And the Prince, he says, will be in their midst, namely, of those who enter and those who exit, according to what is written: He stands in the midst of you, whom you do not know (John 1:26). And the Apostle says: Do you not know that Christ is in you (2 Corinthians 13:5)? But if it is said to those who do not know that Christ stands in their midst, how much more to those who know! But while Christ stood among the knowledgeable, then the dead body will become because of sin, and the living spirit because of righteousness. Indeed, the prince enters with those who enter, and exits with those who exit, witnessing the power and sin of both. Therefore, at the fairs and solemnities, namely the Sabbaths, Kalends, and all the festivals we have spoken about before, both a calf and a ram will be offered as sacrifices, each measuring an ephah. But in the offerings, there will not be a fixed number, nor a diminished will; but with strength, each person will offer according to their ability and with a clear conscience: offering as much as they can, not as much as they want, and above all, a hin of oil for each ephah of flour, so that it may be used for anointing and a lamp may be lit in the presence of the Lord. And those who use it may say: But I am like a fruitful olive tree in the house of the Lord (Ps. 51:10).
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.

Continue studying Ezekiel 46:9 across the web’s major study libraries — every link below opens this exact verse, chapter, or book on the destination site.

Read & Compare

Commentaries

Original Language & Research

Sermons, Hymns & Audio

TrulyRandomVerse is not affiliated with these sites and doesn’t control their content. They’re linked because they’re genuinely useful.

Related study articles8