Ezekiel 43

43 ¹Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. ²The glory of the Father of Israel came from the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. ³The vision I saw was like the one when he came to destroy the city, and like the vision by the Kebar River; and I fell facedown. ⁴And the glory of our Father came into the temple through the east gate. ⁵Then the Spirit of our Father lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of our Father filled the temple.

⁶I heard someone speaking to me from the temple, and a man stood beside me.

⁷He said to me: "Son of man, this is the place of my throne, the place for the soles of my feet, where I will live among the Israelites forever. The house of Israel will no longer make my holy name unclean—they and their kings—by their unfaithfulness and by the corpses of their kings at their high places. ^a a v7 "Corpses of their kings at their high places" likely refers to royal burial monuments placed within or adjacent to the temple precinct. ⁸They set their threshold by mine, their doorpost beside mine, with only a wall between us. They made my holy name unclean by their detestable acts, so I destroyed them in my anger. ⁹Now let them put their unfaithfulness and their kings' corpses far from me, and I will live among them forever.

¹⁰Son of man, describe the temple to Israel, so they feel ashamed of their sins; and let them measure its design. ¹¹If they are ashamed of all they have done, tell them the temple's design—its layout, its exits and entrances, its whole form, all its statutes, all its designs and all its laws. Write it before them, so they may keep its whole design and all its statutes and carry them out.

¹²This is the law of the temple: the whole area atop the mountain all around is most holy. This is the law of the temple.

The Altar of Sacrifice

¹³"These are the altar's measurements: its base about twenty-one inches deep and twenty-one inches wide, with a rim about nine inches around its edge. This is the altar's height: ¹⁴From the base on the ground to the lower ledge: about three and a half feet, width about twenty-one inches. From the smaller ledge to the larger ledge: about seven feet, width about twenty-one inches. ¹⁵And the altar hearth was seven feet high, and from the altar hearth four horns projected upward. ¹⁶The altar hearth was twenty-one feet long by twenty-one feet wide, square on its four sides. ¹⁷The ledge was twenty-four and a half feet long and wide on its four sides, with a border around it of about ten and a half inches and a base of about twenty-one inches all around; its steps faced east."

¹⁸He said to me, "Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Father says: These are the rules for the altar the day it is built—for offering burnt offerings on it and sprinkling blood on it. ¹⁹Give the Levitical priests descended from Zadok, who approach me to serve me, declares the Sovereign Father, a young bull as a sin offering. ²⁰Take some of its blood and put it on the altar's four horns, the four corners of the ledge, and the border all around; so you purify and atone for it. ²¹Then take the bull of the sin offering; burn it in the appointed place of the temple, outside the sanctuary.

²²On the second day, offer a male goat without defect as a sin offering; they will purify the altar as they purified it with the bull. ²³When you finish purifying it, offer a young bull without defect and a ram from the flock without defect. ²⁴Present them before our Father; the priests will sprinkle salt on them and offer them as a burnt offering to our Father.

²⁵For seven days you are to provide a goat daily as a sin offering, and a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect. ²⁶For seven days they will make atonement for the altar, cleanse it, and so dedicate it. ²⁷When these days end, from the eighth day on the priests are to offer your burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar; and I will accept you, declares the Sovereign Father."