The Glory of the Lord Fills the New Temple
43 Then the man took me to the east gate. 2 I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the sound of rushing water, and the earth was shining because of his glory. 3 This vision was like the one I saw when he came to destroy Jerusalem and like the one I saw by the Chebar River. I immediately bowed down. 4 The Lord’s glory came into the temple through the east gate.
5 The Spirit lifted me and brought me into the inner courtyard. I saw the Lord’s glory fill the temple. 6 I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple while the man was standing beside me. 7 The voice said to me, “Son of man, this is the place where my throne is and the place where my feet rest. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever. Then the people of Israel and their kings will no longer dishonor my holy name by acting like prostitutes, nor will they dishonor it with the dead bodies of their kings. 8 They put their doorway by my doorway and their doorposts by my doorposts. Only a wall separated me from them. They dishonored my holy name because of the disgusting things that they have done. So I destroyed them in my anger. 9 Now they must stop acting like prostitutes and take the dead bodies of their kings far away from me. Then I will live among them forever.
10 “Son of man, describe this temple to the people of Israel. Then they will be ashamed because of their sins. Let them study the plans. 11 Suppose they are ashamed of everything that they have done. Then show them the design of the temple, its arrangements, its exits and entrances—its entire design. Tell them about all its rules and regulations. Then write these things down for them so that they can remember its design and follow all its rules.
12 “This is a regulation of the temple: The whole area all the way around the top of the mountain is most holy. Yes, this is a regulation of the temple.”
The Altar in the New Temple
13 These are the measurements of the altar, using royal measurements. (The royal measuring stick was 21 inches long.) The base of the altar was 21 inches high and 21 inches wide. All around the edge of the altar was a rim measuring 9 inches wide. This was the height of the altar: 14 From the base on the ground to the lower ledge it was 3½ feet high, and from the lower ledge to the upper ledge it was 7 feet high and 21 inches wide. 15 The place where the sacrifices were burned was 7 feet high. There were four horns above it. 16 It was square, 21 feet wide and 21 feet long. 17 The upper ledge was also square. It was 24½ feet long and 24½ feet wide. It had a rim all the way around that was 10½ inches wide. Its base was 21 inches. The steps to the altar faced east.
18 Then the man said to me, “Son of man, this is what the Almighty Lord says: These are the rules for sacrificing burnt offerings and for sprinkling blood on the altar after the altar is built. 19 Give a young bull to the priests as an offering for sin. These priests are Zadok’s descendants, men from the tribe of Levi, who can come near me and serve me. 20 Take some of the bull’s blood, and put it on the altar’s four horns, on the four corners of the ledge, and on the rim all the way around the altar. When you do this, you will remove sin from the altar and make peace with the Lord. 21 Then take a young bull as an offering for sin, and burn it in the place appointed near the temple, outside the holy place.
22 “On the second day bring a male goat that has no defects as an offering for sin. Remove sin from the altar as you did with the young bull. 23 When you finish removing sin, offer a young bull and a ram that have no defects. 24 Offer them to the Lord. The priests must throw salt on them and offer them as burnt offerings to the Lord. 25 Every day for seven days you must sacrifice a goat, a young bull, and a ram from the flock as an offering for sin. They must be animals that have no defects. 26 For seven days the priests should make peace with the Lord at the altar, purify it, and consecrate it. 27 When those days are over, on the eighth day, the priests must sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar. Then I will accept them, declares the Almighty Lord.”
Footnotes
- 43:3
