Vision of the Glory of God Filling the Temple

43 Then he led me to the (A)gate, the gate facing east; and behold, the (B)glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the (C)east. And His (D)voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth (E)shone from His glory. And it was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, like the (F)vision which I saw when [a]He came to (G)destroy the city. And the visions were like the vision which I saw by the (H)river Chebar; and I (I)fell on my face. And the glory of the Lord entered the house by way of the gate facing (J)east. And the (K)Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner courtyard; and behold, the (L)glory of the Lord filled the house.

Then I heard Him speaking to me from the house, while a (M)man was standing beside me. And He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My (N)throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will (O)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 [b](P)corpses of their kings [c]when they die, 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 (Q)defiled My holy name by their abominations which they have committed. So I have consumed them in My anger. Now let them (R)remove their prostitution and the [d]corpses of their kings far from Me, and I will (S)dwell among them forever.

10 “As for you, son of man, (T)inform the house of Israel of the [e]temple, so that they will be (U)ashamed of their wrongdoings; and have them measure the [f](V)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 (W)exits, its entrances, all its plans, all its [g]statutes, and all its laws. And write it (X)in their sight, so that they may observe its entire plan and all its statutes and (Y)execute them. 12 This is the [h]law of the house: its entire [i]area on the top of the (Z)mountain all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the [j]law of the house.

The Altar of Sacrifice

13 “And these are the measurements of the (AA)altar by cubits (the (AB)cubit being a [k]cubit and a hand width): the [l]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 [m]base of the altar. 14 And from the base on the ground to the lower (AC)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 [n]one cubit. 15 The [o]altar hearth shall be four cubits; and from the [p]altar hearth shall extend upward four (AD)horns. 16 Now the [q]altar hearth shall be twelve cubits long by twelve wide, (AE)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 (AF)steps shall [r](AG)face east.”

The Offerings

18 And He said to me, “(AH)Son of man, this is what the Lord [s]God says: ‘These are the statutes for the altar on the day it is built, to offer (AI)burnt offerings on it and to (AJ)sprinkle blood on it. 19 You shall give to the Levitical priests who are from the descendants of (AK)Zadok, who come (AL)near to Me to serve Me,’ declares the Lord God, ‘a [t](AM)bull as a (AN)sin offering. 20 And you shall take some of its blood and put it on its four (AO)horns and on the four corners of the (AP)ledge, and on the border all around; so you shall (AQ)cleanse it and make atonement for it. 21 You shall also take the bull as the sin offering, and it shall be (AR)burned in the appointed place of the house, outside the sanctuary.

22 ‘And on the second day you shall offer a (AS)male goat without blemish as a sin offering, and they shall (AT)cleanse the altar from sin as they cleansed it with the bull. 23 When you have finished cleansing it, you shall offer a [u](AU)bull without blemish and a (AV)ram without blemish from the flock. 24 You shall offer them before the Lord, and the priests shall throw (AW)salt on them, and they shall offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord. 25 (AX)For seven days you shall prepare a goat as a sin offering daily; also a [v]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 [w]consecrate it. 27 When they have completed the days, it shall be that on the (AY)eighth day and onward, the priests shall [x]offer your burnt offerings on the altar, and your (AZ)peace offerings; and I will (BA)accept you,’ declares the Lord God.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 43:3 As in some mss and some ancient versions; MT I
  2. Ezekiel 43:7 Or monuments as in Ugaritic
  3. Ezekiel 43:7 Lit in their death; MT on their high places
  4. Ezekiel 43:9 Or monuments as in Ugaritic
  5. Ezekiel 43:10 Lit house
  6. Ezekiel 43:10 Or perfection; or pattern
  7. Ezekiel 43:11 MT repeats and all its plans after statutes
  8. Ezekiel 43:12 Or instruction for
  9. Ezekiel 43:12 Lit border
  10. Ezekiel 43:12 Or instruction for
  11. Ezekiel 43:13 A cubit and hand width equals about 21 in. or 53 cm
  12. Ezekiel 43:13 Lit lap
  13. Ezekiel 43:13 Or back
  14. Ezekiel 43:14 Lit the
  15. Ezekiel 43:15 Or ariel shall
  16. Ezekiel 43:15 Or ariel shall
  17. Ezekiel 43:16 Heb ariel
  18. Ezekiel 43:17 Or be on the east side
  19. Ezekiel 43:18 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
  20. Ezekiel 43:19 Or young bull
  21. Ezekiel 43:23 Or young bull
  22. Ezekiel 43:25 Or young bull
  23. Ezekiel 43:26 Lit fill its hands
  24. Ezekiel 43:27 Lit make

Return of the divine glory

43 Then he led me to the east gate, 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. 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. Then the Lord’s glory came into the temple by way of the east gate. A wind picked me up and brought me to the inner courtyard, and there the Lord’s glory filled the temple. A man was standing next to me, but the voice that I heard came from inside the temple. 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. 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. 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.

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