And the Lord said to me, “Son of man, pay attention, see with your eyes and hear with your ears everything that I say to you concerning all the statutes of the house of the Lord and all its laws; and pay attention to the entrance of the house, with all the exits of the sanctuary.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh said to me, Son of man, mark well, and see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I tell you concerning all the ordinances of Yahweh’s house, and all its laws; and mark well the entrance of the house, with every exit of the sanctuary.
- KJV And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary.
- BSB The LORD said to me: “Son of man, pay attention; look carefully with your eyes and listen closely with your ears to everything I tell you concerning all the statutes and laws of the house of the LORD. Take careful note of the entrance to the temple, along with all the exits of the sanctuary.
- NKJV And the Lord said to me, “Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears, all that I say to you concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord and all its laws. Mark well who may enter the house and all who go out from the sanctuary.
- NLT And the Lord said to me, “Son of man, take careful notice. Use your eyes and ears, and listen to everything I tell you about the regulations concerning the Lord’s Temple. Take careful note of the procedures for using the Temple’s entrances and exits.
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
God commands Ezekiel to pay close attention to all the ordinances, laws, and access points of the temple.
Overview
The repeated calls to 'mark well' and observe with eyes and ears stress how seriously God's instructions for worship must be taken. Particular focus is given to who may enter and exit the sanctuary, guarding its holiness. The careful regulation of access foreshadows the truth that fellowship with a holy God comes only on His appointed terms, fulfilled in the one way of access, Jesus Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Ezek 40:4The man said to me, Son of man, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart on all that I shall show you; for, to the intent that I may show them to you, you are brought here: declare all that you see to the house of Israel.
- Ezek 43:10–11You, son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern.
- Deut 12:32Whatever thing I command you, that you shall observe to do. You shall not add to it, nor take away from it.
- Deut 32:46He said to them, “Set your heart to all the words which I testify to you today, which you shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.
- Exod 9:21Whoever didn’t respect Yahweh’s word left his servants and his livestock in the field.
- Matt 28:20teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
- 2 Chr 11:16After them, out of all the tribes of Israel, those who set their hearts to seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to Yahweh, the God of their fathers.
- Dan 10:12Then he said to me, Don’t be afraid, Daniel; for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard: and I have come for your words’ sake.
- 1 Chr 22:19Now set your heart and your soul to follow Yahweh your God. Arise therefore, and build the sanctuary of Yahweh God, to bring the ark of Yahweh’s covenant and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built for Yahweh’s name.”
- Acts 8:36As they went on the way, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Behold, here is water. What is keeping me from being baptized?”
- Ps 96:8–9Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due to his name. Bring an offering, and come into his courts.
- Ps 119:4You have commanded your precepts, that we should fully obey them.
- Prov 24:32Then I saw, and considered well. I saw, and received instruction:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 44:5 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.