Ezekiel 42–44

Chapter 42

¹And he brought me forth into the outer court, the way toward the north; and he brought me to the cells that were over against the separate place and which were over against the building, toward the north, ²before the length of the hundred cubits: the entry was on the north, and the breadth was fifty cubits, ³over against the twenty cubits that pertained to the inner court, and over against the pavement that pertained to the outer court; there was gallery against gallery in the third story; ⁴and before the cells was a walk of ten cubits in breadth, and a way of a hundred cubits inward; and their entries were toward the north. ⁵And the upper cells, because the galleries encroached on them, were shorter than the lower, and than the middle-most of the building. ⁶For they were in three stories, but had not pillars as the pillars of the courts; therefore the third story was straitened more than the lowest and the middle-most from the ground. ⁷And the wall that was without, answering to the cells, toward the outer court in the front of the cells, its length was fifty cubits: ⁸for the length of the cells that were against the outer court was fifty cubits; but behold, before the temple it was a hundred cubits. ⁹And under these cells was the entry from the east, as one goeth into them from the outer court. ¹⁰In the breadth of the wall of the court toward the south, before the separate place, and before the building, were cells; ¹¹and a passage before them, like the appearance of the cells that were toward the north, according to their length, according to their breadth and all their goings out, and according to their fashions, and according to their doors. ¹²And according to the doors of the cells that were toward the south there was a door at the head of the way, the way directly before the corresponding wall toward the east as one entereth into them. ¹³And he said unto me, The north cells and the south cells, which are before the separate place, they are holy cells, where the priests that come near unto Jehovah shall eat the most holy things; there shall they lay the most holy things, both the oblation and the sin-offering and the trespass-offering: for the place is holy. ¹⁴When the priests enter in, they shall not go forth from the sanctuary into the outer court, but there they shall lay their garments wherein they minister, for they are holy; and they shall put on other garments, and shall approach to that which is for the people.

¹⁵And when he had made an end of measuring the inner house, he brought me forth toward the gate whose front was toward the east, and measured the enclosure round about. ¹⁶He measured the east side with the measuring-reed, five hundred reeds, with the measuring-reed round about. ¹⁷He measured the north side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring-reed round about. ¹⁸He measured the south side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring-reed. ¹⁹He turned about to the west side, and measured five hundred reeds with the measuring-reed. ²⁰He measured it on the four sides; it had a wall round about, five hundred long, and five hundred broad, to make a separation between that which was holy and that which was common.

Chapter 43

¹And he brought me unto the gate, the gate which looked toward the east. ²And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east; and his voice was like the voice of many waters; and the earth was lit up with his glory. ³And the appearance of the vision that I saw was according to the vision that I had seen when I came to destroy the city; and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar: and I fell upon my face. ⁴And the glory of Jehovah came into the house by the way of the gate whose front was toward the east. ⁵And the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of Jehovah filled the house. ⁶And I heard one speaking unto me out of the house; and a man was standing by me.

⁷And he said unto 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 children of Israel for ever; and the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, they nor their kings, with their fornication, and with the carcases of their kings in their high places, ⁸in that they set their threshold by my threshold, and their post by my post, and there was only a wall between me and them, and they defiled my holy name with their abominations which they committed; and I consumed them in mine anger. ⁹Now let them put away their fornication, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever. ¹⁰Thou, son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be confounded at their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. ¹¹And if they be confounded at all that they have done, make known to them the form of the house, and its fashion, and its goings out, and its comings in, and all its forms, and all its statutes, yea, all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof; and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the statutes thereof, and do them. ¹²This is the law of the house: Upon the top of the mountain all its border round about is most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.

¹³And these are the measures of the altar in cubits: the cubit is a cubit and a hand breadth. The bottom was a cubit in height and the breadth a cubit, and its border on the edge thereof round about, one span: and this was the base of the altar. ¹⁴And from the bottom upon the ground to the lower settle was two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the small settle to the great settle, four cubits, and the breadth a cubit. ¹⁵And the upper altar was four cubits; and from the hearth of •God and upward were four horns. ¹⁶And the hearth of •God was twelve cubits long, by twelve broad, square in the four sides thereof. ¹⁷And the settle was fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad in the four sides thereof; and the border about it, half a cubit; and the bottom thereof a cubit round about: and its steps looked toward the east. ¹⁸And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer up burnt-offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon. ¹⁹And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that are of the seed of Zadok, who come near unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord Jehovah, a young bullock for a sin-offering. ²⁰And thou shalt take of its blood, and put it on the four horns thereof, and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about: so shalt thou purge and make atonement for it. ²¹And thou shalt take the bullock of the sin-offering, and it shall be burned in the appointed place of the house, outside the sanctuary. ²²And on the second day thou shalt present a he-goat without blemish for a sin-offering; and they shall purge the altar, as they purged it with the bullock. ²³When thou hast ended purging it, thou shalt present a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish; ²⁴and thou shalt present them before Jehovah; and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt-offering unto Jehovah. ²⁵Seven days shalt thou offer daily a goat for a sin-offering; they shall also offer a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock without blemish. ²⁶Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and purify it, and consecrate it. ²⁷And when these days are ended, it shall be that upon the eighth day and onwards the priests shall offer your burnt-offerings upon the altar, and your peace-offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord Jehovah.

Chapter 44

¹And he brought me back toward the outer gate of the sanctuary which looked toward the east; and it was shut. ²And Jehovah said unto me, This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter in by it: for Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it; and it shall be shut. ³As for the prince, he, the prince, shall sit in it to eat bread before Jehovah: he shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.

⁴And he brought me the way of the north gate before the house; and I beheld, and lo, the glory of Jehovah filled the house of Jehovah: and I fell upon my face. ⁵And Jehovah said unto me, Son of man, apply thy heart, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the statutes of the house of Jehovah, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary; ⁶and say to the rebellious, to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Let it suffice you of all your abominations, O house of Israel, ⁷in that ye have brought strangers, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to profane it, even my house, when ye offered my bread, the fat and the blood; and they have broken my covenant besides all your abominations. ⁸And ye have not kept the charge of my holy things, but have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves. ⁹Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: No stranger, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel.

¹⁰But the Levites who went away far from me, when Israel went astray, going astray from me after their idols, they shall even bear their iniquity; ¹¹but they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the house, and doing the service of the house: they shall slaughter the burnt-offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them. ¹²Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and were unto the house of Israel a stumbling-block of iniquity; therefore have I…