And you have not kept charge of My holy things, but you have set others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you.”
Parallel translations
- WEB You have not performed the duty of my holy things; but you have set performers of my duty in my sanctuary for yourselves.
- KJV And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.
- BSB And you have not kept charge of My holy things, but have appointed others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you.’
- NASB And you have not taken responsibility for My holy things yourselves, but you have appointed foreigners to take responsibility for My sanctuary.”
- NLT Instead of safeguarding my sacred rituals, you have hired foreigners to take charge of my sanctuary.
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
Israel failed to keep charge of God's holy things and instead delegated sacred duties to unfit substitutes.
Overview
Rather than guarding the sanctuary's holiness themselves, the people handed its care to those who had no right to it. This neglect of sacred responsibility dishonored God and corrupted worship. The passage underscores that God's holiness demands faithful stewardship, a charge ultimately kept perfectly by Christ our great High Priest.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ezek 40:45–46He said to me, This room, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the duty of the house;
- 1 Chr 23:32and 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.
- 2 Tim 4:1I command you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his Kingdom:
- Ezra 8:24–30Then I set apart twelve of the chiefs of the priests, even Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers with them,
- 1 Tim 6:13I command you before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate testified the good confession,
- Num 18:7You 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.”
- Ezek 44:14Yet will I make them performers of the duty of the house, for all its service, and for all that shall be done therein.
- Num 18:3–5They 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.
- Acts 7:53You received the law as it was ordained by angels, and didn’t keep it!”
- Lev 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.
- Ezek 44:16they shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my instruction.
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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 44:8 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.