< Ezekiel 43 >
1 And he took me to the doorway looking to the east:
And he led me to the gate which looked toward the way of the east.
2 And there was the glory of the God of Israel coming from the way of the east: and his voice was like the sound of great waters, and the earth was shining with his glory.
And behold, the glory of the God of Israel entered along the way of the east. And his voice was like the voice of many waters. And the earth was resplendent before his majesty.
3 And the vision which I saw was like the vision I had seen when he came for the destruction of the town: and like the vision which I saw by the river Chebar; and I went down on my face.
And I saw a vision in accord with the form that I had seen when he arrived so that he might destroy the city. And the form was in accord with the sight that I had seen beside the river Chebar. And I fell upon my face.
4 And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the doorway looking to the east.
And the majesty of the Lord advanced into the temple, along the way of the gate which looked toward the east.
5 And the spirit, lifting me up, took me into the inner square; and I saw that the house was full of the glory of the Lord.
And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court. And behold, the house was filled with the glory of the Lord.
6 And the voice of one talking to me came to my ears from inside the house; and the man was by my side.
And I heard someone speaking to me from the house, and the man who was standing beside me
7 And he said to me, Son of man, this is the place where the seat of my power is and the resting-place of my feet, where I will be among the children of Israel for ever: and no longer will the people of Israel make my holy name unclean, they or their kings, by their loose ways and by the dead bodies of their kings;
said to me: “Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the steps of my feet, is where I live: in the midst of the sons of Israel forever. And the house of Israel, they and their kings, shall no longer defile my holy name by their fornications, and by the ruinous ways of their kings, and by exalted places.
8 By putting their doorstep by my doorstep, and the pillar of their door by the pillar of my door, with only a wall between me and them; and they have made my holy name unclean by the disgusting things which they have done: so in my wrath I sent destruction on them.
They have fabricated their threshold beside my threshold, and their doorposts beside my doorposts. And there was a wall between me and them. And they defiled my holy name by the abominations which they committed. Because of this, I consumed them in my wrath.
9 Now let them put their loose ways and the dead bodies of their kings far from me, and I will be among them for ever.
Now therefore, let them drive away their fornications, and the ruinous ways of their kings, from before me. And I will live in their midst forever.
10 You, son of man, give the children of Israel an account of this house, so that they may be shamed because of their evil-doing: and let them see the vision of it and its image.
But as for you, son of man, reveal the temple to the house of Israel, and let them be confounded by their iniquities, and let them measure the fabrication,
11 And they will be shamed by what they have done; so give them the knowledge of the form of the house and its structure, and the ways out of it and into it, and all its laws and its rules, writing it down for them: so that they may keep all its laws and do them.
and let them be ashamed at all the things that they have done. Reveal to them the form and the fabrication of the house, its exits and entrances, and its entire description, and all of its precepts, and its entire order, and all of its laws. And you shall write in their sight, so that they may observe its entire description and its precepts, and so that they may accomplish them.”
12 This is the law of the house: On the top of the mountain all the space round it on every side will be most holy. See, this is the law of the house.
This is the law of the house at the summit of the mountain, with all its parts all around. It is the Holy of Holies. Therefore, this is the law of the house.
13 And these are the measures of the altar in cubits: (the cubit being a cubit and a hand's measure; ) its hollow base is a cubit high and a cubit wide, and it has an overhanging edge as wide as a hand-stretch all round it:
Now these are the measures of the altar by the most true cubit, which has a cubit and a palm. Its bend was a cubit, and it was a cubit in width. And its boundary, even to its edge and all around, was the width of one palm. The trough of the altar was like this also.
14 And from the base on the earth level to the lower shelf, the altar is two cubits high and a cubit wide; and from the smaller shelf to the greater shelf it is four cubits high and a cubit wide.
And from the bend at the floor even to the furthest rim was two cubits, and the width was one cubit. And from the lesser rim even to the greater rim was four cubits, and the width was one cubit.
15 And the fireplace is four cubits high: and coming up from the fireplace are the horns, a cubit high.
Now the hearth itself was four cubits. And from the hearth going upward, there were four horns.
16 And the fireplace is twelve cubits long and twelve cubits wide, square on its four sides.
And the hearth was twelve cubits in length by twelve cubits in width, foursquare, with equal sides.
17 And the shelf is fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide, on its four sides; the edge round it is half a cubit; the base of it is a cubit all round, and its steps are facing the east.
And the rim was fourteen cubits in length, by fourteen cubits in width, at its four corners. And the crown all around it was one half cubit, and its bend was one cubit all around. And its steps turned toward the east.
18 And he said to me, Son of man, the Lord God has said, These are the rules for the altar, when they make it, for the offering of burned offerings on it and the draining out of the blood.
And he said to me: “Son of man, thus says the Lord God: These are the rituals of the altar, in whatever day it will be made, so that holocausts may be offered upon it, and blood may be poured out.
19 You are to give to the priests, the Levites of the seed of Zadok, who come near to me, says the Lord God, to do my work, a young ox for a sin-offering.
And you shall present these to the priests and to the Levites, who are of the offspring of Zadok, those who draw near to me, says the Lord God, so that they may offer to me a calf from the herd on behalf of sin.
20 You are to take some of its blood and put it on the four horns and on the four angles of the shelf and on the edge all round: and you are to make it clean and free from sin.
And you shall take from its blood, and you shall place it on its four horns, and on the four corners of the rim, and on the crown all around. And so shall you cleanse and expiate it.
21 And you are to take the ox of the sin-offering, and have it burned in the special place ordered for it in the house, outside the holy place.
And you shall take the calf, which will be offered for sin, and you shall burn it in a separate place in the house, outside of the sanctuary.
22 And on the second day you are to have a he-goat without any mark on it offered for a sin-offering; and they are to make the altar clean as they did with the young ox.
And on the second day, you shall offer an immaculate he-goat from among the she-goats on behalf of sin. And they shall expiate the altar, just as they expiated it with the calf.
23 And after you have made it clean, let a young ox without a mark be offered, and a male sheep from the flock without a mark.
And when you will have completed expiating it, you shall offer an immaculate calf from the herd and an immaculate ram from the flock.
24 And you are to take them before the Lord, and the priests will put salt on them, offering them up for a burned offering to the Lord.
And you shall offer them in the sight of the Lord. And the priests shall sprinkle salt over them, and they shall offer them as a holocaust to the Lord.
25 Every day for seven days you are to give a goat for a sin-offering: and let them give in addition a young ox and a male sheep from the flock without any mark on them.
For seven days, you shall offer daily a he-goat on behalf of sin. Also, they shall offer a calf from the herd, and a ram from the flock, ones that are immaculate.
26 For seven days they are to make offerings to take away sin from the altar and to make it clean; so they are to make it holy.
For seven days, they shall expiate the altar, and they shall cleanse it, and they shall fill its hand.
27 And when these days have come to an end, then on the eighth day and after, the priests will make your burned offerings on the altar and your peace-offerings; and I will take pleasure in you, says the Lord.
Then, when the days have been completed, on the eighth day and thereafter, the priests shall offer your holocausts upon the altar along with the peace offering. And I will be pleased with you, says the Lord God.”