Ezekiel 44:10
in Ezekiel 44Surely the Levites who wandered away from Me when Israel went astray, and who wandered away from Me after their idols, will bear the consequences of their iniquity.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But the Levites that went far from me, when Israel went astray, that went astray from me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity.
KJV
And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity.
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This verse in Ezekiel 44
Commentary
5 notes on this verseHow is it that in the book of Ezekiel, where a description is given of the future church and of the heavenly Jerusalem, the priests who have sinned are degraded to the rank of sacristans and doorkeepers, and although they are in the temple of God, that is, on the right hand, they are not among the rams but among the poorest of the sheep?
This site's exposition
the Levites who wandered away from Me
on Ezekiel 44:10-14
The Levites who wandered after their idols became “a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel” and bear the consequences of their iniquity. They still keep the gates and slaughter the people's sacrifices, but they may not approach as priests or touch the most holy things.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 9 and following) Thus says the Lord God: Every uncircumcised foreigner in heart and in flesh shall not enter my sanctuary, every foreign son who is among the sons of Israel.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the Levites that are gone away far from me,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And the Levites that are gone away far from me - This refers to the schism of Jeroboam, who, when he set up a new worship, got as many of the priests and Levites to join him in his idolatry as he could. These, on the return from the captivity, should not be permitted to perform the functions of priests in the new temple; but they might be continued as keepers of all the charge of the house - be treasurers, guards of the temple, porters, etc.; see Eze 44:11-
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Only the Levites who distanced themselves Only thus shall you do to the Levites who distanced [themselves] from Me and became idolatrous priests and have now repented..
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
they shall slaughter the burnt offering a service that is valid [if performed] by non priests, slaves, or women.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | except | H518 → | 1069 times |
| הַלְוִיִּ֗ם | halviyim | the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| רָֽחֲקוּ֙ | rachaku | they became distant | H7368 → | 57 times |
| מֵֽעָלַ֔י | mealai | from with <the> me | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בִּתְע֤וֹת | bitot | when went astray | H8582 → | 50 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תָּע֣וּ | tau | they went astray | H8582 → | 50 times |
| מֵֽעָלַ֔י | mealai | from with <the> me | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֖י | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| גִּלּֽוּלֵיהֶ֑ם | giluleihem | idols their | H1544 → | 48 times |
| וְנָשְׂא֖וּ | venaseu | and they will bear | H5375 → | 656 times |
| עֲוֹנָֽם׃ | ʾavonam | iniquity their | H5771 → | 233 times |
כִּ֣יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אִם־except
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
הַלְוִיִּ֗םthe Levites
halviyimH3881 →291 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
רָֽחֲקוּ֙they became distant
rachakuH7368 →57 times
מֵֽעָלַ֔יfrom with <the> me
mealaiH5921 →5755 times
בִּתְע֤וֹתwhen went astray
bitotH8582 →50 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
תָּע֣וּthey went astray
tauH8582 →50 times
מֵֽעָלַ֔יfrom with <the> me
mealaiH5921 →5755 times
אַחֲרֵ֖יafter
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
גִּלּֽוּלֵיהֶ֑םidols their
giluleihemH1544 →48 times
וְנָשְׂא֖וּand they will bear
venaseuH5375 →656 times
עֲוֹנָֽם׃iniquity their
ʾavonamH5771 →233 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Timothy 5:22Do not be too quick in the laying on of hands and thereby share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
it leads to
- Ephesians 5:11
Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
- 1 Timothy 3:10
Additionally, they must first be tested. Then, if they are above reproach, let them serve as deacons.
- 1 Timothy 3:6
He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same condemnation as the devil.
- 1 Timothy 4:14
Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given you through the prophecy spoken over you at the laying on of the hands of the elders.
- Acts 6:6
They presented these seven to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
- Ephesians 5:11
Through
Ezekiel 48:11It will be for the consecrated priests, the descendants of Zadok, who kept My charge and did not go astray as the Levites did when the Israelites went astray.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 40:46
and the chamber that faces north is for the priests who keep charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, the only Levites who may approach the LORD to minister before Him.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 40:46
Through
Ezekiel 22:26Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They…
it leads to
- Leviticus 10:10
You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the clean and the unclean,
- Ezekiel 44:23
They are to teach My people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to discern between the clean and the unclean.
- Leviticus 10:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jerome, Against Jovinianus 2.28; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).