Ezekiel 43

Vision of the Glory of God Filling the Temple

1 Then he led me to the ¹gate, the gate facing toward the east;

2 and behold, the ²glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the ³east. And His ⁴voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth ⁵shone with His glory.

3 And it was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, like the ⁶vision which I saw when He came to ⁷destroy the city. And the visions were like the vision which I saw by the ⁸river Chebar; and I ⁹fell on my face.

4 And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate facing toward the ¹⁰east.

5 And the ¹¹Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the ¹²glory of the LORD filled the house.

6 Then I heard one speaking to me from the house, while a ¹³man was standing beside me.

7 He said to me, "Son of man, this is the place of My ¹⁴throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where * I will ¹⁵dwell 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 ¹⁶corpses of their kings when they die,

8 by setting their threshold by My threshold and their door post beside My door post, with only the wall between Me and them. And they have ¹⁷defiled My holy name by their abominations which they have committed. So I have consumed them in My anger.

9 "Now let them ¹⁸put away their harlotry and the corpses of their kings far from Me; and I will ¹⁹dwell among them forever.

10 "As for you, son of man, ²⁰describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ²¹ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the ²²plan.

11 "If they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the house, its structure, its ²³exits, its entrances, all its designs, all its statutes, and all its laws. And write it ²⁴in their sight, so that they may observe its whole design and all its statutes and ²⁵do them.

12 "This is the law of the house: its entire area on the top of the ²⁶mountain all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.

The Altar of Sacrifice

13 "And these are the measurements of the ²⁷altar by cubits (the ²⁸cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth ): the base shall be a cubit and the width a cubit, and its border on its edge round about one span; and this shall be the height of the base of the altar.

14 "From the base on the ground to the lower ²⁹ledge shall be two cubits and the width one cubit; and from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge shall be four cubits and the width one cubit.

15 "The altar hearth shall be four cubits; and from the altar hearth shall extend upwards four ³⁰horns.

16 "Now the altar hearth shall be twelve * cubits long by twelve * wide, ³¹square in its four sides.

17 "The ledge shall be fourteen * 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 ³²steps shall ³³face the east."

The Offerings

18 And He said to me, "³⁴Son of man, thus says the Lord GOD, 'These are the statutes for the altar on the day it is built, to offer ³⁵burnt offerings on it and to ³⁶sprinkle blood on it.

19 'You shall give to the Levitical priests who are from the offspring of ³⁷Zadok, who draw ³⁸near to Me to minister to Me,' declares the Lord GOD, 'a ³⁹young bull for a ⁴⁰sin offering.

20 'You shall take some of its blood and put it on its four ⁴¹horns and on the four corners of the ⁴²ledge and on the border round about; thus you shall ⁴³cleanse it and make atonement for it.

21 'You shall also take the bull for the sin offering, and it shall be ⁴⁴burned in the appointed place of the house, outside * the sanctuary.

22 'On the second day you shall offer a ⁴⁵male goat without blemish for a sin offering, and they shall ⁴⁶cleanse the altar as they cleansed it with the bull.

23 'When you have finished cleansing it, you shall present a ⁴⁷young bull without blemish and a ⁴⁸ram without blemish from the flock.

24 'You shall present them before the LORD, and the priests shall throw ⁴⁹salt on them, and they shall offer them up as a burnt offering to the LORD.

25 '⁵⁰For seven days you shall prepare daily a goat for a sin offering; also a young bull and a ram from the flock, without blemish, shall be prepared.

26 'For seven days they shall make atonement for the altar and purify it; so shall they consecrate * it.

27 'When they have completed the days, it shall be that on the ⁵¹eighth day and onward, the priests shall offer your burnt offerings on the altar, and your ⁵²peace offerings; and I will ⁵³accept you,' declares the Lord GOD."

Ezekiel 43 Commentary

Chapter 43

- 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.

Cross References

• 1. Ezekiel 10:19; Ezekiel 40:6; Ezekiel 42:15; Ezekiel 43:4; Ezekiel 44:1; Ezekiel 46:1
• 2. Isaiah 6:3; Ezekiel 1:28; Ezekiel 3:23; Ezekiel 10:18, 19
• 3. Ezekiel 11:23
• 4. Ezekiel 1:24; Revelation 1:15; Revelation 14:2
• 5. Ezekiel 1:28; Ezekiel 10:4; Revelation 18:1
• 6. Ezekiel 1:4-28
• 7. Jeremiah 1:10; Ezekiel 9:1, 5; Ezekiel 32:18
• 8. Ezekiel 1:3; Ezekiel 10:20
• 9. Ezekiel 1:28; Ezekiel 3:23
• 10. Ezekiel 10:19; Ezekiel 11:23; Ezekiel 43:2
• 11. Ezekiel 3:14; Ezekiel 8:3; Ezekiel 11:1, 24; 2 Corinthians 12:2-4
• 12. Ezekiel 10:4
• 13. Ezekiel 1:26; Ezekiel 40:3
• 14. Psalms 47:8; Ezekiel 1:26
• 15. Ezekiel 37:26, 28
• 16. Leviticus 26:30; Ezekiel 6:5, 13
• 17. Ezekiel 8:3, 16
• 18. Ezekiel 18:30, 31
• 19. Ezekiel 37:26-28; Ezekiel 43:7
• 20. Ezekiel 40:4
• 21. Ezekiel 16:61, 63; Ezekiel 43:11
• 22. Ezekiel 28:12
• 23. Ezekiel 44:5
• 24. Ezekiel 12:3
• 25. Ezekiel 11:20; Ezekiel 36:27
• 26. Ezekiel 40:2
• 27. Exodus 27:1-8; 2 Chronicles 4:1
• 28. Ezekiel 40:5; Ezekiel 41:8
• 29. Ezekiel 43:17, 20; Ezekiel 45:19
• 30. Exodus 27:2; Leviticus 9:9; 1 Kings 1:50; Psalms 118:27
• 31. Exodus 27:1
• 32. Exodus 20:26
• 33. Ezekiel 40:6
• 34. Ezekiel 2:1
• 35. Exodus 40:29
• 36. Leviticus 1:5, 11; Hebrews 9:21, 22
• 37. 1 Kings 2:35; Ezekiel 40:46; Ezekiel 44:15
• 38. Numbers 16:5, 40
• 39. Leviticus 4:3; Ezekiel 43:23; Ezekiel 45:18
• 40. Ezekiel 45:19; Hebrews 7:27
• 41. Leviticus 8:15; Leviticus 9:9; Ezekiel 43:15
• 42. Ezekiel 43:14, 17
• 43. Leviticus 16:19; Ezekiel 43:22, 26
• 44. Exodus 29:14; Leviticus 4:12; Hebrews 13:11
• 45. Ezekiel 43:25
• 46. Ezekiel 43:20, 26
• 47. Exodus 29:1, 10; Ezekiel 45:18
• 48. Exodus 29:1
• 49. Leviticus 2:13; Numbers 18:19; Mark 9:49, 50; Colossians 4:6
• 50. Exodus 29:35-37; Leviticus 8:33, 35
• 51. Leviticus 9:1
• 52. Leviticus 3:1; Leviticus 17:5
• 53. Ezekiel 20:40

Footnotes

• [a]. So with some mss and some ancient versions; M.T. "I"
• [b]. Or "monuments" as in Ugaritic
• [c]. Or "in their high places"
• [d]. Or "monuments" as in Ugaritic
• [e]. Lit "declare"
• [f]. Lit "house"
• [g]. Lit "perfection" or "pattern"
• [h]. Or "form(s)"
• [i]. M.T. repeats "and all its designs" after "statutes"
• [j]. Or "form(s)"
• [k]. Or "instruction for"
• [l]. Lit "border"
• [m]. Or "instruction for"
• [n]. Lit "lap"
• [o]. Or "back"
• [p]. Lit "the"
• [q]. Or "ariel" shall
• [r]. Or "ariel" shall
• [s]. Or "ariel" shall
• [t]. Or "be on the east side"
• [u]. Heb "YHWH," usually rendered LORD, and so throughout the ch
• [v]. Lit "fill its hands"
• [w]. Lit "make"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 43

The temple or house of God being measured, the worship of God in it is pointed out and observed in this and the following chapter; and which, though evangelical, is expressed in the language of the Old Testament. An account is given of the glory of the Lord returning to the house, and the way he did, and his taking possession of it, which the prophet was favoured with a view of, Eze 43:1-5, a promise is made of his continuance there, provided his people behaved as they should, Eze 43:6-9, an order is given to the prophet, to show them the form and fashion, the laws, orders, and ordinances of the house to them, to be observed by them, Eze 43:10-12, then follows the measuring of the altar of burnt offerings; which, though measured before in chapter forty, the dimensions are here given, Eze 43:13-17, and the chapter is concluded with directions about the consecration of it, Eze 43:18-27.