Return of the Lord’s Glory

43 He led me to the gate,(A) the one that faces east, and I saw the glory of the God of Israel(B) coming from the east.(C) His voice sounded like the roar of mighty waters,(D) and the earth shone with His glory.(E) The vision I saw(F) was like the one I had seen when He[a] came to destroy the city,(G) and like the ones I had seen by the Chebar Canal.(H) I fell facedown.(I) The glory of the Lord entered the temple by way of the gate that faced east.(J) Then the Spirit lifted me up(K) and brought me to the inner court, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.(L)

While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from the temple.(M) He said to me: “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place for the soles of My feet,(N) where I will dwell among the Israelites forever.(O) The house of Israel and their kings will no longer defile My holy name by their religious prostitution and by the corpses[b](P) of their kings at their high places.[c](Q) Whenever they placed their threshold next to My threshold and their doorposts beside My doorposts, with only a wall between Me and them, they were defiling My holy name by the detestable acts they committed.(R) So I destroyed them in My anger. Now let them remove their prostitution and the corpses[d](S) of their kings far from Me, and I will dwell among them forever.(T)

10 “As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel,(U) so that they may be ashamed of their iniquities.(V) Let them measure its pattern,(W) 11 and they will be ashamed of all that they have done. Reveal[e] the design of the temple to them—its layout with its exits and entrances(X)—its complete design along with all its statutes, design specifications, and laws. Write it down in their sight(Y) so that they may observe its complete design and all its statutes and may carry them out.(Z) 12 This is the law of the temple: all its surrounding territory on top of the mountain(AA) will be especially holy. Yes, this is the law of the temple.

The Altar

13 “These are the measurements of the altar(AB) in units of length (each unit being the standard length plus three inches(AC)):[f] the gutter is 21 inches[g] deep and 21 inches wide, with a rim of nine inches[h] around its edge. This is the base[i] of the altar. 14 The distance from the gutter on the ground to the lower ledge is 3½ feet,[j] and the width of the ledge is 21 inches.[k] There are seven feet[l] from the small ledge to the large ledge, whose width is also 21 inches. 15 The altar hearth[m] is seven feet[n] high, and four horns(AD) project upward from the hearth. 16 The hearth is square, 21 feet[o] long by 21 feet wide.(AE) 17 The ledge is 24½ feet[p] long by 24½ feet wide, with four equal sides.(AF) The rim all around it is 10½ inches,[q] and its gutter is 21 inches[r] all around it. The altar’s steps face east.”(AG)

18 Then He said to me: “Son of man,(AH) this is what the Lord God says: These are the statutes for the altar on the day it is constructed, so that burnt offerings(AI) may be sacrificed on it and blood may be sprinkled on it:(AJ) 19 You are to give a bull from the herd(AK) as a sin offering(AL) to the Levitical priests who are from the offspring of Zadok,(AM) who approach Me in order to serve Me.”(AN) This is the declaration of the Lord God. 20 “You must take some of its blood and apply it to the four horns(AO) of the altar, the four corners of the ledge, and all around the rim. In this way you will purify the altar and make atonement for it.(AP) 21 Then you must take away the bull for the sin offering, and it must be burned outside the sanctuary in the place appointed for the temple.(AQ)

22 “On the second day you are to present an unblemished male goat as a sin offering. They will purify the altar just as they did with the bull. 23 When you have finished the purification, you are to present a young, unblemished bull(AR) and an unblemished ram from the flock.(AS) 24 You must present them before the Lord; the priests will throw salt on them and sacrifice them as a burnt offering to the Lord.(AT) 25 You will offer a goat for a sin offering each day for seven days.(AU) A young bull and a ram from the flock, both unblemished, must also be offered. 26 For seven days the priests are to make atonement for the altar and cleanse it. In this way they will consecrate it[s] 27 and complete the days of purification. Then on the eighth day(AV) and afterward, the priests will offer your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar, and I will accept you.”(AW) This is the declaration of the Lord God.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 43:3 Some Hb mss, Theod, Vg; other Hb mss, LXX, Syr read I
  2. Ezekiel 43:7 Or monuments
  3. Ezekiel 43:7 Some Hb mss, Theod, Tg read their death
  4. Ezekiel 43:9 Or monuments
  5. Ezekiel 43:11 LXX, Vg; MT reads pattern. 11 And if they are ashamed . . . done, reveal
  6. Ezekiel 43:13 Lit in cubits (a cubit being a cubit plus a handbreadth)
  7. Ezekiel 43:13 Lit one cubit
  8. Ezekiel 43:13 Lit one span
  9. Ezekiel 43:13 LXX reads height
  10. Ezekiel 43:14 Lit two cubits
  11. Ezekiel 43:14 Lit one cubit
  12. Ezekiel 43:14 Lit four cubits
  13. Ezekiel 43:15 Hb obscure
  14. Ezekiel 43:15 Lit four cubits
  15. Ezekiel 43:16 Lit 12 cubits
  16. Ezekiel 43:17 Lit 14 cubits
  17. Ezekiel 43:17 Lit one-half cubit
  18. Ezekiel 43:17 Lit one cubit
  19. Ezekiel 43:26 Lit will fill its hands

Return of the Lord’s Glory and Description of Sacrifices and Worship

43 And he brought me to the gate which was facing east.[a] And, look! The glory of the God of Israel, it came from the way of the east, and its sound was like the sound of many waters[b] and the land radiated due to his glory! And[c] the appearance of the vision which I saw was as[d] the vision which I saw at his[e] coming to destroy the city, and these visions were also as[f] the vision which I saw by the Kebar River,[g] and I fell on my face.

And then the glory of Yahweh came to the temple by the way of the gate facing east.[h] And the Spirit lifted me and it brought me to the inner courtyard and, look! The glory of Yahweh filled the temple! And I heard someone speaking to me from the house,[i] and a man was standing beside me. And he said to me, “Son of man,[j] this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet where I will dwell[k] in the midst of the Israelites[l] to eternity, and they, the house of Israel, they and their kings, will not again defile my holy name[m] with their fornication and with their offerings for the dead[n] of their kings on their high places. When they placed their threshold[o] with[p] my threshold, their doorframe beside my doorframe and the[q] wall was between me and between them, then they defiled my holy name,[r] with their detestable things that they did, and so I consumed them in my anger. Now let them send their fornication far away and the offerings for the dead[s] of their kings away from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them forever.[t]

10 You, son of man,[u] describe to the house of Israel the temple and let them be ashamed of their iniquities and let them measure the pattern. 11 And if they are ashamed of all that they did, then the plan of the temple and its arrangement and its exits and its entrances and all of its plans[v] and all of its statutes. And all of its plans[w] and all of its laws[x] make known to them and write them before their eyes, so that they may remember all of its plans and all of its statutes, so that they do them! 12 This is the law[y] of the temple: On the top of the mountain, all of its territory, all the way around it,[z] will be most holy.[aa] Look, this is the law of the temple.

13 And these are the measurements of the altar in the cubits[ab] (a cubit is a cubit and a handbreadth):[ac] now its gutter[ad] is a cubit[ae] in depth by a cubit[af] in width[ag] and its rim along its edge all around is one span,[ah] and this is also the height of the altar. 14 And from the gutter[ai] at the ground up to the lower ledge is two cubits,[aj] and its width is one cubit,[ak] and from the small ledge up to the large ledge is four cubits,[al] and its width is one cubit. 15 And the altar hearth was four cubits,[am] and from the altar hearth and upwards[an] were the four horns of the altar. 16 And the altar hearth was twelve[ao] cubits in length and twelve[ap] cubits in width[aq]; it was squared on its four sides.[ar] 17 And the ledge was fourteen[as] cubits in length with fourteen[at] cubits its width[au] to all four of its sides, and a rim was all around it of one-half cubit.[av] And the gutter[aw] for it was a cubit[ax] all around, and its steps were facing east.”

18 And he said to me, “Son of man,[ay] thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘These are the statutes of the altar on the day when it is made,[az] to sacrifice a burnt offering on it and to sprinkle blood on it. 19 And you must give to the Levitical priests who are from the offspring of Zadok, the ones coming near me,” declares[ba] the Lord Yahweh, “to serve me, a bull, a calf[bb] as a sin offering.

20 You must take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar,[bc] and the four corners of the ledge, and on the rim all around; thus you must purify it and make atonement for it. 21 And you must take the bull, the sin offering, and you must burn it in the designated place of the temple outside of the holy place. 22 And on the second day you must offer a he-goat without defect as a sin offering, and they must purify the altar like[bd] they purified with the bull. 23 When you are finished[be] from purifying, you must offer a bull, a calf,[bf] without defect, and a ram from the flock without defect. 24 And you must bring them near before[bg] Yahweh, and the priests must throw salt on them, and they must offer them as a burnt offering to Yahweh. 25 For seven days you must provide a goat of sin offering for the day and a bull, a calf,[bh] and a ram from the flock without defect; you must provide them. 26 Seven days they must purify the altar and they must cleanse it and so they will consecrate it.[bi] 27 And they will finish the days, and then[bj] on the eighth day and beyond that the priests will offer on the altar your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, and then I will be pleased with you,” declares[bk] the Lord Yahweh.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 43:1 Literally “which was facing to the way of the east”
  2. Ezekiel 43:2 Hebrew “water”
  3. Ezekiel 43:3 Or “and as”; as is not needed in translation
  4. Ezekiel 43:3 Or “like”
  5. Ezekiel 43:3 Or “my coming”
  6. Ezekiel 43:3 Or “like”
  7. Ezekiel 43:3 Literally “river of Kebar”
  8. Ezekiel 43:4 Literally “by the way of the gate which its face was to the way of the east”
  9. Ezekiel 43:6 Or “from inside”
  10. Ezekiel 43:7 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  11. Ezekiel 43:7 Literally “which I will dwell there”
  12. Ezekiel 43:7 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  13. Ezekiel 43:7 Literally “the name of my holiness”
  14. Ezekiel 43:7 Or “corpses”
  15. Ezekiel 43:8 Literally “in/at their placing their threshold”
  16. Ezekiel 43:8 Or “beside/next to”
  17. Ezekiel 43:8 Or “their”
  18. Ezekiel 43:8 Literally “the name of my holiness”
  19. Ezekiel 43:9 Or “corpses”
  20. Ezekiel 43:9 Literally “to eternity”
  21. Ezekiel 43:10 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  22. Ezekiel 43:11 Or “its entire pattern”
  23. Ezekiel 43:11 Or “purposes”
  24. Ezekiel 43:11 According to the reading tradition (Qere); cf. BHS
  25. Ezekiel 43:12 Literally “torah” or “instruction”
  26. Ezekiel 43:12 Literally “all around, all around”
  27. Ezekiel 43:12 Literally “will be a holiness of holinesses”
  28. Ezekiel 43:13 Or “in long cubits”
  29. Ezekiel 43:13 That is, about 18 inches (regular cubit) + 3 inches = 21 inches (long cubit)
  30. Ezekiel 43:13 Or “trench” (NJPS)
  31. Ezekiel 43:13 That is, 21 inches
  32. Ezekiel 43:13 That is, 21 inches
  33. Ezekiel 43:13 Literally “the cubit and cubit its width”
  34. Ezekiel 43:13 That is, 9 inches
  35. Ezekiel 43:14 Or “trench”
  36. Ezekiel 43:14 That is, 3 feet 6 inches
  37. Ezekiel 43:14 That is, 21 inches
  38. Ezekiel 43:14 That is, 7 feet
  39. Ezekiel 43:15 That is, 7 feet
  40. Ezekiel 43:15 Literally “and to above”
  41. Ezekiel 43:16 Literally “two ten”
  42. Ezekiel 43:16 Literally “two ten”
  43. Ezekiel 43:16 That is, 21 feet square
  44. Ezekiel 43:16 Literally “squared to the four of its sides”
  45. Ezekiel 43:17 Literally “four ten”
  46. Ezekiel 43:17 Literally “four ten”
  47. Ezekiel 43:17 That is, 24.5 feet on all four sides, a square
  48. Ezekiel 43:17 That is, 10.5 inches
  49. Ezekiel 43:17 Or “trench”
  50. Ezekiel 43:17 That is, 21 inches
  51. Ezekiel 43:18 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  52. Ezekiel 43:18 Literally “to be made it”
  53. Ezekiel 43:19 Literally “declaration of”
  54. Ezekiel 43:19 Literally “son of cattle,” or “son of the herd”
  55. Ezekiel 43:20 Literally “on its four horns”
  56. Ezekiel 43:22 Literally “as that”
  57. Ezekiel 43:23 Literally “at your finishing”
  58. Ezekiel 43:23 Literally “son of cattle,” or “son of the herd”
  59. Ezekiel 43:24 Literally “to the face of”
  60. Ezekiel 43:25 Literally “son of cattle,” or “son of the herd”
  61. Ezekiel 43:26 Literally “they must fill its hand”
  62. Ezekiel 43:27 Literally “and it will happen”
  63. Ezekiel 43:27 Literally “declaration of”