Ezekiel 43-45

New American Standard Bible

Vision of the Glory of God Filling the Temple

43 Then he led me to the ^(A)gate, the gate facing east; ² and behold, the ^(B)glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the ^(C)east. And His ^(D)voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth ^(E)shone from His glory. ³ And it was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, like the ^(F)vision which I saw when ^[a]He came to ^(G)destroy the city. And the visions were like the vision which I saw by the ^(H)river Chebar; and I ^(I)fell on my face. ⁴ And the glory of the Lord entered the house by way of the gate facing ^(J)east. ⁵ And the ^(K)Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner courtyard; and behold, the ^(L)glory of the Lord filled the house.

⁶ Then I heard Him speaking to me from the house, while a ^(M)man was standing beside me. ⁷ And He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My ^(N)throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will ^(O)dwell among the sons of Israel forever. And the house of Israel will not again defile My holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their prostitution and by the ^[b](P)corpses of their kings ^[c]when they die, ⁸ by putting their threshold by My threshold, and their door post beside My door post, with only the wall between Me and them. And they have ^(Q)defiled My holy name by their abominations which they have committed. So I have consumed them in My anger. ⁹ Now let them ^(R)remove their prostitution and the ^[d]corpses of their kings far from Me, and I will ^(S)dwell among them forever.

¹⁰ “As for you, son of man, ^(T)inform the house of Israel of the ^[e]temple, so that they will be ^(U)ashamed of their wrongdoings; and have them measure the ^[f](V)plan. ¹¹ And if they are ashamed of everything that they have done, make known to them the plan of the house, its layout, its ^(W)exits, its entrances, all its plans, all its ^[g]statutes, and all its laws. And write it ^(X)in their sight, so that they may observe its entire plan and all its statutes and ^(Y)execute them. ¹² This is the ^[h]law of the house: its entire ^[i]area on the top of the ^(Z)mountain all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the ^[j]law of the house.

The Altar of Sacrifice

¹³ “And these are the measurements of the ^(AA)altar by cubits (the ^(AB)cubit being a ^[k]cubit and a hand width): the ^[l]base shall be a cubit and the width a cubit, and its border on its edge all around one span; and this shall be the height of the ^[m]base of the altar. ¹⁴ And from the base on the ground to the lower ^(AC)ledge shall be two cubits, and the width one cubit; and from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge shall be four cubits, and the width ^[n]one cubit. ¹⁵ The ^[o]altar hearth shall be four cubits; and from the ^[p]altar hearth shall extend upward four ^(AD)horns. ¹⁶ Now the ^[q]altar hearth shall be twelve cubits long by twelve wide, ^(AE)square in its four sides. ¹⁷ And the ledge shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen wide in its four sides, the border around it shall be half a cubit, and its base shall be a cubit all around; and its ^(AF)steps shall ^[r](AG)face east.”

The Offerings

¹⁸ And He said to me, “^(AH)Son of man, this is what the Lord ^[s]God says: ‘These are the statutes for the altar on the day it is built, to offer ^(AI)burnt offerings on it and to ^(AJ)sprinkle blood on it. ¹⁹ You shall give to the Levitical priests who are from the descendants of ^(AK)Zadok, who come ^(AL)near to Me to serve Me,’ declares the Lord God, ‘a ^[t](AM)bull as a ^(AN)sin offering. ²⁰ And you shall take some of its blood and put it on its four ^(AO)horns and on the four corners of the ^(AP)ledge, and on the border all around; so you shall ^(AQ)cleanse it and make atonement for it. ²¹ You shall also take the bull as the sin offering, and it shall be ^(AR)burned in the appointed place of the house, outside the sanctuary.

²² ‘And on the second day you shall offer a ^(AS)male goat without blemish as a sin offering, and they shall ^(AT)cleanse the altar from sin as they cleansed it with the bull. ²³ When you have finished cleansing it, you shall offer a ^[u](AU)bull without blemish and a ^(AV)ram without blemish from the flock. ²⁴ You shall offer them before the Lord, and the priests shall throw ^(AW)salt on them, and they shall offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord. ^25 (AX)For seven days you shall prepare a goat as a sin offering daily; also a ^[v]bull and a ram from the flock, both without blemish, shall be prepared. ²⁶ For seven days they shall make atonement for the altar and purify it; so shall they ^[w]consecrate it. ²⁷ When they have completed the days, it shall be that on the ^(AY)eighth day and onward, the priests shall ^[x]offer your burnt offerings on the altar, and your ^(AZ)peace offerings; and I will ^(BA)accept you,’ declares the Lord God.”

Gate for the Prince

44 Then He brought me back by way of the ^(BB)outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east; and it was shut. ² And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the ^(BC)Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. ³ As for the ^(BD)prince, he shall sit in it as prince to ^(BE)eat bread before the Lord; he shall ^(BF)enter by way of the ^(BG)porch of the gate and shall go out ^[y]by the same way.”

⁴ Then He brought me by way of the ^(BH)north gate to the front of the house; and I looked, and behold, the ^(BI)glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord, and I ^(BJ)fell on my face. ⁵ And the Lord said to me, “Son of man, ^[z](BK)pay attention, see with your eyes and hear with your ears everything that I say to you concerning all the ^(BL)statutes of the house of the Lord and all its laws; and ^[aa]pay attention to the entrance of the house, with all the exits of the sanctuary. ⁶ You shall say to the ^[ab](BM)rebellious ones, to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord ^[ac]God says: “^(BN)Enough of all your abominations, house of Israel, ⁷ when you brought in ^(BO)foreigners, ^(BP)uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to profane it, My house, when you ^(BQ)offered My food, the fat, and the blood and they ^(BR)broke My covenant—this in addition to all your abominations. ⁸ And you have not ^[ad](BS)taken responsibility for My holy things yourselves, but you have appointed foreigners ^[ae]to take responsibility for My sanctuary.”

⁹ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “^(BT)No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the sons of Israel, shall enter My sanctuary. ¹⁰ But the Levites who went far from Me when Israel went astray, who ^(BU)went astray from Me ^[af]following their idols, shall ^(BV)suffer the punishment for their wrongdoing. ¹¹ Yet they shall be ^(BW)ministers in My sanctuary, having ^(BX)oversight at the gates of the house and ^(BY)ministering in the house; they shall ^(BZ)slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall ^(CA)stand before them to minister to them. ¹² Since they ministered to them ^(CB)before their idols and became a ^(CC)stumbling block of wrongdoing to the house of Israel, for that reason I have ^[ag](CD)sworn against them,” declares the Lord God, “that they shall ^(CE)suffer the punishment for their wrongdoing. ¹³ And they shall ^(CF)not approach Me to serve as priests for Me, nor approach any of My holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they will ^(CG)bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. ¹⁴ Nevertheless I will ^[ah]appoint them ^[ai]to ^(CH)take responsibility for the house, of all its service and of everything that shall be done in it.

Ordinances for the Levites

¹⁵ “But the ^(CI)Levitical priests, the sons of ^(CJ)Zadok, who ^[aj](CK)took responsibility for My sanctuary when the sons of Israel ^(CL)went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to serve Me; and they shall ^(CM)stand before Me to offer Me the ^(CN)fat and the blood,” declares the Lord God. ¹⁶ “They shall ^(CO)enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My ^(CP)table to serve Me and ^[ak]assume the responsibility I give them. ¹⁷ And it shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner courtyard, they shall be clothed with ^(CQ)linen garments; and wool shall not ^[al]be worn by them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner courtyard or in the house. ¹⁸ Linen ^(CR)turbans shall be on their heads and ^(CS)linen undergarments shall be around their waists; they shall not put on anything that makes them sweat. ¹⁹ And when they go out into the outer courtyard, into the outer courtyard to the people, they shall ^(CT)take off their garments in which they have been ministering and lay them in the holy chambers; then they shall put on other garments, so that they will ^(CU)not transfer holiness to the people with their garments. ²⁰ Also they shall ^(CV)not shave their heads, yet they shall not ^(CW)let their locks ^[am]grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads. ^21 (CX)Nor shall any of the priests drink wine when they enter the inner courtyard. ²² And they shall not ^[an]marry a widow or a ^(CY)divorced woman, but shall ^(CZ)take virgins from the descendants of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. ²³ Moreover, they shall teach My people the ^(DA)difference between the holy and the ^[ao]common, and teach them to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. ²⁴ In a dispute ^(DB)they shall take their stand to judge; they shall judge it according to My ordinances. They shall also keep My laws and My statutes in all My ^(DC)appointed feasts, and ^(DD)sanctify My Sabbaths. ^25 [ap](DE)They shall not go to a dead person to defile themselves; however, for father, for mother, for son, for daughter, for brother, or for a sister who has not had a husband, they may defile themselves. ²⁶ And after he is ^(DF)cleansed, seven days ^[aq]shall elapse for him. ²⁷ On the day that he goes into the sanctuary, to the ^(DG)inner courtyard to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his ^(DH)sin offering,” declares the Lord God.

²⁸ “And it shall be regarding an inheritance for them, that ^(DI)I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no property in Israel—I am their property. ²⁹ They shall ^(DJ)eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; and everything ^(DK)banned from secular use in Israel shall be theirs. ³⁰ And the first of all the ^(DL)first fruits of every kind and every ^[ar]contribution of every kind, from all your ^[as]contributions, shall be for the priests; you shall also give to the priest the ^(DM)first of your ^[at]dough, to make a ^(DN)blessing rest on your house. ³¹ The priests shall not eat any bird or animal that has ^(DO)died a natural death or has been torn to pieces by animals.

The Lord’s Portion of the Land

45 “Now when you ^(DP)divide the land by lot for inheritance, you shall offer ^[au]an ^(DQ)allotment to the Lord, a ^(DR)holy portion of the land; the length shall be a length of twenty-five thousand ^[av](DS)cubits, and the width shall be ^[aw]twenty thousand. It shall be holy within its entire surrounding boundary. ² Out of this there shall be for the sanctuary a square encompassing ^(DT)five hundred by five hundred cubits, and fifty cubits for its ^[ax](DU)open space round about. ³ From this ^[ay]area you shall measure a length of twenty-five thousand cubits and a width of ten thousand cubits; and in it shall be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. ⁴ It shall be the holy portion of the land; it shall be for the ^(DV)priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who ^(DW)come near to serve the Lord, and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. ⁵ An area ^(DX)twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width shall be for the Levites, the ministers of the house, and for their possession ^[az]cities in which to live.

⁶ “And you shall give the ^(DY)city possession of an area five thousand cubits wide and twenty-five thousand cubits long, alongside the ^[ba]allotment of the holy portion; it shall be for the entire house of Israel.

Portion for the Prince

⁷ “And the ^(DZ)prince shall have land on either side of the holy ^[bb]allotment and the ^[bc]property of the city, adjacent to the holy ^[bd]allotment and the ^[be]property of the city, on the west side toward the west and on the east side toward the east, and in length comparable to one of the portions, from the west border to the east border. ⁸ This shall be his land as a possession in Israel; so My princes shall no longer ^(EA)oppress My people, but they shall give the rest of the land to the house of Israel ^(EB)according to their tribes.”

⁹ ‘This is what the Lord ^[bf]God says: “^(EC)Enough, you princes of Israel; get rid of ^(ED)violence and destruction, and ^(EE)practice justice and righteousness. Revoke your ^(EF)evictions of My people,” declares the Lord God.

¹⁰ “You shall have ^(EG)accurate balances, an accurate ^[bg](EH)ephah, and an accurate ^[bh](EI)bath. ¹¹ The ephah and the bath shall be ^[bi]the same quantity, so that the bath will contain a tenth of a ^(EJ)homer, and the ephah a tenth of a ^[bj]homer; ^[bk]their standard shall be according to the homer. ¹² And the ^(EK)shekel shall be twenty ^(EL)gerahs; twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, and fifteen shekels shall be your mina.

¹³ “This is the offering that you shall offer: a sixth of an ephah from each homer of wheat; a sixth of an ephah from each homer of barley; ¹⁴ and the prescribed portion of oil (namely, the bath of oil), a tenth of a bath from each kor (which is ten baths or a homer, for ten baths are a homer); ¹⁵ and one sheep from each flock of two hundred from the watering places of Israel—for a ^(EM)grain offering, for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings, to ^(EN)make atonement for them,” declares the Lord God. ¹⁶ “^(EO)All the people of the land shall ^[bl]give to this offering for the ^(EP)prince in Israel. ¹⁷ And it shall be the ^(EQ)prince’s part to provide the ^(ER)burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the drink offerings, at the ^(ES)feasts, on the ^(ET)new moons, and on the Sabbaths, at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel; he shall provide the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering, and the ^(EU)peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel.”

¹⁸ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “In the ^(EV)first month, on the first of the month, you shall take a ^[bm]bull ^(EW)without blemish and ^(EX)cleanse the sanctuary from sin. ¹⁹ And the priest shall take some of the blood from the sin offering and put it on the door posts of the house, on the ^(EY)four corners of the ^(EZ)ledge of the altar, and on the posts of the gate of the inner courtyard. ²⁰ And you shall do this on the seventh day of the month for everyone who does ^(FA)wrong inadvertently or is naive; so you shall make ^(FB)atonement for the house.

²¹ “In the ^(FC)first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the ^(FD)Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. ²² On that day the prince shall provide for himself and all the people of the land a ^(FE)bull as a sin offering. ²³ And during the ^(FF)seven days of the feast he shall provide as a ^(FG)burnt offering to the Lord ^(FH)seven bulls and seven rams without blemish on every day of the seven days, and a male goat daily as a sin offering. ²⁴ And he shall provide as a ^(FI)grain offering an ^[bn]ephah ^[bo]with a bull, an ^[bp]ephah ^[bq]with a ram, and a ^[br]hin of oil ^[bs]with an ephah. ²⁵ In the ^(FJ)seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, at the feast, he shall provide like these, seven days ^[bt]for the sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the oil.”