Top of Page
Page Style
the man brought me to the gate, the gate facing east. 2 There I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of mighty waters, and the earth was lit up by His glory. 3 The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when He came to destroy the city, and like the visions I had seen by the Chebar River. Upon this, I fell facedown. 4 The glory of the Lord entered the temple through the gate facing east. 5 Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the inner court, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.
6 While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple. 7 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. No more will the house of Israel and their kings defile My holy name by their idolatrous prostitution and by the dead bodies of their kings at their high places. 8 Whenever they placed their threshold next to My threshold and their doorposts beside My doorposts, with only a wall between Me and them, they were defiling My holy name by the abominations they committed. So I destroyed them in My anger. 9 Now let them put their idolatrous prostitution and the dead bodies of their kings far from Me, and I will dwell among them forever.
10 “As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of all their iniquities. Let them measure its design, 11 and they will be ashamed of all they have done. Make known to them the design of the temple and its layout, its exits and entrances—its complete design and all its regulations and laws. Write it down before their eyes, that they may faithfully follow its complete design and all its regulations.
12 “This is the law of the temple: the whole area surrounding the top of the mountain shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.
13 “These are the measurements of the altar by cubits, where each unit of measure is a cubit and a handbreadth: the gutter is a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim one span high around its edge. And this is the height of the altar: 14 from the gutter on the ground to the lower ledge, two cubits; the width of the ledge, one cubic; from the lower ledge to the upper ledge, four cubits; and the width of the ledge, one cubit. 15 The height of the altar hearth is four cubits, with four horns projecting upward from the hearth. 16 The altar hearth is square, twelve cubits long and twelve cubits wide. 17 The ledge is fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide, with four equal sides. The rim all around it half a cubit, and its gutter is one cubit all around it. The steps of the altar face east.”
18 Then He said to me, “Son of man, this is what the Lord God says: These are the ordinances for the altar on the day it is built, so that burnt offerings may be sacrificed on it and blood may be sprinkled on it: 19 You are to give a young bull as a sin offering to the priests, the Levites, who are of the family of Zadok, who draw near Me to minister to Me, says the Lord God. 20 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. In this way you will purify the altar and make atonement for it. 21 Then you are to take the bull for the sin offering, and it is to be burned in the appointed place of the temple area outside the sanctuary.
22 “On the second day you are to offer a male goat without defect for a sin offering; and the altar will be cleansed, just as it was cleansed with the bull. 23 When you have finished purifying it, you are to offer a young bull without defect, and a ram of the flock without defect. 24 You are to offer them before the Lord, and the priests are to throw salt on them and sacrifice them as a burnt offering to the Lord.
25 “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 without defect. 26 For seven days they are to make atonement for the altar and cleanse it; thus they will dedicate it. 27 At the end of these days, from the eighth day on, the priests are to present your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar. Then I will accept you, says the Lord God.”