This verse is a restatement and summary of the law recorded in verses 5-8. God continues to speak here to the Israelites through Ezekiel.

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: The conjunction Therefore should be deleted (see the comments on the previous verse). Thus says the Lord GOD begins the new subsection and again highlights the importance of God’s message (see Ezek 44.6).

No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, shall enter my sanctuary: See the comments on Ezek 44.7. Good News Translation renders of all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel as “not even a foreigner who lives among the people of Israel,” and New Century Version is similar with “Not even a foreigner living among the people of Israel may enter.” However, these renderings miss the point of this clause since the Hebrew expression for foreigners has the sense of “unqualified people” or “ritually unclean people.”

A good model for this verse is:

• “This is what I, the Lord Yahweh, say: Anyone who is not qualified to worship me—yes, anyone at all from the people of Israel who does not obey me and is not circumcised—such a person shall not enter my Temple area.

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .