< Ezekiel 43 >
1 Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east:
The man then brought me to the gate that opened to the east.
2 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.
Behold! The glory of the God of Israel came from the east; his voice was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory.
3 And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face.
It was according to the appearance of the vision that I saw, according to the vision that I saw when he had come to destroy the city, and the visions were like the vision that I saw at the Kebar Canal—and I fell to my face.
4 And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.
So the glory of Yahweh came to the house by way of the gate that opened to the east.
5 So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house.
Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court. Behold! The glory of Yahweh was filling the house.
6 And I heard him speaking to me out of the house; and the man stood by me.
The man was standing beside me, and I heard someone else speaking to me from the house.
7 And he said to me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their harlotry, nor by the dead bodies of their kings in their high places.
He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet, where I will live in the midst of the people of Israel forever. The house of Israel will no longer profane my holy name—they or their kings—with their faithlessness or with the corpses of their kings at their high places.
8 In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: therefore I have consumed them in my anger.
They will no longer profane my holy name by putting their threshold next to my threshold, and their gateposts next to my gateposts, with nothing but a wall between me and them. They profaned my holy name with their disgusting actions, so I consumed them with my anger.
9 Now let them put away their harlotry, and the dead bodies of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever.
Now let them remove their faithlessness and the corpses of their kings from before me, and I will live in their midst forever.
10 Thou son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern.
Son of man, you yourself must tell the house of Israel about this house so they will be ashamed of their iniquities. They should think about this description.
11 And if they will be ashamed of all that they have done, show them the form of the house, and the fashion of it, and its exits, and its entrances, and all its forms, and all its ordinances, and all its forms, and all its laws: and write it in their sight, that they may keep its whole form, and all its ordinances, and do them.
For if they are ashamed of all that they have done, then reveal to them the design of the house, its details, its exits, its entrances, and all its designs, all its decrees and rules. Then write this down before their eyes so they will keep to all its design and all its rules, so as to obey them.
12 This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain its whole limit all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.
This is the regulation for the house: From the peak of the hill to all the surrounding border around it, it will be most holy. Behold! This is the regulation for the house.
13 And these are the measures of the altar after the cubits: The cubit is a cubit and an hand breadth; even the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border of it by its edge on every side shall be a span: and this shall be the higher place of the altar.
These will be the measurements of the altar in cubits—that cubit being a regular cubit and a handbreadth in length. So the gutter around the altar will be a cubit deep, and its width will also be a cubit. The border around its surrounding edge will be one span. This will be the base of the altar.
14 And from the bottom upon the ground even to the lower ledge shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the smaller ledge even to the greater ledge shall be four cubits, and the breadth one cubit.
From the gutter at the ground level up to the lower ledge of the altar is two cubits, and that ledge itself is one cubit in width. Then from the small ledge up to the large edge of the altar, it is four cubits, and the large edge is a cubit in width.
15 So the altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar and upward shall be four horns.
The hearth on the altar for the burnt offerings is four cubits high, and there are four horns pointing upward on the hearth.
16 And the altar shall be twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in its four sides.
The hearth is twelve cubits in length and twelve cubits in width, a square.
17 And the ledge shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in its four sides; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom of it shall be a cubit about; and its stairs shall look toward the east.
Its border is fourteen cubits in length and fourteen cubits in width on each of its four sides, and its rim is a half cubit in width. The gutter is a cubit in width all around with its steps facing east.”
18 And he said to me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings on it, and to sprinkle blood on it.
Next he said to me, “Son of man, the Lord Yahweh says this: These are the regulations for the altar on the day they make it, for raising the burnt offering onto it, and for sprinkling blood on it.
19 And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that are of the seed of Zadok, who approach to me, to minister to me, saith the Lord GOD, a young bull for a sin offering.
You will give a bull from the cattle as a sin offering for the Levitical priests who are the descendants of Zadok, those who come near to me to serve me—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.
20 And thou shalt take of his blood, and put it on its four horns, and on the four corners of the ledge, and upon the border on every side: thus shalt thou cleanse and purge it.
Then you will take some of its blood and place it on the altar's four horns and the four sides of its edge and on the surrounding rim; you will cleanse it and make atonement for it.
21 Thou shalt take the bull also of the sin offering, and he shall burn it in the appointed place of the house, outside of the sanctuary.
Then take the bull for the sin offering and burn it in the appointed part of the temple area outside of the sanctuary.
22 And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they cleansed it with the bull.
Then on the second day you will offer a male goat without blemish from the goats as a sin offering; the priests will cleanse the altar just as they cleansed it with the bull.
23 When thou hast finished cleansing it, thou shalt offer a young bull without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish.
When you finish its cleansing, offer an unblemished bull from the cattle and an unblemished ram from the flock.
24 And thou shalt offer them before the LORD, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them for a burnt offering to the LORD.
Offer them before Yahweh; the priests will throw salt onto them and raise them up as a burnt offering to Yahweh.
25 Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a sin offering: they shall also prepare a young bull, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish.
You must prepare a male goat as a sin offering daily for seven days, and the priests must also prepare an unblemished bull of the cattle and unblemished ram from the flock.
26 Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it; and they shall consecrate themselves.
They must atone for the altar for seven days and purify it, and in this way they must consecrate it.
27 And when these days are fulfilled, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so onward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD.
They must complete these days, and on the eighth day and onward it will come about that the priests will prepare your burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar, and I will accept you—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.”