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Ezekiel 43
New Catholic Bible
Ezekiel 43
New Catholic Bible
Restoration of the Temple
Chapter 43
The Lord’s Return.1 [a]Then the man brought me to the gate that faces the east, 2 and there I beheld the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. The sound of his coming was like the sound of a mighty torrent of waters, and the earth shone with his glory.
3 The vision I beheld was like the man I had seen when he had come to destroy the city, and like the vision I had seen by the River Chebar, and I fell prostrate.
4 As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by way of the east gate, 5 the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the inner court, and I beheld the glory of the Lord fill the temple.
6 While the man stood beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from the temple. 7 He said to me: Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will dwell forever among the Israelites. Never again will the house of Israel defile my holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their whoring and by the corpses of their kings.
8 When they placed their threshold next to my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall separating me and them, they were defiling my holy name by the loathsome practices in which they engaged. Therefore, I will destroy them in my anger.[b] 9 From now on, they must cease their harlotry and remove the corpses of their kings from my presence. Then I will dwell among them forever.
10 The Temple Law. As for you, son of man, describe this temple to the house of Israel, so that they will be truly ashamed of their iniquities. 11 And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design and arrangement of the temple, its exits and entrances, its shape, and all its ordinances. 12 This is the law of the temple: all the surrounding area on the top of the mountain shall be most holy. Such is the law of the temple.
13 Measurements of the Altar.[c]These were the dimensions of the altar in cubits of one cubit and a handbreadth. Its base was one cubit high and one cubit wide, with a rim of one span around its edge. This was the height of the altar. 14 From its base on the ground up to the lower ledge, it was two cubits high and one cubit wide, and from the lower ledge to the upper ledge, it was four cubits high and again one cubit wide.
15 The altar hearth was four cubits high, and from the hearth, four horns projected upward. 16 The hearth was a square, twelve cubits long by twelve cubits wide. 17 The upper ledge was also a square, fourteen cubits long by fourteen cubits wide, with a rim around it a half cubit wide and a surrounding base of one cubit. The steps of the altar face the east.
18 Then he said to me: Son of man, thus says the Lord God: These are the regulations for the altar when it has been erected for the offering of holocausts upon it and for the sprinkling of blood upon it. 19 You are to present a young bull as a sin offering to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok who are authorized to draw near me in order to minister to me, says the Lord God.
20 You are to 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 surrounding rim. Thus, you will purify it and make atonement for it. 21 Then take the bull designated for the sin offering and immolate it in the designated part of the temple area outside the sanctuary.
22 On the second day, you are to present an unblemished male goat as a sin offering, and the altar must be purified again, as was done with the bull. 23 When you have finished purifying it, choose an unblemished young bull and an unblemished ram from the flock. 24 After you present them before the Lord, the priests will throw salt on them and offer them to the Lord as burnt offerings.
25 For seven days you are to offer a male goat for a sin offering, as well as a young bull and an unblemished ram from the flock. 26 In this way, they will make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, and thereby consecrate it.
27 Once these days have been completed, from the eighth day onward the priests will offer your burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar. Then I will accept you, says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 43:1 The departure of the glory of God (Ezek 10:18-22; 11:22-25) had signified a break between God and his people, because idolatry was rife among them. Now God returns, because he has purified and renewed his people. A new worship begins. The Lord dwells among his own. This is the mystery of God’s dwelling among human beings, the God who becomes present in a sanctuary, even though he has no need of any place or any sign, and even though nothing can contain him, since heaven is his throne and the earth his footstool (see Isa 66:1; Acts 7:49). The whole universe is too little for God, but he nonetheless wills that there be a sign manifesting his presence.
- Ezekiel 43:8 Before the Exile, the royal palace abutted the temple.
- Ezekiel 43:13 This second part of chapters 40–48 is more complicated than the first. Into the continuation of the vision or, perhaps, into the description of a new episode in this vision of Ezekiel, the prophet and his successors have inserted texts that differ greatly from each other: prophetic predictions, documents on the status of persons (priests, Levites, the prince), and liturgical details or rubrics.
This last part of the Book of Ezekiel pays a great deal of attention to the office of priesthood. But alongside such passages are others containing quite contrary ideas; these doubtless reflect the discussions and conflicts which arose, beginning with the Exile, concerning the role of the priests.
Two series of passages reflecting opposed tendencies can also be seen in what is said about the office and place of the prince. Note that the text no longer speaks of a king but only of a prince.
Ezekiel 43
New International Version
Ezekiel 43
New International Version
God’s Glory Returns to the Temple
43 Then the man brought me to the gate facing east,(A) 2 and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters,(B) and the land was radiant with his glory.(C) 3 The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when he[a] came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown. 4 The glory(D) of the Lord entered the temple through the gate facing east.(E) 5 Then the Spirit(F) lifted me up(G) and brought me into the inner court, and the glory(H) of the Lord filled the temple.(I)
6 While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple. 7 He said: “Son of man, this is the place of my throne(J) and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever. The people of Israel will never again defile(K) my holy name—neither they nor their kings—by their prostitution and the funeral offerings[b] for their kings at their death.[c](L) 8 When they placed their threshold next to my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them, they defiled my holy name by their detestable practices. So I destroyed them in my anger. 9 Now let them put away from me their prostitution and the funeral offerings for their kings, and I will live among them forever.(M)
10 “Son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel, that they may be ashamed(N) of their sins. Let them consider its perfection, 11 and if they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the design of the temple—its arrangement, its exits and entrances—its whole design and all its regulations[d] and laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations.(O)
12 “This is the law of the temple: All the surrounding area(P) on top of the mountain will be most holy.(Q) Such is the law of the temple.
The Great Altar Restored
13 “These are the measurements of the altar(R) in long cubits,[e] that cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth: Its gutter is a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim of one span[f] around the edge. And this is the height of the altar: 14 From the gutter on the ground up to the lower ledge that goes around the altar it is two cubits high, and the ledge is a cubit wide.[g] From this lower ledge to the upper ledge that goes around the altar it is four cubits high, and that ledge is also a cubit wide.[h] 15 Above that, the altar hearth(S) is four cubits high, and four horns(T) project upward from the hearth. 16 The altar hearth is square, twelve cubits[i] long and twelve cubits wide.(U) 17 The upper ledge(V) also is square, fourteen cubits[j] long and fourteen cubits wide. All around the altar is a gutter of one cubit with a rim of half a cubit.[k] The steps(W) of the altar face east.(X)”
18 Then he said to me, “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: These will be the regulations for sacrificing burnt offerings(Y) and splashing blood(Z) against the altar when it is built: 19 You are to give a young bull(AA) as a sin offering[l] to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok,(AB) who come near(AC) to minister before me, declares the Sovereign Lord. 20 You are to take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar(AD) and on the four corners of the upper ledge(AE) and all around the rim, and so purify the altar(AF) and make atonement for it. 21 You are to take the bull for the sin offering and burn it in the designated part of the temple area outside the sanctuary.(AG)
22 “On the second day you are to offer a male goat without defect for a sin offering, and the altar is to be purified as it was purified with the bull. 23 When you have finished purifying it, you are to offer a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect.(AH) 24 You are to offer them before the Lord, and the priests are to sprinkle salt(AI) on them and sacrifice them as a burnt offering to the Lord.
25 “For seven days(AJ) you are to provide a male goat daily for a sin offering; you are also to provide a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect.(AK) 26 For seven days they are to make atonement for the altar and cleanse it; thus they will dedicate it. 27 At the end of these days, from the eighth day(AL) on, the priests are to present your burnt offerings(AM) and fellowship offerings(AN) on the altar. Then I will accept you, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 43:3 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts I
- Ezekiel 43:7 Or the memorial monuments; also in verse 9
- Ezekiel 43:7 Or their high places
- Ezekiel 43:11 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts regulations and its whole design
- Ezekiel 43:13 That is, about 21 inches or about 53 centimeters; also in verses 14 and 17. The long cubit is the basic unit for linear measurement throughout Ezekiel 40–48.
- Ezekiel 43:13 That is, about 11 inches or about 27 centimeters
- Ezekiel 43:14 That is, about 3 1/2 feet high and 1 3/4 feet wide or about 105 centimeters high and 53 centimeters wide
- Ezekiel 43:14 That is, about 7 feet high and 1 3/4 feet wide or about 2.1 meters high and 53 centimeters wide
- Ezekiel 43:16 That is, about 21 feet or about 6.4 meters
- Ezekiel 43:17 That is, about 25 feet or about 7.4 meters
- Ezekiel 43:17 That is, about 11 inches or about 27 centimeters
- Ezekiel 43:19 Or purification offering; also in verses 21, 22 and 25
New International Version (NIV) 
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