Ezekiel 40-44 - LSB - Legacy Standard Bible

Ezekiel 40-44

Visions of the House of Yahweh

In the ^atwenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the ^bcity was struck down, on that same day the ^chand of Yahweh was upon me, and He brought me there. 2 In the ^avisions of God He brought me into the land of Israel and caused me to rest on a very ^bhigh mountain, and on it ^cto the south there was a ^dstructure like a city. 3 So He brought me there; and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of ^abronze, with a ^bline of flax and a ^cmeasuring ¹rod in his hand; and he was standing in the gateway. 4 And the man spoke to me, “^aSon of man, ^bsee with your eyes, hear with your ears, and set your heart on all that I am going to show you; for you have been brought here in order to show it to you. ^cDeclare to the house of Israel all that you are seeing.”

The East Gate

5 And behold, there was a ^awall on the outside of the house of Yahweh all around, and in the man’s hand was a measuring rod of six cubits, each of which was a ¹cubit and a ²handbreadth. So he measured the thickness of the ³wall, one rod; and the height, one rod. 6 Then he went to the gate which faced ^aeast, went up its steps, and measured the threshold of the gate, one rod ¹in width; and the other threshold was one rod ¹in width. 7 The ^aguardroom was one rod long and one rod wide; and there were five cubits between the guardrooms. And the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate ¹facing inward was one rod. 8 Then he measured the porch of the gate ¹facing inward, one rod. 9 He measured the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and its side pillars, two cubits. And the porch of the gate was ¹faced inward. 10 The guardrooms of the gate toward the east numbered three on each side; the three of them had the same measurement. The side pillars also had the same measurement on each side. 11 And he measured the width of the entrance of the gate, ten cubits, and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits. 12 There was a ¹barrier wall one cubit wide in front of the guardrooms on each side; and the guardrooms were six cubits square on each side. 13 He measured the gate from the roof of the one guardroom to the roof of the other, a width of twenty-five cubits from one door to the door opposite. 14 He made the side pillars sixty cubits high; the gate extended round about to the side pillar of the ^acourtyard. 15 From the front of the entrance gate to the front of the inner porch of the gate was fifty cubits. 16 There were ¹^ashuttered windows looking toward the guardrooms and toward their side pillars within the gate all around, and likewise for the porches. And there were windows all around inside; and on each side pillar were ^bpalm tree ornaments.

The Outer Court Chambers

17 Then he brought me into the ^aouter court, and behold, there were ^bchambers and a pavement made for the court all around; thirty chambers ¹faced the pavement. 18 The pavement (that is, the lower pavement) was by the ¹side of the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates. 19 Then he measured the width from the front of the ^alower gate to the front of the exterior of the inner court, ¹one ^bhundred cubits on the east and on the north.

The North Gate

20 As for the ^agate of the outer court which faced the north, he measured its length and its width. 21 ¹It had three ^aguardrooms on each side; and its ^bside pillars and its porches ²had the same measurement as the first gate. Its length was ³^cfifty cubits and the width ^dtwenty-five cubits. 22 Its ^awindows and its porches and its palm tree ornaments had the same measurements as the ^bgate which faced toward the east; and ¹it was reached by seven ^csteps, and its ²porch was in front of them. 23 The inner court had a gate opposite the gate on the north as well as the gate on the east; and he measured one ^ahundred cubits from gate to gate.

The South Gate

24 Then he led me toward the south, and behold, there was a ^agate toward the south; and he measured its ^bside pillars and its porches according to ¹those same measurements. 25 ¹The gate and its porches had ^awindows all around like ²those other windows; the length was ^bfifty cubits and the width twenty-five cubits. 26 There were seven ^asteps going up to it, and its porches were in front of them; and it had ^bpalm tree ornaments on its side pillars, one on each side. 27 The inner court had a gate toward the ^asouth; and he measured from gate to gate toward the south, one ^bhundred cubits.

The Inner Court Gates

28 Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate; and he measured the south gate ^aaccording to those same measurements. 29 Its ^aguardrooms also, its side pillars, and its ^bporches were according to those same measurements. And ¹the gate and its porches had ^bwindows all around; it was ^cfifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 30 There were ^aporches all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide. 31 Its porches were toward the outer court; and ^apalm tree ornaments were on its side pillars, and its stairway had eight ^bsteps.
32 Then he brought me into the ^ainner court toward the east. And he measured the gate ^baccording to those same measurements. 33 Its ^aguardrooms also, its side pillars, and its porches were according to those same measurements. And ¹the gate and its porches had ^bwindows all around; it was ^cfifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 34 Its ^aporches were toward the outer court; and ^apalm tree ornaments were on its side pillars, on each side, and its stairway had eight ^bsteps.
35 Then he brought me to the ^anorth gate; and he measured it according to those same measurements, 36 with its ^aguardrooms, its side pillars, and its ^bporches. And ¹the gate had ^bwindows all around; the length was ^cfifty cubits and the width twenty-five cubits. 37 Its side pillars were toward the outer court; and ^apalm tree ornaments were on its side pillars on each side, and its stairway had eight ^bsteps.
38 A ^achamber with its doorway was by the side pillars at the gates; there they ^brinse the burnt offering. 39 In the porch of the gate were two ^atables on each side, on which to slaughter the ^bburnt offering, the sin offering and the guilt offering. 40 On the outer ¹side, ²as one went up to the entrance of the gate toward the north, were two tables; and on the other ¹side of the porch of the gate were two tables. 41 Four ^atables were on each side ¹next to the gate; or, eight tables on which they slaughter sacrifices. 42 For the burnt offering there were four ^atables of ^bcut stone, a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high, on which they lay the instruments with which they slaughter the ^aburnt offering and the sacrifice. 43 The double ¹hooks, one handbreadth in length, were installed ²in the house all around; and on the tables was the flesh of the offering.

The Chambers for the Priests

44 From the outside to the ^ainner gate were ¹^bchambers for the ^csingers in the inner court, one of which was at the ²side of the north gate, with ³its front toward the south, and one at the ²side of the ⁴south gate facing toward the north. 45 Then he said to me, “This is the ^achamber which faces toward the south, intended for the priests who ^bkeep the responsibility of the house; 46 but the ^achamber which faces toward the north is for the priests who ^bkeep the responsibility of the altar. These are the ^csons of Zadok, who from the sons of Levi ^dcome near to Yahweh to minister to Him.” 47 He measured the court, a perfect square, one ^ahundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide; and the altar was in front of the house.

The Porch

48 Then he brought me to the ^aporch of the house and measured each side pillar of the porch, five cubits on each side; and the width of the gate was three cubits on each side. 49 The length of the porch was twenty cubits and the width eleven cubits; and at the ^astairway by which it was ascended were ^bcolumns belonging to the side pillars, one on each side.

The Nave

Then he ^abrought me to the ¹^bnave and measured the ^cside pillars; ²six cubits wide on each side was the width of the ³side pillar. 2 The width of the entrance was ten cubits, and the ¹sides of the entrance were five cubits on each side. And he measured ²the length of the nave, ³^aforty cubits, and the width, ^atwenty cubits.

The Holy of Holies

3 Then he went ¹^ainside and measured each ^bside pillar of the doorway, two cubits, and the doorway, six cubits high; and the width of the doorway, seven cubits. 4 He measured its length, ^atwenty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits, before the ^bnave; and he said to me, “This is the ^cHoly of Holies.”

The Wall, Side Chambers, and West Building

5 Then he measured the wall of the house of Yahweh, six cubits; and the width of the ^aside chambers, four cubits, all around about the house on every side. 6 ^aThe side chambers were in three stories, ¹one above another, and ²thirty in each story; and ³the side chambers ^bextended to the wall which stood on ⁴their inward side all around, that they might be fastened, and not be fastened into the wall of the house itself. 7 The side chambers surrounding the house were wider at each successive story. Because the ^astructure surrounding the house went upward by stages on all sides of the house, therefore the width of the house increased as it went higher; and thus one went up from the lowest story to the highest by way of the ¹second story. 8 I saw also that the house had a raised ¹platform all around; the foundations of the side chambers were a full rod of ²^asix ³long cubits in height. 9 The ¹thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits. But the ^afree space between the side chambers belonging to the house 10 and the outer ^achambers was twenty cubits in width all around the house on every side. 11 The ¹doorways of the ²side chambers toward the ^afree space consisted of one doorway toward the north and another doorway toward the south; and the width of the place of the ^afree space was five cubits all around.
12 The ^abuilding that was in front of the ^bseparate area at the side toward the west was ¹seventy cubits wide; and the wall of the building was five cubits ²thick all around, and its length was ³ninety cubits.

The Measurements of the Building

13 Then he measured the house, ¹one ^ahundred cubits long; the ^bseparate area with the ^cbuilding and its walls were also one ^ahundred cubits long. 14 Also the width of the front of the house and that of the separate ¹areas along the east side totaled one hundred cubits.
15 He measured the length of the ^abuilding ¹along the front of the ^bseparate area behind it, with a ²^cgallery on each side, one hundred cubits, along with the inner nave and the porches of the court.

Carvings and Furnishings

16 The ^athresholds, the ¹^blatticed windows, and the ²^cgalleries round about their ^dthree stories, opposite the threshold, were ^epaneled with wood all around, and from the ground to the windows (but the windows were covered), 17 over the entrance, and to the inner house, and on the outside, and on all the wall all around inside and outside, by measurement. 18 It was ¹carved with ^acherubim and ^bpalm trees; and a palm tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces, 19 a ^aman’s face toward the palm tree on one side and a young ^alion’s face toward the palm tree on the other side; they were ¹carved on all the house all around. 20 From the ground to above the entrance ^acherubim and ^apalm trees were ¹carved, as well as on the wall of the nave.
21 The ^adoorposts of the ^bnave were square; as for the front of the sanctuary, the appearance of one doorpost was like that of the other. 22 The ^aaltar was of wood, three cubits high and its length two cubits; its corners, its ¹base, and its ²sides were of wood. And he said to me, “This is the ^btable that is before Yahweh.” 23 The ^anave and the ^bsanctuary each had a double ^cdoor. 24 Each of the doors had two leaves, two ¹^aswinging leaves; two leaves for one door and two leaves for the other. 25 Also there were ¹carved on them, on the doors of the nave, ^acherubim and ^apalm trees like those ¹carved on the walls; and there was a ^bcanopy of wood over the front of the porch outside. 26 There were ¹^alatticed windows and ^bpalm trees on one side and on the other, on the sides of the ^cporch; thus were the ^dside chambers of the house and the canopies.

The Chambers

Then he ^abrought me out into the ^bouter court, the way ^ctoward the north; and he brought me to the ^dchamber which was opposite the ^eseparate area and opposite the ^fbuilding toward the north. 2 Along the length, which was ¹one ^ahundred cubits, was the north door; the width was fifty cubits. 3 Opposite the ¹^atwenty cubits which belonged to the inner court, and opposite the ^bpavement which belonged to the outer court, was ²^cgallery corresponding to ²gallery in three stories. 4 Before the ^achambers was an inner walk ten cubits wide, a way of ¹one hundred cubits; and their openings were on the north. 5 Now the upper chambers were ¹smaller because the ²^agalleries took more space away from them than from the lower and middle ones in the building. 6 For they were in ^athree stories and had no pillars like the pillars of the courts; therefore the upper chambers were ¹set back from the ground upward, more than the lower and middle ones. 7 As for the ^aouter wall by the side of the chambers, toward the outer court facing the chambers, its length was fifty cubits. 8 For the length of the chambers which were in the outer court was fifty cubits; and behold, the length of those facing the temple was one ^ahundred cubits. 9 Below these chambers was the ^aentrance on the east side, as one enters them from the outer court.
10 In the ¹thickness of the ^awall of the court toward the east, facing the ^bseparate area and facing the building, there were ^cchambers. 11 The ^away in front of them was like the appearance of the chambers which were on the north, according to their length so was their width, and all their exits were both according to their ¹arrangements and openings. 12 Corresponding to the openings of the chambers which were toward the south was an opening at the head of the way, the way in front of the ^awall toward the east, as one enters them.
13 Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers, which are opposite the ^aseparate area, they are the ^bholy chambers where the priests who are ^cnear to Yahweh shall eat the ^dmost holy things. There they shall lay the most holy things, the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; for the place is holy. 14 When the priests enter, then they shall not go out into the outer court from the sanctuary ¹without ^alaying there their ^bgarments in which they minister, for they are holy. They shall put on other garments; then they shall come near to that which is for the people.”
15 Then he had finished measuring the inner house; he brought me out by the way of the ^agate which faced toward the east and measured it all around. 16 He measured on the east ¹side with the measuring reed 500 reeds by the ^ameasuring reed. 17 He measured on the north side 500 reeds by the measuring reed. 18 On the south side he measured 500 reeds with the measuring reed. 19 He turned to the west side and measured 500 reeds with the measuring reed. 20 He measured it ¹on the four sides; it had a ^awall all around, the ^blength 500 and the ^bwidth 500, to ^cdivide between the holy and the profane.

Yahweh’s Glory Returns to the Temple

Then he led me to the ^agate, the gate facing toward the east; 2 and behold, the ^aglory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the ^beast. And His ^cvoice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth ^dshone with His glory. 3 And it was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, like the ^avision which I saw when ¹He came to ^bbring the city to ruin. And the visions were like the vision which I saw by the ^criver Chebar; and I ^dfell on my face. 4 And the glory of Yahweh came into the house by the way of the gate facing toward the ^aeast. 5 And the ^aSpirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the ^bglory of Yahweh filled the house.
6 Then I heard one speaking to me from the house, while a ^aman was standing beside me. 7 He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My ^athrone and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will ^bdwell among the sons of Israel forever. And the house of Israel will not again defile My holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their harlotry and by the ¹^ccorpses of their kings ²when they die, 8 by putting their threshold by My threshold and their door post beside My door post, with only the wall between Me and them. And they have ^adefiled My holy name by their abominations which they have done. So I have consumed them in My anger. 9 Now let them ^aput away their harlotry and the ¹corpses of their kings far from Me; and I will ^bdwell among them forever.
10 “As for you, son of man, ¹^adescribe the house of Yahweh to the house of Israel, that they may feel ^bdishonor for their iniquities; and let them measure the ²^cplan. 11 If they feel dishonor for all that they have done, make known to them the ¹design of the house, its structure, its ^aexits, its entrances, all its designs, all its statutes², and all its laws. And write it ^bin their sight so that they may keep its whole ¹design and all its statutes and ^cdo them. 12 This is the ¹law of the house: within its entire boundary, on the top of the ^amountain all around, shall be most holy. Behold, this is the ¹law of the house.

The Altar and Offerings

13 “And these are the measurements of the ^aaltar by cubits (the ^bcubit being a ¹cubit and a ²handbreadth): the ³base shall be a cubit and the width a cubit, and its border on its edge round about one ⁴span; and this shall be the height of the ⁵base of the altar. 14 And from the base on the ground to the lower ^aledge shall be two ¹cubits and the width one cubit; and from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge shall be four cubits and the width ²one cubit. 15 And the ¹altar hearth shall be four cubits; and from the ¹altar hearth shall extend upwards four ^ahorns. 16 Now the ¹altar hearth shall be ²twelve cubits long by twelve wide, ^asquare in its four sides. 17 The ledge shall be ¹fourteen cubits long by fourteen wide in its four sides; the border around it shall be half a cubit, and its base shall be a cubit round about; and its ^asteps shall ²^bface the east.”
18 And He said to me, “^aSon of man, thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘These are the statutes for the altar on the day it is made, to offer ^bburnt offerings on it and to ^csplash blood on it. 19 And you shall give to the Levitical priests who are from the seed of ^aZadok, who draw ^bnear to Me to minister to Me,’ declares Lord Yahweh, ‘a ^cbull from the herd for a ^dsin offering. 20 You shall also take some of its blood and put it on its four ^ahorns and on the four corners of the ^bledge and on the border round about; thus you shall ^cpurify it and make atonement for it. 21 And you shall take the bull for the sin offering, and it shall be ^aburned in the appointed place of the house, outside the sanctuary.
22 ‘Now on the second day you shall bring near a ^amale goat without blemish for a sin offering, and they shall ^bpurify the altar as they purified it with the bull. 23 When you have finished purifying it, you shall present a ^abull from the herd without blemish and a ^bram without blemish from the flock. 24 And you shall bring them near before Yahweh, and the priests shall throw ^asalt on them, and they shall offer them up as a burnt offering to Yahweh. 25 ^aFor seven days you shall offer daily a goat for a sin offering; also a bull from the herd and a ram from the flock, without blemish, shall be offered. 26 For seven days they shall make atonement for the altar and purify it; so shall they ¹ordain it. 27 So they will complete the days. And it shall be that on the ^aeighth day and onward, the priests shall ¹offer on the altar your burnt offerings and your ^bpeace offerings; and I will ^caccept you,’ declares Lord Yahweh.”

The Gate of the Prince

Then He brought me back by the way of the ^aouter gate of the sanctuary, which faces the east; and it was shut. 2 Yahweh said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for ^aYahweh, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. 3 As for the ^aprince, he shall sit in it as prince to ^beat bread before Yahweh; he shall ^center by way of the ^dporch of the gate and shall go out ¹by the same way.”
4 Then He brought me by way of the ^anorth gate to the front of the house; and I looked, and behold, the ^bglory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh, and I ^cfell on my face. 5 Then Yahweh said to me, “Son of man, ^aset your heart on and see with your eyes and hear with your ears all that I say to you concerning all the ^bstatutes of the house of Yahweh and concerning all its laws; and set your heart on the entrance of the house, with all exits of the sanctuary. 6 And you shall say to the ¹^arebellious ones, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “^bEnough of all your abominations, O house of Israel, 7 when you brought in ^aforeigners, ^buncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to profane it, even My house, when you ^cbrought near My food, the fat and the blood. So they ^dmade My covenant void—this in addition to all your abominations. 8 And you have not ^akept the responsibility of My holy things yourselves, but you have set foreigners as keepers of the responsibility given by Me for My sanctuary.”
9 ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “^aNo foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the sons of Israel, shall enter My sanctuary. 10 But the Levites who went far from Me when Israel went astray, who ^awent astray from Me after their idols, shall ^bbear the punishment for their iniquity. 11 Yet they shall be ^aministers in My sanctuary, having ^boversight at the gates of the house and ^cministering in the house; they shall ^dslaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall ^estand before them to minister to them. 12 Because they ministered to them ^abefore their idols and became a ^bstumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have ¹^csworn against them,” declares Lord Yahweh, “that they shall ^dbear the punishment for their iniquity. 13 And they shall ^anot approach Me to minister as a priest to Me, nor approach any of My holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they will ^bbear their dishonor and their abominations which they have done. 14 Yet I will ¹appoint them as ^akeepers of the responsibility for the house, of all its service and of all that shall be done in it.

The Levitical Responsibilities

15 “But the ^aLevitical priests, the sons of ^bZadok, who ^ckept the responsibility of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel ^dwent astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me; and they shall ^estand before Me to bring near to Me the ^ffat and the blood,” declares Lord Yahweh. 16 “They shall ^aenter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My ^btable to minister to Me and keep the responsibility given by Me. 17 And it will be that when they enter at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with ^alinen garments; and wool shall not ¹be on them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner court and in the house. 18 Linen ^aheaddresses shall be on their heads, and ^blinen undergarments shall be on their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything which makes them sweat. 19 And when they go out into the outer court, into the outer court to the people, they shall ^aput off their garments in which they have been ministering and lay them in the holy chambers; then they shall put on other garments so that they will ^bnot transmit holiness to the people with their garments. 20 Also they shall ^anot shave their heads, yet they shall not ^blet their locks ¹grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads. 21 ^aNor shall any of the priests drink wine when they enter the inner court. 22 And they shall not ¹take a widow or a ^adivorced woman as a wife but shall ^btake virgins from the seed of the house of Israel or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23 Moreover, they shall instruct My people about the ^adifference between the holy and the profane, and make them know the difference between the unclean and the clean. 24 And in a dispute, ^athey shall take their stand to judge; they shall judge it according to My judgments. They shall also keep My laws and My statutes in all My ^bappointed times and ^ckeep My sabbaths holy. 25 But ¹^athey shall not go to a dead person to make themselves unclean; however, for father, for mother, for son, for daughter, for brother, or for a sister who has not had a husband, they may make themselves unclean. 26 And after he is ^acleansed, seven days shall be counted for him. 27 And on the day that he goes into the sanctuary, into the ^ainner court to minister in the sanctuary, he shall bring near his ^bsin offering,” declares Lord Yahweh.
28 “And it shall be with regard to an inheritance for them, that ^aI am their inheritance; and you shall give them no possession in Israel—I am their possession. 29 They shall ^aeat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; and every ¹^bdevoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30 And the first of all the ^afirst fruits of every kind and every ¹contribution of every kind, from all your ¹contributions, shall be for the priests; you shall also give to the priest the ^bfirst of your ²dough to cause a ^cblessing to rest on your house. 31 The priests shall not eat any bird or beast that has ^adied of itself or has been torn to pieces.