Ezekiel 44:21

No priest may drink wine before he enters the inner court.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Ezekiel records divine instructions for temple service during a vision of the restored sanctuary. The command targets priests entering the inner court to maintain ritual purity.

The words — יַיִן (Ya.yin) translates to "wine," and לֹא (lo'-) functions as the negative particle "not." The syntax places the negative between the noun and the verb יִשְׁתּוּ (yish.Tu), "they will drink."

The thread — This prohibition echoes Leviticus 10:9, which bars wine before entering the Tent of Meeting, and anticipates New Testament standards for overseers in Titus 1:7 and Nazirite vows in Luke 1:15.

Why it lands — The text explicitly forbids priests from consuming wine prior to entering the inner court. Readers must recognize that sacred service requires deliberate sobriety and separation from substances that impair judgment.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְיַ֥יִןve./Ya.yinand/ wine לֹֽא־lo'-not יִשְׁתּ֖וּyish.Tuthey will drink כָּל־kol-any כֹּהֵ֑ןko.Henpriest בְּבוֹאָ֖םbe./vo.'A/mwhen/ come/ they אֶל־'el-into הֶחָצֵ֥רhe./cha.Tzerthe/ courtyard הַפְּנִימִֽית׃ha./pe.ni.Mit<the>/ inner

King James Version

Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court.

Cross-references

Leviticus 10:9 “You and your sons are not to drink wine or strong drink when you enter the Tent of Meeting, or else you will die; this is a permanent statute for the generations to come.
Titus 1:7 As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach—not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money.
Luke 1:15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.
1 Timothy 3:8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued or given to much wine or greedy for money.
1 Timothy 5:23 Stop drinking only water and use a little wine instead, because of your stomach and your frequent ailments.