Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezekiel 43:7

"And he said unto me, Son of man, [this is] the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever. And the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, and by the dead bodies of their kings [in] their high places;" — Ezekiel 43:7 (ASV)

The place of the soles of my feet.—Compare 1 Chronicles 28:2; Psalms 132:7.

I will dwell ... for ever.—This was to be the unique distinction of the Temple seen in the vision. The Tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple had both been accepted as the unique dwelling-place of God, but both had passed away. The same would also be true of the material Temple of the restoration. But in this Temple of the vision, God promises that He will dwell forever.

By the carcasses of their kings.—The phrase “shall defile,” with which the later clauses of this verse are connected, is not an imperative but a simple future, and is in accordance with the generally ideal character of the vision. The word “carcasses” here is a difficult one.

Some commentators understand it literally as the burial of some of the kings in the Temple area. However, there is no historical proof that any were buried there; the gardens of the royal palace were far too distant for the language used here, nor is there any allusion anywhere to such defilement. The simplest explanation is that the language is based on Leviticus 26:30 and means idols. Manasseh and others had introduced their idols into the very courts of the Temple (2 Kings 21:4–7; see also 2 Kings 16:11).