Ezekiel 44:19

Eze 44:19 And when they go forth into the utter court, [even] into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments.

Ver. 19. They shall put off their garments.] See Eze 42:14.

They shall not sanctify the people with their garments,] i.e., By the touch of their garments. See Exo 29:37; Exo 30:29 Eze 46:20. To "sanctify the people," in this text, is to persuade them that they are sanctified by the touch or sight of the priestly vestments. The monks at this day make the silly people believe that they cannot be damned when they die if they be buried in a Franciscan’s cowl.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

not sanctify the people with their garments--namely, those peculiarly priestly vestments in which they ministered in the sanctuary.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(19) They shall put off their garments.—The requirement that the priests shall wear their official dress only when engaged in official duty, putting it on when they entered the inner court, and putting it off when they went out, which is only implied in Exodus and Leviticus, is here expressly enjoined. Utter here, as elsewhere, means outer.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19. The sacred garments shall be worn only in the inner court, and in service. Before going out into the outer court the priests shall put them off and deposit them in the sacred cells, Eze_42:13-14.

sanctify the people] i.e. by bringing that which is holy in contact with them. The enactment is not a precaution against defilement of the holy garments, at least in form, though it may be a precaution against confusion of the sacred and the common. Cf. Eze_46:20; Exo_29:37; Exo_30:29; Lev_6:27. The words “even into the utter court” are probably an accidental repetition. LXX. omits.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when they go forth into the utter court,.... Out of the inner court where they minister, when they have done their service:

even into the utter court to the people; out of the church into the world, where the people are, doing their business, whether good men or bad:

they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers; the north and south chambers; See Gill on Eze 42:13, Eze 42:14,

and they shall put on other garments; which are their outward conversation garments, which are proper to appear in before men, for the honour of religion; though not sufficient to appear in before God, and render acceptable unto him:

and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments; the garments of the priesthood were reckoned holy, whatsoever was holy, that which it touched accounted holy also; and therefore, to preserve a difference between the priests and the common people, they were not to wear their holy garments but in the time of service; or lest any superstitious notion should obtain among the people, that they were sanctified by touching their clothes; as the Papists give out, that if a man is buried in a monk's cowl, he shall be saved: or the sense is, that they should not possess the minds of the people with a notion of any real sanctity in their garments; or that their conversation garments, or good works, can be of any service to them: this may be opposed to works of supererogation.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Sanctify, by exposing them to the danger of touching the sacred vestments, which none were to touch but they that were sanctified. (Challoner) --- Sanctify here means to defile, Exodus xxx. 29., (Calmet) and xxix. 37. Holy things must be done in holy places. (Worthington) --- Divine religion has different clothing for the ministry, from what is used in common life. (St. Jerome) (Exodus xxviii. 40.) (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

See Eze 42:14, where this verse is explained, yet here are two things that verse hath not, of which a word. The utter court: this tells us in which court stood the chambers, wherein the priests did attire themselves, into which also they retired to unclothe themselves of the priestly garments. The chambers were in the court next to the court of the people, as Eze 42:14. They shall not sanctify: by the law, common things touching holy things became consecrate, and to be no more for common use. If the priests’ consecrated clothes touched the people’s, they must part with them, this would be inconvenient; so some. Or lost the people should think themselves the holier for such contact, and grow proud of it; so others. The Chaldee paraphrast frames it to the last clause of the 14th verse of the 42nd chapter, they in holy vests shall not intermix with the people; this would be a profaning the holy vests. Or else thus, they shall not come out to bless the people in their priestly garments, but, having finished the sacrifice and all belonging thereto, they should change garments, and in their ordinary garments come out to the people, and bless them in that form, Num 6:23,24.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

When the priests retired from the inner court, and before they passed into the outer court to mingle with the people, they were enjoined to lay aside their official robes, depositing them in the holy chambers already described, (Eze_42:1-14) and to put on other, i.e. their ordinary, clothes. (comp. Lev_6:11) The reason for this injunction was that they might not sanctify the people (comp. Eze_46:20) through the people"s coming in contact with their garments. These, being in a manner, i.e. ceremonially, holy, would impart to the people a levitical or ritualistic sanctity which would disqualify them, for a time, at least, from attending to the common duties of life, as under the Law those were who touched the sacrificial flesh, (Lev_6:18, Lev_6:27) the altar, (Exo_29:37) and the vessels of the sanctuary. (Exo_30:29)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Shall not sanctify - By the law, common things, touching holy things, became consecrated, and no more fit for common use.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

General Information:

Yahweh continues giving Ezekiel his message to the house of Israel about how the descendants of Zadok who serve as priests are to do their duties.

outer courtyard

See how you translated this in Ezekiel 10:5.

translationWords

servant

holy

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

into the Outer Court, into the Outer Court Since he was speaking of the Heichal and the Inner Sanctum, and he called them the “Inner Court,” and in relation to them, he should call the Israelites’ Court an “Outer Court,” he therefore had to double it twice to say that he is speaking of the Men’s Court, the area that all Israel enter.

and place them in chambers belonging to the Sanctuary as stated by our master Moses, may he rest in peace (Lev. 16:23): “after that, he shall take off the linen garments which he had put on, etc., and he shall leave them there.”

and they shall not sanctify the people [Heb. וְלֹא יְקַדְשׁוּ אֶתהָעָם, lit. they shall not sanctify the people.] Jonathan renders: and they shall not mingle with the people in their garments, [i.e.,] they shall not touch the people with their holy garments, for ordinary garments are not ritually clean as regards [contaminating] holy garments.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.