Ezekiel 43

1 He brought me to the east-facing gate and led me outside. 2 I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. Its voice was like an army, like the sound of many people echoing one another’s shouts, and its surrounding glory made the earth shine like light. 3 This vision was like the one I saw when I went to anoint the city. The chariot vision was like the one I saw by the Chebar River, and I fell facedown. [a] 4 The Lord’s glory entered the temple through the east-facing gate. 5 The Spirit lifted me and brought me into the inner court. I saw that the Lord’s glory filled the temple. 6 I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple while the man stood beside me. 7 He said to me, “Son of man, you have seen the place of my throne and the place where my feet rest. My name will live here among the house of Israel forever. The house of Israel and its leaders will no longer treat my holy name as common through their whoring or through the murders committed by their leaders.” 8 “They put their doorway beside my doorway and their thresholds beside mine, making my wall seem to join me to them. They treated my holy name as common by the lawless deeds they committed, so I destroyed them in my wrath and by slaughter.” 9 “Now let them remove their whoring and their leaders’ murders from me, and I will live among them forever.” 10 “Son of man, show the temple to the house of Israel so they may stop sinning. Show them its appearance and arrangement.” 11 “They will bear the punishment for everything they have done. Describe the temple, its entrances, its plan, all its decrees, and all its practices. Make them known and write them out before them, so they will keep all my rules and all my decrees and do them.” 12 “Show them the temple’s plan on the mountaintop. Its entire boundary all around will be most holy.” 13 “These are the altar’s measurements, using the 21-inch measuring unit: its trench was 21 inches deep and 21 inches wide, with a border of about 10½ inches around its rim. And this is the altar’s height:” [b] 14 “From the bottom of the trench up to the great place of atonement below was 3½ feet, and its width was 21 inches. From the small place of atonement up to the great place of atonement was 7 feet, and its width was 21 inches.” [c] 15 “The altar hearth rose 7 feet, and from the hearth its horns rose another 21 inches.” 16 “The altar hearth was a square 21 feet long and 21 feet wide.” 17 “The place of atonement was 24½ feet long and 24½ feet wide, square on its four sides. A border about 10½ inches wide ran all around it, and its rim extended 21 inches all around. Its steps faced east.” 18 He told me, 18 “Son of man, this is what the Lord God of Israel says: These are the altar’s rules for the day it is built, when whole burnt offerings are offered on it and blood is poured on it.” 19 “Give the Levitical priests descended from Zadok who draw near to serve me a calf from the herd as an offering for sin, says the Lord God.” 20 “They will take some of its blood and put it on the altar’s four horns, the four corners of the place of atonement, and the base all around. In this way they will make atonement for it.” 21 “They will take the calf for the offering for sin and burn it in the set-apart place of the temple, outside the holy place.” 22 “On the second day they will take two unblemished male goats as an offering for sin and make atonement for the altar, just as they did with the calf.” 23 “When the atonement is complete, they will bring an unblemished calf from the herd and an unblemished ram from the flock.” 24 “Present them before the Lord. The priests will sprinkle salt on them and offer them to the Lord as whole burnt offerings.” 25 “For seven days, offer one male goat each day as an offering for sin, along with a calf from the herd and a ram from the flock. They must be unblemished.” 26 “They will make atonement for the altar, make it clean, and fill their hands.” [d] 27 “From the eighth day onward, the priests will bring your whole burnt offerings and sacrifices of well-being up on the altar. Then I will accept you, says the Lord.”