Return of the Lord’s Glory

43 He led me to the gate,^(A) the one that faces east, ² and I saw the glory of the God of Israel^(B) coming from the east.^(C) His voice sounded like the roar of a huge torrent,^(D) and the earth shone with his glory.^{(E) 3} 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) 4} The glory of the Lord entered the temple by way of the gate that faced east.^{(J) 5} Then the Spirit lifted me up^(K) and brought me to the inner court, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.^(L)

⁶ While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from the temple.^{(M) 7} 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) 8} 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. ⁹ Now let them remove their prostitution and the corpses^(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^[d] 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):^[e](AC) The gutter is 21 inches^[f] deep and 21 inches wide, with a rim of nine inches^[g] around its edge. This is the base^[h] of the altar. ¹⁴ The distance from the gutter on the ground to the lower ledge is 3½ feet,^[i] and the width of the ledge is 21 inches. There are 7 feet^[j] from the small ledge to the large ledge, whose width is also 21 inches. ¹⁵ The altar hearth^[k] is 7 feet high, and four horns^(AD) project upward from the hearth. ¹⁶ The hearth is square, 21 feet^[l] long by 21 feet wide.^{(AE) 17} The ledge is 24½ feet^[m] long by 24½ feet wide, with four equal sides.^(AF) The rim all around it is 10½ inches,^[n] and its gutter is 21 inches 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 splattered 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 are to 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 are to 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 are to 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, are also to 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^{[o] 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.

The Prince’s Privilege

44 The man then brought me back toward the sanctuary’s outer gate that faced east, and it was closed. ² The Lord said to me, “This gate will remain closed. It will not be opened, and no one will enter through it, because the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through it.^(AX) Therefore it will remain closed. ³ The prince himself will sit in the gate to eat a meal before the Lord.^(AY) He is to enter by way of the portico^(AZ) of the gate and go out the same way.”

⁴ Then the man brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked, and the glory of the Lord filled his temple.^(BA) And I fell facedown.^{(BB) 5} The Lord said to me, “Son of man, pay attention;^(BC) look with your eyes and listen with your ears to everything I tell you about all the statutes and laws of the Lord’s temple.^(BD) Take careful note of the entrance of the temple along with all the exits of the sanctuary.

The Levites’ Duties and Privileges

⁶ “Say to the rebellious people,^(BE) the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: I have had enough^(BF) of all your detestable practices, house of Israel. ⁷ When you brought in foreigners,^(BG) uncircumcised in both heart and flesh,^(BH) to occupy my sanctuary, you defiled my temple while you offered my food—the fat and the blood. You^[p] broke my covenant by all your detestable practices. ⁸ You have not kept charge of my holy things^(BI) but have appointed others to keep charge of my sanctuary for you.’

⁹ “This is what the Lord God says: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, may enter my sanctuary, not even a foreigner who is among the Israelites. ¹⁰ Surely the Levites who wandered away from me when Israel went astray, and who strayed from me after their idols,^(BJ) will bear the consequences of their iniquity.^{(BK) 11} Yet they will occupy my sanctuary, serving as guards at the temple gates^(BL) and ministering at the temple. They will slaughter the burnt offerings^(BM) and other sacrifices for the people and will stand before them to serve them.^{(BN) 12} Because they ministered to the house of Israel before their idols and became a sinful stumbling block to them, therefore I swore an oath^[q] against them”^(BO)—this is the declaration of the Lord God—“that they would bear the consequences of their iniquity. ¹³ They must not approach me to serve me as priests^(BP) or come near any of my holy things or the most holy things. They will bear their disgrace and the consequences of the detestable acts they committed. ¹⁴ Yet I will make them responsible for the duties of the temple^(BQ)—for all its work and everything done in it.

The Priests’ Duties and Privileges

¹⁵ “But the Levitical priests descended from Zadok,^(BR) who kept charge of my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, will approach me to serve me. They will stand before me to offer me fat and blood.” This is the declaration of the Lord God. ¹⁶ “They are the ones who may enter my sanctuary^(BS) and approach my table to serve me.^(BT) They will keep my mandate. ¹⁷ When they enter the gates of the inner court they are to wear linen garments;^(BU) they must not have on them anything made of wool when they minister at the gates of the inner court and within it. ¹⁸ They are to wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists.^(BV) They are not to put on anything that makes them sweat. ¹⁹ Before they go out to the outer court,^[r] to the people, they must take off the clothes they have been ministering in, leave them in the holy chambers, and dress in other clothes^(BW) so that they do not transmit holiness to the people through their clothes.^(BX)

²⁰ “They may not shave their heads^(BY) or let their hair grow long,^(BZ) but are to carefully trim their hair. ²¹ No priest may drink wine before he enters the inner court.^{(CA) 22} He is not to marry a widow or a divorced woman, but may marry only a virgin from the offspring of the house of Israel,^(CB) or a widow who is the widow of a priest. ²³ They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and explain to them the difference between the clean and the unclean.^(CC)

²⁴ “In a dispute, they will officiate as judges and decide the case according to my ordinances.^(CD) They are to observe my laws and statutes regarding all my appointed festivals, and keep my Sabbaths holy.^{(CE) 25} A priest may not come near a dead person so that he becomes defiled.^(CF) However, he may defile himself for a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, a brother, or an unmarried sister. ²⁶ After he is cleansed, he is to count off seven days for himself.^{(CG) 27} On the day he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court^(CH) to minister in the sanctuary, he is to present his sin offering.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

²⁸ “This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance.^(CI) You are to give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession. ²⁹ They will eat the grain offering, the sin offering,^(CJ) and the guilt offering. Everything in Israel that is permanently dedicated to the Lord will belong to them.^{(CK) 30} The best of all the firstfruits of every kind and contribution of every kind from all your gifts will belong to the priests.^(CL) You are to give your first batch of dough to the priest^(CM) so that a blessing may rest on your homes.^{(CN) 31} The priests may not eat any bird or animal that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts.^(CO)

Living by Faith

11 Now faith is the reality^[a] of what is hoped for, the proof^[b] of what is not seen.^{(A) 2} For by this our ancestors were approved.

³ By faith we understand that the universe was^[c] created by the word of God,^(B) so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.^[d]

⁴ By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith.^(C)

⁵ By faith Enoch was taken away, and so he did not experience death. He was not to be found because God took him away.^[e] For before he was taken away, he was approved as one who pleased God.^{(D) 6} Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

⁷ By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.^(E)

⁸ By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and set out for a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, even though he did not know where he was going.^{(F) 9} By faith he stayed as a foreigner in the land of promise, living in tents as did Isaac and Jacob, coheirs of the same promise.^{(G) 10} For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.^(H)

¹¹ By faith even Sarah herself, when she was unable to have children, received power to conceive offspring, even though she was past the age, since she^[f] considered that the one who had promised was faithful.^{(I) 12} Therefore, from one man—in fact, from one as good as dead—came offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and as innumerable as the grains of sand along the seashore.^(J)

¹³ These all died in faith, although they had not received the things that were promised. But they saw them from a distance,^(K) greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth.^{(L) 14} Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.

Psalm 126

Zion’s Restoration

A song of ascents.