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.

Put On the New Self

3 Therefore, if you have been ^(A)raised with Christ, keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, ^(B)seated at the right hand of God. ^2 [a](C)Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth. ³ For you have ^(D)died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, ^(E)who is our life, is revealed, ^(F)then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

^5 (G)Therefore, ^[b]treat ^(H)the parts of your earthly body as dead to ^(I)sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which ^[c]amounts to idolatry. ⁶ For it is because of these things that ^(J)the wrath of God is coming ^[d]upon the ^[e]sons of disobedience, ⁷ and ^(K)in them you also once walked, when you were living ^[f]in them. ⁸ But now you also, ^(L)rid yourselves of all of them: ^(M)anger, wrath, malice, slander, and ^(N)obscene speech from your mouth. ^9 [g](O)Do not lie to one another, since you ^(P)stripped off the old ^[h]self with its evil practices, ¹⁰ and have ^(Q)put on the new self, which is being ^[i](R)renewed to a true knowledge ^(S)according to the image of the One who ^(T)created it— ¹¹ a renewal in which ^(U)there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, ^(V)circumcised and uncircumcised, ^[j](W)barbarian, ^[k]Scythian, ^(X)slave, and free, but ^(Y)Christ is all, and in all.

¹² So, as those who have been ^(Z)chosen of God, holy and beloved, ^(AA)put on a ^(AB)heart of compassion, kindness, ^(AC)humility, gentleness, and ^[l](AD)patience; ^13 (AE)bearing with one another, and ^(AF)forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; ^(AG)just as the Lord forgave you, so must you do also. ¹⁴ In addition to all these things put on love, which is ^[m](AH)the perfect bond of ^(AI)unity. ¹⁵ Let ^(AJ)the peace of Christ, to which you were ^[n]indeed called in ^(AK)one body, ^[o]rule in your hearts; and ^[p]be thankful. ¹⁶ Let ^(AL)the word of ^[q]Christ richly dwell within you, ^[r]with all wisdom ^(AM)teaching and admonishing ^[s]one another ^(AN)with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, ^(AO)singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ^17 (AP)Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, ^(AQ)giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Family Relations

^18 (AR)Wives, ^(AS)be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. ^19 (AT)Husbands, love your wives and do not become bitter against them. ^20 (AU)Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing ^[t]to the Lord. ^21 (AV)Fathers, do not ^[u]antagonize your children, so that they will not become discouraged.

^22 [v](AW)Slaves, obey those who are your ^[w]human masters in everything, ^(AX)not with ^[x]eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. ²³ Whatever you do, do your work ^[y]heartily, ^(AY)as for the Lord and not for people, ^24 (AZ)knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the reward ^[z]of ^(BA)the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you ^(BB)serve. ²⁵ For ^(BC)the one who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and ^[aa](BD)that without partiality.

4 Masters, grant your slaves justice and fairness, ^(BE)knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

^2 (BF)Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; ³ praying at the same time ^(BG)for us as well, that God will open up to us a ^(BH)door for ^(BI)the word, so that we may proclaim ^(BJ)the mystery of Christ, for which I have also ^(BK)been imprisoned; ⁴ that I may make it clear ^(BL)in the way that I ought to proclaim it.

^5 [ab](BM)Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward ^(BN)outsiders, ^[ac](BO)making the most of the opportunity. ^6 (BP)Your speech must always be ^[ad]with grace, as though seasoned with ^(BQ)salt, so that you will know how you should ^(BR)respond to each person.

^7 (BS)As to all my affairs, ^(BT)Tychicus, our ^(BU)beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow bond-servant in the Lord, will bring you information. ^8 (BV)For I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about our circumstances and that he may ^(BW)encourage your hearts; ^9 [ae]and with him is ^(BX)Onesimus, our faithful and ^(BY)beloved brother, ^(BZ)who is one of your own. They will inform you about the whole situation here.

^10 (CA)Aristarchus, my ^(CB)fellow prisoner, sends you his greetings; and also ^(CC)Barnabas’ cousin Mark (about whom you received ^[af]instructions; ^(CD)if he comes to you, welcome him); ¹¹ and also Jesus who is called Justus; these are the only ^(CE)fellow workers for the kingdom of God ^(CF)who are from the circumcision, and they have proved to be an encouragement to me. ^12 (CG)Epaphras, ^(CH)who is one of your own, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings, always ^(CI)striving earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may ^[ag]stand ^[ah](CJ)mature and ^[ai]fully assured in all the will of God. ¹³ For I testify for him that he has ^[aj]a deep concern for you and for those who are in ^(CK)Laodicea and Hierapolis. ^14 (CL)Luke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings, and ^(CM)Demas does also. ¹⁵ Greet the brothers and sisters who are in ^(CN)Laodicea and also ^[ak]Nympha and ^(CO)the church that is in ^[al]her house. ^16 (CP)When ^[am]this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part, ^(CQ)read ^[an]my letter that is coming from ^(CR)Laodicea. ¹⁷ Tell ^(CS)Archippus, “See to the ^(CT)ministry which you have received in the Lord, so that you may ^[ao]fulfill it.”

^18 [ap]I, Paul, ^(CU)write this greeting with my own hand. ^(CV)Remember my ^[aq](CW)imprisonment. ^(CX)Grace be with you.