But when the people come in through the north gateway to worship the Lord during the religious festivals, they must leave by the south gateway. And those who entered through the south gateway must leave by the north gateway. They must never leave by the same gateway they came in, but must always use the opposite gateway.
Parallel translations
- WEB But when the people of the land shall come before Yahweh 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.
- KJV But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it.
- BSB When the people of the land come before the LORD at the appointed feasts, whoever enters by the north gate to worship must go out by the south gate, and whoever enters by the south gate must go out by the north gate. No one is to return through the gate by which he entered, but each must go out by the opposite gate.
- NKJV “But when the people of the land come before the Lord on the appointed feast days, whoever enters by way of the north gate to worship shall go out by way of the south gate; and whoever enters by way of the south gate shall go out by way of the north gate. He shall not return by way of the gate through which he came, but shall go out through the opposite gate.
- NASB But when the people of the land come before the Lord at the appointed feasts, one who enters by way of the north gate to worship shall go out by way of the south gate. And one who enters by way of the south gate shall go out by way of the north gate. No one shall return by way of the gate by which he entered, but shall go straight out.
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
At feasts the people must exit by the gate opposite the one they entered, moving straight through. The orderly flow prevents confusion and pictures a forward-moving, never-turning-back worship.
Overview
This practical rule for crowds at the great feasts kept worshipers moving in reverent order rather than crowding back the way they came. Some see in 'not returning by the way he came' a picture of continual progress in the worshiping life. Believers, having come to God in Christ, are likewise called to press forward rather than turn back (Phil. 3:13-14; Heb. 10:39).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Deut 16:16Three times in a year all of your males shall appear before Yahweh your God in the place which he chooses: in the feast of unleavened bread, in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tents. They shall not appear before Yahweh empty.
- Exod 34:23Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord Yahweh, the God of Israel.
- Exod 23:14–17“You shall observe a feast to me three times a year.
- Ps 84:7They go from strength to strength. Everyone of them appears before God in Zion.
- 2 Pet 2:20–21For if, after they have escaped the defilement of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in it and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.
- Mal 4:4“Remember the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded to him in Horeb for all Israel, even statutes and ordinances.
- Phil 3:13–14Brothers, I don’t regard myself as yet having taken hold, but one thing I do. Forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before,
- Heb 10:38But the righteous will live by faith. If he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”
- Ezek 1:17When they went, they went in their four directions: they didn’t turn when they went.
- Ezek 1:12Each one went straight forward: where the spirit was to go, they went; they didn’t turn when they went.
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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 46:9 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.