Ezekiel 44:23
in Ezekiel 44They 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
KJV
And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
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This verse in Ezekiel 44
Commentary
4 notes on this verse(Vers. 23-24) And they will teach my people what is holy and what is defiled, and they will show them what is clean and what is unclean. And when there is a dispute (as added in the Septuagint, regarding blood), they will stand in my courts, and they will judge my laws, and they will keep my commandments in all my solemnities.
This site's exposition
shave their heads, nor suffer their locks
on Ezekiel 44:20-27
The priests neither shave their heads nor let their locks grow long, but poll them, a middle course between the shaved heads of pagan mourning rites and unkempt hair, and they drink no wine when they enter the inner court, the same caution Leviticus 10 already tied to Nadab and Abihu's death before the Lord. Marriage is restricted to a maiden of Israel or a widow who had a priest before, and the priests' teaching office is stated plainly, to teach the difference between the holy and the profane and to judge Israel's controversies by the Lord's own statutes. Corpse defilement is avoided except for the closest kin, father, mother, son, daughter, brother or an unmarried sister, and even then seven days and an offering restore the priest to his ministry, the same structure of controlled contact and required cleansing that has governed the whole chapter.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the profane, between good and evil, lawful and unlawful, that they may neither scruple what is lawful nor venture upon what is unlawful, that they may not pollute what is holy nor pollute themselves with what is profane.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the profane,....
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַמִּ֣י | ʾami | people my | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| יוֹר֔וּ | yoru | they will instruct | H3384 → | |
| בֵּ֥ין | bein | between | H996 → | 407 times |
| קֹ֖דֶשׁ | kodesh | a holy thing | H6944 → | 469 times |
| לְחֹ֑ל | lechol | and a profane thing | H2455 → | 7 times |
| וּבֵין־ | uvein- | and between | H996 → | 407 times |
| טָמֵ֥א | tame' | an unclean [thing] | H2931 → | 88 times |
| לְטָה֖וֹר | letahor | and a clean [thing] | H2889 → | 94 times |
| יוֹדִעֻֽם׃ | yodium | they will make known to them | H3045 → | 945 times |
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
עַמִּ֣יpeople my
ʾamiH5971 →1873 times
יוֹר֔וּthey will instruct
yoruH3384 →
בֵּ֥יןbetween
beinH996 →407 times
קֹ֖דֶשׁa holy thing
kodeshH6944 →469 times
לְחֹ֑לand a profane thing
lecholH2455 →7 times
וּבֵין־and between
uvein-H996 →407 times
טָמֵ֥אan unclean [thing]
tame'H2931 →88 times
לְטָה֖וֹרand a clean [thing]
letahorH2889 →94 times
יוֹדִעֻֽם׃they will make known to them
yodiumH3045 →945 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
Hosea 4:6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget…
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:13
Therefore My people will go into exile for their lack of understanding; their dignitaries are starving and their masses are parched with thirst.
- Proverbs 19:2
Even zeal is no good without knowledge, and he who hurries his footsteps misses the mark.
- Hosea 6:6
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
- 2 Corinthians 4:3–6
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
- Hosea 4:1
Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God…
- Isaiah 5:13
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
- Malachi 2:8
But you have departed from the way, and your instruction has caused many to stumble. You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of Hosts.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 10:10
You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the clean and the unclean,
- Ezekiel 22:8
You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.
- Malachi 2:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.