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Ezekiel 43-44
Common English Bible

Return of the divine glory

43 Then he led me to the east gate, 2 where the glory of Israel’s God was coming in from the east. Its sound was like the sound of a mighty flood, and the earth was lit up with his glory. 3 What appeared when I looked was like what I had seen when he[a] came to destroy the city, and also like what I saw at the Chebar River, and I fell on my face. 4 Then the Lord’s glory came into the temple by way of the east gate. 5 A wind picked me up and brought me to the inner courtyard, and there the Lord’s glory filled the temple. 6 A man was standing next to me, but the voice that I heard came from inside the temple. 7 He said to me, Human one, this is the place for my throne and the place for the soles of my feet, where I will dwell among the Israelites forever. The house of Israel will never again defile my holy name, neither they nor their kings, with their disloyalties[b] and with their kings’ corpses at the shrines. 8 When they set their plazas[c] with mine and their doorposts next to mine, the wall was between us. They defiled my holy name with their detestable practices, so I consumed them in my anger. 9 Now let them remove their disloyalties and their kings’ corpses from me, and I will dwell among them forever.

10 You, human one, describe the temple to the house of Israel. Let them be humiliated because of their guilt when they think about its design. 11 When they feel humiliated by all that they have done, make known to them the shape of the temple and its adornment, its exits and its entrances, its entire plan and all of its regulations.[d] Write them down in their sight so that they may observe all of its entire plan and all its regulations and perform them.

12 These are the instructions for the temple: the top of the mountain, as well as its boundaries all around, are most holy. These are the instructions for the temple.

The altar

13 These are the dimensions of the altar, according to a twenty-one-inch unit of measure.[e] The base is twenty-one inches high and twenty-one inches wide, with an outer curb measuring one and a half inches all around. This is the altar’s height. 14 From the base at ground level to the lower ledge is forty-two inches; the lower ledge is twenty-one inches wide. The distance from the lower to the upper ledge is seven feet; the upper ledge is twenty-one inches wide. 15 The hearth is seven feet high, with four horns projecting upward from the hearth. 16 The hearth is twenty-one feet square; each side is equal to the others. 17 The ledge around the hearth is twenty-four and a half feet long by twenty-four and a half feet wide, a square. Its outer rim is ten and a half inches, and its base all around is twenty-one inches. Its ramp faces east.

Purification of the altar

18 He said to me, Human one, the Lord God proclaims: These are the regulations established for the altar on the day when it is prepared for making entirely burned offerings and dashing blood on it. 19 You will provide a young bull as a purification offering to the levitical priests who are descendants of Zadok, the ones who may draw near to minster to me. This is what the Lord God says. 20 You will take some of its blood and set it on the four horns of the altar and on the four sides of the ledge and on the curb all around. So you will purify it and purge it. 21 Then you will take the bull selected as the purification offering, and the priests will burn it in a designated place of the temple outside of the sanctuary. 22 On the second day, you will present a flawless male goat as a purification offering. The priests will purify the altar just as they purified the altar with the bull. 23 When you have completed the purification, you will present a flawless bull from the herd and a flawless ram from the flock. 24 You will present them to the Lord. The priests will throw salt on them and offer them as entirely burned offerings to the Lord. 25 Daily, for seven days, you will present a male goat for a purification offering. You will also present a bull from the herd and a ram from the flock, both flawless. 26 For seven days the priests will purge the altar in order to purify it and to dedicate it. 27 When the seven days are completed, the priests will offer your entirely burned offerings and your well-being sacrifices on the altar from the eighth day on, and I will accept you with pleasure. This is what the Lord God says.

The closed gate

44 He brought me back to the outer sanctuary gate that faces east. It was closed. 2 The Lord said to me, This gate remains closed. It shouldn’t be opened. No one should come in through it because the Lord, Israel’s God, has entered through it. It will remain closed. 3 As for the prince, he may sit in it to eat bread in the Lord’s presence. He may come in and go out by way of the gate’s porch.

Foreigners, Levites, Zadokites

4 Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked, and suddenly the Lord’s glory filled the Lord’s temple, and I fell on my face. 5 Then the Lord said to me: Human one, pay close attention! Use your eyes and ears and listen to all that I say to you concerning the regulations of the Lord’s temple and all its instructions. Pay close attention to the access to the temple through all the sanctuary portals.[f] 6 Speak to the rebels, to the house of Israel, The Lord God proclaims: Enough of your detestable practices, house of Israel! 7 You made my temple unclean because you brought into my sanctuary foreigners who were physically and spiritually uncircumcised. When you offered my food of fat and blood to me, you[g] broke my covenant with all your detestable practices. 8 You didn’t keep charge of my holy things. On the contrary, you appointed them[h] to keep charge in my sanctuary for you.

9 The Lord God proclaims: Foreigners who are spiritually and physically uncircumcised must not enter my sanctuary; that is, all foreigners among the Israelites. 10 But the Levites, who went far from me when Israel went astray, who went astray from me after their idols, will bear their guilt. 11 They will keep charge in my sanctuary, and they will oversee the temple gates and keep charge of the temple. They will slaughter the entirely burned offerings and the sacrifices for the people, and they will stand before them to minister to them. 12 Because they ministered to them before their idols, they brought about the downfall of the house of Israel. For that reason I made a solemn pledge against them—this is what the Lord God says—and they will bear their guilt. 13 They won’t approach me to officiate for me as priests or approach any of my holy things or the most holy place. Though they will bear their humiliation and the consequences of their detestable practices, 14 I will appoint them to keep charge of the temple, all its work, and all that is done in it.

15 As for the priests of the levitical family of Zadok who did keep charge of my sanctuary when the Israelites strayed away from me, they will draw near to me to serve me. They will stand in my presence to present fat and blood to me. This is what the Lord God says. 16 They will come into my sanctuary, and they will approach my table to minister to me. They will keep my charge. 17 When they come through the gates to the inner courtyard, they will wear linen garments. They won’t wear any wool when they minister at the gates of the inner courtyard or in the temple. 18 They will have linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists. They won’t wear anything that makes them sweat. 19 When they go out to the outer courtyard to the people, they will remove the garments in which they were ministering. They will lay them aside in the holy chambers and wear other clothing. They must not transfer holiness to the people through their clothing. 20 They must neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow long, but they will trim the hair on their heads. 21 None of the priests should drink wine when they come into the inner courtyard. 22 They must not marry widows or divorced women, but only Israelite virgins. Priests may, however, marry the widows of other priests. 23 They must teach my people the difference between the holy and the ordinary, and show them the difference between clean and unclean. 24 They must execute judgments according to my case laws in cases of civil conflict. They must observe my instructions and my regulations regarding all my festivals. They must keep my sabbaths holy. 25 In order to avoid uncleanness, they must not approach the dead. They may, however, become unclean for their father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried sister. 26 Once the priest is clean again, he must count off seven days. 27 On the day that he comes into the holy place, the inner courtyard, to minister in the holy place, he will present his purification offering. This is what the Lord God says. 28 As for their inheritance, I am their inheritance. They won’t be given family property in Israel; I am their family property. 29 They will eat the grain offerings, the purification offerings, and the compensation offerings. Every dedicated thing in Israel belongs to them. 30 The best of the early produce of every kind, and every contribution, all of them, belong to the priests. You will give the best of your bread dough to the priest so that a blessing may come to rest on your household. 31 The priests must not eat any bird or animal that dies naturally or is torn apart by prey.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 43:3 Vulg; MT I
  2. Ezekiel 43:7 Or prostitution
  3. Ezekiel 43:8 Or thresholds
  4. Ezekiel 43:11 LXX; MT adds and all of its structures and all of its instructions.
  5. Ezekiel 43:13 Heb ammah ammah, traditionally a long cubit
  6. Ezekiel 44:5 Or exits
  7. Ezekiel 44:7 LXX, Syr, Vulg; MT they
  8. Ezekiel 44:8 Heb lacks them.
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Ezekiel 43-44
New International Version

God’s Glory Returns to the Temple

43 Then the man brought me to the gate facing east,(A) 2 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) 3 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. 4 The glory(D) of the Lord entered the temple through the gate facing east.(E) 5 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)

6 While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple. 7 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) 8 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. 9 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.”

The Priesthood Restored

44 Then the man brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, the one facing east,(AO) and it was shut. 2 The Lord said to me, “This gate is to remain shut. It must not be opened; no one may enter through it.(AP) It is to remain shut because the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through it. 3 The prince himself is the only one who may sit inside the gateway to eat in the presence(AQ) of the Lord. He is to enter by way of the portico of the gateway and go out the same way.(AR)”

4 Then the man brought me by way of the north gate(AS) to the front of the temple. I looked and saw the glory of the Lord filling the temple(AT) of the Lord, and I fell facedown.(AU)

5 The Lord said to me, “Son of man, look carefully, listen closely and give attention to everything I tell you concerning all the regulations and instructions regarding the temple of the Lord. Give attention to the entrance(AV) to the temple and all the exits of the sanctuary.(AW) 6 Say to rebellious Israel,(AX) ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Enough of your detestable practices, people of Israel! 7 In addition to all your other detestable practices, you brought foreigners uncircumcised in heart(AY) and flesh into my sanctuary, desecrating my temple while you offered me food, fat and blood, and you broke my covenant.(AZ) 8 Instead of carrying out your duty in regard to my holy things, you put others in charge of my sanctuary.(BA) 9 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and flesh is to enter my sanctuary, not even the foreigners who live among the Israelites.(BB)

10 “‘The Levites who went far from me when Israel went astray(BC) and who wandered from me after their idols must bear the consequences of their sin.(BD) 11 They may serve in my sanctuary, having charge of the gates of the temple and serving in it; they may slaughter the burnt offerings(BE) and sacrifices for the people and stand before the people and serve them.(BF) 12 But because they served them in the presence of their idols and made the people of Israel fall(BG) into sin, therefore I have sworn with uplifted hand(BH) that they must bear the consequences of their sin, declares the Sovereign Lord.(BI) 13 They are not to come near to serve me as priests or come near any of my holy things or my most holy offerings; they must bear the shame(BJ) of their detestable practices.(BK) 14 And I will appoint them to guard the temple for all the work that is to be done in it.(BL)

15 “‘But the Levitical priests, who are descendants of Zadok(BM) and who guarded my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, are to come near to minister before me; they are to stand before me to offer sacrifices of fat(BN) and blood, declares the Sovereign Lord.(BO) 16 They alone are to enter my sanctuary; they alone are to come near my table(BP) to minister before me and serve me as guards.(BQ)

17 “‘When they enter the gates of the inner court, they are to wear linen clothes;(BR) they must not wear any woolen garment while ministering at the gates of the inner court or inside the temple. 18 They are to wear linen turbans(BS) on their heads and linen undergarments(BT) around their waists. They must not wear anything that makes them perspire.(BU) 19 When they go out into the outer court where the people are, they are to take off the clothes they have been ministering in and are to leave them in the sacred rooms, and put on other clothes, so that the people are not consecrated(BV) through contact with their garments.(BW)

20 “‘They must not shave(BX) their heads or let their hair grow long, but they are to keep the hair of their heads trimmed.(BY) 21 No priest is to drink wine when he enters the inner court.(BZ) 22 They must not marry widows or divorced women; they may marry only virgins of Israelite descent or widows of priests.(CA) 23 They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common(CB) and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.(CC)

24 “‘In any dispute, the priests are to serve as judges(CD) and decide it according to my ordinances. They are to keep my laws and my decrees for all my appointed festivals,(CE) and they are to keep my Sabbaths holy.(CF)

25 “‘A priest must not defile himself by going near a dead person; however, if the dead person was his father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried sister, then he may defile himself.(CG) 26 After he is cleansed, he must wait seven days.(CH) 27 On the day he goes into the inner court of the sanctuary(CI) to minister in the sanctuary, he is to offer a sin offering[m](CJ) for himself, declares the Sovereign Lord.

28 “‘I am to be the only inheritance(CK) the priests have. You are to give them no possession in Israel; I will be their possession. 29 They will eat(CL) the grain offerings, the sin offerings and the guilt offerings; and everything in Israel devoted[n] to the Lord(CM) will belong to them.(CN) 30 The best of all the firstfruits(CO) and of all your special gifts will belong to the priests. You are to give them the first portion of your ground meal(CP) so that a blessing(CQ) may rest on your household.(CR) 31 The priests must not eat anything, whether bird or animal, found dead(CS) or torn by wild animals.(CT)

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
  13. Ezekiel 44:27 Or purification offering; also in verse 29
  14. Ezekiel 44:29 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord.
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