Ezekiel 44:20

Christian Standard Bible ®

“They may not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but are to carefully trim their hair.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Neither shall they shave their heads, nor allow their locks to grow long; they shall only cut off the hair of their heads.

King James Version
Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads.

English Standard Version
They shall not shave their heads or let their locks grow long; they shall surely trim the hair of their heads.

New American Standard Bible
"Also they shall not shave their heads, yet they shall not let their locks grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads.

New Century Version
"‘They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long but must keep the hair of their heads trimmed.

Amplified Bible
"Also they shall not shave their heads, yet they shall not allow their hair to grow long; they shall only cut short or trim their hair.

Geneva Bible (1587)
They shall not also shaue their heades, nor suffer their lockes to growe long, but rounde their heades.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Also they shall not shave their heads, yet they shall not let their locks grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads.

Legacy Standard Bible
Also they shall not shave their heads, yet they shall not let their locks grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads.

Berean Standard Bible
They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but must carefully trim their hair.

Contemporary English Version
Priests must never shave their heads when they are mourning. But they must keep their hair properly trimmed and not let it grow too long.

Complete Jewish Bible
They are not to shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but must keep their hair carefully trimmed.

Darby Translation
Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long: they shall duly poll their heads.

Easy-to-Read Version
"These priests will not shave their heads or let their hair grow long. The priests may only trim the hair of their heads.

George Lamsa Translation
Neither shall they shave their heads nor let their locks grow long; but they shall have their hair cut.

Good News Translation
"Priests must neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow long. They are to keep it a proper length.

Lexham English Bible
And their head they shall not shave, or long hair they shall not let grow; short they shall clip their heads.

Literal Translation
And they shall not shave their heads, and they shall not send forth long hair; trimming they shall trim their heads.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
They shal not shaue their heades, ner norish the bushe of their hayre, but roude their heades only.

American Standard Version
Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only cut off the hair of their heads.

Bible in Basic English
They are not to have all the hair cut off their heads, and they are not to let their hair get long, but they are to have the ends of their hair cut.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads.

King James Version (1611)
Neither shall they shaue their heads, nor suffer their lockes to grow long, they shall only polle their heads.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
They shall not shaue their heades, nor suffer their here to growe long, but poule their heades onely.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And they shall not shave their heads, nor shall they pluck off their hair; they shall carefully cover their heads.

English Revised Version
Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads.

World English Bible
Neither shall they shave their heads, nor allow their locks to grow long; they shall only cut off the hair of their heads.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe thei schulen not schaue her heed, nether thei schulen nursche long heere, but thei clippynge schulen clippe her heedis.

Update Bible Version
Neither shall they shave their heads, nor allow their locks to grow long; they shall only cut off the hair of their heads.

Webster's Bible Translation
Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads.

New English Translation
"‘They must not shave their heads nor let their hair grow long; they must only trim their heads.

New King James Version
"They shall neither shave their heads, nor let their hair grow long, but they shall keep their hair well trimmed.

New Living Translation
"They must neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow too long. Instead, they must trim it regularly.

New Life Bible
And they must not cut all the hair from their heads, yet they must not let their hair grow long. They must only cut their hair shorter.

New Revised Standard
They shall not shave their heads or let their locks grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And their heads, shall they not shave, Nor let the hair grow long, - They shall only poll, their heads.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Neither shall they shave their heads, nor wear long hair: but they shall only poll their heads.

Revised Standard Version
They shall not shave their heads or let their locks grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads.

Young's Literal Translation
And their head they do not shave, and the lock they do not send forth; they certainly poll their heads.

THE MESSAGE
"They are to neither shave their heads nor let their hair become unkempt, but must keep their hair trimmed and neat.

Contextual Overview

¹⁷When they enter the gates of the inner court they are to wear linen garments; they must not have on them anything made of wool when they minister at the gates of the inner court and within it. ¹⁸They are to wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists. They are not to put on anything that makes them sweat. ¹⁹Before they go out to the outer court, to the people, they must take off the clothes they have been ministering in, leave them in the holy chambers, and dress in other clothes so that they do not transmit holiness to the people through their clothes. ²⁰“They may not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but are to carefully trim their hair. ²¹No priest may drink wine before he enters the inner court. ²²He is not to marry a widow or a divorced woman, but may marry only a virgin from the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. ²³They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and explain to them the difference between the clean and the unclean. ²⁴“In a dispute, they will officiate as judges and decide the case according to my ordinances. They are to observe my laws and statutes regarding all my appointed festivals, and keep my Sabbaths holy. ²⁵A priest may not come near a dead person so that he becomes defiled. However, he may defile himself for a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, a brother, or an unmarried sister. ²⁶After he is cleansed, he is to count off seven days for himself.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

shave: Leviticus 21:5-24, Deuteronomy 14:1

nor suffer: Numbers 6:5, 1 Corinthians 11:14

Reciprocal: Leviticus 19:27 - General Ezekiel 5:1 - take

Cross-References

Genesis 35:18
With her last breath—for she was dying—she named him Ben-oni, but his father called him Benjamin.

Genesis 37:3
Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons because Joseph was a son born to him in his old age, and he made a robe of many colors for him.

Genesis 37:19
They said to one another, “Oh, look, here comes that dream expert!

Genesis 42:13
But they replied, “We, your servants, were twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no longer living.”

Genesis 42:36
Their father Jacob said to them, “It’s me that you make childless. Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything happens to me!”

Genesis 42:38
But Jacob answered, “My son will not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. If anything happens to him on your journey, you will bring my gray hairs down to Sheol in sorrow.”

Genesis 44:7
They said to him, “Why does my lord say these things? Your servants could not possibly do such a thing.

Genesis 44:8
We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found at the top of our bags. How could we steal silver or gold from your master’s house?

Genesis 44:27
Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons.

Genesis 44:30
“So if I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with us—his life is wrapped up with the boy’s life—

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Neither shall they shave their heads,.... As the priests and worshippers of Isis and Serapis did, as Jerom on the text observes; and as the Romish priests now do, from whom the Lord's faithful ministers must be distinguished:

nor suffer their locks to grow long; as the Nazarites, that a distinction might be preserved between those who were and were not such; or rather, after the manner of women, their locks hanging down, and flowing about their shoulders, as a token of levity, wantonness, effeminacy, pride, and vanity; see 1 Corinthians 11:14:

they shall only poll their heads; observe a medium between both; neither shave their heads close, nor let their hair grow long, but keep it in an even moderate length; for which reason godly men of the last age among us were called "round heads".

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Regulations as to the priests’ services. The garments of the priests are defined and various rules prescribed in the Law are repeated with some additions in order to denote additional care to avoid uncleanness.

Ezekiel 44:18

The material of which the four vestments of the ordinary priest were made was “linen,” or, more accurately, “byssus,” the cotton stuff of Egypt. The two special qualities of the byssus - white and shining - are characteristic, and on them part of the symbolic meaning depended. Compare Revelation 19:8.

Ezekiel 44:19

They shall not sanctify the people - They shall not touch the people with their holy garments. The word “sanctify” is used because the effect of touching was to separate as holy the persons or things so touched (Exodus 29:37; Exodus 30:29; compare Leviticus 6:18). The priests wore the distinctive dress, only while performing in the temple strictly sacrificial services.

The holy chambers; see Ezekiel 42:1 ff.

Ezekiel 44:22

Restrictions and exceptions intended to mark the holiness of the office of a priest, imposing on him additional (compare the marginal reference) obligations to purity, and communicating it in some degree to his wife. In the Christian Church all the members are “priests” 1 Peter 2:5; Revelation 1:6; Revelation 20:6. Hence, the directions for maintaining the holiness of the “priesthood” in the new order, represent the necessity for holiness in all Christians, and the exclusion of the “uncircumcised in heart and in flesh” is equivalent to the exclusion of “all that defileth” from the New Jerusalem Revelation 21:27.

Ezekiel 44:24

There was in Herod’s Temple a council of priests, whose special duty it was to regulate every thing connected with the sanctuary. They did not ordinarily busy themselves with criminal questions, although they took a leading part in the condemnation of Jesus Mark 15:1.

Ezekiel 44:28

It shall be unto them - The remains of the sacrifices were a chief source of the priests’ support. The burnt-offerings being entirely consumed, the priests had the skins, which yielded a considerable revenue; meat-offerings and drink-offerings belonged entirely to them. sin-offerings and trepass-offerings, except in particular cases, also belonged to the priests and were partaken of in the temple. Of the peace-offerings a portion dedicated to the Lord by waving was left for the priests, and the rest eaten by the officers and their friends, either in the courts of the temple, or at least within Jerusalem. The kitchen-courts (K, Plan II Ezek. Ezekiel 46:21-24), were provided in order to prepare these public meals.

Ezekiel 44:30

Oblation - Offering, margin “heave-offering” (see Ezekiel 45:1; Exodus 25:2; Exodus 29:27; Notes and Pref. to Leviticus).

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ezekiel 44:20. Neither shall they shave their heads — The priests of Isis shaved their heads close to the skin; the priests of Budhoo do so still, their ordinances oblige them to shave their heads every tenth day. To let the hair grow long would have been improper; therefore the Lord commands them to poll-cut the hair short, but not to shave.