Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court.
Neither shall any priest drink wine when they enter into the inner court.
No priest may drink wine before he enters the inner court.
And no priest doth drink wine in their coming in unto the inner court.
Ezekiel — The exile prophet — priest taken to Babylon in 597 BC, writing to a community still convinced the exile is temporary. Wheels within wheels, the glory departing, dry bones coming to life, and the city whose new name is YHWH Shammah — ‘the LORD is there.’
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread — the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
Voices5
Neither shall any priest drink wine,....
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)reformed
(Verses 17 onwards) And when they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments (or robes); they shall not wear anything made of wool (or they shall not wear garments made of wool) when they minister at the gates of the inner court and inside. Linen turbans shall be on their heads (or they shall have linen turbans on their heads) and linen undergarments shall be around their waists, and they shall not be bound in sweat (or forced).
Jerome· Commentary on Ezekiel, 420patristic
The Lord - That glory which was the visible sign of his presence. He - The king might sit before the Lord, others might not. Bread - That part of the sacrifice, which was allowed to the offerer.
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament, 1765evangelical
Drink wine - Or any other strong liquor, when they go either to trim the lamps or set the shew-bread in order, or to offer incense in the temple, or when they go to the altar to offer a sacrifice, which stood in the inner court.
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament, 1765evangelical
But such an account is given of this gate's being shut as puts honour, 1. It is for the honour of him that the gate of the inner court, at which his glory entered when he took possession of the house, was ever after kept shut, and no man was allowed to enter in by it,
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710puritan
The walk8
Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first — the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.
Through
Leviticus 10:9“You and your sons are not to drink wine or strong drink when you enter the Tent of Meeting, or else you will die; this is a permanent statute for the generations to come.
leads to
not dependent on wine, not violent but gentle, peaceable, and free of the love of money.
Reached by 3 independent paths from here.
for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.
Through
Luke 1:15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.
leads to
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
“Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD,
For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’
But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased
Through
1 Timothy 3:8Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued or given to much wine or greedy for money.
leads to
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:
The whole web at once: see the Arc.
The verses this one reaches8
“You and your sons are not to drink wine or strong drink when you enter the Tent of Meeting, or else you will die; this is a permanent statute for the generations to come.
As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach—not self-absorbed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money.
Stop drinking only water and use a little wine instead, because of your stomach and your frequent ailments.
For many years Israel has been without the true God, without a priest to instruct them, and without the law.
Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued or given to much wine or greedy for money.
These also stagger from wine and stumble from strong drink: Priests and prophets reel from strong drink and are befuddled by wine. They stumble because of strong drink, muddled in their visions and stumbling in their judgments.
for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.
not dependent on wine, not violent but gentle, peaceable, and free of the love of money.
