Beginning
Vision of the Glory of God Filling the Temple
43 Then he led me to the (A)gate, the gate facing toward the east; 2 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 with His glory. 3 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. 4 And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate facing toward the (J)east. 5 And the (K)Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the (L)glory of the Lord filled the house.
6 Then I heard one speaking to me from the house, while a (M)man was standing beside me. 7 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 harlotry and by the [b](P)corpses of their kings [c]when they die, 8 by setting 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. 9 Now let them (R)put away their harlotry 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, [e](T)describe the [f]temple to the house of Israel, that they may be (U)ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the [g](V)plan. 11 If they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the [h]design of the house, its structure, its (W)exits, its entrances, all its designs, all its statutes[i], and all its laws. And write it (X)in their sight, so that they may observe its whole [j]design and all its statutes and (Y)do them. 12 This is the [k]law of the house: its entire [l]area on the top of the (Z)mountain all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the [m]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 cubit and a handbreadth): the [n]base shall be a cubit and the width a cubit, and its border on its edge round about one span; and this shall be the height of the [o]base of the altar. 14 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 [p]one cubit. 15 The [q]altar hearth shall be four cubits; and from the [r]altar hearth shall extend upwards four (AD)horns. 16 Now the [s]altar hearth shall be twelve cubits long by twelve wide, (AE)square in its four sides. 17 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 round about; and its (AF)steps shall [t](AG)face the east.”
The Offerings
18 And He said to me, “(AH)Son of man, thus says the Lord [u]God, ‘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 offspring of (AK)Zadok, who draw (AL)near to Me to minister to Me,’ declares the Lord God, ‘a (AM)young bull for a (AN)sin offering. 20 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 round about; thus you shall (AQ)cleanse it and make atonement for it. 21 You shall also take the bull for the sin offering, and it shall be (AR)burned in the appointed place of the house, outside the sanctuary.
22 ‘On the second day you shall offer a (AS)male goat without blemish for a sin offering, and they shall (AT)cleanse the altar as they cleansed it with the bull. 23 When you have finished cleansing it, you shall present a (AU)young bull without blemish and a (AV)ram without blemish from the flock. 24 You shall present 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 daily a goat for a sin offering; also a young bull and a ram from the flock, without blemish, shall be prepared. 26 For seven days they shall make atonement for the altar and purify it; so shall they [v]consecrate it. 27 When they have completed the days, it shall be that on the (AY)eighth day and onward, the priests shall [w]offer your burnt offerings on the altar, and your (AZ)peace offerings; and I will (BA)accept you,’ declares the Lord God.”
Gate for the Prince
44 Then He brought me back by the way of the (BB)outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces the east; and it was shut. 2 The Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the (BC)Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. 3 As for the (BD)prince, he shall sit in it as prince to (BE)eat bread before the Lord; he shall (BF)enter by way of the (BG)porch of the gate and shall go out [x]by the same way.”
4 Then He brought me by way of the (BH)north gate to the front of the house; and I looked, and behold, the (BI)glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord, and I (BJ)fell on my face. 5 The Lord said to me, “Son of man, [y](BK)mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears all that I say to you concerning all the (BL)statutes of the house of the Lord and concerning all its laws; and [z]mark well the entrance of the house, with all exits of the sanctuary. 6 You shall say to the [aa](BM)rebellious ones, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord [ab]God, “(BN)Enough of all your abominations, O house of Israel, 7 when you brought in (BO)foreigners, (BP)uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to profane it, even My house, when you (BQ)offered My food, the fat and the blood; for they (BR)made My covenant void—this in addition to all your abominations. 8 And you have not (BS)kept charge of My holy things yourselves, but you have set foreigners [ac]to keep charge of My sanctuary.”
9 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “(BT)No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the sons of Israel, shall enter My sanctuary. 10 But the Levites who went far from Me when Israel went astray, who (BU)went astray from Me after their idols, shall (BV)bear the punishment for their iniquity. 11 Yet they shall be (BW)ministers in My sanctuary, having (BX)oversight at the gates of the house and (BY)ministering in the house; they shall (BZ)slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall (CA)stand before them to minister to them. 12 Because they ministered to them (CB)before their idols and became a (CC)stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have [ad](CD)sworn against them,” declares the Lord God, “that they shall (CE)bear the punishment for their iniquity. 13 And they shall (CF)not come near to Me to serve as a priest to Me, nor come near to any of My holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they will (CG)bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. 14 Yet I will [ae]appoint them [af]to (CH)keep charge of the house, of all its service and of all that shall be done in it.
Ordinances for the Levites
15 “But the (CI)Levitical priests, the sons of (CJ)Zadok, who (CK)kept charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel (CL)went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me; and they shall (CM)stand before Me to offer Me the (CN)fat and the blood,” declares the Lord God. 16 “They shall (CO)enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My (CP)table to minister to Me and keep My charge. 17 It shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with (CQ)linen garments; and wool shall not [ag]be on them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner court and in the house. 18 Linen (CR)turbans shall be on their heads and (CS)linen undergarments shall be on their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything which makes them sweat. 19 When they go out into the outer court, into the outer court to the people, they shall (CT)put off their garments in which they have been ministering and lay them in the holy chambers; then they shall put on other garments so that they will (CU)not transmit holiness to the people with their garments. 20 Also they shall (CV)not shave their heads, yet they shall not (CW)let their locks [ah]grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads. 21 (CX)Nor shall any of the priests drink wine when they enter the inner court. 22 And they shall not [ai]marry a widow or a (CY)divorced woman but shall (CZ)take virgins from the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23 Moreover, they shall teach My people the (DA)difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. 24 In a dispute (DB)they shall take their stand to judge; they shall judge it according to My ordinances. They shall also keep My laws and My statutes in all My (DC)appointed feasts and (DD)sanctify My sabbaths. 25 [aj](DE)They shall not go to a dead person to defile themselves; however, for father, for mother, for son, for daughter, for brother, or for a sister who has not had a husband, they may defile themselves. 26 After he is (DF)cleansed, seven days shall [ak]elapse for him. 27 On the day that he goes into the sanctuary, into the (DG)inner court to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his (DH)sin offering,” declares the Lord God.
28 “And it shall be with regard to an inheritance for them, that (DI)I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no possession in Israel—I am their possession. 29 They shall (DJ)eat the grain offering, the sin offering and the guilt offering; and every [al](DK)devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30 The first of all the (DL)first fruits of every kind and every [am]contribution of every kind, from all your [an]contributions, shall be for the priests; you shall also give to the priest the (DM)first of your [ao]dough to cause a (DN)blessing to rest on your house. 31 The priests shall not eat any bird or beast that has (DO)died a natural death or has been torn to pieces.
The Lord’s Portion of the Land
45 “And when you (DP)divide by lot the land for inheritance, you shall offer [ap]an (DQ)allotment to the Lord, a (DR)holy portion of the land; the length shall be the length of 25,000 (DS)cubits, and the width shall be [aq]20,000. It shall be holy within all its boundary round about. 2 Out of this there shall be for the holy place a square round about (DT)five hundred by five hundred cubits, and fifty cubits for its [ar](DU)open space round about. 3 From this [as]area you shall measure a length of 25,000 cubits and a width of 10,000 cubits; and in it shall be the sanctuary, the most holy place. 4 It shall be the holy portion of the land; it shall be for the (DV)priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who (DW)come near to minister to the Lord, and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. 5 An area (DX)25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in width shall be for the Levites, the ministers of the house, and for their possession [at]cities to dwell in.
6 “You shall give the (DY)city possession of an area 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, alongside the [au]allotment of the holy portion; it shall be for the whole house of Israel.
Portion for the Prince
7 “The (DZ)prince shall have land on either side of the holy [av]allotment and the [aw]property of the city, adjacent to the holy [ax]allotment and the [ay]property of the city, on the west side toward the west and on the east side toward the east, and in length comparable to one of the portions, from the west border to the east border. 8 This shall be his land for a possession in Israel; so My princes shall no longer (EA)oppress My people, but they shall give the rest of the land to the house of Israel (EB)according to their tribes.”
9 ‘Thus says the Lord [az]God, “(EC)Enough, you princes of Israel; put away (ED)violence and destruction, and (EE)practice justice and righteousness. Stop your (EF)expropriations from My people,” declares the Lord God.
10 “You shall have (EG)just balances, a just (EH)ephah and a just (EI)bath. 11 The ephah and the bath shall be [ba]the same quantity, so that the bath will contain a tenth of a (EJ)homer and the ephah a tenth of a homer; [bb]their standard shall be according to the homer. 12 The (EK)shekel shall be twenty (EL)gerahs; twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, and fifteen shekels shall be your [bc]maneh.
13 “This is the offering that you shall offer: a sixth of an ephah from a homer of wheat; a sixth of an ephah from a homer of barley; 14 and the prescribed portion of oil (namely, the bath of oil), a tenth of a bath from each kor (which is ten baths or a homer, for ten baths are a homer); 15 and one sheep from each flock of two hundred from the watering places of Israel—for a (EM)grain offering, for a burnt offering and for peace offerings, to (EN)make atonement for them,” declares the Lord God. 16 “(EO)All the people of the land shall [bd]give to this offering for the (EP)prince in Israel. 17 It shall be the (EQ)prince’s part to provide the (ER)burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the drink offerings, at the (ES)feasts, on the (ET)new moons and on the sabbaths, at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel; he shall provide the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering and the (EU)peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel.”
18 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “In the (EV)first month, on the first of the month, you shall take a young bull (EW)without blemish and (EX)cleanse the sanctuary. 19 The priest shall take some of the blood from the sin offering and put it on the door posts of the house, on the (EY)four corners of the (EZ)ledge of the altar and on the posts of the gate of the inner court. 20 Thus you shall do on the seventh day of the month for everyone who goes (FA)astray or is [be]naive; so you shall make (FB)atonement for the house.
21 “In the (FC)first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the (FD)Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. 22 On that day the prince shall provide for himself and all the people of the land a (FE)bull for a sin offering. 23 During the (FF)seven days of the feast he shall provide as a (FG)burnt offering to the Lord (FH)seven bulls and seven rams without blemish on every day of the seven days, and a male goat daily for a sin offering. 24 He shall provide as a (FI)grain offering an ephah [bf]with a bull, an ephah [bg]with a ram and a hin of oil [bh]with an ephah. 25 In the (FJ)seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, at the feast, he shall provide like this, seven days [bi]for the sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering and the oil.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.