Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. And behold, the
glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound
of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth
shone with his glory. And the vision I saw was just like the vision
that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and just like the
vision that I had seen by the Chebar canal. And I fell on my face.
As the glory of the LORD entered the temple by the gate facing
east, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court;
and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
While the man was standing beside me, I heard one speaking to me
out of the temple, and he said to me, “Son of man, this is the
place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I
will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever. And the
house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they,
nor their kings, by their whoring and by the dead bodies of their
kings at their high places, by setting their threshold by my
threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall
between me and them. They have defiled my holy name by their
abominations that they have committed, so I have consumed them in
my anger. Now let them put away their whoring and the dead bodies
of their kings far from me, and I will dwell in their midst
forever.
“As for you, son of man, describe to the house of Israel the
temple, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and they
shall measure the plan. And if they are ashamed of all that they
have done, make known to them the design of the temple, its
arrangement, its exits and its entrances, that is, its whole
design; and make known to them as well all its statutes and its
whole design and all its laws, and write it down in their sight, so
that they may observe all its laws and all its statutes and carry
them out. This is the law of the temple: the whole territory on the
top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is
the law of the temple.
“These are the measurements of the altar by cubits (the cubit
being a cubit and a handbreadth): its base shall be one cubit high
and one cubit broad, with a rim of one span around its edge. And
this shall be the height of the altar: from the base on the ground
to the lower ledge, two cubits, with a breadth of one cubit; and
from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge, four cubits, with a
breadth of one cubit; and the altar hearth, four cubits; and from
the altar hearth projecting upward, four horns. The altar hearth
shall be square, twelve cubits long by twelve broad. The ledge also
shall be square, fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad, with a rim
around it half a cubit broad, and its base one cubit all around.
The steps of the altar shall face east.”
And he said to me, “Son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: These are
the ordinances for the altar: On the day when it is erected for
offering burnt offerings upon it and for throwing blood against it,
you shall give to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok, who
draw near to me to minister to me, declares the Lord GOD, a bull
from the herd for a sin offering. And you shall take some of its
blood and put it on the four horns of the altar and on the four
corners of the ledge and upon the rim all around. Thus you shall
purify the altar and make atonement for it. You shall also take the
bull of the sin offering, and it shall be burned in the appointed
place belonging to the temple, outside the sacred area. And on the
second day you shall offer a male goat without blemish for a sin
offering; and the altar shall be purified, as it was purified with
the bull. When you have finished purifying it, you shall offer a
bull from the herd without blemish and a ram from the flock without
blemish. You shall present them before the LORD, and the priests
shall sprinkle salt on them and offer them up as a burnt offering
to the LORD. For seven days you shall provide daily a male goat for
a sin offering; also, a bull from the herd and a ram from the
flock, without blemish, shall be provided. Seven days shall they
make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, and so consecrate it.
And when they have completed these days, then from the eighth day
onward the priests shall offer on the altar your burnt offerings
and your peace offerings, and I will accept you, declares the Lord
GOD.”
