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.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)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."
• 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 toward the east, but it was shut. 2And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. 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.” 4Also He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple; so I looked, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house 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 say to you concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord and all its laws. Mark well who may enter the house and all who go out 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 way of the vestibule of the gateway from the outside, and stand by the gatepost. The priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings. 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 23:13When she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance; and the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, also the singers with musical instruments, and those who led in praise. So Athaliah tore her clothes and said, “Treason! Treason!”
• 2 Chronicles 34:31Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow 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 45:22And on that day the prince shall prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering.
• Ezekiel 45:8The land shall be his possession in Israel; and My princes shall no more oppress My people, but they shall give the rest of the land to the house of Israel, according to their tribes.”
• Ezekiel 46:18Moreover the prince shall not take any of the people’s inheritance by evicting them from their property; he shall provide an inheritance for his sons from his own property, so that none of My people may be scattered from his property.” ’ ”
• Ezekiel 34:24And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.
• Ezekiel 37:25Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever.
• Zechariah 6:12Then speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: “Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His place He shall branch out, And He shall build the temple of the Lord;
• Genesis 31:54Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain.
• Exodus 24:9Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,
• Deuteronomy 12:7And there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice in all to which you have put your hand, you and your households, in which the Lord your God has blessed you.
• Isaiah 23:18Her gain and her pay will be set apart for the Lord; it will not be treasured nor laid up, for her gain will be for those who dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for fine clothing.
• Isaiah 62:9But those who have gathered it shall eat it, And praise the Lord; Those who have brought it together shall drink it in My holy courts.”
• 1 Corinthians 10:18Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of 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 dine 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