10 but -- the Levites who have gone far off from me, in the wandering of Israel when they went astray from Me after their idols, and they have borne their iniquity.
Its priests have wronged My law, And they pollute My holy things, Between holy and common they have not made separation, And between the unclean and the clean they have not made known, And from my sabbaths they have hidden their eyes, And I am pierced in their midst.
For the priests who are sanctified of the sons of Zadok, who have kept My charge, who erred not in the erring of the sons of Israel, as the Levites erred,
And he bringeth in all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defileth the high places where the priests have made perfume, from Geba unto Beer-Sheba, and hath broken down the high places of the gates that `are' at the opening of the gate of Joshua, head of the city, that `is' on a man's left hand at the gate of the city; only, the priests of the high places come not up unto the altar of Jehovah in Jerusalem, but they have eaten unleavened things in the midst of their brethren.
`And the priests, the Levites, sons of Zadok, who have kept the charge of My sanctuary in the wandering of the sons of Israel from off Me, they draw near unto Me to serve Me, and have stood before Me, to bring near to Me fat and blood -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah:
And Cain saith unto Jehovah, `Greater is my punishment than to be borne;
and the man hath been acquitted from iniquity, and that woman doth bear her iniquity.'
and the Levites have done the service of the tent of meeting, and they -- they bear their iniquity; a statute age-during to your generations, that in the midst of the sons of Israel they have no inheritance;
and bringeth in the priests and the Levites, and gathereth them to the broad place to the east. And he saith to them, `Hear me, O Levites, now, sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of Jehovah, God of your fathers, and bring out the impurity from the sanctuary,
and our kings, our heads, our priests, and our fathers, have not done Thy law, nor attended unto Thy commands, and to Thy testimonies, that Thou hast testified against them;
For mine iniquities have passed over my head, As a heavy burden -- too heavy for me.
For both prophet and priest have been profane, Yea, in My house I found their wickedness, An affirmation of Jehovah.
Her prophets unstable -- men of treachery, Her priests have polluted the sanctuary, They have violated the law.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Ezekiel 44
Commentary on Ezekiel 44 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 44
In this chapter we have,
Eze 44:1-3
The prophet is here brought to review what he had before once surveyed; for, though we have often looked into the things of God, they will yet bear to be looked over again, such a copiousness there is in them. The lessons we have learned we should still repeat to ourselves. Every time we review the sacred fabric of holy things, which we have in the scriptures, we shall still find something new which we did not before take notice of. The prophet is brought a third time to the east gate, and finds it shut, which intimates that the rest of the gates were open at all times to the worshippers. But such an account is given of this gate's being shut as puts honour,
Eze 44:4-9
This is much to the same purport with what we had in the beginning of ch. 43. As the prophet must look again upon what he had before seen, so he must be told again what he had before heard. Here, as before, he sees the house filled with the glory of the Lord, which strikes an awe upon him, so that he falls prostrate at the sight, the humblest posture of adoration and the expression of a holy awe: I fell upon my face, v. 4. Note, The more we see of the glory of God the more low we shall lie in our own eyes. Now here,
Eze 44:10-16
The Master of the house, being about to set up house again, takes account of his servants the priests, and sees who are fit to be turned out of their places and who to be kept in, and takes a course with them accordingly.
Eze 44:17-31
God's priests must be regulars, not seculars; and therefore here are rules laid down for them to govern themselves by and due encouragement given them to live up to those rules. Directions are here given,