Old/New Testament

42 Then he led me out of the Temple, back into the inner court to the rooms north of the Temple yard, and to another building. ² This group of structures was 175 feet long by 87-1/2 feet wide. ³ The rows of rooms behind this building were the inner wall of the court. The rooms were in three tiers, overlooking the outer court on one side, and having a 35-foot strip of inner court on the other. ⁴ A 17-1/2-foot walk ran between the building and the tiers of rooms, extending the entire length, with the doors of the building facing north. ⁵ The upper two tiers of rooms were not as wide as the lower one, because the upper tiers had wider walkways beside them. ⁶ And since the building was not built with girders as those in the outer court were, the upper stories were set back from the ground floor.

^7-8 The north tiers, next to the outer court, were 87-1/2 feet long—only half as long as the inner wing that faced the Temple court, which was 175 feet long. But a wall extended from the end of the shorter wing, parallel to the longer wing. ^9-10 And there was an entrance from the outer court to these rooms from the east. On the opposite side of the Temple a similar building composed of two units of tiers was on the south side of the inner court, between the Temple and the outer court, arranged the same as the other. ¹¹ There was a walk between the two wings of the building, the same as in the other building across the court—the same length and width and the same exits and doors—they were identical units. ¹² And there was a door from the outer court^[a] at the east.

¹³ Then he told me: “These north and south tiers of rooms facing the Temple yard are holy; there the priests who offer up the sacrifices to the Lord shall eat of the most holy offerings and store them—the cereal offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings, for these rooms are holy. ¹⁴ When the priests leave the Holy Place—the nave of the Temple—they must change their clothes before going out to the outer court. The special robes in which they have been ministering must first be removed, for these robes are holy. They must put on other clothes before entering the parts of the building open to the public.”

¹⁵ When he had finished making these measurements, he led me out through the east passageway to measure the entire Temple area. ^16-20 He found that it was in the form of a square, 875 feet long on each side, with a wall all around it to separate the restricted area from the public places.^[b]

43 Afterward he brought me out again to the passageway through the outer wall leading to the east. ² And suddenly the glory of the God of Israel appeared from the east. The sound of his coming was like the roar of rushing waters, and the whole landscape lighted up with his glory. ³ It was just as I had seen it in the other visions, first by the Chebar Canal, and then later at Jerusalem^[c] when he came to destroy the city. And I fell down before him with my face in the dust. ⁴ And the glory of the Lord came into the Temple through the eastern passageway.

⁵ Then the Spirit took me up and brought me into the inner court; and the glory of the Lord filled the Temple. ⁶ And I heard the Lord speaking to me from within the Temple (the man who had been measuring was still standing beside me).

⁷ And the Lord said to me:

“Son of dust, this is the place of my throne and my footstool, where I shall remain, living among the people of Israel forever. They and their kings will not defile my holy name any longer through the adulterous worship of other gods or by worshiping the totem poles erected by their kings. ⁸ They built their idol temples beside mine, with only a wall between, and worshiped their idols. Because they sullied my holy name by such wickedness, I consumed them in my anger. ⁹ Now let them put away their idols and the totem poles^[d] erected by their kings, and I will live among them forever.

¹⁰ “Son of dust, describe the Temple I have shown you to the people of Israel. Tell them its appearance and its plan so they will be ashamed of all their sins. ¹¹ And if they are truly ashamed of what they have done, then explain to them the details of its construction—its doors and entrances—and everything about it. Write out all the directions and the rules for them to keep. ¹² And this is the basic law of the Temple: Holiness! The entire top of the hill where the Temple is built is holy. Yes, this is the primary law concerning it.

¹³ “And these are the measurements of the altar: The base is 21 inches high, with a 9-inch rim around its edge, and it extends 21 inches beyond the altar on all sides. ¹⁴ The first stage of the altar is a stone platform 3-1/2 feet high. This platform is 21 inches narrower than the base block on all sides. Rising from this is a narrower platform, 21 inches narrower on all sides, and 7 feet high. ¹⁵ From it a still narrower platform rises 7 feet, and this is the top of the altar, with four horns projecting 21 inches up from the corners. ¹⁶ This top platform of the altar is 21 feet square. ¹⁷ The platform beneath it is 24-1/2 feet square with a 10-1/2-inch curb around the edges. The entire platform extends out from the top 21 inches on all sides. On the east side are steps to climb the altar.”

¹⁸ And he said to me:

“Son of dust, the Lord God says: These are the measurements of the altar to be made in the future, when it is erected for the burning of offerings and the sprinkling of blood upon it. ¹⁹ At that time the Zadok family of the Levite tribe, who are my ministers, are to be given a bullock for a sin offering. ²⁰ You shall take some of its blood and smear it on the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the top platform and in the curb around it. This will cleanse and make atonement for the altar. ²¹ Then take the bullock for the sin offering and burn it at the appointed place outside the Temple area.

²² “The second day, sacrifice a young male goat without any defects—without sickness, deformities, cuts, or scars—for a sin offering. Thus the altar shall be cleansed, as it was by the bullock. ²³ When you have finished this cleansing ceremony, offer another perfect bullock and a perfect ram from the flock. ²⁴ Present them before the Lord, and the priests shall sprinkle salt upon them as a burnt offering.

²⁵ “Every day for seven days a male goat, a bullock, and a ram from the flock shall be sacrificed as a sin offering. None are to have any defects or unhealthiness of any kind. ²⁶ Do this each day for seven days to cleanse and make atonement for the altar, thus consecrating it. ²⁷ On the eighth day, and on each day afterward, the priests will sacrifice on the altar the burnt offerings and thank offerings of the people, and I will accept you, says the Lord God.”

44 Then the Lord brought me back to the outer wall’s eastern passageway, but it was closed. ² And he said to me:

“This gate shall remain closed; it shall never be opened. No man shall pass through it; for the Lord, the God of Israel, entered here, and so it shall remain shut. ³ Only the prince—because he is the prince—may sit inside the passageway to feast there before the Lord. But he shall go and come only through the entry hall of the passage.”

⁴ Then he brought me through the north passageway to the front of the Temple. I looked and saw that the glory of the Lord filled the Temple of the Lord, and I fell to the ground with my face in the dust.

⁵ And the Lord said to me:

“Son of dust, notice carefully; use your eyes and ears. Listen to all I tell you about the laws and rules of the Temple of the Lord. Note carefully who may be admitted to the Temple and who is to be excluded from it. ⁶ And say to these rebels, the people of Israel, ‘The Lord God says: O Israel, you have sinned greatly ⁷ by letting the uncircumcised into my sanctuary—those who have no heart for God—when you offer me my food, the fat and the blood. Thus you have broken my covenant in addition to all your other sins. ⁸ You have not kept the laws I gave you concerning these holy affairs, for you have hired foreigners to take charge of my sanctuary.’”

⁹ The Lord God says: “No foreigner of all the many among you shall enter my sanctuary if he has not been circumcised and does not love the Lord. ¹⁰ And the men of the tribe of Levi who abandoned me when Israel strayed away from God to idols must be punished for their unfaithfulness. ¹¹ They may be Temple guards and gatemen; they may slay the animals brought for burnt offerings and be present to help the people. ¹² But because they encouraged the people to worship other gods, causing Israel to fall into deep sin, I have raised my hand and taken oath,” says the Lord God, “that they must be punished. ¹³ They shall not come near me to minister as priests; they may not touch any of my holy things, for they must bear their shame for all the sins they have committed. ¹⁴ They are the Temple caretakers, to do maintenance work and to assist the people in a general way.

¹⁵ “However, the sons of Zadok, of the tribe of Levi, continued as my priests in the Temple when Israel abandoned me for idols. These men shall be my ministers; they shall stand before me to offer the fat and blood of the sacrifices,” says the Lord God. ¹⁶ “They shall enter my sanctuary and come to my Table to minister to me; they shall fulfill my requirements.

¹⁷ “They must wear only linen clothing when they enter the passageway to the inner court, for they must wear no wool while on duty in the inner court or in the Temple. ¹⁸ They must wear linen turbans and linen trousers; they must not wear anything that would cause them to perspire. ¹⁹ When they return to the outer court, they must take off the clothes they wear while ministering to me, leaving them in the sacred chambers, and put on other clothes lest they harm the people by touching them with this clothing.

²⁰ “They must not let their hair grow too long nor shave it off. Regular, moderate haircuts are all they are allowed. ²¹ No priest may drink wine before coming to the inner court. ²² He may marry only a Jewish maiden, or the widow of a priest; he may not marry a divorced woman.

²³ “He shall teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is secular, what is right and what is wrong.^[e]

²⁴ “They will serve as judges to resolve any disagreements among my people. Their decisions must be based upon my laws. And the priests themselves shall obey my rules and regulations at all the sacred festivals, and they shall see to it that the Sabbath is kept a sacred day.

²⁵ “A priest must not defile himself by being in the presence of a dead person, unless it is his father, mother, child, brother, or unmarried sister. In such cases it is all right. ²⁶ But afterward he must wait seven days before he is cleansed and able to perform his Temple duties again. ²⁷ The first day he returns to work and enters the inner court and the sanctuary, he must offer a sin offering for himself,” the Lord God says.

²⁸ “As to property, they shall not own any, for I am their heritage! That is enough!^[f]

²⁹ “Their food shall be the gifts and sacrifices brought to the Temple by the people—the cereal offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings. Whatever anyone gives to the Lord shall be the priests’. ³⁰ The first of the first-ripe fruits and all the gifts for the Lord shall go to the priests. The first samples of each harvest of grain shall be donated to the priests too, so that the Lord will bless your homes. ³¹ Priests may never eat meat from any bird or animal that dies a natural death or that dies after being attacked by other animals.

1 Christ was alive when the world began, yet I myself have seen him with my own eyes and listened to him speak. I have touched him with my own hands. He is God’s message of life. ² This one who is life from God has been shown to us, and we guarantee that we have seen him; I am speaking of Christ, who is eternal Life. He was with the Father and then was shown to us. ³ Again I say, we are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may share the fellowship and the joys we have with the Father and with Jesus Christ his son. ⁴ And if you do as I say in this letter, then you, too, will be full of joy, and so will we.

⁵ This is the message God has given us to pass on to you: that God is Light and in him is no darkness at all. ⁶ So if we say we are his friends but go on living in spiritual darkness and sin, we are lying. ⁷ But if we are living in the light of God’s presence, just as Christ does, then we have wonderful fellowship and joy with each other, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from every sin.

⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. ⁹ But if we confess our sins to him,^[a] he can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. And it is perfectly proper for God to do this for us because Christ died to wash away our sins. ¹⁰ If we claim we have not sinned, we are lying and calling God a liar, for he says we have sinned.