The Lord's Glory Returns to the Temple
1 The man took me back to the east gate of the temple, 2 where I saw the brightness of the glory of Israel's God coming from the east. The sound I heard was as loud as ocean waves, and everything around was shining with the dazzling brightness of his glory. 3 This vision was like the one I had seen when God came to destroy Jerusalem and like the one I had seen near the Chebar River.
I immediately bowed with my face to the ground, 4 and the Lord's glory came through the east gate and into the temple. 5 The Lord's Spirit lifted me to my feet and carried me to the inner courtyard, where I saw that the Lord's glory had filled the temple.
6 The man was standing beside me, and I heard the Lord say from inside the temple:
7 Ezekiel, son of man, this temple is my throne on earth. I will live here among the people of Israel forever. They and their kings will never again disgrace me by worshiping idols at local shrines or by setting up memorials to their dead kings. 8 Israel's kings built their palaces so close to my holy temple that only a wall separated them from me. Then these kings disgraced me with their evil ways, and in my fierce anger I destroyed them. 9 But if the people and their kings stop worshiping other gods and tear down those memorials, I will live among them forever.
10 The people of Israel must suffer shame for sinning against me, so tell them about my holy temple. Let them think about it, 11 then if they are truly sorry, describe for them the design and shape of the temple, the gates, the measurements, and how the buildings are arranged. Explain the regulations about worshiping there, then write down these things, so they can study and obey them.
12 The temple area on my holy mountain must be kept sacred! This is the most important law about the temple.
The Altar
13 According to the official standards, the altar in the temple had the following measurements: Around the bottom of the altar was a gutter 50 centimeters wide and 50 centimeters deep, with a 25-centimeter ledge on the outer rim. 14-17 The altar rested on a base and had three sections, each one of them square. The bottom section was 8 meters on each side and one meter high. The middle section was 7 meters on each side and 2 meters high, and it had a 25-centimeter rim around its outer edge. The top section, which was 6 meters on each side and 2 meters high, was the place where sacrifices were burned, and the four corners of the top section looked like the horns of a bull. The steps leading up to the altar were on the east side.
The Dedication of the Altar
18 The Lord God said:
Ezekiel, son of man, after the altar is built, it must be dedicated by offering sacrifices on it and by splattering it with blood. Here is what you must do: 19 The priests of the Levi tribe from the family of Zadok the priest are the only ones who may serve in my temple—this is my law. So give them a young bull to slaughter as a sacrifice for sin. 20 Take some of the animal's blood and smear it on the four corners of the altar, some on the corners of the middle section, and some more on the rim around its edge. That will purify the altar and make it fit for offering sacrifices to me. 21 Then take the body of the bull outside the temple area and burn it at the special place.
22 The next day, a goat that has nothing wrong with it must be offered as a sacrifice for sin. Purify the altar with its blood, just as you did with the blood of the bull. 23 Then choose a young bull and a young ram that have nothing wrong with them, 24 and bring them to my temple. The priests will sprinkle salt on them and offer them as sacrifices to please me.
25 Each day for the next seven days, you must offer a goat and a bull and a ram as sacrifices for sin. These animals must have nothing wrong with them. 26 The priests will purify the altar during those days, so that it will be acceptable to me and ready to use. 27 From then on, the priests will use this altar to offer sacrifices to please me and sacrifices to ask my blessing. Then I will be pleased with the people of Israel. I, the Lord God, have spoken.
The Lord Returns to the Temple
1 The man took me to the gate that faces east, 2 and there I saw coming from the east the dazzling light of the presence of the God of Israel. God's voice sounded like the roar of the sea, and the earth shone with the dazzling light. 3 This vision was like the one I had seen when God came to destroy Jerusalem, and the one I saw by the Chebar River. Then I threw myself face downward on the ground. 4 The dazzling light passed through the east gate and went into the Temple.
5 The Lord's spirit lifted me up and took me into the inner courtyard, where I saw that the Temple was filled with the glory of the Lord. 6 The man stood beside me there, and I heard the Lord speak to me out of the Temple: 7 “Mortal man, here is my throne. I will live here among the people of Israel and rule them forever. Neither the people of Israel nor their kings will ever again disgrace my holy name by worshiping other gods or by burying the corpses of their dead kings. 8 The kings built the doorsills and doorposts of their palace right against the doorsills and doorposts of my Temple, so that there was only a wall between us. They disgraced my holy name by all the disgusting things they did, and so in my anger I destroyed them. 9 Now they must stop worshiping other gods and remove the corpses of their kings. If they do, I will live among them forever.”
10 And the Lord continued, “Mortal man, tell the people of Israel about the Temple, and let them study its plan. Make them ashamed of their sinful actions. 11 Then if they are ashamed of what they have done, explain the plan of the Temple to them: its design, its entrances and exits, its shape, the arrangement of everything, and all its rules and regulations. Write all this down for them so that they can see how everything is arranged and can carry out all the rules. 12 This is the law of the Temple: All the area surrounding it on the top of the mountain is sacred and holy.”
The Altar
13 These are the measurements of the altar, using the same unit of measure as in measuring the Temple. All around the base of the altar there was a gutter 20 inches deep and 20 inches wide, with a rim at the outside edge 10 inches high. 14 The lowest section of the altar, from the top of the base, was 4 feet high. The next section was set back from the edge 20 inches all around, and was 7 feet high. The section after that was also set back from the edge 20 inches all around. 15 This top section, on which the sacrifices were burned, was also 7 feet high. The projections on the four corners were higher than the rest of the top. 16 The top of the altar was a square, 20 feet on each side. 17 The middle section was also a square, 24 feet on each side, with a rim at the outside edge 10 inches high. (The gutter was 20 inches wide.) The steps going up the altar were on the east side.
The Consecration of the Altar
18 The Sovereign Lord said to me, “Mortal man, listen to what I tell you. When the altar is built, you are to dedicate it by burning sacrifices on it and by sprinkling on it the blood of the animals that were sacrificed. 19 Those priests belonging to the tribe of Levi who are descended from Zadok are the only ones who are to come into my presence to serve me. I, the Sovereign Lord, command this. You will give them a young bull to offer as a sacrifice for sin. 20 You are to take some of its blood and put it on the projections on the top corners of the altar, on the corners of the middle section of the altar, and all around its edges. In this way you will purify the altar and consecrate it. 21 You are to take the bull that is offered as a sacrifice for sin and burn it at the specified place outside the Temple area. 22 The next day you are to take a male goat without any defects and offer it as a sacrifice for sin. Purify the altar with its blood the same way you did with the bull. 23 When you have finished doing that, take a young bull and a young ram, both of them without any defects, 24 and bring them to me. The priests will sprinkle salt on them and burn them as an offering to me. 25 Each day for seven days you are to offer a goat, a bull, and a ram as sacrifices for sin. All of them must be without any defects. 26 For seven days the priests are to consecrate the altar and make it ready for use. 27 When the week is over, the priests are to begin offering on the altar the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings of the people. Then I will be pleased with all of you. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken.”