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43 Afterward the man [an angel] brought me to the gate, the gate that faces east.

And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the east and His voice was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with His glory.(A)

And the vision which I saw was like the vision I had seen when I came to foretell the destruction of the city and like the vision I had seen beside the river Chebar [near Babylon]; and I fell on my face.(B)

And the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east.

Then the Spirit caught me up and brought me into the inner court, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

And I heard One speaking to me out of the temple, and a Man stood by me.

And He [the Lord] said to 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 forever; and My holy name the house of Israel shall no more profane, neither they nor their kings, by their [idolatrous] harlotry, nor by the dead bodies and monuments of their kings,

Nor by setting their threshold by My thresholds and their doorposts by My doorposts, with a mere wall between Me and them. They have profaned My holy name by their abominations which they have committed; therefore I have consumed them in My anger.

Now let them put away their [idolatrous] harlotry and the dead bodies and monuments of their kings far from Me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.

10 Son of man, show the temple by your description of it to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure accurately its appearance and plan.

11 And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the form of the temple and the arrangement of it—its exits and its entrances and the whole form of it—all its ordinances and all its forms and all its laws. And write it down in their sight so that they may keep the whole form of it and all the ordinances of it and do them.

12 This is the law of the house [of the Lord]: The whole area round about on the top of the mountain [a][Mount Moriah] shall be most holy, separated, and set apart. Behold, this is the law of the house [of the Lord].

13 And these are the measurements of the altar [of burnt offering] in cubits. The cubit is a royal cubit [the length of a forearm and a palm of the hand]; the bottom or gutter shall be a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim or lip round about it of a span’s breadth. And this shall be the height of the altar:

14 From the bottom or gutter on the ground to the lower ledge or brim shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser ledge to the greater ledge shall be four cubits, and the breadth one cubit.

15 And the altar hearth shall be four cubits high, and from the altar hearth reaching upward there shall be four horns one cubit high.

16 And the altar hearth shall be square—twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in its four sides.

17 And the ledge shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits broad on its four sides, and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and its bottom or gutter shall be a cubit deep and wide, and its ascent [not steps] shall face the east.(C)

18 And [the Lord] said to me, Son of man, thus says the Lord God: These are the regulations for the use of the altar in the day that it is erected, upon which to offer burnt offerings and to sprinkle blood against it:

19 You shall give to the priests, the Levites who are of the offspring of Zadok, who are near to Me to minister to Me, says the Lord God, a young bull for a sin offering.

20 And you shall take of its blood and put it on the four horns of [the altar of burnt offering] and on the four corners of the ledge and on the rim or border round about. Thus shall you cleanse and make atonement for [the altar].

21 You shall also take the bullock of the sin offering, and it shall be burned in the appointed place of the temple, outside the sacred enclosure.(D)

22 And on the second day you shall offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering. Thus the altar shall be cleansed, as it was cleansed with the bullock.

23 When you have finished cleansing it, you shall offer a young bull without blemish and a ram out of the flock without blemish.

24 And you shall bring them near before the Lord, and the priests shall cast salt upon them and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering to the Lord.

25 Seven days you shall prepare every day a goat for a sin offering; also a young bull and a ram out of the flock, without blemish, shall be prepared.

26 For seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and purify it; so the priests shall consecrate, separate, and set it apart to receive offerings.(E)

27 And when these days have been accomplished, on the eighth day and from then on, the priests shall offer your burnt offerings upon the altar and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, says the Lord God.(F)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 43:12 Moriah is identified in Gen. 22:2 as the region where Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac, and is identified in II Chron. 3:1 as the site of the temple built by Solomon.

God’s Glory Returns to the Temple

43 Then the man brought me to the gate facing east,(A) and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters,(B) and the land was radiant with his glory.(C) The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when he[a] came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown. The glory(D) of the Lord entered the temple through the gate facing east.(E) Then the Spirit(F) lifted me up(G) and brought me into the inner court, and the glory(H) of the Lord filled the temple.(I)

While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple. He said: “Son of man, this is the place of my throne(J) and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever. The people of Israel will never again defile(K) my holy name—neither they nor their kings—by their prostitution and the funeral offerings[b] for their kings at their death.[c](L) When they placed their threshold next to my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them, they defiled my holy name by their detestable practices. So I destroyed them in my anger. Now let them put away from me their prostitution and the funeral offerings for their kings, and I will live among them forever.(M)

10 “Son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel, that they may be ashamed(N) of their sins. Let them consider its perfection, 11 and if they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the design of the temple—its arrangement, its exits and entrances—its whole design and all its regulations[d] and laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations.(O)

12 “This is the law of the temple: All the surrounding area(P) on top of the mountain will be most holy.(Q) Such is the law of the temple.

The Great Altar Restored

13 “These are the measurements of the altar(R) in long cubits,[e] that cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth: Its gutter is a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim of one span[f] around the edge. And this is the height of the altar: 14 From the gutter on the ground up to the lower ledge that goes around the altar it is two cubits high, and the ledge is a cubit wide.[g] From this lower ledge to the upper ledge that goes around the altar it is four cubits high, and that ledge is also a cubit wide.[h] 15 Above that, the altar hearth(S) is four cubits high, and four horns(T) project upward from the hearth. 16 The altar hearth is square, twelve cubits[i] long and twelve cubits wide.(U) 17 The upper ledge(V) also is square, fourteen cubits[j] long and fourteen cubits wide. All around the altar is a gutter of one cubit with a rim of half a cubit.[k] The steps(W) of the altar face east.(X)

18 Then he said to me, “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: These will be the regulations for sacrificing burnt offerings(Y) and splashing blood(Z) against the altar when it is built: 19 You are to give a young bull(AA) as a sin offering[l] to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok,(AB) who come near(AC) to minister before me, declares the Sovereign Lord. 20 You are to take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar(AD) and on the four corners of the upper ledge(AE) and all around the rim, and so purify the altar(AF) and make atonement for it. 21 You are to take the bull for the sin offering and burn it in the designated part of the temple area outside the sanctuary.(AG)

22 “On the second day you are to offer a male goat without defect for a sin offering, and the altar is to be purified as it was purified with the bull. 23 When you have finished purifying it, you are to offer a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect.(AH) 24 You are to offer them before the Lord, and the priests are to sprinkle salt(AI) on them and sacrifice them as a burnt offering to the Lord.

25 “For seven days(AJ) you are to provide a male goat daily for a sin offering; you are also to provide a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect.(AK) 26 For seven days they are to make atonement for the altar and cleanse it; thus they will dedicate it. 27 At the end of these days, from the eighth day(AL) on, the priests are to present your burnt offerings(AM) and fellowship offerings(AN) on the altar. Then I will accept you, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 43:3 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts I
  2. Ezekiel 43:7 Or the memorial monuments; also in verse 9
  3. Ezekiel 43:7 Or their high places
  4. Ezekiel 43:11 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts regulations and its whole design
  5. Ezekiel 43:13 That is, about 21 inches or about 53 centimeters; also in verses 14 and 17. The long cubit is the basic unit for linear measurement throughout Ezekiel 40–48.
  6. Ezekiel 43:13 That is, about 11 inches or about 27 centimeters
  7. Ezekiel 43:14 That is, about 3 1/2 feet high and 1 3/4 feet wide or about 105 centimeters high and 53 centimeters wide
  8. Ezekiel 43:14 That is, about 7 feet high and 1 3/4 feet wide or about 2.1 meters high and 53 centimeters wide
  9. Ezekiel 43:16 That is, about 21 feet or about 6.4 meters
  10. Ezekiel 43:17 That is, about 25 feet or about 7.4 meters
  11. Ezekiel 43:17 That is, about 11 inches or about 27 centimeters
  12. Ezekiel 43:19 Or purification offering; also in verses 21, 22 and 25