The Meaning of Ezekiel 44:3 Explained

Ezekiel 44:3

KJV: It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.

YLT: The prince, who is prince, he sitteth by it to eat bread before Jehovah, by the way of the porch of the gate he cometh in, and by its way he goeth out.'

Darby: As for the prince, he, the prince, shall sit in it to eat bread before Jehovah: he shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.

ASV: As for the prince, he shall sit therein as prince to eat bread before Jehovah; he shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

[It is] for the prince;  the prince,  he shall sit  in it to eat  bread  before  the LORD;  he shall enter  by the way  of the porch  of [that] gate,  and shall go out  by the way  of the same. 

What does Ezekiel 44:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

A prince (king) who would rule over the Israelites would sit in this gate complex and eat sacrifices to the Lord there (cf. Ezekiel 34:24; Ezekiel 37:25; Ezekiel 46:2; Ezekiel 46:8-10). Jesus Christ will be the King of Kings. He will rule over many kings including this king (prince). The city gate was a place of civil and judicial business in the ancient world (cf. Ruth 4:1-11). It was where the elders of the city assembled to discuss and transact important matters. Therefore sitting in this gate pictures the prince as an administrator of the temple area. He would go in and out of the gate complex by way of the vestibule at its west end, but no one would be able to enter or exit the outer court through the gate at the east end of this structure.
This prince (Heb. nasi) is not Messiah. This becomes clear later when the writer described him as presenting a sin offering for himself, something that it is impossible to imagine Jesus Christ doing ( Ezekiel 45:22; cf. Hebrews 4:15; Hebrews 9:22-28). Furthermore, this leader will produce natural children, another extremely unlikely action for Messiah ( Ezekiel 46:16). Third, he is not a priest and exercises no priestly rights, whereas Jesus Christ is now and ever will be our great high priest. Ezekiel mentioned no high priest in his revelation of the millennial priests. Jesus Christ will fill that role ( Hebrews 5:6; Hebrews 5:10; Hebrews 6:20; Hebrews 7:3; Hebrews 7:17; Hebrews 8:1). Rather, this prince will function in an intermediate status between the priests and the people (cf. Ezekiel 45:13-22; Ezekiel 46:2; Ezekiel 46:10; Ezekiel 46:18; Ezekiel 48:21-22). The exact identity of this leader is presently unknown, but he will apparently function as Messiah"s administrative representative in charge of certain affairs in the Millennium. [1] Some believe he will be King David resurrected. [2] This person appears in every chapter in Ezekiel that follows except chapter47.

Chapter Summary: Ezekiel 44

1  The east gate assigned only to the prince
4  The priests reproved for polluting the sanctuary
9  Idolaters incapable of the priests office
15  The sons of Zadok are accepted thereto
17  Ordinances for the priests

What do the individual words in Ezekiel 44:3 mean?

- [As] [for] the prince the prince [because] he [is] he may sit in it - bread before Yahweh by way of the vestibule of the gateway he shall enter and the same way go out
אֶֽת־ הַנָּשִׂ֗יא נָ֥שִׂיא ה֛וּא יֵֽשֶׁב־ בּ֥וֹ לֶאֱכָול־ לֶ֖חֶם‪‬‪‬ לִפְנֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה מִדֶּ֨רֶךְ אֻלָ֤ם הַשַּׁ֙עַר֙ יָב֔וֹא וּמִדַּרְכּ֖וֹ יֵצֵֽא

אֶֽת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
הַנָּשִׂ֗יא  [As]  [for]  the  prince 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נָשִׂיא 
Sense: one lifted up, chief, prince, captain, leader.
נָ֥שִׂיא  the  prince 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: נָשִׂיא 
Sense: one lifted up, chief, prince, captain, leader.
ה֛וּא  [because]  he  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
יֵֽשֶׁב־  he  may  sit 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
בּ֥וֹ  in  it 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
לֶאֱכָול־  - 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
לֶ֖חֶם‪‬‪‬  bread 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.
לִפְנֵ֣י  before 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
יְהוָ֑ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
מִדֶּ֨רֶךְ  by  way  of 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, common singular construct
Root: דֶּרֶךְ  
Sense: way, road, distance, journey, manner.
אֻלָ֤ם  the  vestibule 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: אוּלָם  
Sense: porch.
הַשַּׁ֙עַר֙  of  the  gateway 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שַׁעַר  
Sense: gate.
יָב֔וֹא  he  shall  enter 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
וּמִדַּרְכּ֖וֹ  and  the  same  way 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-m, Noun, common singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: דֶּרֶךְ  
Sense: way, road, distance, journey, manner.
יֵצֵֽא  go  out 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.