The Glory of the Lord Fills the Temple

43 Then he led me to ^bthe gate, the gate facing east. 2 And behold, ^cthe glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And ^dthe sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and ^ethe earth shone with his glory. 3 And ^fthe vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen ^gwhen he¹ came to destroy the city, and just like ^hthe vision that I had seen ⁱby the Chebar canal. And ^jI fell on my face. 4 As ^cthe glory of the Lord ^kentered the temple by the gate facing east, 5 ^lthe Spirit lifted me up and brought me into ^mthe inner court; and behold, ⁿthe glory of the Lord filled the temple.

6 ^oWhile the man was standing beside me, ^pI heard one speaking to me out of the temple, 7 and he said to me, ^q“Son of man, this is ^rthe place of my throne and ^sthe place of the soles of my feet, ^twhere I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever. And the house of Israel shall no more ^udefile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoring and by the dead bodies² of their kings at their high places,³ 8 by setting their threshold by my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with ^vonly a wall between me and them. They have ^wdefiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed, so I have consumed them in my anger. 9 Now let them put away their whoring and the dead bodies of their kings far from me, ^tand I will dwell in their midst forever.

10 “As for you, ^qson of man, ^xdescribe to the house of Israel the temple, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and they shall measure the plan. 11 And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, ^xmake known to them the design of the temple, its arrangement, ^yits exits and its entrances, that is, its whole design; and make known to them as well all its statutes and its whole design and all its laws, and write it down ^zin their sight, so that they may observe all its laws and all its statutes and carry them out. 12 This is the law of the temple: the whole territory on the top of ^athe mountain ^ball around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.

The Altar

13 “These are the measurements of ^cthe altar by cubits (the cubit being ^da cubit and a handbreadth):⁴ its base shall be one cubit high⁵ and one cubit broad, with a rim of one span⁶ around its edge. And this shall be the height of the altar: 14 from the base on the ground to the lower ledge, two cubits, with a breadth of one cubit; and from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge, four cubits, with a breadth of one cubit; 15 and the altar hearth, four cubits; and from the altar hearth projecting upward, ^efour horns. 16 The altar hearth shall be ^fsquare, twelve cubits long by twelve broad. 17 The ledge also shall be square, fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad, with a rim around it half a cubit broad, and its base one cubit all around. ^gThe steps of the altar shall face east.”

18 And he said to me, ^h“Son of man, thus says the Lord God: These are the ordinances for the altar: On the day when it is erected for offering burnt offerings upon it and ⁱfor throwing blood against it, 19 you shall give to ^jthe Levitical priests ^kof the family of Zadok, who draw near to me to minister to me, declares the Lord God, ^la bull from the herd for a sin offering. 20 And ^myou shall take some of its blood and put it on ^ethe four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the ledge and upon ⁿthe rim all around. ^oThus you shall purify the altar and make atonement for it. 21 You shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and ^pit shall be burned in the appointed place belonging to the temple, outside the sacred area. 22 And on the second day you shall offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering; and the altar shall be purified, as it was purified with the bull. 23 When you have finished ^opurifying it, you shall offer a bull from the herd without blemish and ^qa ram from the flock without blemish. 24 You shall present them before the Lord, and the priests ^rshall sprinkle salt on them and offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord. 25 ^sFor seven days you shall provide daily a male goat for a sin offering; also, a bull from the herd and a ram from the flock, without blemish, shall be provided. 26 Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, and so consecrate it.⁷ 27 And when they have completed these days, then ^tfrom the eighth day onward the priests shall offer on the altar your burnt offerings and your ^upeace offerings, and ^vI will accept you, declares the Lord God.”

The Gate for the Prince

44 Then he brought me ^wback to the outer gate of the sanctuary, ^xwhich faces east. And it was shut. 2 And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for ^ythe Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it. Therefore it shall remain shut. 3 Only ^zthe prince may sit in it ^ato eat bread before the Lord. He ^bshall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go out by the same way.”

4 Then he brought me by way of ^cthe north gate to the front of the temple, and I looked, and behold, ^dthe glory of the Lord filled the temple of the Lord. And ^eI fell on my face. 5 And the Lord said to me, ^f“Son of man, mark well, ^gsee with your eyes, ^gand hear with your ears all that I shall tell you concerning ^hall the statutes of the temple of the Lord and all its laws. And mark well ^hthe entrance to the temple and all the exits from the sanctuary. 6 And say to ⁱthe rebellious house,¹ to the ^jhouse of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: O house of Israel, ^kenough of all your abominations, 7 in ^ladmitting foreigners, ^muncircumcised in heart and flesh, to be in my sanctuary, ⁿprofaning my temple, when you offer to me my food, the fat and the blood. You² have broken my covenant, in addition to all your abominations. 8 And ^oyou have not kept charge of my holy things, but you have set others to keep my charge for you in my sanctuary.

9 “Thus says the Lord God: ^pNo foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, shall enter my sanctuary. 10 But ^qthe Levites who went far from me, going astray from me after their idols ^rwhen Israel went astray, ^sshall bear their punishment.³ 11 They shall be ^tministers in my sanctuary, having oversight ^uat the gates of the temple and ministering in the temple. They shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and ^vthey shall stand before the people, to minister to them. 12 Because they ministered to them before their idols and became ^wa stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have ^xsworn concerning them, declares the Lord God, and they shall bear their punishment. 13 They ^yshall not come near to me, to serve me as priest, nor come near any of my holy things and the things that are most holy, but ^zthey shall bear their shame and the abominations that they have committed. 14 Yet I will appoint them to keep ^acharge of the temple, ^bto do all its service and all that is to be done in it.

Rules for Levitical Priests

15 “But ^cthe Levitical priests, ^cthe sons of Zadok, who kept ^athe charge of my sanctuary ^rwhen the people of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me ^dto minister to me. And they shall stand before me to offer me ^ethe fat and the blood, declares the Lord God. 16 They shall enter my sanctuary, and they shall approach ^fmy table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge. 17 When they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall wear ^glinen garments. They shall have nothing of wool on them, while they minister at the gates of the inner court, and within. 18 They shall have linen turbans on their heads, and linen undergarments around their waists. They shall not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat. 19 And when they go out into the outer court to the people, they shall put off the garments in which they have been ministering ^hand lay them in the holy chambers. And ⁱthey shall put on other garments, ^jlest they transmit holiness to the people with their garments. 20 ^kThey shall not shave their heads or ^llet their locks grow long; they shall surely trim the hair of their heads. 21 ^mNo priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court. 22 ⁿThey shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but only virgins of the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23 ^oThey shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and ^oshow them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. 24 ^pIn a dispute, they shall act as judges, and they shall judge it according to my judgments. They shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts, and ^qthey shall keep my Sabbaths holy. 25 ^rThey shall not defile themselves by going near to a dead person. However, for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister they may defile themselves. 26 ^sAfter he⁴ has become clean, they shall count seven days for him. 27 And on the day that he goes into the Holy Place, ^tinto the inner court, to minister in the Holy Place, ^uhe shall offer his sin offering, declares the Lord God.

28 ^v“This shall be their inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ^wyou shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession. 29 ^xThey shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, and ^yevery devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30 ^zAnd the first of all the firstfruits of all kinds, and every offering of all kinds from all your offerings, shall belong to the priests. ^aYou shall also give to the priests the first of your dough, ^bthat a blessing may rest on your house. 31 ^cThe priests shall not eat of ^danything, whether bird or beast, that has died of itself or is torn by wild animals.

The Holy District

45 “When ^eyou allot the land as an inheritance, ^fyou shall set apart for the Lord a portion of the land as a holy district, 25,000 cubits¹ long and 20,000² cubits broad. It shall be holy throughout its whole extent. 2 ^gOf this a square plot of 500 by 500 cubits shall be for the sanctuary, with fifty cubits for ^han open space around it. 3 And ⁱfrom this measured district you shall measure off a section 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 broad, ^jin which shall be the sanctuary, ^kthe Most Holy Place. 4 ^lIt shall be the holy portion of the land. It shall be for the priests, who minister in the sanctuary and approach the Lord to minister to him, and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. 5 ^mAnother section, 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits broad, shall be for the Levites who minister at the temple, as their possession for cities to live in.³

6 “Alongside the portion set apart as the holy district ⁿyou shall assign for the property of the city an area 5,000 cubits broad and 25,000 cubits long. ^oIt shall belong to the whole house of Israel.

The Portion for the Prince

7 ^p“And to ^qthe prince shall belong the land on both sides of the holy district and the property of the city, alongside the holy district and the property of the city, on the west and on the east, corresponding in length to one of the tribal portions, and extending from the western to the eastern boundary 8 of the land. It is to be his property in Israel. And ^rmy princes shall no more oppress my people, but ^sthey shall let the house of Israel have the land according to their tribes.

9 “Thus says the Lord God: ^tEnough, O princes of Israel! Put away violence and oppression, and execute justice and righteousness. Cease ^uyour evictions of my people, declares the Lord God.

10 ^v“You shall have just balances, a just ephah, and a just bath.⁴ 11 The ephah and the bath shall be ^wof the same measure, ^xthe bath containing one tenth of a homer,⁵ and the ephah one tenth of a homer; the homer shall be the standard measure. 12 ^yThe shekel shall be twenty gerahs;⁶ twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels shall be your mina.⁷

13 ^z“This is the offering that you shall make: one sixth of an ephah from each homer of wheat, and one sixth of an ephah from each homer of barley, 14 and as the fixed portion of oil, measured in baths, one tenth of a bath from each cor⁸ (the cor, like the homer, contains ^aten baths).⁹ 15 And one sheep from every flock of two hundred, from the watering places of Israel for grain offering, burnt offering, and peace offerings, ^bto make atonement for them, declares the Lord God. 16 All the people of the land shall be obliged to give this offering to the prince in Israel. 17 ^cIt shall be the prince’s duty to furnish the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings, at the feasts, the new moons, and the Sabbaths, all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel: he shall provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings, to make atonement on behalf of the house of Israel.

18 “Thus says the Lord God: In the first month, ^don the first day of the month, you shall take a bull from the herd without blemish, and ^epurify the sanctuary. 19 ^fThe priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it ^gon the doorposts of the temple, the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and the posts of the gate of the inner court. 20 You shall do the same on the seventh day of the month for anyone who has sinned through error or ignorance; so you shall make atonement for the temple.

21 ^h“In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall celebrate the Feast of the Passover, and for seven days unleavened bread shall be eaten. 22 On that day the prince ⁱshall provide for himself and all the people of the land a young bull for a sin offering. 23 And on ^jthe seven days of the festival he shall provide as a burnt offering to the Lord seven young bulls and seven rams without blemish, on each of the seven days; and ^ka male goat daily for a sin offering. 24 And ^lhe shall provide as ^ma grain offering an ephah for each bull, an ephah for each ram, and a hin¹⁰ of oil to each ephah. 25 ⁿIn the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month and for the seven days of the feast, ^ohe shall make the same provision for sin offerings, burnt offerings, and grain offerings, and for the oil.

The Prince and the Feasts

46 “Thus says the Lord God: ^pThe gate of ^qthe inner court that faces east shall be shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and ^ron the day of the new moon it shall be opened. 2 ^sThe prince shall enter by the vestibule of the gate from outside, and shall take his stand by ^tthe post of the gate. ^uThe priests shall offer his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at ^vthe threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be shut until evening. 3 ^wThe people of the land shall bow down at the entrance of that gate before the Lord on the Sabbaths and on the new moons. 4 ^xThe burnt offering that the prince offers to the Lord ^yon the Sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish. 5 And ^zthe grain offering with the ram shall be an ephah,¹ and the grain offering with the lambs shall be ^aas much as he is able, together with a hin² of oil to each ephah. 6 On the day of the new moon he shall offer a bull from the herd without blemish, and six lambs and a ram, which shall be without blemish. 7 As a grain offering he shall provide an ephah with the bull and an ephah with the ram, and with the lambs ^bas much as he is able, together with a hin of oil to each ephah. 8 ^cWhen the prince enters, he shall enter by the vestibule of the gate, and he shall go out by the same way.

9 ^d“When the people of the land ^ecome before the Lord at the appointed feasts, he who enters by the north gate to worship shall go out by the south gate, and he who enters by the south gate shall go out by the north gate: no one shall return by way of the gate by which he entered, but each shall go out straight ahead. 10 When they enter, ^fthe prince shall enter with them, and when they go out, he shall go out.

11 “At the feasts and the appointed festivals, ^zthe grain offering with a young bull shall be an ephah, and with a ram an ephah, and with the lambs ^bas much as one is able to give, together with a hin of oil to an ephah. 12 When the prince provides ^ga freewill offering, either a burnt offering or peace offerings as a freewill offering to the Lord, ^hthe gate facing east shall be opened for him. And he shall offer his burnt offering or his peace offerings ⁱas he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he has gone out the gate shall be shut.

13 ^j“You shall provide a lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering to the Lord daily; morning by morning you shall provide it. 14 And ^kyou shall provide a grain offering with it morning by morning, one sixth of an ephah, and one third of a hin of oil to moisten the flour, as a grain offering to the Lord. This is a perpetual statute. 15 Thus the lamb and the meal offering and the oil shall be provided, morning by morning, for ^la regular burnt offering.

16 “Thus says the Lord God: If the prince makes a gift to any of his sons as his inheritance, it shall belong to his sons. It is their property by inheritance. 17 But if he makes a gift ^mout of his inheritance to one of his servants, it shall be his to ⁿthe year of liberty. Then it shall revert to the prince; surely it is his inheritance—it shall belong to his sons. 18 ^oThe prince shall not take any of the inheritance of the people, ^pthrusting them out of their property. He shall give his sons their inheritance out of his own property, so that none of my people shall be ^qscattered from his property.”

Boiling Places for Offerings

19 Then he brought me through the entrance, which was ^rat the side of the gate, to the north row of ^sthe holy chambers for the priests, and behold, a place was there at the extreme western end of them. 20 And he said to me, “This is the place where the priests ^tshall boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where ^uthey shall bake the grain offering, in order not to bring them out into the outer court and so ^vtransmit holiness to the people.”

21 Then he brought me out to the outer court and led me around to the four corners of the court. And behold, in each corner of the court there was another court— 22 in the four corners of the court were small³ courts, forty cubits⁴ long and thirty broad; the four were of the same size. 23 On the inside, around each of the four courts was a row of masonry, with hearths made at the bottom of the rows all around. 24 Then he said to me, “These are the kitchens where those who ^wminister at the temple ^tshall boil the sacrifices of the people.”