They alone shall enter My sanctuary and draw near to My table to minister before Me. They will keep My charge.
Parallel translations
- WEB they shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my instruction.
- KJV They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.
- NKJV “They shall enter My sanctuary, and they shall come near My table to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge.
- NASB “They shall enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My table to serve Me and assume the responsibility I give them.
- NLT They alone will enter my sanctuary and approach my table to serve me. They will fulfill all my requirements.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The faithful priests alone may enter the sanctuary, approach God's table, and keep His charge.
Overview
The Zadokites are granted intimate service, ministering at the Lord's table and guarding His instruction. Their privileged access flows directly from their proven faithfulness. This pattern, where faithfulness opens nearness to God, finds its fulfillment in Christ, through whom believers are made a kingdom of priests with access to God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Ezek 41:22There was an altar of wood three cubits high and two cubits square. Its corners, base, and sides were of wood. And the man told me, “This is the table that is before the LORD.”
- Num 18:7–8But only you and your sons shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and what is inside the veil, and you are to perform that service. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but any outsider who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.”
- Mal 1:7By presenting defiled food on My altar. But you ask, ‘How have we defiled You?’ By saying that the table of the LORD is contemptible.
- Mal 1:12“But you profane it when you say, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is contemptible.’
- Deut 33:8–10Concerning Levi he said: “Give Your Thummim to Levi and Your Urim to Your godly one, whom You tested at Massah and contested at the waters of Meribah.
- Num 18:5And you shall attend to the duties of the sanctuary and of the altar, so that wrath may not fall on the Israelites again.
- Rev 1:6who has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen.
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Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 44:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.