They shall not marry a widow, or a divorced woman, but only a virgin of the stock of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest: There were rules about who the priests could marry. They were not allowed to marry a widow, that is, a woman whose husband had died, or a divorced woman, that is, a woman who had been married and whose former husband, who was still alive, had divorced her. The only women that the priests were allowed to marry were a virgin of the stock of the house of Israel, that is, an unmarried Israelite girl who had not had sex with a man, or a widow who is the widow of a priest, that is, a woman who had been married to a priest, but her husband had now died. God does not give the reason for these rules, but they were no doubt intended to keep the priestly line ritually pure. Of the stock of the house of Israel is literally “from the seed of the house of Israel,” which may be rendered “from the people of Israel” (New Century Version) or simply “Israelite” (Good News Translation). For the house of Israel, see Ezek 44.6.

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 .