CHAPTER 43
and I saw
the glory
of the God
of Israel
coming
from
the east.
His voice
was like the roar
of many
waters,
and the earth
shone
with His glory.
The vision
I saw
was like the one
I had seen
when He came
to destroy
the city,
and like the ones
I had seen
by
the River
Kebar.
I fell
facedown,
Then the Spirit
lifted me up
and brought me
into
the inner
court,
and the glory
of the LORD
filled
the temple.
and 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 dwell
among
the Israelites
forever.
The house
of Israel
will never
again
defile
My holy
name—
neither they
nor their kings—
by their prostitution
and by the funeral offerings
for their kings
at their deaths.
When they placed
their threshold
next to
My threshold
and their doorposts
beside
My doorposts,
with only a wall
between Me and them,
they defiled
My holy
name
by the abominations
they committed.
Therefore I have consumed
them
in My anger.
Now
let them remove
far from Me
their prostitution
and the funeral offerings
for their kings,
and I will dwell
among them
forever.
As for you,
son
of man,
describe
the temple
to the people
of Israel,
so that they may be ashamed
of their iniquities.
Let them measure
the plan,
and if
they are ashamed
of all
they have done,
then make known
to them
the design
of the temple—
its arrangement
and its exits
and entrances—
its whole
design
along with all
its statutes,
forms,
and laws.
Write it down
in their sight,
so that they may observe
its complete
design
and all
its statutes,
and may carry them out.
This
is the law
of the temple:
All
its surrounding
territory
on
top
of the mountain
will be most holy.
Yes,
this
is the law
of the temple.
These
are the measurements
of the altar
in long cubits
(a cubit
and a handbreadth):
Its gutter
shall be a cubit deep
and a cubit
wide,
with a rim
of one
span
around
its edge.
And this is
the height
of the altar:
The space from the gutter
on the ground
to
the lower
ledge
shall be two
cubits high
and one
cubit
wide,
and from the smaller
ledge
to
the larger
ledge
shall be four
cubits high
and one cubit
wide.
The ledge
shall also be square,
fourteen cubits
long
and fourteen cubits
wide,
with a rim
of half
a cubit
and a gutter
of a cubit
all around
it.
The steps of the altar
shall face
east.”
Then He said
to me:
“Son
of man,
this is what
the Lord
GOD
says:
‘These
are the statutes
for the altar
on the day
it is constructed,
so that burnt offerings
may be sacrificed
on it
and blood
may be sprinkled
on it:
You are to give
a young
bull
from the herd
as a sin offering
to
the Levitical
priests
who
are of
the family
of Zadok,
who approach
Me
to minister before Me,
declares
the Lord
GOD.
You are to take
some of its blood
and put it
on
the four
horns of the altar,
on
the four
corners
of the ledge,
and all around
the rim;
thus you will cleanse
the altar and make atonement for it.
Then you are to take away
the bull
for the sin offering
and burn it
in the appointed part
of the temple area
outside
the sanctuary.
On the second
day
you are to present
an unblemished
male goat
as a sin offering,
and the altar
is to be cleansed
as it was
with the bull.
When you have finished
the purification,
you are to present
a young,
unblemished
bull
and an unblemished
ram
from
the flock.
You must present
them before
the LORD;
the priests
are to sprinkle
salt
on them
and sacrifice
them
as a burnt offering
to the LORD.
For seven
days
you are to provide
a male goat
daily
for a sin offering;
you are also to provide
a young bull
and a ram
from
the flock,
both unblemished.
For seven
days
the priests are to make atonement
for the altar
and cleanse it;
so they shall consecrate
it.
At the end
of these days,
from the eighth
day
on,
the priests
are to present
your burnt offerings
and peace offerings
on
the altar.
Then I will accept you,
declares
the Lord
GOD.’”