Ezekiel 46

The Prince's Worship and Offerings

¹“‘The Lord GOD says: “The gate of the inner court that looks toward the east shall be shut 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.

²The prince shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate outside, and shall stand by the post of the gate; and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be shut until the evening.

³The people of the land shall worship at the door of that gate before the LORD on the Sabbaths and on the new moons.

⁴The burnt offering that the prince shall offer to the LORD shall be on the Sabbath day, six lambs without defect and a ram without defect;

⁵and the meal offering shall be an ephah for the ram, and the meal offering for the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah.

⁶On the day of the new moon it shall be a young bull without defect, six lambs, and a ram. They shall be without defect.

⁷He shall prepare a meal offering: an ephah for the bull, and an ephah for the ram, and for the lambs according as he is able, and a hin of oil to an ephah.

⁸When the prince enters, he shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and he shall go out by its way.

⁹“‘“But when the people of the land come before the LORD in the appointed feasts, he who enters by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he who enters by the way of the south gate shall go out by the way of the north gate. He shall not return by the way of the gate by which he came in, but shall go out straight before him.

¹⁰The prince shall go in with them when they go in. When they go out, he shall go out.

¹¹“‘“In the feasts and in the appointed holidays, the meal offering shall be an ephah for a bull, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah.

¹²When the prince prepares a free will offering, a burnt offering or peace offerings as a free will offering to the LORD, one shall open for him the gate that looks toward the east; and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out; and after his going out one shall shut the gate.

¹³“‘“You shall prepare a lamb a year old without defect for a burnt offering to the LORD daily. Morning by morning you shall prepare it.

¹⁴You shall prepare a meal offering with it morning by morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour; a meal offering to the LORD continually by a perpetual ordinance.

¹⁵Thus they shall prepare the lamb, the meal offering, and the oil, morning by morning, for a continual burnt offering.”

The Prince's Inheritance and Temple Kitchens

¹⁶“‘The Lord GOD says: “If the prince gives a gift to any of his sons, it is his inheritance. It shall belong to his sons. It is their possession by inheritance.

¹⁷But if he gives of his inheritance a gift to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty; then it shall return to the prince; but as for his inheritance, it shall be for his sons.

¹⁸Moreover the prince shall not take of the people’s inheritance, to thrust them out of their possession. He shall give inheritance to his sons out of his own possession, that my people not each be scattered from his possession.”’”

¹⁹Then he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy rooms for the priests, which looked toward the north. Behold, there was a place on the back part westward.

²⁰He said to me, “This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the meal offering, that they not bring them out into the outer court, to sanctify the people.”

²¹Then he brought me out into the outer court and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and behold, in every corner of the court there was a court.

²²In the four corners of the court there were courts enclosed, forty cubits long and thirty wide. These four in the corners were the same size.

²³There was a wall around in them, around the four, and boiling places were made under the walls all around.

²⁴Then he said to me, “These are the boiling houses, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people.”

Previous Ezekiel 45

Next Ezekiel 47

Ezekiel 46 details the worship regulations for the restored temple, focusing on the prince's role in leading Israel's worship through prescribed offerings and ceremonial procedures. The chapter specifies when temple gates open, what sacrifices the prince must provide on Sabbaths and festivals, and how both prince and people should move through the temple courts. It concludes with inheritance laws preventing the prince from permanently taking land from the people, and describes the temple kitchens where offerings are prepared.

Context

This chapter continues the detailed temple regulations from chapters 44-45, providing the final worship and administrative procedures before Ezekiel's vision concludes with the life-giving river in chapters 47-48.

Key Themes

Outline

1-3
Gate Opening and Prince's Entry The east gate opens only on Sabbaths and new moons for the prince's worship while people gather outside
4-8
Sabbath and New Moon Offerings Specific sacrificial requirements for the prince including lambs, rams, bulls, and accompanying meal offerings
9-12
Festival Worship Procedures Movement patterns through temple gates during appointed feasts and regulations for voluntary offerings
13-15
Daily Burnt Offerings The perpetual morning sacrifice of a lamb with meal offering and oil to be prepared daily
16-18
Prince's Inheritance Laws Rules governing the prince's gifts to sons versus servants and protection of people's land rights
19-24
Temple Kitchen Arrangements Description of cooking areas where priests and Levites prepare the holy offerings and sacrifices

The Prince's Worship and Offerings

46:1–46:15

prophecy instruction solemn

God provides detailed regulations for the prince's worship and offerings at the temple, including specific requirements for Sabbath and new moon sacrifices. The passage establishes proper procedures for temple worship and the prince's role in leading the people's religious observances.

theme_rarity

Ezekiel's temple vision uniquely intertwines sabbath observance with sacrificial requirements, creating one of only two biblical passages where these themes converge in detailed ritual prescription.

The Prince's Inheritance and Temple Kitchens

46:16–46:24

prophecy instruction solemn

God establishes laws governing the prince's inheritance rights and describes the temple kitchens where priests prepare offerings. The passage ensures justice by preventing the prince from taking people's land and provides practical details about temple food preparation areas.

theme_rarity

Ezekiel uniquely juxtaposes inheritance laws with temple kitchen architecture, linking the prince's temporal stewardship of land to the priests' sacred stewardship of sacrificial meals.

Insight Rare Theme

Ezekiel's temple vision uniquely intertwines sabbath observance with sacrificial requirements, creating one of only two biblical passages where these themes converge in detailed ritual prescription.

Insight Rare Theme

Ezekiel uniquely juxtaposes inheritance laws with temple kitchen architecture, linking the prince's temporal stewardship of land to the priests' sacred stewardship of sacrificial meals.