Vision of the Glory of God Filling the Temple

1Then he (the angel) led me to the gate, the gate that faces toward the east. 2And behold, the glory and brilliance of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the east; and His voice was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with His glory. 3And it was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, like the vision I saw when He came to destroy the city. And the visions were like the vision I saw beside the River Chebar [near Babylon]; and I fell face downward. 4And the glory and brilliance of the LORD entered the [a]temple by way of the gate facing toward the east. 5Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner courtyard; and behold, the glory and brilliance of the LORD filled the temple.

6And I heard One speaking to me from the temple, while a man was standing beside me. 7And He [the LORD] 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 sons (descendants) of Israel forever. And the house of Israel will not again defile My holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their [idolatrous] prostitution and by the corpses and monuments of their kings in their graves, 8by setting their threshold by My threshold and their doorpost beside My doorpost, with [only] the wall between Me and them. They have defiled and desecrated My holy name by the vile atrocities which they have committed. So I have consumed them in My anger. 9Now let them put far away from Me their [idolatrous] prostitution and the corpses and monuments of their kings, and I will dwell in their midst forever.

10“As for you, son of man, [b]describe the temple to the house of Israel, so that they will be ashamed of their sins; and let them measure its plan [in detail]. 11If they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple (house), its layout, its exits, its entrances, all its designs, all its statutes, and all its laws. And write it down in their sight, so that they may keep its whole design and all its statutes and do them. 12This is the law of the temple: Its entire [c]area all around on the top of the mountain [d](Mount Moriah) shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.

The Altar of Sacrifice

13“And these are the measurements of the altar [of burnt offering] in cubits (the cubit being a [long] cubit [the length of a forearm] and a hand width): the [e]base shall be a cubit [long] and a cubit wide, with its border on its edge all around it of a span [in width]. And this shall be the height of the [f]base of the altar. 14From the base on the ground to the lower ledge shall be two cubits and the width one cubit; and from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge shall be four cubits and the width one cubit. 15The altar hearth shall be four cubits high, and from the altar hearth shall extend upwards four horns [one from each corner, each one cubit high]. 16Now the altar hearth shall be twelve cubits long by twelve wide, square in its four sides. 17The ledge shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen wide on its four sides, and the border around it shall be half a cubit; and its base shall be a cubit all around, and its steps shall face the east.”

The Offerings

18And He [the LORD] said to me, “Son of man, thus says the Lord GOD, ‘These are the statutes and regulations for [the use of] the altar on the day that it is built, to offer burnt offerings on it and to sprinkle blood on it. 19You shall give to the priests, the Levites who are from the descendants of Zadok, who are close to Me to minister to Me,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘a young bull for a sin offering [as a memorial to Christ’s sacrifice]. 20And you shall take some of its blood and put it on the four horns [of the altar of burnt offering] and on the four corners of the ledge and on the border all around; thus you shall cleanse it (from sin) and make atonement for it. 21You shall also take the bull for the sin offering, and it shall be burned in the appointed place of the temple, outside the sanctuary.

22‘On the second day you shall offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering, and they shall cleanse the altar as they cleansed it with the bull. 23When you have finished cleansing it, you shall offer a young bull without blemish and a ram from the flock without blemish. 24You shall present them before the LORD, and the priests shall throw salt on them, and they shall offer them up as a burnt offering to the LORD. 25For seven days you shall prepare daily a goat for a sin offering; also a young bull and a ram from the flock, without blemish, shall be prepared. 26For seven days they shall make atonement for the altar and purify it; so the priests shall consecrate it [to receive offerings]. 27When they have completed these days, on the eighth day and from then onward, the priests shall offer your burnt offerings on the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you,’ says the Lord GOD.”

[a] 4 Lit house.
[b] 10 Lit inform about.
[c] 12 Lit boundary.
[d] 12 Moriah is identified in Gen 22:2 as the region where Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac, and is identified in 2 Chr 3:1 as the site of the temple built by Solomon.
[e] 13 Lit lap. The metric and architectural terminology corresponds to human physiology. While this is natural enough for an ancient culture, it also serves at least three purposes: 1) it ensures that the scale of the structures will be practical for human occupation; 2) it communicates across cultures; and 3) terms like “shoulder” and “lap” indicate something of the shape andor purpose of the item, such as the task of load-bearing.
[f] 13 Lit back.