New Revised Standard NRS
The Message Bible MSG
1 Then he brought me to the gate, the gate facing east.
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The man brought me to the east gate.
2 And there, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east; the sound was like the sound of mighty waters; and the earth shone with his glory.
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Oh! The bright Glory of the God of Israel rivered out of the east sounding like the roar of floodwaters, and the earth itself glowed with the bright Glory.
3 The vision I saw was like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and like the vision that I had seen by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face.
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It looked just like what I had seen when he came to destroy the city, exactly like what I had seen earlier at the Kebar River. And again I fell, face to the ground.
4 As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east,
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The bright Glory of God poured into the Temple through the east gate.
5 the spirit lifted me up, and brought me into the inner court; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.
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The Spirit put me on my feet and led me to the inside courtyard and - oh! the bright Glory of God filled the Temple!
6 While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me out of the temple.
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I heard someone speaking to me from inside the Temple while the man stood beside me.
7 He said to me: Mortal, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet, where I will reside among the people of Israel forever. The house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their whoring, and by the corpses of their kings at their death.
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He said, "Son of man, this is the place for my throne, the place I'll plant my feet. This is the place where I'll live with the Israelites forever. Neither the people of Israel nor their kings will ever again drag my holy name through the mud with their whoring and the no-god idols their kings set up at all the wayside shrines.
8 When they placed their threshold by my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them, they were defiling my holy name by their abominations that they committed; therefore I have consumed them in my anger.
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When they set up their worship shrines right alongside mine with only a thin wall between them, they dragged my holy name through the mud with their obscene and vile worship. Is it any wonder that I destroyed them in anger?
9 Now let them put away their idolatry and the corpses of their kings far from me, and I will reside among them forever.
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So let them get rid of their whoring ways and the stinking no-god idols introduced by their kings and I'll move in and live with them forever.
10 As for you, mortal, describe the temple to the house of Israel, and let them measure the pattern; and let them be ashamed of their iniquities.
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"Son of man, tell the people of Israel all about the Temple so they'll be dismayed by their wayward lives. Get them to go over the layout.
11 When they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the plan of the temple, its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, and its whole form—all its ordinances and its entire plan and all its laws; and write it down in their sight, so that they may observe and follow the entire plan and all its ordinances.
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That will bring them up short. Show them the whole plan of the Temple, its ins and outs, the proportions, the regulations, and the laws. Draw a picture so they can see the design and meaning and live by its design and intent.
12 This is the law of the temple: the whole territory on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. This is the law of the temple.
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"This is the law of the Temple: As it radiates from the top of the mountain, everything around it becomes holy ground. Yes, this is law, the meaning, of the Temple.
13 These are the dimensions of the altar by cubits (the cubit being one cubit and a handbreadth): its base shall be one cubit high, and one cubit wide, with a rim of one span around its edge. This shall be the height of the altar:
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"These are the dimensions of the altar, using the long (twenty-one-inch) ruler. The gutter at its base is twenty-one inches
14 From the base on the ground to the lower ledge, two cubits, with a width of one cubit; and from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge, four cubits, with a width of one cubit;
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deep and twenty-one inches wide, with a four-inch lip around its edge.
15 and the altar hearth, four cubits; and from the altar hearth projecting upward, four horns.
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The altar hearth is another seven feet high. Four horns stick upward from the hearth twenty-one inches high.
16 The altar hearth shall be square, twelve cubits long by twelve wide.
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"The top of the altar, the hearth, is square, twenty-one by twenty-one feet.
17 The ledge also shall be square, fourteen cubits long by fourteen wide, with a rim around it half a cubit wide, and its surrounding base, one cubit. Its steps shall face east.
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The upper ledge is also square, twenty-four and a half feet on each side, with a ten-and-a-half-inch lip and a twenty-one-inch-wide gutter all the way around. "The steps of the altar ascend from the east."
18 Then he said to me: Mortal, 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 dashing blood against it,
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Then the man said to me, "Son of man, God, the Master, says: 'These are the ordinances for conduct at the altar when it is built, for sacrificing burnt offerings and sprinkling blood on it.
19 you shall give to the levitical priests of the family of Zadok, who draw near to me to minister to me, says the Lord God, a bull for a sin offering.
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"'For a sin offering, give a bull to the priests, the Levitical priests who are from the family of Zadok who come into my presence to serve me.
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 it and make atonement for it.
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Take some of its blood and smear it on the four horns of the altar that project from the four corners of the top ledge and all around the lip. That's to purify the altar and make it fit for the sacrifice.
21 You shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and it shall be burnt in the appointed place belonging to the temple, outside the sacred area.
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Then take the bull for the sin offerings and burn it in the place set aside for this in the courtyard outside the Sanctuary.
22 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.
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"'On the second day, offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering. Purify the altar the same as you purified it for the bull.
23 When you have finished purifying it, you shall offer a bull without blemish and a ram from the flock without blemish.
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Then, when you have purified it, offer a bull without blemish and a ram without blemish from the flock.
24 You shall present them before the Lord, and the priests shall throw salt on them and offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord.
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Present them before God. Sprinkle salt on them and offer them as a burnt offering to God.
25 For seven days you shall provide daily a goat for a sin offering; also a bull and a ram from the flock, without blemish, shall be provided.
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"'For seven days, prepare a goat for a sin offering daily, and also a bull and a ram from the flock, animals without blemish.
26 Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, and so consecrate it.
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For seven days the priests are to get the altar ready for its work, purifying it. This is how you dedicate it.
27 When these days are over, then from the eighth day onward the priests shall offer upon the altar your burnt offerings and your offerings of well-being; and I will accept you, says the Lord God.
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"'After these seven days of dedication, from the eighth day on, the priests will present your burnt offerings and your peace offerings. And I'll accept you with pleasure, with delight! Decree of God, the Master.'"
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.