Chambers of the Temple

42 Then he ^(A)brought me out into the ^(B)outer courtyard, the way ^(C)toward the north; and he brought me to the ^(D)chamber which was opposite the ^(E)separate area and opposite the ^(F)building toward the north. ² Along the length, which was a ^(G)hundred ^[a]cubits, was the north door; the width was fifty cubits. ³ Opposite the ^(H)twenty cubits which belonged to the inner courtyard, and opposite the ^(I)stone pavement which belonged to the outer courtyard, was ^[b](J)gallery corresponding to ^[c]gallery in three stories. ⁴ In front of the ^(K)chambers was an inner passage ten cubits wide, a way of one hundred cubits; and their openings were on the north. ⁵ Now the upper chambers were ^[d]smaller because the ^[e](L)galleries took more space away from them than from the lower and middle ones in the building. ⁶ For they were in ^(M)three stories and had no pillars like the pillars of the courtyards; for that reason the upper chambers were ^[f]set back from the ground upward, more than the lower and middle ones. ⁷ As for the ^(N)outer wall by the side of the chambers, toward the outer courtyard facing the chambers, its length was fifty cubits. ⁸ For the length of the chambers which were in the outer courtyard was fifty cubits; and behold, the length of those facing the main room was a ^(O)hundred cubits. ⁹ And below these chambers was the ^(P)entrance on the east side, as one enters them from the outer courtyard.

¹⁰ In the ^[g]thickness of the ^(Q)wall of the courtyard toward the east, facing the ^(R)separate area and facing the building, there were ^(S)chambers. ¹¹ And the ^(T)way in front of them was like the appearance of the chambers which were on the north; according to their length, so was their width, and all their exits were according to their building plans and openings. ¹² Corresponding to the openings of the chambers which were toward the south was an opening at the head of the way, the way in front of the ^(U)wall toward the east, as one enters them.

¹³ Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers, which are opposite the ^(V)separate area, they are the ^(W)holy chambers where the priests who are ^(X)near to the Lord shall eat the ^(Y)most holy things. There they shall set the most holy things, the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; for the place is holy. ¹⁴ When the priests enter, they shall not go out into the outer courtyard from the sanctuary ^[h]without ^(Z)laying their ^(AA)garments there in which they minister, for they are holy. They shall put on other garments; then they shall approach that which is for the people.”

¹⁵ Now when he had finished measuring the inner house, he brought me out by way of the ^(AB)gate which faced east, and measured it all around. ¹⁶ He measured on the east side with the measuring ^[i]rod: five hundred rods by the ^(AC)measuring rod. ¹⁷ He measured on the north side: five hundred rods by the measuring rod. ¹⁸ On the south side he measured five hundred rods with the measuring rod. ¹⁹ He turned to the west side and measured five hundred rods with the measuring rod. ²⁰ He measured it ^[j]on the four sides; it had a ^(AD)wall all around, the ^(AE)length five hundred rods and the ^(AF)width five hundred, to ^(AG)divide between the holy and the ^[k]common.

Vision of the Glory of God Filling the Temple

43 Then he led me to the ^(AH)gate, the gate facing east; ² and behold, the ^(AI)glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the ^(AJ)east. And His ^(AK)voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth ^(AL)shone from His glory. ³ And it was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, like the ^(AM)vision which I saw when ^[l]He came to ^(AN)destroy the city. And the visions were like the vision which I saw by the ^(AO)river Chebar; and I ^(AP)fell on my face. ⁴ And the glory of the Lord entered the house by way of the gate facing ^(AQ)east. ⁵ And the ^(AR)Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner courtyard; and behold, the ^(AS)glory of the Lord filled the house.

⁶ Then I heard Him speaking to me from the house, while a ^(AT)man was standing beside me. ⁷ And He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My ^(AU)throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will ^(AV)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 ^[m](AW)corpses of their kings ^[n]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 ^(AX)defiled My holy name by their abominations which they have committed. So I have consumed them in My anger. ⁹ Now let them ^(AY)remove their prostitution and the ^[o]corpses of their kings far from Me, and I will ^(AZ)dwell among them forever.

¹⁰ “As for you, son of man, ^(BA)inform the house of Israel of the ^[p]temple, so that they will be ^(BB)ashamed of their wrongdoings; and have them measure the ^[q](BC)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 ^(BD)exits, its entrances, all its plans, all its ^[r]statutes, and all its laws. And write it ^(BE)in their sight, so that they may observe its entire plan and all its statutes and ^(BF)execute them. ¹² This is the ^[s]law of the house: its entire ^[t]area on the top of the ^(BG)mountain all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the ^[u]law of the house.

The Altar of Sacrifice

¹³ “And these are the measurements of the ^(BH)altar by cubits (the ^(BI)cubit being a ^[v]cubit and a hand width): the ^[w]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 ^[x]base of the altar. ¹⁴ And from the base on the ground to the lower ^(BJ)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 ^[y]one cubit. ¹⁵ The ^[z]altar hearth shall be four cubits; and from the ^[aa]altar hearth shall extend upward four ^(BK)horns. ¹⁶ Now the ^[ab]altar hearth shall be twelve cubits long by twelve wide, ^(BL)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 ^(BM)steps shall ^[ac](BN)face east.”

The Offerings

¹⁸ And He said to me, “^(BO)Son of man, this is what the Lord ^[ad]God says: ‘These are the statutes for the altar on the day it is built, to offer ^(BP)burnt offerings on it and to ^(BQ)sprinkle blood on it. ¹⁹ You shall give to the Levitical priests who are from the descendants of ^(BR)Zadok, who come ^(BS)near to Me to serve Me,’ declares the Lord God, ‘a ^[ae](BT)bull as a ^(BU)sin offering. ²⁰ And you shall take some of its blood and put it on its four ^(BV)horns and on the four corners of the ^(BW)ledge, and on the border all around; so you shall ^(BX)cleanse it and make atonement for it. ²¹ You shall also take the bull as the sin offering, and it shall be ^(BY)burned in the appointed place of the house, outside the sanctuary.

²² ‘And on the second day you shall offer a ^(BZ)male goat without blemish as a sin offering, and they shall ^(CA)cleanse the altar from sin as they cleansed it with the bull. ²³ When you have finished cleansing it, you shall offer a ^[af](CB)bull without blemish and a ^(CC)ram without blemish from the flock. ²⁴ You shall offer them before the Lord, and the priests shall throw ^(CD)salt on them, and they shall offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord. ^25 (CE)For seven days you shall prepare a goat as a sin offering daily; also a ^[ag]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 ^[ah]consecrate it. ²⁷ When they have completed the days, it shall be that on the ^(CF)eighth day and onward, the priests shall ^[ai]offer your burnt offerings on the altar, and your ^(CG)peace offerings; and I will ^(CH)accept you,’ declares the Lord God.”

Gate for the Prince

44 Then He brought me back by way of the ^(CI)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 ^(CJ)Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. ³ As for the ^(CK)prince, he shall sit in it as prince to ^(CL)eat bread before the Lord; he shall ^(CM)enter by way of the ^(CN)porch of the gate and shall go out ^[aj]by the same way.”

⁴ Then He brought me by way of the ^(CO)north gate to the front of the house; and I looked, and behold, the ^(CP)glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord, and I ^(CQ)fell on my face. ⁵ And the Lord said to me, “Son of man, ^[ak](CR)pay attention, see with your eyes and hear with your ears everything that I say to you concerning all the ^(CS)statutes of the house of the Lord and all its laws; and ^[al]pay attention to the entrance of the house, with all the exits of the sanctuary. ⁶ You shall say to the ^[am](CT)rebellious ones, to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord ^[an]God says: “^(CU)Enough of all your abominations, house of Israel, ⁷ when you brought in ^(CV)foreigners, ^(CW)uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to profane it, My house, when you ^(CX)offered My food, the fat, and the blood and they ^(CY)broke My covenant—this in addition to all your abominations. ⁸ And you have not ^[ao](CZ)taken responsibility for My holy things yourselves, but you have appointed foreigners ^[ap]to take responsibility for My sanctuary.”

⁹ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “^(DA)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 ^(DB)went astray from Me ^[aq]following their idols, shall ^(DC)suffer the punishment for their wrongdoing. ¹¹ Yet they shall be ^(DD)ministers in My sanctuary, having ^(DE)oversight at the gates of the house and ^(DF)ministering in the house; they shall ^(DG)slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall ^(DH)stand before them to minister to them. ¹² Since they ministered to them ^(DI)before their idols and became a ^(DJ)stumbling block of wrongdoing to the house of Israel, for that reason I have ^[ar](DK)sworn against them,” declares the Lord God, “that they shall ^(DL)suffer the punishment for their wrongdoing. ¹³ And they shall ^(DM)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 ^(DN)bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. ¹⁴ Nevertheless I will ^[as]appoint them ^[at]to ^(DO)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 ^(DP)Levitical priests, the sons of ^(DQ)Zadok, who ^[au](DR)took responsibility for My sanctuary when the sons of Israel ^(DS)went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to serve Me; and they shall ^(DT)stand before Me to offer Me the ^(DU)fat and the blood,” declares the Lord God. ¹⁶ “They shall ^(DV)enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My ^(DW)table to serve Me and ^[av]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 ^(DX)linen garments; and wool shall not ^[aw]be worn by them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner courtyard or in the house. ¹⁸ Linen ^(DY)turbans shall be on their heads and ^(DZ)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 ^(EA)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 ^(EB)not transfer holiness to the people with their garments. ²⁰ Also they shall ^(EC)not shave their heads, yet they shall not ^(ED)let their locks ^[ax]grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads. ^21 (EE)Nor shall any of the priests drink wine when they enter the inner courtyard. ²² And they shall not ^[ay]marry a widow or a ^(EF)divorced woman, but shall ^(EG)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 ^(EH)difference between the holy and the ^[az]common, and teach them to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. ²⁴ In a dispute ^(EI)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 ^(EJ)appointed feasts, and ^(EK)sanctify My Sabbaths. ^25 [ba](EL)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 ^(EM)cleansed, seven days ^[bb]shall elapse for him. ²⁷ On the day that he goes into the sanctuary, to the ^(EN)inner courtyard to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his ^(EO)sin offering,” declares the Lord God.

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

The Incarnate Word

1 What was ^(A)from the beginning, what we have ^(B)heard, what we have ^(C)seen with our eyes, what we ^(D)have looked at and ^(E)touched with our hands, concerning the ^(F)Word of Life— ² and ^(G)the life was revealed, and we have ^(H)seen and ^(I)testify and proclaim to you ^(J)the eternal life, which was ^(K)with the Father and was ^(L)revealed to us— ³ what we have ^(M)seen and ^(N)heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our ^(O)fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. ^4 (P)These things we write, so that our ^(Q)joy may be made complete.

God Is Light

^5 (R)This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that ^(S)God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. ^6 (T)If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we ^(U)lie and ^(V)do not practice the truth; ⁷ but if we ^(W)walk in the Light as ^(X)He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and ^(Y)the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. ^8 (Z)If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the ^(AA)truth is not in us. ^9 (AB)If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and ^(AC)cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ^10 (AD)If we say that we have not sinned, we ^(AE)make Him a liar and ^(AF)His word is not in us.