Ezekiel43
American Standard Version · Public Domain
1Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east.
2And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shined with his glory.
3And it was according to 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 upon my face.
4And the glory of Jehovah came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.
5And the Spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of Jehovah filled the house.
6And I heard one speaking unto me out of the house; and a man stood by me.
7And he said unto me, Son of man, this is the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever. And the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, and by the dead bodies of their kings in their high places;
8in their setting of their threshold by my threshold, and their door-post beside my door-post, and there was but the wall between me and them; and they have defiled my holy name by their abominations which they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger.
9Now let them put away their whoredom, and the dead bodies of their kings, far from me; and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever.
10Thou, 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.
11And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, make known unto them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the egresses thereof, and the entrances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof; and write it in their sight; that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them.
12This is the law of the house: upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.
13And these are the measures of the altar by cubits (the cubit is a cubit and a handbreadth): the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about a span; and this shall be the base of the altar.
14And from the bottom upon the ground to the lower ledge shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser ledge to the greater ledge shall be four cubits, and the breadth a cubit.
15And the upper altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar hearth and upward there shall be four horns.
16And the altar hearth shall be twelve cubits long by twelve broad, square in the four sides thereof.
17And the ledge shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad in the four sides thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit round about; and the steps thereof shall look toward the east.
18And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt-offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon.
19Thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that are of the seed of Zadok, who are near unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord Jehovah, a young bullock for a sin-offering.
20And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the ledge, and upon the border round about: thus shalt thou cleanse it and make atonement for it.
21Thou shalt also take the bullock of the sin-offering, and it shall be burnt in the appointed place of the house, without the sanctuary.
22And on the second day thou shalt offer a he-goat without blemish for a sin-offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse it with the bullock.
23When thou hast made an end of cleansing it, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish.
24And thou shalt bring them near before Jehovah, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt-offering unto Jehovah.
25Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a sin-offering: they shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish.
26Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and purify it; so shall they consecrate it.
27And when they have accomplished the days, it shall be that upon the eighth day, and forward, the priests shall make your burnt-offerings upon the altar, and your peace-offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord Jehovah.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Ezekiel 43.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The Vision of the Temple. (1-27).
vv1-27
After Ezekiel had surveyed the temple of God, he had a vision of the glory of God. When Christ crucified, and the things freely given to us of God, through Him, are shown to us by the Holy Ghost, they make us ashamed for our sins. This frame of mind prepares us for fuller discoveries of the mysteries of redeeming love; and the whole of the Scriptures should be opened and applied, that men may see their sins, and repent of them. We are not now to offer any atoning sacrifices, for by one offering Christ has perfected for ever those that are sanctified, Heb. 10:14; but the sprinkling of his blood is needful in all our approaches to God the Father. Our best services can be accepted only as sprinkled with the blood which cleanses from all sin.
Key Words
יָלַךְ: to walk (literally or figuratively); causatively, to carry (in various senses)
שַׁעַר: an opening, i.e. door or gate
קָדִים: the fore or front part; hence (by orientation) the East (often adverbially, eastward, for brevity the east wind)
הִנֵּה: lo!
כָּבוֹד: properly, weight, but only figuratively in a good sense, splendor or copiousness
אֱלֹהִים: gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
בּוֹא: to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)
מִן: properly, a part of; hence (prepositionally), from or out of in many senses
קוֹל: a voice or sound
Cross References
Ezekiel 43The description of His voice like the sound of many waters matches John's vision of glorified Christ.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Verbal echo of the earth shining with the brightness of His glorious presence.
Supported by JFB
The glory returns from the east, the exact path by which it departed the city in Ezekiel 11.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Direct connection to the glory and falling on his face seen by the river Chebar.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The burning of the sin offering bullock without the sanctuary prefigures Christ suffering outside the gate.
Supported by JFB
The glory of Jehovah filling the house as it did in Solomon's temple.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The defilement of God's holy space by placing the carcasses of dead idols/kings near Him.
Supported by JFB
Parallels the pollution of God's land with the detestable carcasses of their idols.
Supported by JFB
Ezekiel's altar features steps (stairs), which were previously forbidden in Exodus 20.
Supported by JFB
Aligns with the original Mosaic mandate for seven days of purging and purifying the altar.
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The ultimate realization of God dwelling in the midst of His people forever.
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Links to the Hebrew name for the altar fireplace, 'Ariel' (lion of God).
Supported by JFB
Identifies the sons of Zadok as those who specifically draw near to minister to Jehovah.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The requirement to cast salt upon the burnt offering according to the law of the covenant.
Translates the Hebrew idiom for consecration, literally 'to fill the hands' with offerings.
Supported by JFB
Confirms that the eastern gate remains shut because the glory of Jehovah entered by it.
Jerusalem is explicitly designated as the throne of Jehovah's glorious presence.
Supported by JFB
Defines the measuring unit used: a cubit plus an handbreadth.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The ritual pattern of applying sacrificial blood to the horns of the altar for cleansing.
The promise that God will accept the offerings of a restored house of Israel.
Supported by JFB