Ezekiel 44:24
in Ezekiel 44In any dispute, they shall officiate as judges and judge according to My ordinances. They must keep My laws and statutes regarding all My appointed feasts, and they must keep My Sabbaths holy.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And in a controversy they shall stand to judge; according to mine ordinances shall they judge it: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.
KJV
And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.
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This verse in Ezekiel 44
Commentary
4 notes on this verse(Verse 24) And they shall sanctify my Sabbaths. Furthermore, it is commanded to the priests: in which it is to be observed that it does not say absolutely: and they shall sanctify the sabbaths; or according to Isaiah: My soul hates your new moons and sabbaths (Isa. 1:13): but with distinction, my sabbaths.
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 Church Fathers1 voice
on Ezekiel 44:23-24
(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.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And herein they must go to the statute-book: They shall keep my statutes in all my assemblies. God calls the assemblies of his people his assemblies, because they are held in his name, to his glory. Ministers are the masters of those assemblies, are to preside in them, and in all their acts must keep close to God's laws.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רִ֗יב | riv | a dispute | H7379 → | |
| הֵ֚מָּה | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| יַעַמְד֣וּ | yaamdu | they will stand | H5975 → | 521 times |
| לְמִשְׁפָּ֔ט | lishpot | for judgment | H4941 → | 422 times |
| בְּמִשְׁפָּטַ֖י | bemishpatai | by judgments my | H4941 → | 422 times |
| יִשְׁפְּט֑וּהוּ | yishfetuhu | they will judge it | H8199 → | 202 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| תּוֹרֹתַ֤י | torotai | laws my | H8451 → | 219 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חֻקֹּתַי֙ | chukotai | statutes my | H2708 → | 104 times |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | in all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מוֹעֲדַ֣י | moadai | appointed times my | H4150 → | 223 times |
| יִשְׁמֹ֔רוּ | yishmoru | they will observe | H8104 → | 468 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שַׁבְּתוֹתַ֖י | shabetotai | sabbaths my | H7676 → | 110 times |
| יְקַדֵּֽשׁוּ׃ | yekadeshu | they will sanctify | H6942 → | 171 times |
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
רִ֗יבa dispute
rivH7379 →
הֵ֚מָּהthey
hemahH1992 →553 times
יַעַמְד֣וּthey will stand
yaamduH5975 →521 times
לְמִשְׁפָּ֔טfor judgment
lishpotH4941 →422 times
בְּמִשְׁפָּטַ֖יby judgments my
bemishpataiH4941 →422 times
יִשְׁפְּט֑וּהוּthey will judge it
yishfetuhuH8199 →202 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
תּוֹרֹתַ֤יlaws my
torotaiH8451 →219 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
חֻקֹּתַי֙statutes my
chukotaiH2708 →104 times
בְּכָל־in all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
מוֹעֲדַ֣יappointed times my
moadaiH4150 →223 times
יִשְׁמֹ֔רוּthey will observe
yishmoruH8104 →468 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
שַׁבְּתוֹתַ֖יsabbaths my
shabetotaiH7676 →110 times
יְקַדֵּֽשׁוּ׃they will sanctify
yekadeshuH6942 →171 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
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 22:8
You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.
- 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.
- 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.
- Micah 3:11–12
Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster…
- Leviticus 10:10
Through
1 Chronicles 23:4“Of these,” said David, “24,000 are to oversee the work of the house of the LORD, 6,000 are to be officers and judges,
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 19:8
Moreover, Jehoshaphat appointed in Jerusalem some of the Levites, priests, and heads of the Israelite families to judge on behalf of the LORD and to settle disputes. And they lived in Jerusalem.
- 2 Chronicles 19:8
Through
Ezra 2:63The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest to consult the Urim and Thummim.
it leads to
- Leviticus 2:10
But the remainder of the grain offering shall belong to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the LORD.
- Exodus 28:30
And place the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece of judgment, so that they will also be over Aaron’s heart whenever he comes before the LORD. Aaron will continually carry the judgment of the…
- Leviticus 2:10
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 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
