The Daily Audio Bible

The Sacred Rooms for the Priests

42 ^1-2 After the man and I left the temple and walked back to the outer courtyard, he showed me a set of rooms on the north side of the west building.^[a] This set of rooms was 50 meters long and 25 meters wide. ³ On one side of them was the 10 meters of open space that ran alongside the temple,^[b] and on the other side was the sidewalk that circled the outer courtyard.^[c] The rooms were arranged in three levels ⁴ with doors that opened toward the north, and in front of them was a walkway five meters wide and 50 meters long.^{[d] 5} The rooms on the top level were narrower than those on the middle level, and the rooms on the middle level were narrower than those on the bottom level. ⁶ The rooms on the bottom level supported those on the two upper levels, and so these rooms did not have columns like other buildings in the courtyard. ^7-8 To the north was a privacy wall 25 meters long,^{[e] 9-10} and at the east end of this wall was the door leading from the courtyard to these rooms.

There was also a set of rooms on the south^[f] side of the west building. ¹¹ These rooms were exactly like those on the north side, and they also had a walkway in front of them. ¹² The door to these rooms was at the east end of the wall that stood in front of them.

¹³ The man then said to me:

These rooms on the north and south sides of the temple are the sacred rooms where the Lord's priests will eat the most holy offerings. These offerings include the grain sacrifices, the sacrifices for sin, and the sacrifices to make things right. ¹⁴ When the priests are ready to leave the temple, they must go through these rooms before they return to the outer courtyard. They must leave their sacred clothes in these rooms and put on regular clothes before going anywhere near other people.

The Size of the Temple Area

¹⁵ After the man had finished measuring the buildings inside the temple area, he took me back through the east gate and measured the wall around this area. ¹⁶ He used his measuring stick to measure the east side of this wall; it was 250 meters long. ^17-19 Then he measured the north side, the south side, and the west side of the wall, and they were each 250 meters long, ²⁰ and so the temple area was a perfect square. The wall around this area separated what was sacred from what was ordinary.

The Lord's Glory Returns to the Temple

43 The man took me back to the east gate of the temple, ^2 (A) where I saw the brightness of the glory of Israel's God coming from the east. The sound I heard was as loud as ocean waves, and everything around was shining with the dazzling brightness of his glory. ³ This vision was like the one I had seen when God came to destroy Jerusalem and like the one I had seen near the Chebar River.

I immediately bowed with my face to the ground, ⁴ and the Lord's glory came through the east gate and into the temple.^{[g] 5} The Lord's Spirit lifted me to my feet and carried me to the inner courtyard, where I saw that the Lord's glory had filled the temple.

⁶ The man was standing beside me, and I heard the Lord^[h] say from inside the temple:

⁷ Ezekiel, son of man, this temple is my throne on earth. I will live here among the people of Israel forever. They and their kings will never again disgrace me by worshiping idols at local shrines or by setting up memorials to their dead kings.^{[i] 8} Israel's kings built their palaces so close to my holy temple that only a wall separated them from me. Then these kings disgraced me with their evil ways, and in my fierce anger I destroyed them. ⁹ But if the people and their kings stop worshiping other gods and tear down those memorials, I will live among them forever.

¹⁰ The people of Israel must suffer shame for sinning against me, so tell them about my holy temple. Let them think about it, ¹¹ then if they are truly sorry, describe for them the design and shape of the temple, the gates, the measurements, and how the buildings are arranged. Explain the regulations about worshiping there, then write down these things, so they can study and obey them.

¹² The temple area on my holy mountain must be kept sacred! This is the most important law about the temple.

The Altar

^13 (B) According to the official standards, the altar in the temple had the following measurements: Around the bottom of the altar was a gutter 50 centimeters wide and 50 centimeters deep, with a 25-centimeter ledge on the outer rim. ^14-17 The altar rested on a base and had three sections, each one of them square. The bottom section was 8 meters on each side and one meter high. The middle section was 7 meters on each side and 2 meters high, and it had a 25-centimeter rim around its outer edge. The top section, which was 6 meters on each side and 2 meters high, was the place where sacrifices were burned, and the four corners of the top section looked like the horns of a bull. The steps leading up to the altar were on the east side.

The Dedication of the Altar

^18 (C) The Lord God said:

Ezekiel, son of man, after the altar is built, it must be dedicated by offering sacrifices on it and by splattering it with blood. Here is what you must do: ¹⁹ The priests of the Levi tribe from the family of Zadok the priest are the only ones who may serve in my temple—this is my law. So give them a young bull to slaughter as a sacrifice for sin. ²⁰ Take some of the animal's blood and smear it on the four corners of the altar, some on the corners of the middle section, and some more on the rim around its edge. That will purify the altar and make it fit for offering sacrifices to me. ²¹ Then take the body of the bull outside the temple area and burn it at the special place.

²² The next day, a goat^[j] that has nothing wrong with it must be offered as a sacrifice for sin. Purify the altar with its blood, just as you did with the blood of the bull. ²³ Then choose a young bull and a young ram that have nothing wrong with them, ²⁴ and bring them to my temple. The priests will sprinkle salt on them^[k] and offer them as sacrifices to please me.^[l]

²⁵ Each day for the next seven days, you must offer a goat and a bull and a ram as sacrifices for sin. These animals must have nothing wrong with them. ²⁶ The priests will purify the altar during those days, so that it will be acceptable to me and ready to use. ²⁷ From then on, the priests will use this altar to offer sacrifices to please me and sacrifices to ask my blessing.^[m] Then I will be pleased with the people of Israel. I, the Lord God, have spoken.

Warning to the Rich

5 You rich people should cry and weep! Terrible things are going to happen to you. ^2 (A) Your treasures have already rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. ^3 (B) Your money has rusted, and the rust will be evidence against you, as it burns your body like fire. Yet you keep on storing up wealth in these last days. ^4 (C) You refused to pay the people who worked in your fields, and now their unpaid wages are shouting out against you. The Lord All-Powerful has surely heard the cries of the workers who harvested your crops.

⁵ While here on earth, you have thought only of filling your own stomachs and having a good time. But now you are like fat cattle on their way to be butchered. ^6 (D) You have condemned and murdered innocent people, who couldn't even fight back.

Be Patient and Kind

⁷ My friends, be patient until the Lord returns. Think of farmers who wait patiently for the autumn and spring rains to make their valuable crops grow. ⁸ Be patient like those farmers and don't give up. The Lord will soon be here! ⁹ Don't grumble about each other or you will be judged, and the judge is right outside the door.

¹⁰ My friends, follow the example of the prophets who spoke for the Lord. They were patient, even when they had to suffer. ^11 (E) In fact, we praise the ones who endured the most. You remember how patient Job was and how the Lord finally helped him. The Lord did this because he is so merciful and kind.

^12 (F) My friends, above all else, don't take an oath. You must not swear by heaven or by earth or by anything else. “Yes” or “No” is all you need to say. If you say anything more, you will be condemned.

¹³ If you are having trouble, you should pray. And if you are feeling good, you should sing praises. ^14 (G) If you are sick, ask the church leaders^[a] to come and pray for you. Ask them to put olive oil^[b] on you in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ If you have faith when you pray for sick people, they will get well. The Lord will heal them, and if they have sinned, he will forgive them.

^16 (H) If you have sinned, you should tell each other what you have done. Then you can pray for one another and be healed. The prayer of an innocent person is powerful, and it can help a lot. ^17 (I) Elijah was just as human as we are, and for three and a half years his prayers kept the rain from falling. ^18 (J) But when he did pray for rain, it fell from the skies and made the crops grow.

¹⁹ My friends, if any followers have wandered away from the truth, you should try to lead them back. ^20 (K) If you turn sinners from the wrong way, you will save them from death, and many of their sins will be forgiven.

In Praise of the Law of the Lord