Ezekiel 43:11-21

11 and if they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the design of the temple—its arrangement, its exits and entrances—its whole design and all its regulations^[a] and laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations.

12 “This is the law of the temple: All the surrounding area on top of the mountain will be most holy. Such is the law of the temple.

The Great Altar Restored

13 “These are the measurements of the altar in long cubits,^[b] that cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth: Its gutter is a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim of one span^[c] around the edge. And this is the height of the altar:

14 From the gutter on the ground up to the lower ledge that goes around the altar it is two cubits high, and the ledge is a cubit wide.^[d] From this lower ledge to the upper ledge that goes around the altar it is four cubits high, and that ledge is also a cubit wide.^[e]

15 Above that, the altar hearth is four cubits high, and four horns project upward from the hearth.

16 The altar hearth is square, twelve cubits^[f] long and twelve cubits wide.

17 The upper ledge also is square, fourteen cubits^[g] long and fourteen cubits wide. All around the altar is a gutter of one cubit with a rim of half a cubit.^[h] The steps of the altar face east.”

18 Then he said to me, “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: These will be the regulations for sacrificing burnt offerings and splashing blood against the altar when it is built:

19 You are to give a young bull as a sin offering^[i] to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok, who come near to minister before me, declares the Sovereign LORD.

20 You are to take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the upper ledge and all around the rim, and so purify the altar and make atonement for it.

21 You are to take the bull for the sin offering and burn it in the designated part of the temple area outside the sanctuary.

Ezekiel 43:11-21 Meaning and Commentary

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.

Cross References

• 1. Ezekiel 44:5
• 2. Ezekiel 42:20; Ezekiel 40:2
• 3. S Ezekiel 17:22
• 4. S Exodus 20:24; 2 Chronicles 4:1
• 5. Isaiah 29:2
• 6. S Exodus 27:2
• 7. Revelation 21:16
• 8. ver 20; Ezekiel 45:19
• 9. Exodus 20:26
• 10. S Exodus 27:1
• 11. Exodus 40:29
• 12. Leviticus 1:5,11; Hebrews 9:21-22
• 13. S Leviticus 4:3; Ezekiel 45:18-19
• 14. S 2 Samuel 8:17; S Ezra 7:2; Ezekiel 44:15
• 15. Numbers 16:40; S Ezekiel 40:46
• 16. S Leviticus 4:7
• 17. S ver 17
• 18. Leviticus 16:19
• 19. Exodus 29:14; Hebrews 13:11

Footnotes

• [a]. Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts "regulations and its whole design"
• [b]. That is, about 21 inches or about 53 centimeters; also in verses 14 and 17. The long cubit is the basic unit for linear measurement throughout Ezekiel 40–48.
• [c]. That is, about 11 inches or about 27 centimeters
• [d]. That is, about 3 1/2 feet high and 1 3/4 feet wide or about 105 centimeters high and 53 centimeters wide
• [e]. That is, about 7 feet high and 1 3/4 feet wide or about 2.1 meters high and 53 centimeters wide
• [f]. That is, about 21 feet or about 6.4 meters
• [g]. That is, about 25 feet or about 7.4 meters
• [h]. That is, about 11 inches or about 27 centimeters
• [i]. Or "purification offering" ; also in verses 21, 22 and 25