Ezekiel 46

Ezekiel’s vision of the new temple continues with rules for worship on Sabbaths, New Moons and feast days, and for the daily morning offering. The prince is told to worship among the people and not to seize their land. The chapter closes with a tour of the priests’ kitchens, where holy offerings are cooked without spreading holiness carelessly among the people.

Ezekiel 46:1

The east gate of the inner court stays shut on the six working days. On the Sabbath and the New Moon it is opened. Ordinary days and days of worship are set apart, and the gate itself reminds the people that approaching God is a gift, not an everyday assumption.

BSA: opened (“unlocked, made accessible”): Worship days are the times when access to God is freely given. New Moon (“beginning of a new cycle, renewal”): The monthly feast marked a fresh start, and the open gate welcomes it.

See also: Ezekiel 44:1-3.

Ezekiel 46:2

The prince enters by the gate’s porch and stands at the doorpost while the priests offer his sacrifices. He does not offer them himself. He bows at the threshold, then leaves, and the gate stays open until evening. Even the ruler comes as a worshipper, depending on the priests’ ministry.

BSA: bow (“prostrate himself, worship”): The prince’s body shows his humility before the Lord.

Hebrew: וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוָה (vehishtachavah, H7812) — “and he shall bow down.” The Hebrew word means to bend low or lie face down. It is the ordinary word for worship, and it shows worship using the whole body.

Ezekiel 46:3

The ordinary people also worship on Sabbaths and New Moons, bowing at the entrance of that same gateway. They are not shut out. The prince and the people worship the same Lord at the same doorway, which shows that all stand equal before him.

BSA: worship (“reverence, adoration”): What fills the gate is awe of God, not just a ritual.

Ezekiel 46:4-5

On the Sabbath the prince provides six lambs and a ram, all without blemish. The grain offering is an ephah with the ram, and with the lambs whatever he is able to give, plus a hin of oil for each ephah. God asks for the best, and leaves room for willing generosity.

BSA: unblemished (“perfect, without defects”): Only the best animals may be given to God. able (“as he chooses, according to his gift”): The lamb’s grain offering was left to the giver’s willing heart.

See also: Leviticus 22:20-22.

Ezekiel 46:6-7

On the New Moon the prince offers a young bull, six lambs and a ram, all unblemished. The grain offering follows the same pattern: an ephah with the bull, an ephah with the ram, and a freewill amount with the lambs. The monthly feast calls for a larger gift than the weekly Sabbath.

BSA: bull (“a young ox”): The young bull was a costly animal, so the gift matched the occasion.

Ezekiel 46:8

The prince goes in by the porch of the gateway and leaves by the same way. His coming and going is orderly and does not follow his own whim. Even the ruler follows the pattern God set for entering his presence.

BSA: same (“exact, identical”): The prince leaves by the very way he entered; his path is set for him.

Ezekiel 46:9-10

At the appointed feasts, crowds come in by the north or south gate and leave by the opposite one. Nobody turns back the way he came. This keeps the crowds moving without collision. The prince enters and leaves with the people, as one of them and not above them.

BSA: appointed (“fixed, sacred”): These feasts were times God himself set, not dates chosen by people. opposite (“straight ahead, directly across”): Each worshipper goes straight through the courts and out the other side.

See also: Leviticus 23:2.

Ezekiel 46:11

For festivals and appointed feasts the grain offering follows the same measures: an ephah with a bull, an ephah with a ram, and a freewill amount with the lambs, plus a hin of oil per ephah. The pattern stays steady while the gifts of the heart vary.

BSA: able (“as his hand finds, according to his ability”): The giver offers what his hand can reach, so generosity is measured by means.

Ezekiel 46:12

A freewill offering is one given from the heart, not required by any calendar. If the prince brings one, the east gate is opened for him, as on the Sabbath. After he leaves, the gate is shut again. Willing devotion is welcomed whenever it comes.

BSA: freewill (“voluntary, spontaneous”): The offering springs from love, not from a rule. burnt offering (“a step or stairs, often used to describe the ascent to the altar”): The Hebrew name pictures the offering going up to God in smoke.

Hebrew: נְדָבָה (nedavah, H5071) — “freewill offering, a willing gift.” It comes from a word meaning to be willing or generous. It is a gift nobody forces.

Ezekiel 46:13-15

Each morning a year-old lamb without blemish is offered, with a sixth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of oil. It is a permanent statute. Every day begins with an offering to the Lord, so the whole life of the people begins with worship.

BSA: morning (“at the break of day, a time of new beginnings”): God is met first, before the day’s work begins. permanent (“lasting, eternal”): The daily offering was meant to continue without a break.

See also: Exodus 29:38-42; Lamentations 3:22-23.

Ezekiel 46:16-17

If the prince gives part of his land to a son, it stays with that son’s family for good. If he gives some to a servant, it returns to the prince in the year of freedom. His own inheritance belongs only to his sons. The rule keeps ownership clear and fair.

BSA: freedom (“liberty, release”): This points to the year when slaves were released and land returned to its owner.

See also: Leviticus 25:10.

Ezekiel 46:18

The prince must never seize the people’s land by forcing them out. He must provide for his sons from his own property. God calls the people his own, and he protects their land from a ruler’s greed so that none is driven from home.

BSA: evicting (“forcing out, oppressing”): Taking land by force is oppression, and God forbids it. displaced (“scattered, uprooted”): God cares that his people are not uprooted from their families’ land.

See also: 1 Kings 21:1-19; Ezekiel 45:8-9.

Ezekiel 46:19-20

The guide takes Ezekiel to the priests’ holy rooms on the north side and shows him a spot at the far western end. Here the priests boil the guilt and sin offerings and bake the grain offering. This keeps holy things from being carried into the outer court, where they might pass their holiness to the people.

BSA: holiness (“purity, sanctity”): What belongs to God is set apart, and it is treated with care. boil (“cook, ripen”): The priests prepare their portion of the offerings in a private place.

See also: Leviticus 6:24-30.

Ezekiel 46:21-22

The guide leads Ezekiel around the outer court and shows him a small enclosed court in each of its four corners. Each measures forty cubits by thirty, and all are alike. The temple has a place for every task, laid out with order and care.

BSA: enclosed (“joined, walled in”): The small courts were walled off as separate working spaces.

Hebrew: קְטֻרוֹת (ketsurot, H7000) — “enclosed, small (courts).” The word is rare and its exact sense is uncertain. Many take it to mean small walled or enclosed courts, and this suits the picture here.

Ezekiel 46:23-24

Each corner court has a row of stonework with hearths built along the bottom of the walls. The guide calls them kitchens where the temple servants cook the people’s sacrifices. The chapter ends with a meal prepared for the people in God’s own house, a place for sharing as well as for awe.

BSA: kitchens (“boiling-houses, places of them that boil”): These were working rooms where the shared offerings were boiled. ovens (“hearth, cooking places”): The fires at the base of the walls supplied the heat.

See also: Leviticus 7:15.