Ezekiel 43

• 1. After this, the man brought me back around to the east gateway.
• 2. Suddenly, the glory of the God of Israel appeared from the east. The sound of his coming was like the roar of rushing waters, and the whole landscape shone with his glory.
• 3. This vision was just like the others I had seen, first by the Kebar River and then when he came to destroy Jerusalem. And I fell down before him with my face in the dust.
• 4. And the glory of the LORD came into the Temple through the east gateway.
• 5. Then the Spirit took me up and brought me into the inner courtyard, and the glory of the LORD filled the Temple.
• 6. And I heard someone speaking to me from within the Temple. (The man who had been measuring was still standing beside me.)
• 7. And the LORD said to me, "Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place where I will rest my feet. I will remain here forever, living among the people of Israel. They and their kings will not defile my holy name any longer by their adulterous worship of other gods or by raising monuments in honor of their dead kings.
• 8. They put their idol altars right next to mine with only a wall between them and me. They defiled my holy name by such wickedness, so I consumed them in my anger.
• 9. Now let them put away their idols and the sacred pillars erected to honor their kings, and I will live among them forever.
• 10. "Son of man, describe to the people of Israel the Temple I have shown you. Tell them its appearance and its plan so they will be ashamed of all their sins.
• 11. And if they are ashamed of what they have done, describe to them all the specifications of its construction--including its entrances and doors--and everything else about it. Write down all these specifications and directions as they watch so they will be sure to remember them.
• 12. And this is the basic law of the Temple: absolute holiness! The entire top of the hill where the Temple is built is holy. Yes, this is the primary law of the Temple.
• 13. "These are the measurements of the altar: There is a gutter all around the altar 21 inches wide and 21 inches deep, with a curb 9 inches wide around its edge. And this is the height of the altar:
• 14. From the gutter the altar rises 3 1/2 feet to a ledge that surrounds the altar; this lower ledge is 21 inches wide. From the lower ledge the altar rises 7 feet to the upper ledge; this upper ledge is also 21 inches wide.
• 15. The top of the altar, the hearth, rises still 7 feet higher, with a horn rising up from each of the four corners.
• 16. The top of the altar is square, measuring 21 feet by 21 feet.
• 17. The upper ledge also forms a square, measuring 24 1/2 feet on each side, with a 21-inch gutter and a 10 1/2-inch curb all around the edge. There are steps going up the east side of the altar."
• 18. Then he said to me, "Son of man, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: These will be the regulations for the burning of offerings and the sprinkling of blood when the altar is built.
• 19. At that time, the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok, who minister before me, are to be given a young bull for a sin offering, says the Sovereign LORD.
• 20. You will take some of its blood and smear it on the four horns of the altar, the four corners of the upper ledge, and the curb that runs around that ledge. This will cleanse and make atonement for the altar.
• 21. Then take the young bull for the sin offering and burn it at the appointed place outside the Temple area.
• 22. "On the second day, sacrifice as a sin offering a young male goat that has no physical defects. Then cleanse and make atonement for the altar again, just as you did with the young bull.
• 23. When you have finished the cleansing ceremony, offer another young bull that has no defects and a perfect ram from the flock.
• 24. You are to present them to the LORD, and the priests are to sprinkle salt on them and offer them as a burnt offering to the LORD.
• 25. "Every day for seven days a male goat, a young bull, and a ram from the flock will be sacrificed as a sin offering. None of these animals may have physical defects of any kind.
• 26. Do this each day for seven days to cleanse and make atonement for the altar, thus setting it apart for holy use.
• 27. On the eighth day, and on each day afterward, the priests will sacrifice on the altar the burnt offerings and peace offerings of the people. Then I will accept you, says the Sovereign LORD."

Ezekiel 44

• 1. Then the man brought me back to the east gateway in the outer wall, but it was closed.
• 2. And the LORD said to me, "This gate must remain closed; it will never again be opened. No man will ever pass through it, for the LORD, the God of Israel, entered here. Thus, it must always remain shut.
• 3. Only the prince himself may sit inside this gateway to feast in the LORD's presence. But he may come and go only through the gateway's foyer."
• 4. Then the man brought me through the north gateway to the front of the Temple. I looked and saw that the glory of the LORD filled the Temple of the LORD, and I fell to the ground with my face in the dust.
• 5. And the LORD said to me, "Son of man, take careful notice; use your eyes and ears. Listen to everything I tell you about the regulations concerning the LORD's Temple. Take careful note of who may be admitted to the Temple and who is to be excluded from it.
• 6. And give these rebels, the people of Israel, this message from the Sovereign LORD: O people of Israel, enough of your disgusting sins!
• 7. You have brought uncircumcised foreigners into my sanctuary--people who have no heart for God. In this way, you profaned my Temple even as you offered me my food, the fat and blood of sacrifices. Thus, in addition to all your other disgusting sins, you have broken my covenant.
• 8. You have not kept the laws I gave you concerning these sacred rituals, for you have hired foreigners to take charge of my sanctuary.
• 9. "So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: No foreigners, including those who live among the people of Israel, will enter my sanctuary if they have not been circumcised and do not love the LORD.
• 10. And the men of the tribe of Levi who abandoned me when Israel strayed away from me to worship idols must bear the consequences of their unfaithfulness.
• 11. They may still be Temple guards and gatemen, and they may still slaughter the animals brought for burnt offerings and be present to help the people.
• 12. But they encouraged my people to worship other gods, causing Israel to fall into deep sin. So I have raised my hand and taken an oath that they must bear the consequences for their sins, says the Sovereign LORD.
• 13. They may not approach me to minister as priests. They may not touch any of my holy things or the holy offerings, for they must bear the shame of all the sins they have committed.
• 14. They are to serve as the Temple caretakers and are relegated to doing maintenance work and helping the people in a general way.
• 15. "However, the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok continued to minister faithfully in the Temple when Israel abandoned me for idols. These men will serve as my ministers. They will stand in my presence and offer the fat and blood of the sacrifices, says the Sovereign LORD.
• 16. They are the ones who will enter my sanctuary and approach my table to serve me. They are the ones who will fulfill all my requirements.
• 17. When they enter the gateway to the inner courtyard, they must wear only linen clothing. They must wear no wool while on duty in the inner courtyard or in the Temple itself.
• 18. They must wear linen turbans and linen undergarments. They must not wear anything that would cause them to perspire.
• 19. When they return to the outer courtyard where the people are, they must take off the clothes they wear while ministering to me. They must leave them in the sacred rooms and put on other clothes so they do not harm the people by transmitting holiness to them through this clothing.
• 20. "They must neither let their hair grow too long nor shave it off completely. Instead, they must trim it regularly.
• 21. The priests must never drink wine before entering the inner courtyard.
• 22. They may choose their wives only from among the virgins of Israel or the widows of the priests. They may not marry other widows or divorced women.
• 23. They will teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is common, what is ceremonially clean and unclean.
• 24. "They will serve as judges to resolve any disagreements among my people. Their decisions must be based on my regulations. And the priests themselves must obey my instructions and laws at all the sacred festivals, and they will see to it that the Sabbath is set apart as a holy day.
• 25. A priest must never defile himself by being in the presence of a dead person unless it is his father, mother, child, brother, or unmarried sister. In such cases it is permitted.
• 26. But such a priest can only return to his Temple duties after being ritually cleansed and then waiting for seven days.
• 27. The first day he returns to work and enters the inner courtyard and the sanctuary, he must offer a sin offering for himself, says the Sovereign LORD.
• 28. "As to property, the priests will not have any, for I alone am their inheritance.
• 29. Their food will come from the gifts and sacrifices brought to the Temple by the people--the grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings. Whatever anyone sets apart for the LORD will belong to the priests.
• 30. The first of the ripe fruits and all the gifts brought to the LORD will go to the priests. The first samples of each grain harvest and the first of your flour must also be given to the priests so the LORD will bless your homes.
• 31. The priests may never eat meat from any bird or animal that dies a natural death or that dies after being attacked by another animal.

Ezekiel 45

• 1. "When you divide the land among the tribes of Israel, you must set aside a section of it for the LORD as his holy portion. This piece of land will be 8 1/3 miles long and 6 2/3 miles wide. The entire area will be holy ground.
• 2. A section of this land, measuring 875 feet by 875 feet, will be set aside for the Temple. An additional strip of land 87 1/2 feet wide is to be left empty all around it.
• 3. Within the larger sacred area, measure out a portion of land 8 1/3 miles long and 3 1/3 miles wide. Within it the sanctuary of the Most Holy Place will be located.
• 4. This area will be a holy land, set aside for the priests who minister to the LORD in the sanctuary. They will use it for their homes, and my Temple will be located within it.
• 5. The strip of sacred land next to it, also 8 1/3 miles long and 3 1/3 miles wide, will be a living area for the Levites who work at the Temple. It will be their possession and a place for their towns.
• 6. "Adjacent to the larger sacred area will be a section of land 8 1/3 miles long and 1 2/3 miles wide. This will be set aside to be a city where anyone in Israel can come and live.
• 7. "Two special sections of land will be set apart for the prince. One section will share a border with the east side of the sacred lands and city, and the second section will share a border on the west side. Then the far eastern and western borders of the prince's lands will line up with the eastern and western boundaries of the tribal areas.
• 8. These sections of land will be the prince's allotment. "My princes will no longer oppress and rob my people; they will assign the rest of the land to the people, giving an allotment to each tribe.
• 9. For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Enough, you princes of Israel! Stop all your violence and oppression and do what is just and right. Quit robbing and cheating my people out of their land! Stop expelling them from their homes!
• 10. You must use only honest weights and scales, honest dry volume measures, and honest liquid volume measures.
• 11. The homer will be your standard unit for measuring volume. The ephah and the bath will each measure one-tenth of a homer.
• 12. The standard unit for weight will be the silver shekel. One shekel consists of twenty gerahs, and sixty shekels are equal to one mina.
• 13. "This is the tax you must give to the prince: one bushel of wheat or barley for every sixty you harvest,
• 14. one percent of your olive oil,
• 15. and one sheep for every two hundred in your flocks in Israel. These will be the grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings that will make atonement for the people who bring them, says the Sovereign LORD.
• 16. All the people of Israel must join the prince in bringing their offerings.
• 17. The prince will be required to provide offerings that are given at the religious festivals, the new moon celebrations, the Sabbath days, and all other similar occasions. He will provide the sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings, and peace offerings to make reconciliation for the people of Israel.
• 18. "This is what the Sovereign LORD says: In early spring, on the first day of each new year, sacrifice a young bull with no physical defects to purify the Temple.
• 19. The priest will take some of the blood of this sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the Temple, the four corners of the upper ledge on the altar, and the gateposts at the entrance to the inner courtyard.
• 20. Do this also on the seventh day of the new year for anyone who has sinned through error or ignorance. In that way, you will make atonement for the Temple.
• 21. "On the fourteenth day of the new year, you must celebrate the Passover. This festival will last for seven days. Only bread without yeast may be eaten during that time.
• 22. On the day of Passover the prince will provide a young bull as a sin offering for himself and the people of Israel.
• 23. On each of the seven days of the feast he will prepare a burnt offering to the LORD. This daily offering will consist of seven young bulls and seven rams without any defects. A male goat will also be given each day for a sin offering.
• 24. The prince will provide a half bushel of flour as a grain offering and a gallon of olive oil with each young bull and ram.
• 25. "During the seven days of the Festival of Shelters, which occurs every year in early autumn, the prince will provide these same sacrifices for the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the grain offering, along with the required olive oil.

New Living Translation: 293 of 324 days.