EzekielChapter 46

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This is what the Lord GOD says: The gate of the inner court that faces east shall stay shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened.

The prince shall enter from outside by way of the gate's vestibule and take his stand by the doorpost of the gate. The priests shall offer his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall bow down at the threshold of the gate and then go out; but the gate shall not be shut until evening.

The people of the land shall also bow down before the LORD at the entrance of that gate on the Sabbaths and at the new moons.

The burnt offering that the prince presents to the LORD on the Sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish.

The grain offering shall be an ephah with the ram, and with the lambs whatever he is able to give, along with a hin of oil for each ephah.

On the day of the new moon it shall be a young bull without blemish, along with six lambs and a ram; they shall be without blemish.

As a grain offering he shall provide an ephah with the bull and an ephah with the ram, and with the lambs as much as he can afford, along with a hin of oil for each ephah.

When the prince enters, he shall come in by way of the vestibule of the gate, and he shall go out the same way.

When the people of the land come before the LORD at the appointed feasts, whoever enters by the north gate to worship shall go out by the south gate, and whoever enters by the south gate shall go out by the north gate. No one shall return through the gate by which he entered, but each shall go out straight ahead.

The prince shall be among them: when they go in, he shall go in, and when they go out, he shall go out.

At the festivals and the appointed feasts the grain offering shall be an ephah with a bull and an ephah with a ram, and with the lambs whatever he is able to give, along with a hin of oil for each ephah.

When the prince brings a freewill offering to the LORD, whether a burnt offering or peace offerings as a freewill offering, the gate facing east shall be opened for him. He shall offer his burnt offering and his peace offerings as he does on the Sabbath day; then he shall go out, and after he has gone out the gate shall be shut.

Each day you shall offer a year-old lamb without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD; morning by morning you shall offer it.

And with it, morning by morning, you shall offer a grain offering: a sixth of an ephah, with a third of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour—a grain offering to the LORD, a perpetual statute for all time.

So the lamb, the grain offering, and the oil shall be offered morning by morning, a continual burnt offering.

This is what the Lord GOD says: If the prince makes a gift to any of his sons out of his inheritance, it shall belong to his sons; it is their possession by inheritance.

But if he makes a gift out of his inheritance to one of his servants, it shall be his until the year of liberty, and then it shall revert to the prince. His inheritance belongs only to his sons; it shall remain theirs.

The prince shall not take any of the people's inheritance, driving them out of their holdings. He shall provide his sons an inheritance from his own holding, so that none of my people is scattered from his own property.

Then he brought me through the entrance at the side of the gate to the holy chambers of the priests, which face north; and there I saw a place at the far western end.

He said to me, "This is the place where the priests shall boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the grain offering, so that they need not carry them out into the outer court and transmit holiness to the people."

Then he brought me out into the outer court and led me past its four corners; and in each corner of the court there was a court.

In the four corners of the court were enclosed courts, forty cubits long and thirty wide; all four corner courts were of one measure.

There was a row of masonry running around inside each of the four, with cooking hearths built beneath the rows all around.

He said to me, "These are the kitchens where those who minister at the temple shall boil the people's sacrifices."

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Summary2

Chapter 46

Main Theme: Regulations for worship, offerings, and property in the new temple.

Content: The chapter provides rules for the prince's worship on the Sabbath and at the New Moon, including which offerings he must bring and how he is to enter and leave the temple. A daily morning offering of a one-year-old lamb is established. The people are to go out through the gate opposite the one they entered by. The prince may give an inheritance to his sons permanently, but gifts given to servants return in the Year of Jubilee. The chapter concludes with a description of the kitchens where priests and temple servants will prepare sacrificial meat.

Key Terms/Images:

East Gate: The east gate of the inner court is to be closed on workdays, but open on the Sabbath and at the New Moon.
The Prince (נָשִׂיא): A leader with special privileges and responsibilities in temple worship.
The Daily Offering (עוֹלַת תָּמִיד): A one-year-old lamb is to be offered every morning as an eternal ritual.
The Year of Jubilee (שְׁנַת הַדְּרוֹר): The year when property given to servants returns to the prince.
The Kitchens: Places in the court where priests prepare guilt offerings, sin offerings, and grain offerings.

Historical context

Historical and Cultural Context for Ezekiel 46

Events and Customs

The chapter provides detailed regulations for Sabbath and New Moon worship services in the future temple. The Sabbath (שַׁבָּת, shabbat) and the day of the new moon (יוֹם הַחֹדֶשׁ, yom hachodesh) were the only days when the east gate to the inner court was to be opened (v. 1), emphasizing their holy character in contrast to the six regular workdays. The day of the new moon marked the beginning of each month in the lunar calendar and was an important festival with special offerings (Num 28:11-15).

The movement rules for the people during the festivals (v. 9)—that those entering from the north were to go out toward the south, and vice versa—had practical significance for ensuring orderly crowds, but also communicated theologically that one could not leave the Lord's presence in the same way one entered. This unidirectional movement symbolized that meeting with God transforms a person.

Key Terms

The term "prince" (הַנָּשִׂיא, hannasi) in this chapter refers to a future ruler distinct from the kings of Judah and Israel. While earlier kings often abused their power, Ezekiel's vision gives the prince a limited, primarily liturgical role—he offers sacrifices on behalf of the people but does not perform the priestly service himself. The title nasi was deliberately chosen over melek (king), possibly to avoid associations with the fallen monarchy.

"The year of release" (עַד־שְׁנַת הַדְּרוֹר, ad shenat haddror - "until the year of release", v. 17) refers to the Jubilee year described in Leviticus 25, when property was to be returned to the original families. The word dror means "freedom" or "release" and was used concerning the freeing of slaves and the return of land. The provision that the prince's gifts to servants lasted only until this year protected the tribes' inheritance from permanent alienation.

Places

The chapter describes several architectural elements in the temple complex. The four cooking rooms (בֵּית הַמְבַשְּׁלִים, bet hambashelim) in the corners of the court (vv. 21-24) were intended for preparing the people's peace offerings. The dimensions are given as 40 by 30 (v. 22), indicating substantial structures. That the priests' kitchen was separated from that of the people (vv. 19-20) reflected the degrees of holiness in the temple—the most holy offerings (אָשָׁם, asham - guilt offering and חַטָּאת, chattat - sin offering, v. 20) had to be prepared in a holy area so as not to "consecrate" the people through accidental contact, while the peace offering that the people could eat was prepared in the outer court.

People

No known people in this chapter.

Key words10

Temple — A holy building dedicated to God, where worship and religious ceremonies take place.
Sacrifice — An act in which something is given or offered to God as a symbolic gesture to honor and thank him.
High Priest — The supreme leader of the priesthood, responsible for performing important religious ceremonies and maintaining temple order.
Sabbath — The seventh day of the week, a day of rest and worship according to Jewish and Christian tradition.
New Moon — The first phase of the moon's cycle, marking the beginning of a new month and celebrated with special religious ceremonies.
Gate — The entrance to the temple, symbolizing the transition from the secular to the holy.
Prince — A leader figure, possibly a king or prophet, who has a close relationship with God and serves his purposes.
Burnt Offering — A sacrifice in which something, usually an animal, is burned on an altar as an act of devotion to God.
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