Tree of Life Version
Ezekiel 44:3
3Only the prince, since he is a prince, will sit there to eat bread before Adonai. He will enter by way of the porch of the gate and go out the same way.”
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 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.”
Context of Ezekiel 44:3
1Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the Sanctuary looking east. It was shut. 2Adonai said to me: “This gate is to be shut. It must not be opened. No one may enter through it, for Adonai God of Israel has entered through it. So it is to be kept shut. Only the prince, since he is a prince, will sit there to eat bread before Adonai. He will enter by way of the porch of the gate and go out the same way.” 4Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the House. I looked, and behold, the glory of Adonai filled the House of Adonai. So I fell upon my face. 5Adonai said to me, “Son of man, set your heart, behold with your eyes and hear with your ears all that I say to you concerning all the ordinances of Adonai’s House and all its laws. Set your heart to the entrance of the House, with all exits of the Sanctuary.
Read all of Ezekiel 44Ezekiel 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 will enter by way of the porch of the gate from outside, and stand by the post of the gate. Then the kohanim will prepare his burnt offering and his fellowship offerings. He will worship at the threshold of the gate, and then go out. The gate will not be shut until the evening.
- 2 Chronicles 23:13She looked, and behold, the king was standing by his pillar at the entrance and the officers and the trumpeters were beside the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing the trumpets, and the singers with their musical instruments were leading the 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 Adonai—to follow Adonai and to observe His mitzvot, His regulations and His decrees with all his heart and with all his soul and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book.
- Ezekiel 45:22On that day the prince will prepare a bull as a sin offering for himself and for all the people of the land.
- Ezekiel 45:8It will be land for him as a possession in Israel. My princes will no longer oppress My people. They will give land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.”
- Ezekiel 46:18The prince must not take from the people’s inheritance, evicting them wrongfully out of their property. He must give inheritance to his sons out of his own property, so that My people will not be displaced, anyone from his own property.”
- Ezekiel 34:24I, Adonai, will be their God, and My servant David will be Prince among them. I, Adonai, have spoken.
- Ezekiel 37:25They will live in the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, where your ancestors lived. They will live there—they, their children and their children’s children, forever, and My servant David will be their prince forever.
- Zechariah 6:12Then speak to him saying, “Thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot: Behold, a man whose Name is the Branch will branch out from his place and build the Temple of Adonai.
- Genesis 31:54Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and he invited his relatives to eat bread. So they ate bread and spent the night on the mountain.
- Exodus 24:9Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up.
- Deuteronomy 12:7There you and your households will eat before Adonai your God and rejoice in every undertaking of your hand, as Adonai your God has blessed you.
- Isaiah 23:18Yet her profit and her wages will be set apart to Adonai. They will not be stored up or hoarded. For her profit will be for those who dwell in the presence of Adonai, as ample food and as fine clothing.
- Isaiah 62:9But those who have garnered it will eat it and praise Adonai, and those who have gathered it will drink it in the courts of My Sanctuary.”
- 1 Corinthians 10:18Consider physical Israel. Those who eat the sacrifices—aren’t they partners 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 will 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
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
Tree of Life Version — © 2015 The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
Commentaries