Ezekiel 43-46

Names of God Bible

The Glory of the Lord Fills the New Temple

43 Then the man took me to the east gate. ² I saw the glory of the Elohim of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the sound of rushing water, and the earth was shining because of his glory. ³ This vision was like the one I saw when he came^[a] to destroy Jerusalem and like the one I saw by the Chebar River. I immediately bowed down. ⁴ Yahweh’s glory came into the temple through the east gate.

⁵ The Ruach lifted me and brought me into the inner courtyard. I saw Yahweh’s glory fill the temple. ⁶ I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple while the man was standing beside me. ⁷ The voice said to me, “Son of man, this is the place where my throne is and the place where my feet rest. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever. Then the people of Israel and their kings will no longer dishonor my holy name by acting like prostitutes, nor will they dishonor it with the dead bodies of their kings. ⁸ They put their doorway by my doorway and their doorposts by my doorposts. Only a wall separated me from them. They dishonored my holy name because of the disgusting things that they have done. So I destroyed them in my anger. ⁹ Now they must stop acting like prostitutes and take the dead bodies of their kings far away from me. Then I will live among them forever.

¹⁰ “Son of man, describe this temple to the people of Israel. Then they will be ashamed because of their sins. Let them study the plans. ¹¹ Suppose they are ashamed of everything that they have done. Then show them the design of the temple, its arrangements, its exits and entrances—its entire design. Tell them about all its rules and regulations. Then write these things down for them so that they can remember its design and follow all its rules.

¹² “This is a regulation of the temple: The whole area all the way around the top of the mountain is most holy. Yes, this is a regulation of the temple.”

The Altar in the New Temple

¹³ These are the measurements of the altar, using royal measurements. (The royal measuring stick was 21 inches long.) The base of the altar was 21 inches high and 21 inches wide. All around the edge of the altar was a rim measuring 9 inches wide. This was the height of the altar: ¹⁴ From the base on the ground to the lower ledge it was 3½ feet high, and from the lower ledge to the upper ledge it was 7 feet high and 21 inches wide. ¹⁵ The place where the sacrifices were burned was 7 feet high. There were four horns above it. ¹⁶ It was square, 21 feet wide and 21 feet long. ¹⁷ The upper ledge was also square. It was 24½ feet long and 24½ feet wide. It had a rim all the way around that was 10½ inches wide. Its base was 21 inches. The steps to the altar faced east.

¹⁸ Then the man said to me, “Son of man, this is what Adonay Yahweh says: These are the rules for sacrificing burnt offerings and for sprinkling blood on the altar after the altar is built. ¹⁹ Give a young bull to the priests as an offering for sin. These priests are Zadok’s descendants, men from the tribe of Levi, who can come near me and serve me. ²⁰ Take some of the bull’s blood, and put it on the altar’s four horns, on the four corners of the ledge, and on the rim all the way around the altar. When you do this, you will remove sin from the altar and make peace with the Lord. ²¹ Then take a young bull as an offering for sin, and burn it in the place appointed near the temple, outside the holy place.

²² “On the second day bring a male goat that has no defects as an offering for sin. Remove sin from the altar as you did with the young bull. ²³ When you finish removing sin, offer a young bull and a ram that have no defects. ²⁴ Offer them to Yahweh. The priests must throw salt on them and offer them as burnt offerings to Yahweh. ²⁵ Every day for seven days you must sacrifice a goat, a young bull, and a ram from the flock as an offering for sin. They must be animals that have no defects. ²⁶ For seven days the priests should make peace with the Lord at the altar, purify it, and consecrate it. ²⁷ When those days are over, on the eighth day, the priests must sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar. Then I will accept them, declares Adonay Yahweh.”

The East Gate Is Sealed Shut

44 Then the man took me back to the outer east gate of the holy place, and the gate was shut. ² Yahweh said to me, “This gate will stay shut and will not be opened. No one may enter through it because Yahweh Elohim of Israel entered through it. It must be kept shut. ³ Only the prince may sit there and eat food in the presence of Yahweh. He will enter through the entrance hall of the gateway and leave the same way.”

⁴ The man brought me through the north gate in front of the temple. When I looked, I saw Yahweh’s glory fill Yahweh’s temple. I immediately bowed down.

The People Serving in the New Temple

⁵ Yahweh said to me, “Son of man, pay close attention. Look, and listen to everything I’m going to tell you. Listen to all the rules and regulations for Yahweh’s temple. Pay close attention to everyone who enters the temple and leaves from the holy place. ⁶ Tell the rebellious people of Israel, ‘This is what Adonay Yahweh says: I’ve had enough of all the disgusting things that you have done, people of Israel. ⁷ You brought godless foreigners^[b] into my holy place. You dishonored my temple when you offered fat and blood to me. You rejected my promise so that you could do all your disgusting things. ⁸ You didn’t take care of my holy things. You put foreigners in charge of my temple. ⁹ So this is what Adonay Yahweh says: Any godless foreigner who lives among the Israelites may not enter my holy place.

¹⁰ “‘Some Levites went far away from me when Israel wandered off to follow their idols. They must be punished for their sins. ¹¹ They could have served in my holy place. They could have guarded the gates of the temple. They could have served in the temple by slaughtering the animals for the burnt offerings and the sacrifices for the people. They could have stood in front of the people and served them. ¹² But they served the people by standing in front of their idols and by making Israel fall into sin. So I raised my hand and swore that they would be punished for their sins, declares Adonay Yahweh. ¹³ They must not come near me and serve me as priests. They must not come near any of my holy things or my most holy things. They must suffer disgrace because of the disgusting things that they have done. ¹⁴ I will assign them all of the less important work in the temple.

¹⁵ “‘But the priests who are Levites and descendants of Zadok took care of my holy place when the Israelites wandered away from me. They may come near me and serve me, and they may stand in my presence. They may bring fat and blood to me, declares Adonay Yahweh. ¹⁶ They may enter my holy place, come near my table to serve me, and take care of everything I gave them. ¹⁷ When they enter the gateways to the inner courtyard, they must wear linen clothes. They must have no wool on them while they serve in the gateways to the inner courtyard and in the temple. ¹⁸ They must wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments. They must not wear anything that makes them sweat. ¹⁹ When they go out among the people in the outer courtyard, they must take off the clothes that they wore as they served. They must leave their clothes in the side rooms of the holy place and put on other clothes so that they do not transfer the holiness from their clothes to the people.

²⁰ “‘They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long. They must keep the hair on their heads trimmed. ²¹ None of the priests may drink wine when they enter the inner courtyard. ²² They must not marry widows or women who have been divorced. They may marry only virgins from the nation of Israel or widows of priests. ²³ They must teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is unholy. They must show the people how to tell the difference between what is clean and what is unclean.^{[c] 24} In all disputes the priests must act as judges and make decisions based on my laws. They must obey my rules and my regulations at all my festivals. They must observe holy days to worship me.

²⁵ “‘A priest must not make himself unclean by going near a dead body. But a priest may become unclean if the dead person is his father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or unmarried sister. ²⁶ After a priest is made clean, he must wait seven days. ²⁷ When he enters the inner courtyard of the holy place to serve in the holy place, he must bring his offering for sin, declares Adonay Yahweh.

²⁸ “‘The priests will have no inheritance. I am their inheritance. Don’t give them any possessions in Israel. The priests belong to me. ²⁹ They will eat grain offerings, offerings for sin, and guilt offerings. Everything in Israel that is devoted to the Lord will belong to them. ³⁰ The priests should have the best of all the first ripened fruits. The best of every gift from all your contributions must go to the priests. The best of your dough must go to the priests. This will cause a blessing to rest on your home. ³¹ The priests must never eat any bird or animal that has died naturally or was killed by other wild animals.

Land for the Priests, Levites, and the Prince

45 “‘Divide the land by drawing lots for the property you will inherit. Set aside an area 43,750 feet long and 35,000 feet wide for Yahweh. The entire area will be holy. ² An area of 875 feet square will be for the holy place with an open area 87½ feet wide. ³ Measure off an area 43,750 feet long and 17,500 feet wide. The holy place, that is, the most holy place, will be in this area. ⁴ This holy part of the land will belong to the priests who serve in the holy place, the priests who come near to serve Yahweh. They will use this place for their homes, and it will be the location for the holy place. ⁵ An area 43,750 feet long and 17,500 feet wide will belong to the Levites who serve in the temple. It will be given to them so that they have cities to live in.

⁶ “‘You must designate an area 8,750 feet wide and 43,750 feet long as the city’s property. It will be located alongside the holy area. It will belong to all the people of Israel.

⁷ “‘The prince will have all the land on both sides of the holy area and on both sides of the property belonging to the city. From the western boundary of the holy area, his land will extend to the Mediterranean Sea. From the eastern boundary of the holy area, his land will extend to the eastern border of the country. His territory will be as large as the territory of one of the tribes. ⁸ This land will belong to the prince in Israel. Then my princes will no longer oppress my people. They will give land to each tribe of the nation of Israel.

Honest Weights and Measures for the Lord’s People

⁹ “‘This is what Adonay Yahweh says: I’ve had enough of you, you princes of Israel. Stop your violence and looting, and do what is fair and right. Stop evicting my people, declares Adonay Yahweh. ¹⁰ You must have honest scales and honest dry and liquid measures. ¹¹ The dry and liquid measures must always be the same: The ephah and the bath should hold the same as one-tenth of a homer. The homer must be the standard measure.^{[d] 12} One shekel must weigh 20 gerahs. One mina must weigh 60 shekels.^[e]

Rules for Worship

¹³ “‘This is the contribution you must give to the Lord: seventeen percent of your wheat and seventeen percent of your barley. ¹⁴ You must give one percent of your olive oil using the standard measure. ¹⁵ You must take one sheep out of every 200 from the well-watered pastures of Israel. You must sacrifice them with grain offerings, burnt offerings, and fellowship offerings to make peace with the Lord, declares Adonay Yahweh. ¹⁶ All the common people must give this contribution to the prince in Israel. ¹⁷ Then the prince is responsible to provide burnt offerings, grain offerings, and wine offerings at the annual festivals, the New Moon Festivals, the weekly days of worship, and all the other appointed festivals of the nation of Israel. He must prepare offerings for sin, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and fellowship offerings to make peace with the Lord for the nation of Israel.

¹⁸ “‘This is what Adonay Yahweh says: On the first day of the first month, take a young bull that has no defects and remove sin from the holy place. ¹⁹ The priest must take some blood from the offering for sin and put it on the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the doorposts of the gateways of the inner courtyard. ²⁰ You must do the same on the seventh day of the month for everyone who unintentionally does something wrong and is unaware of it. So you must make peace with the Lord for the temple.

²¹ “‘On the fourteenth day of the first month, you will celebrate the Passover, a festival lasting seven days when unleavened bread is eaten. ²² At that time the prince must prepare for himself and for all the common people a young bull as an offering for sin. ²³ Every day during the seven days of the festival, he must prepare burnt offerings for Yahweh: seven young bulls that have no defects, seven rams that have no defects, and one male goat as an offering for sin. ²⁴ He must also give as a grain offering a half-bushel for each young bull and a half-bushel for each ram. He must also give one gallon of olive oil for every half-bushel of grain. ²⁵ On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, at the Festival of Booths, he must do the same as on those seven days. He must prepare the same offerings for sin, burnt offerings, grain offerings, and olive oil.

46 “‘This is what Adonay Yahweh says: The east gate of the inner courtyard must be closed during the six working days, but it must be opened on the weekly day of worship. It must also be opened on the New Moon Festival. ² The prince must enter from the outside through the entrance hall of the gateway. He must stand by the doorposts of the gateway. Then the priests must prepare the prince’s burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He must worship at the entrance of the gateway and then leave. The gate must not be closed until evening. ³ The common people must worship at the door of the gateway in the presence of Yahweh on the weekly days of worship and on New Moon Festivals. ⁴ The prince must offer to Yahweh six lambs that have no defects and one ram that has no defects as a burnt offering on the day of worship. ⁵ The grain offering that is to be brought with the ram must be a half-bushel, and the grain offering that is to be brought with the lambs must be whatever the prince can bring. One gallon of olive oil must be brought with each half-bushel of grain. ⁶ On the first day of the month, the burnt offering must be one young bull, six lambs, and one ram—all animals that have no defects. ⁷ With each young bull and each ram the offering must include a half-bushel of grain, and with each lamb the offering must be whatever the prince wants to bring. One gallon of olive oil must be offered with each half-bushel of grain. ⁸ When the prince enters, he must enter through the entrance hall of the gateway. He must enter and leave the same way.

⁹ “‘The people will enter Yahweh’s presence at the time of the appointed festivals. Those entering through the north gate to worship must leave through the south gate. Those entering through the south gate must leave through the north gate. They must not leave through the same gate they entered. They must leave through the opposite gate. ¹⁰ The prince must be among them. When they enter, he must enter. When they leave, he must leave.

¹¹ “‘On festival days and at appointed festivals, a grain offering of a half-bushel must be brought with each young bull, and a half-bushel must be brought with each ram. But with the lambs, the prince may bring whatever he wants to bring. One gallon of olive oil must be brought with each half-bushel of grain. ¹² When the prince prepares a freewill burnt offering, either a burnt offering or a fellowship offering to Yahweh, the east gate must be opened for him. He must sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings as he does on the day of worship. When he leaves, the gate must be shut after him.

¹³ “‘Prepare a year-old lamb that has no defects every day as a burnt offering to Yahweh. Do this every morning. ¹⁴ Also, prepare a grain offering with it every morning: three-and-a-third quarts of grain and one-and-a-third quarts of olive oil to moisten the flour. It will be a grain offering dedicated to Yahweh. These rules are to be followed always. ¹⁵ Prepare the lamb, the grain offering, and the olive oil every morning as a daily burnt offering.

¹⁶ “‘This is what Adonay Yahweh says: Suppose the prince offers one of his sons a gift from his property. The gift will belong to his descendants because it is their inheritance. ¹⁷ But suppose the prince offers a gift from his property to one of his servants. The gift will belong to the servant only until the year of freedom. Then the gift will go back to the prince. Only his sons can inherit his property. ¹⁸ The prince must not take any of the people’s property. He must not force them to give up their property. He must give his own property as an inheritance to his sons so that none of my people will be separated from their property.’”

¹⁹ The man brought me through a passage beside the gateway to the side rooms that faced north. These rooms were reserved for the priests. He showed me a place on the west side of the rooms. ²⁰ He said to me, “This is the place where the priests must boil the meat for the guilt offering and the offering for sin. This is the place where they must bake grain offerings so that they don’t have to bring the offerings into the outer courtyard. This way they won’t transfer holiness to the people.”

²¹ Then the man led me to the outer courtyard and took me past the four corners of the courtyard. I saw that in each corner of the courtyard there was a smaller courtyard. ²² The smaller courtyards that were in each of the four corners of the courtyard were 60 feet long and 45 feet wide. All four of the smaller courtyards in the corners of the courtyard were the same size. ²³ Around each of the four courtyards were stone walls, and these walls were equipped with fireplaces.

²⁴ Then the man said to me, “These are the kitchens where the temple servants must boil the people’s sacrifices.”