Ezekiel 44:8

Eze 44:8 And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.

Ver. 8. For yourselves.] Pro vestro arbitratu, non pro mea voluntate; as best suited with your own ends, and fitted to your own humours.

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.

Ye have not offered unto me according to my Law.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

keepers . . . for yourselves--such as you yourselves thought fit, not such as I approve of. Or else, "Ye have not yourselves kept the charge of My holy things, but have set others as keepers of My charge in My sanctuary for yourselves" [MAURER].

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

(8) For yourselves.—Comp. 1Ki_12:31.

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

8. ye have set keepers] Some would read: ye have set them keepers. This of course is the meaning. The change is hardly supported by LXX (as Well. p. 122).

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 ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things,.... That is, have not kept and retained the holy doctrines of the Gospel; nor observed the holy ordinances of it, as they were first delivered:

but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves; meaning either, that such as were in public office did not attend to it; but were idol shepherds, and left the flock, their care and charge, to others, to surrogates and curates, to do their work for them; while they indulged themselves in sloth and idleness: or that the members and hearers set up preachers for themselves, according to their lusts, agreeable to their own carnal sentiments, without any regard to the will and glory of God.

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

Yourselves, out of ambition, contrary to the regulations of David. (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).

You have not observed the laws I gave you for the careful and exact keeping of my holy things; house, sacrifices, and worship. You have substituted others in your rooms, made officials, and surrogates, and curates to look to the gates, and these have let in the profane and unclean; your pride, or covetousness, or laziness, hath taken you off from your duty and your charge; or you have, as you saw good, consecrated persons, whether fit or unfit, whether approved or not approved by me. So you have profaned my name, and violated my law, Num 18:4.

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

Instead of having exercised a holy solicitude for the purity of the temple and the regularity of its rites, by keeping strict watch over the holy things of Jehovah, the house of Israel had set keepers; literally, had set them, i.e. the uncircumcised "strangers" above referred to, as keepers of Jehovah"s charge in his sanctuary for themselves, i.e. to please themselves, irrespective altogether of Jehovah"s enactments. From this it has been argued, by Wellhausen, Smend, Driver, and others, that the "strangers" above mentioned had been not only allowed access to the outer court as spectators or as worshippers while the priests were offering sacrifice, but admitted to the inner court as assistants to the priests in their altar duties, that this, the employment of these heathen hierodules, had been the special wickedness of which Israel had been guilty, and that henceforward these "foreign ministers" were to be thrust out from their offices, and their places supplied by the about-to-be-degraded Levites. It is, however, doubtful if the phrase, keepers of my charge in the sanctuary, can be made to signify more than has already been expressed by the clause, "to be in my sanctuary when ye offer my bread" (ver. 7), by which, as Kliefoth and Keil explain, Israel had practically made these strangers "keepers of Jehovah"s charge," i.e. observers of the rites of worship prescribed by him, though observers in their way, not in his; if more can be extracted from the words, then the most they can be legitimately made to affirm (as there is no mention of the inner court) is that these "strangers," in addition to obtaining access to the outer court to witness the sacrifices, or perhaps offer such for themselves, had been more or less frequently employed in performing subordinate offices towards the Levites, who were the proper priests" assistants, like the Gibeonites, whom Joshua (Jos_9:27) made "hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord unto this day," and like the Nethinim, whom, according to Ezra, (Ezr_8:20) David and the princes had given for the service of the Levites (see Delitzsch, Luthardt"s "Zeitschrift fur kirchliche Wissenschaft," 1880, p. 283). (On the phrase, "to keep the charge of Jehovah," as signifying to follow his directions or comply with his prescriptions, see Num_9:23) "In the sanctuary" explains that the prescriptions alluded to were those pertaining to the sanctuary or to the worship of Jehovah.

Religion by proxy.

The people had neglected their own duty in regard to the worship of God, and had appointed hirelings to discharge the sacred offices in their stead. This was a case of trying to practice religion by proxy. We often see the attempt made in various ways now, but it is doomed to failure.

I THE ATTEMPT TO SATISFY THE CLAIMS OF RELIGION BY PROXY. There are now many Jews in Jerusalem kept in idleness by their more wealthy brethren in Europe, who hope by this expedient to secure for themselves the merit of living and dying in the Holy City, without undergoing the irksome experience of actual residence. In Roman Catholic countries it is common to devote a sum of money to the payment of the priest who is to say so many Masses on behalf of a person. Among ourselves there is an unconfessed but common notion that the minister in some way performs the offices of religion on behalf of the people, who stand by as idle spectators, and yet enjoy the fruits of his vicarious service. The development of elaborate ritual and the cultivation of highly ornate choral services tend in this direction, by taking the acts of worship out of the grasp of the people, and consigning them to the clergy and choir.

Where this is not the ease, there is a common feeling that the mere attendance at church when a service is being conducted is of some religious efficacy, the officiating minister carrying on the real worship on behalf of the congregation, which may be listless and indifferent, so long as he discharges his duty faithfully. Or perhaps the religion by proxy is attempted in the way of money payments. The rich man who will make no moral sacrifice, and who is unwilling to worship God or serve him, subscribes to charities and Missionary Societies, and consoles himself by the thought that he is supporting religion and other good works. He is not a pillar of the church within the sacred building, but he is a sort of buttress outside it. By this indirect service of a money payment he thinks to compound for his irreligion. Lastly, living in a Christian land, belonging to a Christian home, and having Christian associates are regarded as matters of some religious value by people who possess no real religion of their own. Thus they too would be religious by proxy.

II THE UTTER FUTILITY OF THIS ATTEMPT. Every man must have his own personal dealings with God. There are such things as mediation, intercession, and vicarious sacrifices. The good mother is spiritually helpful to her children. Christ"s righteousness, his obedience, and his sacrifice are for the good of the world. But none of these things will compensate for irreligion in those who would avail themselves of their advantages. Moreover, God looks to the heart. Money gifts not offered by a grateful, devout heart, but only paid in fines to exonerate a man from the consequences of his misdeeds and negligences, are of no value whatever in the sight of God. There is no merit in helping the religion of other people if no right motive inspires the action. The very desire to be religious by proxy reveals a wrong state of the heart, for it shows that those people who experience it have no love for God and no real inclination for religion. The man whose heart is right with God will not wish to be religious by proxy. The son who has true affections will have no inclination to pay a substitute to take his place in the family circle. When his heart is renewed the Christian is most eager to be near to God, for then worship is glad and spontaneous.

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

Have not kept - You have not observed the laws I gave you for the keeping of my holy things, house, sacrifices, and worship. Have set - You have substituted others in your rooms.

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.

translationWords

holy place

alien

Israel

circumcise

heart

flesh

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

And you appointed keepers of My watch in My Sanctuary You knowingly appointed in My Sanctuary, people who are not fit to be keepers of My watch.

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.