Ezekiel 42–44

The Rooms for the Priests

42Then the man led me north into the outer courtyard of the temple. He brought me to the rooms that were across from the inner courtyard. They were across from the outer wall of the temple on the north side. ²The rooms were in a building north of the temple. The building had a door that faced north. It was 175 feet long. It was 87 and a half feet wide.

³One row of rooms was next to the inner courtyard. The other row was across from the sidewalk of the outer courtyard. Each room was 35 feet long. Walkways in front of each row faced each other on all three floors. ⁴Between the two rows was an inner sidewalk. It was 17 and a half feet wide and 175 feet long. Each of the rooms had a door on the north side.

⁵The rooms on the top floor were narrower than the others. The walkways took up more space from them than they did from the rooms on the other two floors. ⁶The courtyards had pillars. But the rooms on the third floor didn’t. So their floor space was smaller than the space in the rooms on the other floors.

⁷The building had an outer wall that was even with the outer row of rooms and with the outer courtyard. The wall continued east of the outer row for 87 and a half feet. ⁸So there were two rows of rooms. The row next to the outer courtyard was 87 and a half feet long. The one closest to the temple was 175 feet long. ⁹The first floor of the building had an entrance on the east side. It led to the outer courtyard.

¹⁰There were also two rows of rooms in a building next to the south side of the inner courtyard. The building was across from the south wall of the outer courtyard. ¹¹Between the two rows was an inner sidewalk. The rooms were like the ones in the north building. They were as long and wide as the rooms on the north. The doorways of the rooms on the south were like the ones on the north. ¹²People entered the south rooms through the doorway at the east end of the inner sidewalk. The south wall continued east of the outer row of rooms.

¹³The man said to me, “The north and south rooms face the inner courtyard. They are the priests’ rooms. That is where the priests who approach the Lord will eat the very holy offerings. They will also store them there. That includes the grain offerings, sin offerings and guilt offerings. This place is holy.

¹⁴“The priests who enter these holy rooms must leave behind the clothes they served in. Then they can go into the outer courtyard. The clothes they served in are holy. So they must put other clothes on. They have to do that before they go near the places where other people go.”

¹⁵The man finished measuring what was inside the temple area. Then he led me out through the east gate. He measured all around the area. ¹⁶He measured the east side with his measuring rod. It was 875 feet long. ¹⁷He measured the north side. It was 875 feet long. ¹⁸He measured the south side. It was 875 feet long. ¹⁹Finally, he turned and measured the west side. It was 875 feet long. ²⁰So he measured the area on all four sides. It had a wall around it. The wall was 875 feet long and 875 feet wide. It separated what was holy from what was not.

The Glory of the Lord Returns to the Temple

43Then the man brought me to the east gate. ²There I saw the glory of the God of Israel. He was coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters. His glory made the land shine brightly.

³The vision I saw was like the one I had when he came to destroy the city. It was also like the visions I had seen by the Kebar River. I fell with my face toward the ground. ⁴The glory of the Lord entered the temple through the east gate. ⁵Then the Spirit lifted me up. He brought me into the inner courtyard. The glory of the Lord filled the temple.

⁶The man was standing beside me. I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple. ⁷He said, “Son of man, this is the place where my throne is. The stool for my feet is also here. I will live here among the people of Israel forever. They will never again treat my name as if it were not holy. They and their kings will not serve other gods anymore. The people will no longer worship the lifeless gods of their kings at their high places.

⁸“The people of Israel placed their own doorway next to my holy doorway. They put their doorposts right beside mine. Nothing but a thin wall separated us. They treated my name as if it were not holy. I hated it when they did that. So I became angry with them and destroyed them. ⁹Now let them stop serving other gods. Let them quit worshiping the lifeless gods of their kings. If they obey me, I will live among them forever.

¹⁰“Son of man, tell the people of Israel about the temple. Then they will be ashamed of their sins. Let them think carefully about the plan of the temple. ¹¹What if they are ashamed of everything they have done? Then show them all of the plans of the temple. Explain to them how it is laid out. Tell them about its exits and entrances. Show them exactly what it will look like. Give them all of its rules and laws. Write everything down so they can see it. Then they will be faithful to its plan. And they will obey all of its rules.

¹²“Here is the law of the temple. The whole area on top of Mount Zion will be very holy. That is the law of the temple.”

The Altar

¹³The man said, “Here is the size of the altar. The standard measurement I am using is 21 inches. The base of the altar is 21 inches high. The base has a ledge that is 21 inches wide. It also has a rim that is nine inches wide around the edge. Here is how high the altar is. ¹⁴The lower part is three and a half feet high. It has a ledge that is 21 inches wide. The middle part is seven feet high. It has a ledge that is 21 inches wide.

¹⁵“The top part is where the sacrifices are burned. It is seven feet high. A horn sticks out from each of its upper four corners. ¹⁶The top part of the altar is square. It is 21 feet long and 21 feet wide. ¹⁷The middle part is also square. It is 24 and a half feet long. It is 24 and a half feet wide. Its rim is ten and a half inches wide. The base of the altar is 21 inches high all the way around. The steps leading up to the top of the altar face east.”

¹⁸Then the man said to me, “Son of man, the Lord and King speaks. He says, ‘Here are the rules for the altar when it is built. Follow them when you sacrifice burnt offerings and sprinkle blood on it. ¹⁹Give a young bull to the priests as a sin offering. They are Levites from the family of Zadok. They approach me to serve me,’ announces the Lord and King. ²⁰‘Get some of the bull’s blood. Put it on the four horns. Also put it on the four corners of the middle part of the altar and all around the rim. That will make the altar pure and clean. ²¹Use the bull for the sin offering. Burn it in the proper place outside the temple.

²²“ ‘On the second day offer a male goat. It must not have any flaws. It is a sin offering to make the altar pure and clean. So do as you did with the bull. ²³When you finish making the altar pure, offer a young bull and a ram from the flock. They must not have any flaws. ²⁴Offer them to me. The priests must sprinkle salt on them. Then they must sacrifice them as a burnt offering to me.

²⁵“ ‘Provide a male goat each day for seven days. It is a sin offering. Also provide a young bull and a ram from the flock. They must not have any flaws. ²⁶For seven days the priests must make the altar pure and clean. That is how they will set it apart to me.

²⁷“ ‘From the eighth day on, the priests must bring your burnt offerings and friendship offerings. They must sacrifice them on the altar. Then I will accept you,’ announces the Lord and King.”

The Prince, the Levites and the Priests

44Then the man brought me back to the outer gate of the temple. It was the one that faced east. It was shut. ²The Lord said to me, “This gate must remain shut. It must not be opened. No one can enter through it. It must remain shut because I have entered through it. I am the God of Israel. ³The prince is the only one who can sit in the gateway. There he can eat in front of me. He must enter through the porch of the gateway. And he must go out the same way.”

⁴Then the man brought me through the north gate. He took me to the front of the temple. I looked up and saw the glory of the Lord. It filled his temple. I fell with my face toward the ground.

⁵The Lord said to me, “Son of man, pay attention. Look carefully. Listen closely to everything I tell you about all of the rules concerning my temple. Pay attention to the entrance to the temple and to all of its exits.

⁶“Speak to the people of Israel. They refuse to obey me. Tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “People of Israel, I have had enough of your evil practices. I hate them. ⁷You brought strangers into my temple. They were not circumcised. Their hearts were stubborn. You polluted my temple. But you offered me food, fat and blood anyway. When you did all of those things, you broke the covenant I made with you. I hated all of the evil things you did.

⁸“ ‘ “You did not do what I told you to. You did not take care of my holy things. Instead, you put other people in charge of my temple.” ’ ” ⁹The Lord and King says, “No stranger whose heart is stubborn can enter my temple. They have not been circumcised. Even if they live among the people of Israel they can’t enter it.

¹⁰“Some Levites wandered far away from me when Israel went down the wrong path. They worshiped the statues of their gods. So they will be punished because they have sinned. ¹¹They might serve in my temple. They might be in charge of its gates. They might kill the burnt offerings and sacrifices for the people. And they might stand in front of the people and serve them in other ways.

¹²“But they served the people of Israel while they were worshiping their gods. They made the people fall into sin. So I raised my hand and took an oath. I warned them that I would punish them because of their sin,” announces the Lord and King. ¹³“They must not approach me to serve me as priests.…