Ezekiel 43

¹ He took me to the gate, the one facing east.

² I saw the glory of the God of Israel approaching from the east. A sound came with it, like the sound of the ocean, and the earth shone with his glory.

³ This vision was like the one I had seen when I had come for the destruction of the city, and like the one I had seen on the bank of the river Chebar. Then I prostrated myself.

⁴ The glory of Yahweh arrived at the Temple by the east gate.

⁵ The spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; I saw the glory of Yahweh fill the Temple.

⁶ And I heard someone speaking to me from the Temple while the man stood beside me.

⁷ The voice said, ‘Son of man, this is the dais of my throne, the step on which I rest my feet. I shall live here among the sons of Israel for ever; and the House of Israel, they and their kings, will no longer defile my holy name with their whorings and the corpses of their kings,

⁸ setting their threshold beside my threshold and their pillars beside my pillars, with a party wall shared by them and me. They used to defile my holy name by their filthy practices, and this is why I destroyed them in my anger.

⁹ From now on they will banish their whorings and the corpses of their kings from my presence and I shall live among them for ever.

¹⁰ ‘Son of man, describe this Temple to the House of Israel, to shame them out of their filthy practices. Let them draw up the plan,

¹¹ and, if they are ashamed of their behaviour, show them the design and plan of the Temple, its exits and entrances, its shape, how all of it is arranged, the entire design and all its principles. Give them all this in writing so that they can see and take note of its design and the way it is all arranged and carry it out.

¹² This is the charter of the Temple: all the surrounding area on top of the mountain is a most holy area. Such is the charter of the Temple.’

¹³ Here are the dimensions of the altar, in cubits each of a cubit plus a handbreadth. The base: one cubit high and one cubit wide. The ledge all round it: one span. This is the height of the altar:

¹⁴ from the ground level of the base up to the lower plinth, two cubits high and one cubit wide; from the lesser plinth to the greater plinth, four cubits high and one cubit wide.

¹⁵ The altar hearth: four cubits high, with four horns projecting from the hearth,

¹⁶ the hearth being square: twelve cubits by twelve cubits;

¹⁷ and the square plinth: fourteen cubits by fourteen cubits; and the ledge all round: half a cubit; and the base: one cubit all round. The steps were on the east side.

¹⁸ He said to me, ‘Son of man, the Lord Yahweh says this: As regards the altar, this is how things are to be done when it has been built for the offering of the holocaust and for the pouring of blood.

¹⁹ To those levitical priests of the race of Zadok who approach me to serve me – it is the Lord Yahweh who speaks – you must give a young bull as a sacrifice for sin.

²⁰ You are to take some of its blood and put it on the four horns and the four corners of the plinth and the surrounding ledge. In this way you will purify it and make atonement on it.

²¹ Then take the bull of the sacrifice for sin and burn it in that part of the Temple which is cut off from the sanctuary.

²² On the second day, you must offer an unblemished he-goat as the sacrifice for sin, and the altar is to be purified again as with the bull.

²³ When you have finished the purification you must offer a young bull without blemish and an unblemished ram chosen from the flock.

²⁴ You are to present them before Yahweh, and the priests will sprinkle salt on them and offer them as a holocaust to Yahweh.

²⁵ As a sacrifice for sin, every day for seven days you must offer a he-goat, a bull and an unblemished ram from the flock,

²⁶ for a week. In this way the altar will be atoned for and will be purified and inaugurated.

²⁷ At the end of that time, on the eighth day and afterwards, the priest is to offer your holocausts and your communion sacrifices on the altar, and I will look kindly on you – it is the Lord Yahweh who speaks.’