God’s Word Translation
Ezekiel 44:25
25“ ‘A priest must not make himself unclean by going near a dead body. But a priest may become unclean if the dead person is his father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or unmarried sister.
Ezekiel 44:25 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And they shall come at 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.
- New International Version (NIV)“ ‘A priest must not defile himself by going near a dead person; however, if the dead person was his father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried sister, then he may defile himself.
- English Standard Version (ESV)They shall not defile themselves by going near to a dead person. However, for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister they may defile themselves.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“They shall not defile themselves by coming near a dead person. Only for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister may they defile themselves.
Context of Ezekiel 44:25
23They must teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is unholy. They must show the people how to tell the difference between what is clean and what is unclean. 24In all disputes the priests must act as judges and make decisions based on my laws. They must obey my rules and my regulations at all my festivals. They must observe holy days to worship me. “ ‘A priest must not make himself unclean by going near a dead body. But a priest may become unclean if the dead person is his father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or unmarried sister. 26After a priest is made clean, he must wait seven days. 27When he enters the inner courtyard of the holy place to serve in the holy place, he must bring his offering for sin, declares the Almighty Lord.
Read all of Ezekiel 44Ezekiel 44:25 word by word
וְאֶל־מֵ֣ת אָדָ֔ם לֹ֥א יָב֖וֹא לְטָמְאָ֑ה כִּ֣י אִם־לְאָ֡ב וּ֠לְאֵם וּלְבֵ֨ן וּלְבַ֜ת לְאָ֗ח וּלְאָח֛וֹת אֲשֶֽׁר־לֹא־הָיְתָ֥ה לְאִ֖ישׁ יִטַּמָּֽאוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And they shall comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- at no deadמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
- personאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- to defileטָמֵאţâmê' · to defileH2930
- themselves: but for fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
- or for motherאֵם'êm · motherH517
- or for sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- or for daughterבַּתbath · daughterH1323
- for brotherאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
- or for sisterאָחוֹת'âchôth · sisterH269
- that hath had no husbandאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
Cross-references for Ezekiel 44:25
- Leviticus 21:1The Lord spoke to Moses, “Tell the priests, Aaron’s sons: None of you should become unclean by touching one of your relatives who has died.
- Leviticus 22:4“No descendant of Aaron who has a skin disease or a discharge may eat any of the holy offerings until he is clean. Any person who has an emission of semen or touches a dead body,
- Matthew 8:21Another disciple said to him, “Sir, first let me go to bury my father.”
- Luke 9:59He told another man, “Follow me!” But the man said, “Sir, first let me go to bury my father.”
- 2 Corinthians 5:16So from now on we don’t think of anyone from a human point of view. If we did think of Christ from a human point of view, we don’t anymore.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:13Brothers and sisters, we don’t want you to be ignorant about those who have died. We don’t want you to grieve like other people who have no hope.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 44:25
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves - Touching the dead defiles a Hindoo now, as it formerly did a Jew; and they must bathe to become clean again.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17-31Verses 17-31 Regulations as to the priests‘ services. The garments of the priests are defined and various rules prescribed in the Law are repeated with some additions in order to denote additional care to avoid uncleanness. Ezekiel 44:18 The material of which the four vestments of the ordinary priest were made was “linen,” or, more accurately, “byssus,” the cotton stuff of Egypt. The two special qualities of the byssus - white and shining - are…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-27The priests had to avoid contact with death. They could not enter a place where a dead body was present. They also could not follow certain mourning customs, such as shaving their heads or letting their hair grow wild. They were not allowed to drink wine before entering the inner courtyard. This rule helped prevent serious mistakes that could lead to death (see Leviticus 10:9). The priests also had rules about marriage. They could marry only a virgin from…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-312. shut ... not be opened--(Job 12:14; Is 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).Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 44:25
In the dictionaries
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
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