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Ezekiel 43-46
The Message
Ezekiel 43-46
The Message
The Meaning of the Temple
43 1-3 The man brought me to the east gate. Oh! The bright Glory of the God of Israel rivered out of the east sounding like the roar of floodwaters, and the earth itself glowed with the bright Glory. It looked just like what I had seen when he came to destroy the city, exactly like what I had seen earlier at the Kebar River. And again I fell, face to the ground.
4-5 The bright Glory of God poured into the Temple through the east gate. The Spirit put me on my feet and led me to the inside courtyard and—oh! the bright Glory of God filled the Temple!
6-9 I heard someone speaking to me from inside the Temple while the man stood beside me. He said, “Son of man, this is the place for my throne, the place I’ll plant my feet. This is the place where I’ll live with the Israelites forever. Neither the people of Israel nor their kings will ever again drag my holy name through the mud with their whoring and the no-god idols their kings set up at all the wayside shrines. When they set up their worship shrines right alongside mine with only a thin wall between them, they dragged my holy name through the mud with their obscene and vile worship. Is it any wonder that I destroyed them in anger? So let them get rid of their whoring ways and the stinking no-god idols introduced by their kings and I’ll move in and live with them forever.
10-11 “Son of man, tell the people of Israel all about the Temple so they’ll be dismayed by their wayward lives. Get them to go over the layout. That will bring them up short. Show them the whole plan of the Temple, its ins and outs, the proportions, the regulations, and the laws. Draw a picture so they can see the design and meaning and live by its design and intent.
12 “This is the law of the Temple: As it radiates from the top of the mountain, everything around it becomes holy ground. Yes, this is law, the meaning, of the Temple.
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13-14 “These are the dimensions of the altar, using the long (twenty-one-inch) ruler. The gutter at its base is twenty-one inches deep and twenty-one inches wide, with a four-inch lip around its edge.
14-15 “The height of the altar is three and a half feet from the base to the first ledge and twenty inches wide. From the first ledge to the second ledge it is seven feet high and twenty-one inches wide. The altar hearth is another seven feet high. Four horns stick upward from the hearth twenty-one inches high.
16-17 “The top of the altar, the hearth, is square, twenty-one by twenty-one feet. The upper ledge is also square, twenty-four and a half feet on each side, with a ten-and-a-half-inch lip and a twenty-one-inch-wide gutter all the way around.
“The steps of the altar ascend from the east.”
18 Then the man said to me, “Son of man, God, the Master, says: ‘These are the ordinances for conduct at the altar when it is built, for sacrificing burnt offerings and sprinkling blood on it.
19-21 “‘For a sin offering, give a bull to the priests, the Levitical priests who are from the family of Zadok who come into my presence to serve me. Take some of its blood and smear it on the four horns of the altar that project from the four corners of the top ledge and all around the lip. That’s to purify the altar and make it fit for the sacrifice. Then take the bull for the sin offerings and burn it in the place set aside for this in the courtyard outside the Sanctuary.
22-24 “‘On the second day, offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering. Purify the altar the same as you purified it for the bull. Then, when you have purified it, offer a bull without blemish and a ram without blemish from the flock. Present them before God. Sprinkle salt on them and offer them as a burnt offering to God.
25-26 “‘For seven days, prepare a goat for a sin offering daily, and also a bull and a ram from the flock, animals without blemish. For seven days the priests are to get the altar ready for its work, purifying it. This is how you dedicate it.
27 “‘After these seven days of dedication, from the eighth day on, the priests will present your burnt offerings and your peace offerings. And I’ll accept you with pleasure, with delight! Decree of God, the Master.’”
Sanctuary Rules
44 Then the man brought me back to the outside gate complex of the Sanctuary that faces east. But it was shut.
2-3 God spoke to me: “This gate is shut and it’s to stay shut. No one is to go through it because God, the God of Israel, has gone through it. It stays shut. Only the prince, because he’s the prince, may sit there to eat in the presence of God. He is to enter the gate complex through the porch and leave by the same way.”
4 The man led me through the north gate to the front of the Temple. I looked, and—oh!—the bright Glory of God filling the Temple of God! I fell on my face in worship.
5 God said to me, “Son of man, get a grip on yourself. Use your eyes, use your ears, pay careful attention to everything I tell you about the ordinances of this Temple of God, the way all the laws work, instructions regarding it and all the entrances and exits of the Sanctuary.
6-9 “Tell this bunch of rebels, this family Israel, ‘Message of God, the Master: No more of these vile obscenities, Israel, dragging irreverent and unrepentant outsiders, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, into my Sanctuary, feeding them the sacrificial offerings as if it were the food for a neighborhood picnic. With all your vile obscenities, you’ve broken trust with me, the solemn covenant I made with you. You haven’t taken care of my holy things. You’ve hired out the work to foreigners who care nothing for this place, my Sanctuary. No irreverent and unrepentant aliens, uncircumcised in heart or flesh, not even the ones who live among Israelites, are to enter my Sanctuary.’
10-14 “The Levites who walked off and left me, along with everyone else—all Israel—who took up with all the no-god idols, will pay for everything they did wrong. From now on they’ll do only the menial work in the Sanctuary: guard the gates and help out with the Temple chores—and also kill the sacrificial animals for the people and serve them. Because they acted as priests to the no-god idols and made my people Israel stumble and fall, I’ve taken an oath to punish them. Decree of God, the Master. Yes, they’ll pay for what they’ve done. They’re fired from the priesthood. No longer will they come into my presence and take care of my holy things. No more access to The Holy Place! They’ll have to live with what they’ve done, carry the shame of their vile and obscene lives. From now on, their job is to sweep up and run errands. That’s it.
15-16 “But the Levitical priests who descend from Zadok, who faithfully took care of my Sanctuary when everyone else went off and left me, are going to come into my presence and serve me. They are going to carry out the priestly work of offering the solemn sacrifices of worship. Decree of God, the Master. They’re the only ones permitted to enter my Sanctuary. They’re the only ones to approach my table and serve me, accompanying me in my work.
17-19 “When they enter the gate complex of the inside courtyard, they are to dress in linen. No woolens are to be worn while serving at the gate complex of the inside courtyard or inside the Temple itself. They’re to wear linen turbans on their heads and linen underclothes—nothing that makes them sweat. When they go out into the outside courtyard where the people gather, they must first change out of the clothes they have been serving in, leaving them in the sacred rooms where they change to their everyday clothes, so that they don’t trivialize their holy work by the way they dress.
20 “They are to neither shave their heads nor let their hair become unkempt, but must keep their hair trimmed and neat.
21 “No priest is to drink on the job—no wine while in the inside courtyard.
22 “Priests are not to marry widows or divorcees, but only Israelite virgins or widows of priests.
23 “Their job is to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, to show them how to discern between unclean and clean.
24 “When there’s a difference of opinion, the priests will arbitrate. They’ll decide on the basis of my judgments, laws, and statutes. They are in charge of making sure the appointed feasts are honored and my Sabbaths kept holy in the ways I’ve commanded.
25-27 “A priest must not contaminate himself by going near a corpse. But when the dead person is his father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried sister, he can approach the dead. But after he has been purified, he must wait another seven days. Then, when he returns to the inside courtyard of the Sanctuary to do his priestly work in the Sanctuary, he must first offer a sin offering for himself. Decree of God, the Master.
28-30 “As to priests owning land, I am their inheritance. Don’t give any land in Israel to them. I am their ‘land,’ their inheritance. They’ll take their meals from the grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings. Everything in Israel offered to God in worship is theirs. The best of everything grown, plus all special gifts, comes to the priests. All that is given in worship to God goes to them. Serve them first. Serve from your best and your home will be blessed.
31 “Priests are not to eat any meat from bird or animal unfit for ordinary human consumption, such as carcasses found dead on the road or in the field.”
Sacred Space for God
45 1-4 “When you divide up the inheritance of the land, you must set aside part of the land as sacred space for God: approximately seven miles long by six miles wide, all of it holy ground. Within this rectangle, reserve a seven-hundred-fifty-foot square for the Sanctuary with a seventy-five-foot buffer zone surrounding it. Mark off within the sacred reserve a section seven miles long by three miles wide. The Sanctuary with its Holy of Holies will be placed there. This is where the priests will live, those who lead worship in the Sanctuary and serve God there. Their houses will be there along with The Holy Place.
5 “To the north of the sacred reserve, an area roughly seven miles long and two and a quarter miles wide will be set aside as land for the villages of the Levites who administer the affairs of worship in the Sanctuary.
6 “To the south of the sacred reserve, measure off a section seven miles long and about a mile and a half wide for the city itself, an area held in common by the whole family of Israel.
7-8 “The prince gets the land abutting the seven-mile east and west borders of the central sacred square, extending eastward toward the Jordan and westward toward the Mediterranean. This is the prince’s possession in Israel. My princes will no longer bully my people, running roughshod over them. They’ll respect the land as it has been allotted to the tribes.
9-12 “This is the Message of God, the Master: ‘I’ve put up with you long enough, princes of Israel! Quit bullying and taking advantage of my people. Do what’s just and right for a change. Use honest scales—honest weights and honest measures. Every pound must have sixteen ounces. Every gallon must measure four quarts. The ounce is the basic measure for both. And your coins must be honest—no wooden nickels!
Everyone in the Land Must Contribute
13-15 “‘These are the prescribed offerings you are to supply: one-sixtieth part of your wheat, one-sixtieth part of your barley, one-hundredth part of your oil, one sheep out of every two hundred from the lush pastures of Israel. These will be used for the grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings for making the atonement sacrifices for the people. Decree of God, the Master.
16-17 “‘Everyone in the land must contribute to these special offerings that the prince in Israel will administer. It’s the prince’s job to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings at the Holy Festivals, the New Moons, and the Sabbaths—all the commanded feasts among the people of Israel. Sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings for making atonement for the people of Israel are his responsibility.
18-20 “‘This is the Message from God, the Master: On the first day of the first month, take an unblemished bull calf and purify the Sanctuary. The priest is to take blood from the sin offerings and rub it on the doorposts of the Temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the gate entrance to the inside courtyard. Repeat this ritual on the seventh day of the month for anyone who sins without knowing it. In this way you make atonement for the Temple.
21 “‘On the fourteenth day of the first month, you will observe the Passover, a feast of seven days. During the feast you will eat bread made without yeast.
22-23 “‘On Passover, the prince supplies a bull as a sin offering for himself and all the people of the country. Each day for each of the seven days of the feast, he will supply seven bulls and seven rams unblemished as a burnt offering to God, and also each day a male goat.
24 “‘He will supply about five and a half gallons of grain offering and a gallon of oil for each bull and each ram.
25 “‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, and on each of the seven days of the feast, he is to supply the same materials for sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, and oil.’”
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46 1-3 “‘Message from God, the Master: The gate of the inside courtyard on the east is to be shut on the six working days, but open on the Sabbath. It is also to be open on the New Moon. The prince will enter through the entrance area of the gate complex and stand at the gateposts as the priests present his burnt offerings and peace offerings while he worships there on the porch. He will then leave, but the gate won’t be shut until evening. On Sabbaths and New Moons, the people are to worship before God at the outside entrance to that gate complex.
4-5 “‘The prince supplies for God the burnt offering for the Sabbath—six unblemished lambs and an unblemished ram. The grain offering to go with the ram is about five and a half gallons plus a gallon of oil, and a handful of grain for each lamb.
6-7 “‘At the New Moon he is to supply a bull calf, six lambs, and a ram, all without blemish. He will also supply five and a half gallons of grain offering and a gallon of oil for both ram and bull, and a handful of grain offering for each lamb.
8 “‘When the prince enters, he will go through the entrance vestibule of the gate complex and leave the same way.
9-10 “‘But when the people of the land come to worship God at the commanded feasts, those who enter through the north gate will exit from the south gate, and those who enter through the south gate will exit from the north gate. You don’t exit the gate through which you enter, but through the opposite gate. The prince is to be there, mingling with them, going in and out with them.
11 “‘At the festivals and the commanded feasts, the appropriate grain offering is five and a half gallons, with a gallon of oil for the bull and ram and a handful of grain for each lamb.
12 “‘When the prince brings a freewill offering to God, whether a burnt offering or a peace offering, the east gate is to be opened for him. He offers his burnt or peace offering the same as he does on the Sabbath. Then he leaves, and after he is out, the gate is shut.
13-15 “‘Every morning you are to bring a yearling lamb unblemished for a burnt offering to God. Also, every morning bring a grain offering of about a gallon of grain with a quart or so of oil to moisten it. Presenting this grain offering to God is standard procedure. The lamb, the grain offering, and the oil for the burnt offering are a regular daily ritual.
16-18 “‘A Message from God, the Master: If the prince deeds a gift from his inheritance to one of his sons, it stays in the family. But if he deeds a gift from his inheritance to a servant, the servant keeps it only until the year of liberation (the Jubilee year). After that, it comes back to the prince. His inheritance is only for his sons. It stays in the family. The prince must not take the inheritance from any of the people, dispossessing them of their land. He can give his sons only what he himself owns. None of my people are to be run off their land.’”
19-20 Then the man brought me through the north gate into the holy chambers assigned to the priests and showed me a back room to the west. He said, “This is the kitchen where the priests will cook the guilt offering and sin offering and bake the grain offering so that they won’t have to do it in the outside courtyard and endanger the unprepared people out there with The Holy.”
21-23 He proceeded to take me to the outside courtyard and around to each of its four corners. In each corner I observed another court. In each of the four corners of the outside courtyard were smaller courts sixty by forty-five feet, each the same size. On the inside walls of the courts was a stone shelf, and beneath the shelves, hearths for cooking.
24 He said, “These are the kitchens where those who serve in the Temple will cook the sacrifices of the people.”
Ezekiel 43-46
New International Version
Ezekiel 43-46
New International Version
God’s Glory Returns to the Temple
43 Then the man brought me to the gate facing east,(A) 2 and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters,(B) and the land was radiant with his glory.(C) 3 The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when he[a] came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown. 4 The glory(D) of the Lord entered the temple through the gate facing east.(E) 5 Then the Spirit(F) lifted me up(G) and brought me into the inner court, and the glory(H) of the Lord filled the temple.(I)
6 While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple. 7 He said: “Son of man, this is the place of my throne(J) and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever. The people of Israel will never again defile(K) my holy name—neither they nor their kings—by their prostitution and the funeral offerings[b] for their kings at their death.[c](L) 8 When they placed their threshold next to my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them, they defiled my holy name by their detestable practices. So I destroyed them in my anger. 9 Now let them put away from me their prostitution and the funeral offerings for their kings, and I will live among them forever.(M)
10 “Son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel, that they may be ashamed(N) of their sins. Let them consider its perfection, 11 and if they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the design of the temple—its arrangement, its exits and entrances—its whole design and all its regulations[d] and laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations.(O)
12 “This is the law of the temple: All the surrounding area(P) on top of the mountain will be most holy.(Q) Such is the law of the temple.
The Great Altar Restored
13 “These are the measurements of the altar(R) in long cubits,[e] that cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth: Its gutter is a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim of one span[f] around the edge. And this is the height of the altar: 14 From the gutter on the ground up to the lower ledge that goes around the altar it is two cubits high, and the ledge is a cubit wide.[g] From this lower ledge to the upper ledge that goes around the altar it is four cubits high, and that ledge is also a cubit wide.[h] 15 Above that, the altar hearth(S) is four cubits high, and four horns(T) project upward from the hearth. 16 The altar hearth is square, twelve cubits[i] long and twelve cubits wide.(U) 17 The upper ledge(V) also is square, fourteen cubits[j] long and fourteen cubits wide. All around the altar is a gutter of one cubit with a rim of half a cubit.[k] The steps(W) of the altar face east.(X)”
18 Then he said to me, “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: These will be the regulations for sacrificing burnt offerings(Y) and splashing blood(Z) against the altar when it is built: 19 You are to give a young bull(AA) as a sin offering[l] to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok,(AB) who come near(AC) to minister before me, declares the Sovereign Lord. 20 You are to take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar(AD) and on the four corners of the upper ledge(AE) and all around the rim, and so purify the altar(AF) and make atonement for it. 21 You are to take the bull for the sin offering and burn it in the designated part of the temple area outside the sanctuary.(AG)
22 “On the second day you are to offer a male goat without defect for a sin offering, and the altar is to be purified as it was purified with the bull. 23 When you have finished purifying it, you are to offer a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect.(AH) 24 You are to offer them before the Lord, and the priests are to sprinkle salt(AI) on them and sacrifice them as a burnt offering to the Lord.
25 “For seven days(AJ) you are to provide a male goat daily for a sin offering; you are also to provide a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect.(AK) 26 For seven days they are to make atonement for the altar and cleanse it; thus they will dedicate it. 27 At the end of these days, from the eighth day(AL) on, the priests are to present your burnt offerings(AM) and fellowship offerings(AN) on the altar. Then I will accept you, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
The Priesthood Restored
44 Then the man brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, the one facing east,(AO) and it was shut. 2 The Lord said to me, “This gate is to remain shut. It must not be opened; no one may enter through it.(AP) It is to remain shut because the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through it. 3 The prince himself is the only one who may sit inside the gateway to eat in the presence(AQ) of the Lord. He is to enter by way of the portico of the gateway and go out the same way.(AR)”
4 Then the man brought me by way of the north gate(AS) to the front of the temple. I looked and saw the glory of the Lord filling the temple(AT) of the Lord, and I fell facedown.(AU)
5 The Lord said to me, “Son of man, look carefully, listen closely and give attention to everything I tell you concerning all the regulations and instructions regarding the temple of the Lord. Give attention to the entrance(AV) to the temple and all the exits of the sanctuary.(AW) 6 Say to rebellious Israel,(AX) ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Enough of your detestable practices, people of Israel! 7 In addition to all your other detestable practices, you brought foreigners uncircumcised in heart(AY) and flesh into my sanctuary, desecrating my temple while you offered me food, fat and blood, and you broke my covenant.(AZ) 8 Instead of carrying out your duty in regard to my holy things, you put others in charge of my sanctuary.(BA) 9 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and flesh is to enter my sanctuary, not even the foreigners who live among the Israelites.(BB)
10 “‘The Levites who went far from me when Israel went astray(BC) and who wandered from me after their idols must bear the consequences of their sin.(BD) 11 They may serve in my sanctuary, having charge of the gates of the temple and serving in it; they may slaughter the burnt offerings(BE) and sacrifices for the people and stand before the people and serve them.(BF) 12 But because they served them in the presence of their idols and made the people of Israel fall(BG) into sin, therefore I have sworn with uplifted hand(BH) that they must bear the consequences of their sin, declares the Sovereign Lord.(BI) 13 They are not to come near to serve me as priests or come near any of my holy things or my most holy offerings; they must bear the shame(BJ) of their detestable practices.(BK) 14 And I will appoint them to guard the temple for all the work that is to be done in it.(BL)
15 “‘But the Levitical priests, who are descendants of Zadok(BM) and who guarded my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, are to come near to minister before me; they are to stand before me to offer sacrifices of fat(BN) and blood, declares the Sovereign Lord.(BO) 16 They alone are to enter my sanctuary; they alone are to come near my table(BP) to minister before me and serve me as guards.(BQ)
17 “‘When they enter the gates of the inner court, they are to wear linen clothes;(BR) they must not wear any woolen garment while ministering at the gates of the inner court or inside the temple. 18 They are to wear linen turbans(BS) on their heads and linen undergarments(BT) around their waists. They must not wear anything that makes them perspire.(BU) 19 When they go out into the outer court where the people are, they are to take off the clothes they have been ministering in and are to leave them in the sacred rooms, and put on other clothes, so that the people are not consecrated(BV) through contact with their garments.(BW)
20 “‘They must not shave(BX) their heads or let their hair grow long, but they are to keep the hair of their heads trimmed.(BY) 21 No priest is to drink wine when he enters the inner court.(BZ) 22 They must not marry widows or divorced women; they may marry only virgins of Israelite descent or widows of priests.(CA) 23 They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common(CB) and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.(CC)
24 “‘In any dispute, the priests are to serve as judges(CD) and decide it according to my ordinances. They are to keep my laws and my decrees for all my appointed festivals,(CE) and they are to keep my Sabbaths holy.(CF)
25 “‘A priest must not defile himself by going near a dead person; however, if the dead person was his father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried sister, then he may defile himself.(CG) 26 After he is cleansed, he must wait seven days.(CH) 27 On the day he goes into the inner court of the sanctuary(CI) to minister in the sanctuary, he is to offer a sin offering[m](CJ) for himself, declares the Sovereign Lord.
28 “‘I am to be the only inheritance(CK) the priests have. You are to give them no possession in Israel; I will be their possession. 29 They will eat(CL) the grain offerings, the sin offerings and the guilt offerings; and everything in Israel devoted[n] to the Lord(CM) will belong to them.(CN) 30 The best of all the firstfruits(CO) and of all your special gifts will belong to the priests. You are to give them the first portion of your ground meal(CP) so that a blessing(CQ) may rest on your household.(CR) 31 The priests must not eat anything, whether bird or animal, found dead(CS) or torn by wild animals.(CT)
Israel Fully Restored
45 “‘When you allot the land as an inheritance,(CU) you are to present to the Lord a portion of the land as a sacred district, 25,000 cubits[o] long and 20,000[p] cubits[q] wide; the entire area will be holy.(CV) 2 Of this, a section 500 cubits[r] square(CW) is to be for the sanctuary, with 50 cubits[s] around it for open land. 3 In the sacred district, measure off a section 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits[t] wide. In it will be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. 4 It will be the sacred portion of the land for the priests,(CX) who minister in the sanctuary and who draw near to minister before the Lord. It will be a place for their houses as well as a holy place for the sanctuary.(CY) 5 An area 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide will belong to the Levites, who serve in the temple, as their possession for towns to live in.[u](CZ)
6 “‘You are to give the city as its property an area 5,000 cubits[v] wide and 25,000 cubits long, adjoining the sacred portion; it will belong to all Israel.(DA)
7 “‘The prince will have the land bordering each side of the area formed by the sacred district and the property of the city. It will extend westward from the west side and eastward from the east side, running lengthwise from the western to the eastern border parallel to one of the tribal portions.(DB) 8 This land will be his possession in Israel. And my princes will no longer oppress my people but will allow the people of Israel to possess the land according to their tribes.(DC)
9 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You have gone far enough, princes of Israel! Give up your violence and oppression(DD) and do what is just and right.(DE) Stop dispossessing my people, declares the Sovereign Lord. 10 You are to use accurate scales,(DF) an accurate ephah[w](DG) and an accurate bath.[x] 11 The ephah(DH) and the bath are to be the same size, the bath containing a tenth of a homer and the ephah a tenth of a homer; the homer is to be the standard measure for both. 12 The shekel[y] is to consist of twenty gerahs.(DI) Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels equal one mina.[z]
13 “‘This is the special gift you are to offer: a sixth of an ephah[aa] from each homer of wheat and a sixth of an ephah[ab] from each homer of barley. 14 The prescribed portion of olive oil, measured by the bath, is a tenth of a bath[ac] from each cor (which consists of ten baths or one homer, for ten baths are equivalent to a homer). 15 Also one sheep is to be taken from every flock of two hundred from the well-watered pastures of Israel. These will be used for the grain offerings, burnt offerings(DJ) and fellowship offerings to make atonement(DK) for the people, declares the Sovereign Lord. 16 All the people of the land will be required to give this special offering to the prince in Israel. 17 It will be the duty of the prince to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings and drink offerings at the festivals, the New Moons(DL) and the Sabbaths(DM)—at all the appointed festivals of Israel. He will provide the sin offerings,[ad] grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to make atonement for the Israelites.(DN)
18 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In the first month(DO) on the first day you are to take a young bull without defect(DP) and purify the sanctuary.(DQ) 19 The priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the upper ledge(DR) of the altar(DS) and on the gateposts of the inner court. 20 You are to do the same on the seventh day of the month for anyone who sins unintentionally(DT) or through ignorance; so you are to make atonement for the temple.
21 “‘In the first month on the fourteenth day you are to observe the Passover,(DU) a festival lasting seven days, during which you shall eat bread made without yeast. 22 On that day the prince is to provide a bull as a sin offering for himself and for all the people of the land.(DV) 23 Every day during the seven days of the festival he is to provide seven bulls and seven rams(DW) without defect as a burnt offering to the Lord, and a male goat for a sin offering.(DX) 24 He is to provide as a grain offering(DY) an ephah for each bull and an ephah for each ram, along with a hin[ae] of olive oil for each ephah.(DZ)
25 “‘During the seven days of the festival,(EA) which begins in the seventh month on the fifteenth day, he is to make the same provision for sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings and oil.(EB)
46 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The gate of the inner court(EC) facing east(ED) is to be shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day and on the day of the New Moon(EE) it is to be opened. 2 The prince is to enter from the outside through the portico(EF) of the gateway and stand by the gatepost. The priests are to sacrifice his burnt offering(EG) and his fellowship offerings. He is to bow down in worship at the threshold of the gateway and then go out, but the gate will not be shut until evening.(EH) 3 On the Sabbaths(EI) and New Moons the people of the land are to worship in the presence of the Lord at the entrance of that gateway.(EJ) 4 The burnt offering the prince brings to the Lord on the Sabbath day is to be six male lambs and a ram, all without defect. 5 The grain offering given with the ram is to be an ephah,[af] and the grain offering with the lambs is to be as much as he pleases, along with a hin[ag] of olive oil for each ephah.(EK) 6 On the day of the New Moon(EL) he is to offer a young bull, six lambs and a ram, all without defect.(EM) 7 He is to provide as a grain offering one ephah with the bull, one ephah with the ram, and with the lambs as much as he wants to give, along with a hin of oil for each ephah.(EN) 8 When the prince enters, he is to go in through the portico(EO) of the gateway, and he is to come out the same way.(EP)
9 “‘When the people of the land come before the Lord at the appointed festivals,(EQ) whoever enters by the north gate to worship is to go out the south gate; and whoever enters by the south gate is to go out the north gate. No one is to return through the gate by which they entered, but each is to go out the opposite gate. 10 The prince is to be among them, going in when they go in and going out when they go out.(ER) 11 At the feasts and the appointed festivals, the grain offering is to be an ephah with a bull, an ephah with a ram, and with the lambs as much as he pleases, along with a hin of oil for each ephah.(ES)
12 “‘When the prince provides(ET) a freewill offering(EU) to the Lord—whether a burnt offering or fellowship offerings—the gate facing east is to be opened for him. He shall offer his burnt offering or his fellowship offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he has gone out, the gate will be shut.(EV)
13 “‘Every day you are to provide a year-old lamb without defect for a burnt offering to the Lord; morning by morning(EW) you shall provide it.(EX) 14 You are also to provide with it morning by morning a grain offering, consisting of a sixth of an ephah[ah] with a third of a hin[ai] of oil(EY) to moisten the flour. The presenting of this grain offering to the Lord is a lasting ordinance.(EZ) 15 So the lamb and the grain offering and the oil shall be provided morning by morning for a regular(FA) burnt offering.(FB)
16 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: If the prince makes a gift from his inheritance to one of his sons, it will also belong to his descendants; it is to be their property by inheritance.(FC) 17 If, however, he makes a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, the servant may keep it until the year of freedom;(FD) then it will revert to the prince. His inheritance belongs to his sons only; it is theirs. 18 The prince must not take(FE) any of the inheritance(FF) of the people, driving them off their property. He is to give his sons their inheritance out of his own property, so that not one of my people will be separated from their property.’”
19 Then the man brought me through the entrance(FG) at the side of the gate to the sacred rooms facing north,(FH) which belonged to the priests, and showed me a place at the western end. 20 He said to me, “This is the place where the priests are to cook the guilt offering and the sin offering[aj] and bake the grain offering, to avoid bringing them into the outer court and consecrating(FI) the people.”(FJ)
21 He then brought me to the outer court and led me around to its four corners, and I saw in each corner another court. 22 In the four corners of the outer court were enclosed[ak] courts, forty cubits long and thirty cubits wide;[al] each of the courts in the four corners was the same size. 23 Around the inside of each of the four courts was a ledge of stone, with places for fire built all around under the ledge. 24 He said to me, “These are the kitchens where those who minister at the temple are to cook the sacrifices of the people.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 43:3 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts I
- Ezekiel 43:7 Or the memorial monuments; also in verse 9
- Ezekiel 43:7 Or their high places
- Ezekiel 43:11 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts regulations and its whole design
- Ezekiel 43:13 That is, about 21 inches or about 53 centimeters; also in verses 14 and 17. The long cubit is the basic unit for linear measurement throughout Ezekiel 40–48.
- Ezekiel 43:13 That is, about 11 inches or about 27 centimeters
- Ezekiel 43:14 That is, about 3 1/2 feet high and 1 3/4 feet wide or about 105 centimeters high and 53 centimeters wide
- Ezekiel 43:14 That is, about 7 feet high and 1 3/4 feet wide or about 2.1 meters high and 53 centimeters wide
- Ezekiel 43:16 That is, about 21 feet or about 6.4 meters
- Ezekiel 43:17 That is, about 25 feet or about 7.4 meters
- Ezekiel 43:17 That is, about 11 inches or about 27 centimeters
- Ezekiel 43:19 Or purification offering; also in verses 21, 22 and 25
- Ezekiel 44:27 Or purification offering; also in verse 29
- Ezekiel 44:29 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord.
- Ezekiel 45:1 That is, about 8 miles or about 13 kilometers; also in verses 3, 5 and 6
- Ezekiel 45:1 Septuagint (see also verses 3 and 5 and 48:9); Hebrew 10,000
- Ezekiel 45:1 That is, about 6 1/2 miles or about 11 kilometers
- Ezekiel 45:2 That is, about 875 feet or about 265 meters
- Ezekiel 45:2 That is, about 88 feet or about 27 meters
- Ezekiel 45:3 That is, about 3 1/3 miles or about 5.3 kilometers; also in verse 5
- Ezekiel 45:5 Septuagint; Hebrew temple; they will have as their possession 20 rooms
- Ezekiel 45:6 That is, about 1 2/3 miles or about 2.7 kilometers
- Ezekiel 45:10 An ephah was a dry measure having the capacity of about 3/5 bushel or about 22 liters.
- Ezekiel 45:10 A bath was a liquid measure equaling about 6 gallons or about 22 liters.
- Ezekiel 45:12 A shekel weighed about 2/5 ounce or about 12 grams.
- Ezekiel 45:12 That is, 60 shekels; the common mina was 50 shekels. Sixty shekels were about 1 1/2 pounds or about 690 grams.
- Ezekiel 45:13 That is, probably about 6 pounds or about 2.7 kilograms
- Ezekiel 45:13 That is, probably about 5 pounds or about 2.3 kilograms
- Ezekiel 45:14 That is, about 2 1/2 quarts or about 2.2 liters
- Ezekiel 45:17 Or purification offerings; also in verses 19, 22, 23 and 25
- Ezekiel 45:24 That is, about 1 gallon or about 3.8 liters
- Ezekiel 46:5 That is, probably about 35 pounds or about 16 kilograms; also in verses 7 and 11
- Ezekiel 46:5 That is, about 1 gallon or about 3.8 liters; also in verses 7 and 11
- Ezekiel 46:14 That is, probably about 6 pounds or about 2.7 kilograms
- Ezekiel 46:14 That is, about 1 1/2 quarts or about 1.3 liters
- Ezekiel 46:20 Or purification offering
- Ezekiel 46:22 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Ezekiel 46:22 That is, about 70 feet long and 53 feet wide or about 21 meters long and 16 meters wide
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