Ezekiel 43:20

20 And 1you shall take some of its blood and put it on 2the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the ledge and upon 3the rim all around. 4Thus you shall purify the altar and make atonement for it.

Ezekiel 43:20 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 43:20

And thou shalt take of the blood thereof
Ezekiel being a priest. This must be understood in a visionary way; for, as Kimchi observes, Ezekiel did not live to come up out of the captivity, but died, and was buried in the land of Babylon, and so did not actually do this: though it is a mere dream of the same writer, that this is to be understood of the resurrection of the dead, when he supposes Ezekiel will be high priest, though Aaron be present; or however be the second, or deputy to him. And put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the
settle, and upon the border round about;
that is, on the four horns of the altar, and on the four corners of the settle which went round it, for the priests to walk on, and do their business; either the uppermost, or as others the lowermost, and as some both; and also on the border or ledge that enclosed the settle. The prophet's doing this, putting the blood on these several things, represents the nature of the Gospel ministry, and the business of it; which is to hold forth the blood of Christ, and the blessings of grace through it, as redemption, peace, pardon, righteousness, and life. Thus shall thou cleanse and purge it;
the altar; thus Christ, though without sin, and needed no cleansing and purging for himself, yet was sanctified by his own blood; that he might sanctify his people, and perfect by his sacrifice them that were sanctified, ( John 17:19 ) ( Hebrews 10:14 Hebrews 10:29 ) ( 13:12 ) .

Ezekiel 43:20 In-Context

18 And he said to me, "Son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: These are the ordinances for the altar: On the day when it is erected for offering burnt offerings upon it and for throwing blood against it,
19 you shall give to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok, who draw near to me to minister to me, declares the Lord GOD, a bull from the herd for a sin offering.
20 And you shall take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the ledge and upon the rim all around. Thus you shall purify the altar and make atonement for it.
21 You shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and it shall be burned in the appointed place belonging to the temple, outside the sacred area.
22 And on the second day you shall offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering; and the altar shall be purified, as it was purified with the bull.

Cross References 4

  • 1. Ezekiel 45:19; Exodus 29:12; Leviticus 8:15
  • 2. [See ver. 15 above]
  • 3. [ver. 13, 17]
  • 4. Exodus 29:36; [Ezekiel 45:18]
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.