Ezekiel 44:3

Ezekiel 44:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.
• New International Version (NIV)The prince himself is the only one who may sit inside the gateway to eat in the presence of the Lord. He is to enter by way of the portico of the gateway and go out the same way.”
• New King James Version (NKJV)As for the prince, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway, and go out the same way.”
• New Living Translation (NLT)Only the prince himself may sit inside this gateway to feast in the Lord’s presence. But he may come and go only through the entry room of the gateway.”

Context of Ezekiel 44:3

1Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east. And it was shut. 2And the Lord said to me, "This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it. Therefore it shall remain shut. Only the prince may sit in it to eat bread before the Lord. He shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go out by the same way." 4Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple, and I looked, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple of the Lord. And I fell on my face. 5And the Lord said to me, "Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I shall tell you concerning all the statutes of the temple of the Lord and all its laws. And mark well the entrance to the temple and all the exits from the sanctuary.

Ezekiel 44:3 word by word

אֶֽת־הַנָּשִׂ֗יא נָ֥שִׂיא ה֛וּא יֵֽשֶׁב־בּ֥וֹ לֶאֱכָל לֶ֖חֶם לִפְנֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה מִדֶּ֨רֶךְ אֻלָ֤ם הַשַּׁ֙עַר֙ יָב֔וֹא וּמִדַּרְכּ֖וֹ יֵצֵֽא׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• for the princeנָשִׂיאnâώîy' nâώi' · leaderH5387
• he shall sitיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• in it to eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• breadלֶ֫חֶםlechem · food: breadH3899
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• he shall enterבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• by the wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: roadH1870
• of the porchאוּלָם'ûlâm 'ûlâm · PorticoH197
• gateשַׁ֫עַרsha‛ar · gateH8179
• and shall go outיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318

Cross-references for Ezekiel 44:3

• Ezekiel 46:2The prince shall enter by the vestibule of the gate from outside, and shall take his stand by the post of the gate. The priests shall offer his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be shut until evening.
• 2 Chronicles 23:13And when she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance, and the captains and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and the singers with their musical instruments leading in the celebration. And Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, "Treason! Treason!"
• 2 Chronicles 34:31And the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book.
• Ezekiel 45:22On that day the prince shall provide for himself and all the people of the land a young bull for a sin offering.
• Ezekiel 45:8of the land. It is to be his property in Israel. And my princes shall no more oppress my people, but they shall let the house of Israel have the land according to their tribes.
• Ezekiel 46:18The prince shall not take any of the inheritance of the people, thrusting them out of their property. He shall give his sons their inheritance out of his own property, so that none of my people shall be scattered from his property."
• Ezekiel 34:24And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken.
• Ezekiel 37:25They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever.
• Zechariah 6:12And say to him, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, "Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord.
• Genesis 31:54and Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country and called his kinsmen to eat bread. They ate bread and spent the night in the hill country.
• Exodus 24:9Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up,
• Deuteronomy 12:7And there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your households, in all that you undertake, in which the Lord your God has blessed you.
• Isaiah 23:18Her merchandise and her wages will be holy to the Lord. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the Lord.
• Isaiah 62:9but those who garner it shall eat it and praise the Lord, and those who gather it shall drink it in the courts of my sanctuary."
• 1 Corinthians 10:18Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar?
• Revelation 3:20Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Commentaries on Ezekiel 44:3

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3The prince - Foretold under the name of David Ezekiel 34:24. The rabbis understood this to be the Messiah. To eat bread - See Leviticus 2:3; Leviticus 24:9; according to the old Law these feasts belonged only to the priests; none of the rest of the congregation, not even the king, might partake of them. The new system gives to the “prince” a privilege which he did not before possess; the prince, as the representative of the Messiah, standing in a higher…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3The prince had the special privilege of being the only one allowed to feast in the Lord’s presence inside the east outer gateway. However, he could only enter and leave the portico from the outer court. He was not to enter from outside the temple complex through the gate, as the Lord had. The earthly ruler is a man, not God, and he must submit to God. The prince must also remember that the temple is God’s palace, not his own private chapel.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. 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…Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Atonement, Day of
• Criticism
• Desire of All Nations
• Ezekiel
• Leviticus
• Priests and Levites
• Temple

Commentaries on Ezekiel 44

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings