Chronological

Chapter 42

Other Structures. ¹ Then he led me toward the north into the outer court and brought me to the rooms that were opposite the temple courtyard and facing the building on the north. ² The length of the building on the north side was one hundred cubits, and its width was fifty cubits.

³ Facing the twenty cubits of the inner court and the pavement of the outer court, there were three parallel rows of chambers on each level facing each other. ⁴ In front of the chambers, there was a passageway, ten cubits wide and one hundred cubits long, and the entrances to the rooms faced north.

⁵ The chambers on the upper level were narrower than those on the two levels below because the galleries took up more of the width on the upper level. ⁶ For they were divided into three stories and they had no pillars as the courts had. Thus, the upper chambers were more narrow than those on the lower and middle levels.

⁷ There was an outer wall parallel to the chambers that extended out toward the outer court; it was fifty cubits long. ⁸ The chambers facing the outer court were fifty cubits long, while those facing the temple were one hundred cubits long.

⁹ Below these chambers there was a passage that one entered from the east so that one could enter them from the outer court. ¹⁰ On the south side that faced the open area and the building, there were chambers.

¹¹ There was a passage that ran in front of these chambers. They were identical in design to those on the north, with the same length and width, and with the same exits and entrances and doorways. ¹² Before the chambers on the south side, there was an entrance from the east at the end of each passage, by means of which one could enter from the east.

¹³ Then he said to me, “The north and the south chambers which open out onto the courtyard are the chambers of the sanctuary. It is there that the priests approach the Lord and eat the most sacred offerings. There they deposit these most sacred offerings—the grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings—for this is a holy place. ¹⁴ When the priests have entered the holy place, they must not depart from the holy place and enter the outer court without first leaving there the vestments they have worn while performing their duties, since these vestments are holy. They shall first clothe themselves in other garments before they go near the area designated for the people.”

¹⁵ Measurements of the Outer Court. When he had completed his measurements of the interior of the temple area, he brought me out through the gateway that faces east, and he measured the temple area all around.

¹⁶ He measured the east side with his measuring rod, and it was five hundred cubits. ¹⁷ He then turned and measured the north side, and it was five hundred cubits. ¹⁸ He next turned and measured the south side, and it was five hundred cubits. ¹⁹ Then he turned and measured the west side, and it was five hundred cubits.

²⁰ Thus, he measured the area on all four sides. The wall around it was five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to separate the sacred from the profane.

Restoration of the Temple

Chapter 43

The Lord’s Return.^1 [a]Then the man brought me to the gate that faces the east, ² and there I beheld the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. The sound of his coming was like the sound of a mighty torrent of waters, and the earth shone with his glory.

³ The vision I beheld was like the man I had seen when he had come to destroy the city, and like the vision I had seen by the River Chebar, and I fell prostrate.

⁴ As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by way of the east gate, ⁵ the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the inner court, and I beheld the glory of the Lord fill the temple.

⁶ While the man stood beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from the temple. ⁷ He said to me: Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will dwell forever among the Israelites. Never again will the house of Israel defile my holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their whoring and by the corpses of their kings.

⁸ When they placed their threshold next to my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall separating me and them, they were defiling my holy name by the loathsome practices in which they engaged. Therefore, I will destroy them in my anger.^{[b] 9} From now on, they must cease their harlotry and remove the corpses of their kings from my presence. Then I will dwell among them forever.

¹⁰ The Temple Law. As for you, son of man, describe this temple to the house of Israel, so that they will be truly ashamed of their iniquities. ¹¹ And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design and arrangement of the temple, its exits and entrances, its shape, and all its ordinances. ¹² This is the law of the temple: all the surrounding area on the top of the mountain shall be most holy. Such is the law of the temple.

¹³ Measurements of the Altar.^[c]These were the dimensions of the altar in cubits of one cubit and a handbreadth. Its base was one cubit high and one cubit wide, with a rim of one span around its edge. This was the height of the altar. ¹⁴ From its base on the ground up to the lower ledge, it was two cubits high and one cubit wide, and from the lower ledge to the upper ledge, it was four cubits high and again one cubit wide.

¹⁵ The altar hearth was four cubits high, and from the hearth, four horns projected upward. ¹⁶ The hearth was a square, twelve cubits long by twelve cubits wide. ¹⁷ The upper ledge was also a square, fourteen cubits long by fourteen cubits wide, with a rim around it a half cubit wide and a surrounding base of one cubit. The steps of the altar face the east.

¹⁸ Then he said to me: Son of man, thus says the Lord God: These are the regulations for the altar when it has been erected for the offering of holocausts upon it and for the sprinkling of blood upon it. ¹⁹ You are to present a young bull as a sin offering to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok who are authorized to draw near me in order to minister to me, says the Lord God.

²⁰ You are to take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the ledge and upon the surrounding rim. Thus, you will purify it and make atonement for it. ²¹ Then take the bull designated for the sin offering and immolate it in the designated part of the temple area outside the sanctuary.

²² On the second day, you are to present an unblemished male goat as a sin offering, and the altar must be purified again, as was done with the bull. ²³ When you have finished purifying it, choose an unblemished young bull and an unblemished ram from the flock. ²⁴ After you present them before the Lord, the priests will throw salt on them and offer them to the Lord as burnt offerings.

²⁵ For seven days you are to offer a male goat for a sin offering, as well as a young bull and an unblemished ram from the flock. ²⁶ In this way, they will make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, and thereby consecrate it.

²⁷ Once these days have been completed, from the eighth day onward the priests will offer your burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar. Then I will accept you, says the Lord.