You have not performed the duty of my holy things; but you have set performers of my duty in my sanctuary for yourselves.”
Parallel Translations
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You have not performed the duty of my holy things; but you have set performers of my duty in my sanctuary for yourselves.”
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And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.
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And ye have not kept the charge of My holy things; but ye have set keepers of My charge in My sanctuary to please yourselves.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to Ezekiel 44:8 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Leviticus 22:2-33 “Tell Aaron and his sons to separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, which they make holy to me, and that they not profane my holy name. I am Yahweh. “Tell them, ‘If anyone of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the holy things which the children of Israel make holy to Yahweh, having his uncleanness on him, that soul shall be cut off from before me. I am Yahweh. “ ‘Whoever of the offspring of Aaron is a leper or has a discharge shall not eat of the holy things until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is unclean by the dead, or a man who has a seminal emission, or whoever touches any creeping thing whereby he may be made unclean, or a man from whom he may become unclean, whatever uncleanness he has— the person that touches any such shall be unclean until the evening, and shall not eat of the holy things unless he bathes his body in water. When the sun is down, he shall be clean; and afterward he shall eat of the holy things, because it is his bread. He shall not eat that which dies of itself or is torn by animals, defiling himself by it. I am Yahweh. “ ‘They shall therefore follow my commandment, lest they bear sin for it and die in it, if they profane it. I am Yahweh who sanctifies them. “ ‘No stranger shall eat of the holy thing: a foreigner living with the priests, or a hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing. But if a priest buys a slave, purchased by his money, he shall eat of it; and those who are born in his house shall eat of his bread. If a priest’s daughter is married to an outsider, she shall not eat of the heave offering of the holy things. But if a priest’s daughter is a widow, or divorced, and has no child, and has returned to her father’s house as in her youth, she may eat of her father’s bread; but no stranger shall eat any of it. “ ‘If a man eats something holy unwittingly, then he shall add the fifth part of its value to it, and shall give the holy thing to the priest. The priests shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer to Yahweh, and so cause them to bear the iniquity that brings guilt when they eat their holy things; for I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.’ ” Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘Whoever is of the house of Israel, or of the foreigners in Israel, who offers his offering, whether it is any of their vows or any of their free will offerings, which they offer to Yahweh for a burnt offering: that you may be accepted, you shall offer a male without defect, of the bulls, of the sheep, or of the goats. But you shall not offer whatever has a defect, for it shall not be acceptable for you. Whoever offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh to accomplish a vow, or for a free will offering of the herd or of the flock, it shall be perfect to be accepted. It shall have no defect. You shall not offer what is blind, is injured, is maimed, has a wart, is festering, or has a running sore to Yahweh, nor make an offering by fire of them on the altar to Yahweh. Either a bull or a lamb that has any deformity or lacking in his parts, that you may offer for a free will offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted. You must not offer to Yahweh that which has its testicles bruised, crushed, broken, or cut. You must not do this in your land. You must not offer any of these as the bread of your God from the hand of a foreigner, because their corruption is in them. There is a defect in them. They shall not be accepted for you.’ ” Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “When a bull, a sheep, or a goat is born, it shall remain seven days with its mother. From the eighth day on it shall be accepted for the offering of an offering made by fire to Yahweh. Whether it is a cow or ewe, you shall not kill it and its young both in one day. “When you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Yahweh, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall leave none of it until the morning. I am Yahweh. “Therefore you shall keep my commandments, and do them. I am Yahweh. You shall not profane my holy name, but I will be made holy among the children of Israel. I am Yahweh who makes you holy, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. I am Yahweh.”
- Numbers 18:3-5 They shall keep your commands and the duty of the whole Tent; only they shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary and to the altar, that they not die, neither they nor you. They shall be joined to you and keep the responsibility of the Tent of Meeting, for all the service of the Tent. A stranger shall not come near to you. “You shall perform the duty of the sanctuary and the duty of the altar, that there be no more wrath on the children of Israel.
- Numbers 18:7 You and your sons with you shall keep your priesthood for everything of the altar, and for that within the veil. You shall serve. I give you the service of the priesthood as a gift. The stranger who comes near shall be put to death.”
- 1 Chronicles 23:32 and that they should keep the duty of the Tent of Meeting, the duty of the holy place, and the duty of the sons of Aaron their brothers, for the service of Yahweh’s house.
- Ezra 8:24-30 Then I set apart twelve of the chiefs of the priests, even Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers with them, and weighed to them the silver, the gold, and the vessels, even the offering for the house of our God, which the king, his counselors, his princes, and all Israel there present, had offered. I weighed into their hand six hundred fifty talents of silver, one hundred talents of silver vessels; one hundred talents of gold, twenty bowls of gold weighing one thousand darics; and two vessels of fine bright bronze, precious as gold. I said to them, “You are holy to Yahweh, and the vessels are holy. The silver and the gold are a free will offering to Yahweh, the God of your fathers. Watch and keep them, until you weigh them before the chiefs of the priests and the Levites, and the princes of the fathers’ households of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the rooms of Yahweh’s house.” So the priests and the Levites received the weight of the silver and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.
- Ezekiel 40:45-46 He said to me, “This room, which faces toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the duty of the house. The room which faces toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the duty of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who from among the sons of Levi come near to Yahweh to minister to him.”
- Ezekiel 44:14 Yet I will make them performers of the duty of the house, for all its service, and for all that will be done therein.
- Ezekiel 44:16 “They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my instruction.
- Acts 7:53 You received the law as it was ordained by angels, and didn’t keep it!”
- 1 Timothy 6:13 I command you before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate testified the good confession,
- 2 Timothy 4:1 I command you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his Kingdom:
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Ye have not offered unto me according to my…
Ye have not offered unto me according to my Law.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Eze 44:8 And ye have not kept the charge…
Eze 44:8 And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.
Ver. 8. For yourselves.] Pro vestro arbitratu, non pro mea voluntate; as best suited with your own ends, and fitted to your own humours.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain You have not observed the laws I gave you…
You have not observed the laws I gave you for the careful and exact keeping of my holy things; house, sacrifices, and worship. You have substituted others in your rooms, made officials, and surrogates, and curates to look to the gates, and these have let in the profane and unclean; your pride, or covetousness, or laziness, hath taken you off from your duty and your charge; or you have, as you saw good, consecrated persons, whether fit or unfit, whether approved or not approved by me. So you have profaned my name, and violated my law, Num 18:4.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And ye have not kept the charge of mine…
And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things,.... That is, have not kept and retained the holy doctrines of the Gospel; nor observed the holy ordinances of it, as they were first delivered:
but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves; meaning either, that such as were in public office did not attend to it; but were idol shepherds, and left the flock, their care and charge, to others, to surrogates and curates, to do their work for them; while they indulged themselves in sloth and idleness: or that the members and hearers set up preachers for themselves, according to their lusts, agreeable to their own carnal sentiments, without any regard to the will and glory of God.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Have not kept - You have not observed the…
Have not kept - You have not observed the laws I gave you for the keeping of my holy things, house, sacrifices, and worship. Have set - You have substituted others in your rooms.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Yourselves, out of ambition, contrary to the regulations of…
Yourselves, out of ambition, contrary to the regulations of David. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain keepers . . . for yourselves--such as you yourselves…
keepers . . . for yourselves--such as you yourselves thought fit, not such as I approve of. Or else, "Ye have not yourselves kept the charge of My holy things, but have set others as keepers of My charge in My sanctuary for yourselves" [MAURER].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 8. ye have set keepers] Some would read: ye…
8. ye have set keepers] Some would read: ye have set them keepers. This of course is the meaning. The change is hardly supported by LXX (as Well. p. 122).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (8) For yourselves.—Comp. 1Ki_12:31.
(8) For yourselves.—Comp. 1Ki_12:31.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Instead of having exercised a holy solicitude for the…
Instead of having exercised a holy solicitude for the purity of the temple and the regularity of its rites, by keeping strict watch over the holy things of Jehovah, the house of Israel had set keepers; literally, had set them, i.e. the uncircumcised "strangers" above referred to, as keepers of Jehovah"s charge in his sanctuary for themselves, i.e. to please themselves, irrespective altogether of Jehovah"s enactments. From this it has been argued, by Wellhausen, Smend, Driver, and others, that the "strangers" above mentioned had been not only allowed access to the outer court as spectators or as worshippers while the priests were offering sacrifice, but admitted to the inner court as assistants to the priests in their altar duties, that this, the employment of these heathen hierodules, had been the special wickedness of which Israel had been guilty, and that henceforward these "foreign ministers" were to be thrust out from their offices, and their places supplied by the about-to-be-degraded Levites. It is, however, doubtful if the phrase, keepers of my charge in the sanctuary, can be made to signify more than has already been expressed by the clause, "to be in my sanctuary when ye offer my bread" (ver. 7), by which, as Kliefoth and Keil explain, Israel had practically made these strangers "keepers of Jehovah"s charge," i.e. observers of the rites of worship prescribed by him, though observers in their way, not in his; if more can be extracted from the words, then the most they can be legitimately made to affirm (as there is no mention of the inner court) is that these "strangers," in addition to obtaining access to the outer court to witness the sacrifices, or perhaps offer such for themselves, had been more or less frequently employed in performing subordinate offices towards the Levites, who were the proper priests" assistants, like the Gibeonites, whom Joshua (Jos_9:27) made "hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord unto this day," and like the Nethinim, whom, according to Ezra, (Ezr_8:20) David and the princes had given for the service of the Levites (see Delitzsch, Luthardt"s "Zeitschrift fur kirchliche Wissenschaft," 1880, p. 283). (On the phrase, "to keep the charge of Jehovah," as signifying to follow his directions or comply with his prescriptions, see Num_9:23) "In the sanctuary" explains that the prescriptions alluded to were those pertaining to the sanctuary or to the worship of Jehovah.
Religion by proxy.
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The people had neglected their own duty in regard to the worship of God, and had appointed hirelings to discharge the sacred offices in their stead. This was a case of trying to practice religion by proxy. We often see the attempt made in various ways now, but it is doomed to failure.
I THE ATTEMPT TO SATISFY THE CLAIMS OF RELIGION BY PROXY. There are now many Jews in Jerusalem kept in idleness by their more wealthy brethren in Europe, who hope by this expedient to secure for themselves the merit of living and dying in the Holy City, without undergoing the irksome experience of actual residence. In Roman Catholic countries it is common to devote a sum of money to the payment of the priest who is to say so many Masses on behalf of a person. Among ourselves there is an unconfessed but common notion that the minister in some way performs the offices of religion on behalf of the people, who stand by as idle spectators, and yet enjoy the fruits of his vicarious service. The development of elaborate ritual and the cultivation of highly ornate choral services tend in this direction, by taking the acts of worship out of the grasp of the people, and consigning them to the clergy and choir.
Where this is not the ease, there is a common feeling that the mere attendance at church when a service is being conducted is of some religious efficacy, the officiating minister carrying on the real worship on behalf of the congregation, which may be listless and indifferent, so long as he discharges his duty faithfully. Or perhaps the religion by proxy is attempted in the way of money payments. The rich man who will make no moral sacrifice, and who is unwilling to worship God or serve him, subscribes to charities and Missionary Societies, and consoles himself by the thought that he is supporting religion and other good works. He is not a pillar of the church within the sacred building, but he is a sort of buttress outside it. By this indirect service of a money payment he thinks to compound for his irreligion. Lastly, living in a Christian land, belonging to a Christian home, and having Christian associates are regarded as matters of some religious value by people who possess no real religion of their own. Thus they too would be religious by proxy.
II THE UTTER FUTILITY OF THIS ATTEMPT. Every man must have his own personal dealings with God. There are such things as mediation, intercession, and vicarious sacrifices. The good mother is spiritually helpful to her children. Christ"s righteousness, his obedience, and his sacrifice are for the good of the world. But none of these things will compensate for irreligion in those who would avail themselves of their advantages. Moreover, God looks to the heart. Money gifts not offered by a grateful, devout heart, but only paid in fines to exonerate a man from the consequences of his misdeeds and negligences, are of no value whatever in the sight of God. There is no merit in helping the religion of other people if no right motive inspires the action. The very desire to be religious by proxy reveals a wrong state of the heart, for it shows that those people who experience it have no love for God and no real inclination for religion. The man whose heart is right with God will not wish to be religious by proxy. The son who has true affections will have no inclination to pay a substitute to take his place in the family circle. When his heart is renewed the Christian is most eager to be near to God, for then worship is glad and spontaneous.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh continues giving Ezekiel his message to the house of Israel.
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translationWords
holy place
alien
Israel
circumcise
heart
flesh
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.