The Prophet Ezekiel

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- Kapitel 43 -

Then the man brought me to the entrance on the east side.

Suddenly I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. The sound of his coming was like the roar of a rushing river, and all that area shone with his glory.

What I saw in this vision was like what I had seen in my earlier visions, first by the Kebar Canal and later when God came to destroy Jerusalem. I prostrated myself on the ground.

The glory of Yahweh entered the temple through the east entrance,

and then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner courtyard, while the glory of Yahweh filled the temple.

Then, while the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speak to me from inside the temple.

He said, “Son of man, this is my temple, the place where I sit on my throne and where I rest my feet. This is where I will live with the Israelite people forever. The Israelite people and their kings will never again disgrace me by worshiping other gods at their hilltop places of idol worship, or by building lifeless idols of their past kings.

Your people placed their altars near mine, and the doorposts of their temples were next to the doorposts of my temple. There was only a wall between them. And they disgraced me by the detestable things that they did. So I was angry and destroyed them.

Now they must stop this disgusting worship of idols and these rituals to honor kings’ idols. If they stop doing those things, I will live among them forever.

Son of man, describe to the Israelite people what this temple that I have shown you in a vision is like, in order that they will be ashamed of the sins.

If they are ashamed of all the evil things that they have done, tell them all about the temple that I showed you: Its design, the exits and entrances, and everything else about it. And tell them all my laws and regulations about worshiping me there. Write all these things down while they watch you, in order that they will be able to faithfully obey them.

And this is the supreme law about the temple: All of the area on top of the hill where the temple will be built must be kept sacred and holy.

The Altar of Sacrifice

These are the measurements of the altar, using the same kind of measuring stick that was used for the temple area: There is a gutter around the altar that is one-half meter deep and one-half meter wide. There is a rim around it that is twenty-three centimeters wide. This will compose the base for the rest of the altar.

The lower part of the gutter is one meter high to the lower ledge that surrounds the altar. The lower ledge is one-half meter wide. From that ledge to the upper ledge, it is two meters. That ledge is also one-half meter wide.

The hearth at the top of the altar is another two meters high, and there is a hornlike projection that juts up from each of the four corners.

That place at the top of the altar is square, six and one-half meters long on each side.

The upper ledge that borders the hearth is also a square, seven and three-fifths meters long on each side, and has a rim all around that is twenty-seven centimeters wide. There is a gutter measuring one-half meter at the bottom of the altar. There are steps leading up to the east side of the altar.”

Then the man said to me, “Son of man, this is what Yahweh the Lord says: These are the regulations for sacrificing offerings that will be completely burned and for sprinkling the blood against the sides of the altar when it is built:

You must present to the priests a young bull to be an offering for the sins of the priests, the descendants of Levi, from the clan of Zadok, who come near to the altar to serve me.

You must take some of the blood from the bull and smear it on the four projections of the altar and on the four corners of the upper ledge, and all around the rim, so I will accept the altar, and to make the altar belong only to me.

You must burn that bull outside the temple in the part of the temple area designated for that purpose.

The next day you must offer a male goat that has no defects, to be an offering, so I will accept the altar. Then you must purify the altar again, as you did with the bull that was sacrificed.

When you have finished doing all that, you must offer a young bull and a ram, both of them without any defects.

You must offer them to me, Yahweh. The priests must sprinkle salt on them and burn them completely on the altar as a sacrifice to me.

Then, each day for seven days you must bring to the priest a male goat to be sacrificed for an offering, so I will accept the altar. You must also sacrifice a young bull and a ram, each without any defect, that the priests will provide.

For seven days the priests will consecrate the altar, so I will accept the altar. By doing that they will set it apart for my honor.

At the end of those seven days, starting on the following day, the priests will continue to put on the altar offerings to be completely burned and offerings to promise friendship with me. Then I will accept you. That is what I, Yahweh the Lord, declare.”

Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looks toward the east.

Behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth was illuminated with his glory.

It was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city; and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face.

The LORD’s glory came into the house by the way of the gate which faces toward the east.

The Spirit took me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the LORD’s glory filled the house.

I heard one speaking to me out of the house, and a man stood by me.

He 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 among the children of Israel forever. The house of Israel will no more defile my holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their prostitution and by the dead bodies of their kings in their high places;

in their setting of their threshold by my threshold and their door post beside my door post. There was a wall between me and them; and they have defiled my holy name by their abominations which they have committed. Therefore I have consumed them in my anger.

Now let them put away their prostitution, and the dead bodies of their kings far from me. Then I will dwell among them forever.

“You, son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern.

If they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the form of the house, its fashion, its exits, its entrances, its structure, all its ordinances, all its forms, and all its laws; and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form of it, and all its ordinances, and do them.

“This is the law of the house. On the top of the mountain the whole limit around it shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.

The Altar of Sacrifice

“These are the measurements of the altar by cubits (the cubit(a) is a cubit and a hand width): the bottom shall be a cubit, and the width a cubit, and its border around its edge a span;(b) and this shall be the base of the altar.

From the bottom on the ground to the lower ledge shall be two cubits, and the width one cubit; and from the lesser ledge to the greater ledge shall be four cubits, and the width a cubit.

The upper altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar hearth and upward there shall be four horns.

The altar hearth shall be twelve cubits long by twelve wide, square in its four sides.

The ledge shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen wide in its four sides; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and its bottom shall be a cubit around; and its steps shall look toward the east.”

He said to me, “Son of man, the Lord GOD says: ‘These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they make it, to offer burnt offerings on it, and to sprinkle blood on it.

You shall give to the Levitical priests who are of the offspring of Zadok, who are near to me, to minister to me,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘a young bull for a sin offering.

You shall take of its blood and put it on its four horns, and on the four corners of the ledge, and on the border all around. You shall cleanse it and make atonement for it that way.

You shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and it shall be burned in the appointed place of the house, outside of the sanctuary.

“On the second day you shall offer a male goat without defect for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they cleansed it with the bull.

When you have finished cleansing it, you shall offer a young bull without defect and a ram out of the flock without defect.

You shall bring them near to the LORD, and the priests shall cast salt on them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering to the LORD.

“Seven days you shall prepare every day a goat for a sin offering. They shall also prepare a young bull and a ram out of the flock, without defect.

Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and purify it. So shall they consecrate it.

When they have accomplished the days, it shall be that on the eighth day and onward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings on the altar and your peace offerings. Then I will accept you,’ says the Lord GOD.”

Fußnoten

(a)43:13 A normal cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimeters. A hand width is about 4.3 inches or 11 cm.

(b)43:13 A span is the length from the tip of a man’s thumb to the tip of his little finger when his hand is stretched out (about half a cubit, or 9 inches, or 22.8 cm.)