40:1 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city ¹  was struck down, on this very day, ²  the hand ³  of the Lord was on me, and he brought me there. ⁴  40:2 By means of divine visions ⁵  he brought me to the land of Israel and placed me on a very high mountain, ⁶  and on it was a structure like a city, to the south. 40:3 When he brought me there, I saw ⁷  a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring stick in his hand. He was standing in the gateway. 40:4 The man said to me, “Son of man, watch closely, listen carefully, and pay attention ⁸  to everything I show you, for you have been brought here so that I can show it to you. ⁹  Tell the house of Israel everything you see.”

40:5 I saw ¹⁰  a wall all around the outside of the temple. ¹¹  In the man’s hand was a measuring stick 10½ feet ¹²  long. He measured the thickness of the wall ¹³  as 10½ feet, ¹⁴  and its height as 10½ feet. 40:6 Then he went to the gate facing east. He climbed its steps and measured the threshold of the gate as 10½ feet deep. ¹⁵  40:7 The alcoves were 10½ feet long and 10½ feet wide; between the alcoves were 8¾ feet. ¹⁶  The threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate facing inward was 10½ feet. 40:8 Then he measured the porch of the gate facing inward as 10½ feet. 40:9 He measured the porch of the gate as 14 feet, ¹⁷  and its jambs as 3½ feet; ¹⁸  the porch of the gate faced inward. 40:10 There were three alcoves on each side of the east gate; the three had the same measurement, and the jambs on either side had the same measurement. ¹⁹  40:11 He measured the width of the entrance of the gateway as 17½ feet, ²⁰  and the length of the gateway as 22¾ feet. ²¹  40:12 There was a barrier in front of the alcoves, 1¾ feet ²²  on either side; the alcoves were 10½ feet ²³  on either side. 40:13 He measured the gateway from the roof of one alcove to the roof of the other, a width of 43¾ feet ²⁴  from one entrance to the opposite one. 40:14 He measured ²⁵  the porch ²⁶  at 105 feet ²⁷  high; ²⁸  the gateway went all around to the jamb of the courtyard. 40:15 From the front of the entrance gate to the porch of the inner gate was 87½ feet. ²⁹  40:16 There were closed windows toward the alcoves and toward their jambs within the gate all around, and likewise for the porches. There were windows all around the inside, and on each jamb were decorative palm trees. ³⁰ 

40:17 Then he brought me to the outer court. I saw ³¹  chambers there, and a pavement made for the court all around; thirty chambers faced the pavement. 40:18 The pavement was beside the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates; this was the lower pavement. 40:19 Then he measured the width from before the lower gate to the front of the exterior of the inner court as 175 feet ³²  on the east and on the north.

40:20 He measured the length and width of the gate of the outer court which faces north. 40:21 Its alcoves, three on each side, and its jambs and porches had the same measurement as the first gate; 87½ feet ³³  long and 43¾ feet ³⁴  wide. 40:22 Its windows, its porches, and its decorative palm trees had the same measurement as the gate which faced east. Seven steps led up to it, and its porch was in front of them. 40:23 Opposite the gate on the north and the east was a gate of the inner court; he measured the distance from gate to gate at 175 feet. ³⁵ 

40:24 Then he led me toward the south. I saw ³⁶  a gate on the south. He measured its jambs and its porches; they had the same dimensions as the others. 40:25 There were windows all around it and its porches, like the windows of the others; ³⁷  87½ feet ³⁸  long and 43¾ feet ³⁹  wide. 40:26 There were seven steps going up to it; its porches were in front of them. It had decorative palm trees on its jambs, one on either side. 40:27 The inner court had a gate toward the south; he measured it from gate to gate toward the south as 175 feet. ⁴⁰ 

40:28 Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate. He measured the south gate; it had the same dimensions as the others. 40:29 Its alcoves, its jambs, and its porches had the same dimensions as the others, and there were windows all around it and its porches; its length was 87½ feet ⁴¹  and its width 43¾ feet. ⁴²  40:30 There were porches all around, 43¾ feet ⁴³  long and 8¾ feet ⁴⁴  wide. 40:31 Its porches faced the outer court, and decorative palm trees were on its jambs, and its stairway had eight steps.

40:32 Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side. He measured the gate; it had the same dimensions as the others. 40:33 Its alcoves, its jambs, and its porches had the same dimensions as the others, and there were windows all around it and its porches; its length was 87½ feet ⁴⁵  and its width 43¾ feet. ⁴⁶  40:34 Its porches faced the outer court, it had decorative palm trees on its jambs, and its stairway had eight steps.

40:35 Then he brought me to the north gate, and he measured it; it had the same dimensions as the others – 40:36 its alcoves, its jambs, and its porches. It had windows all around it; its length was 87½ feet ⁴⁷  and its width 43¾ feet. ⁴⁸  40:37 Its jambs ⁴⁹  faced the outer court, and it had decorative palm trees on its jambs, on either side, and its stairway had eight steps.

40:38 There was a chamber with its door by the porch of the gate; ⁵⁰  there they washed the burnt offering. 40:39 In the porch of the gate were two tables on either side on which to slaughter the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering. 40:40 On the outside of the porch as one goes up at the entrance of the north gate were two tables, and on the other side of the porch of the gate were two tables. 40:41 Four tables were on each side of the gate, eight tables on which the sacrifices were to be slaughtered. 40:42 The four tables for the burnt offering were of carved stone, 32 inches ⁵¹  long, 32 inches ⁵²  wide, and 21 inches ⁵³  high. They would put the instruments which they used to slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice on them. 40:43 There were hooks ⁵⁴  three inches ⁵⁵  long, fastened in the house all around, and on the tables was the flesh of the offering.

40:44 On the outside of the inner gate were chambers for the singers of the inner court, one ⁵⁶  at the side of the north gate facing south, and the other at the side of the south ⁵⁷  gate facing north. 40:45 He said to me, “This chamber which faces south is for the priests who keep charge of the temple, ⁵⁸  40:46 and the chamber which faces north is for the priests who keep charge of the altar. These are the descendants of Zadok, from the descendants of Levi, who may approach the Lord to minister to him.” 40:47 He measured the court as a square 175 feet long and 175 feet wide; ⁵⁹  the altar was in front of the temple.

40:48 Then he brought me to the porch of the temple and measured the jambs of the porch as 8¾ feet ⁶⁰  on either side, and the width of the gate was 24½ feet ⁶¹  and the sides ⁶²  were 5¼ feet ⁶³  on each side. 40:49 The length of the porch was 35 feet ⁶⁴  and the width 19¼ feet; ⁶⁵  steps ⁶⁶  led up to it, and there were pillars beside the jambs on either side.

41:1 Then he brought me to the outer sanctuary, and measured the jambs; the jambs were 10½ feet ⁶⁷  wide on each side. 41:2 The width of the entrance was 17½ feet, ⁶⁸  and the sides ⁶⁹  of the entrance were 8¾ feet ⁷⁰  on each side. He measured the length of the outer sanctuary as 70 feet, ⁷¹  and its width as 35 feet. ⁷² 

41:3 Then he went into the inner sanctuary and measured the jambs of the entrance as 3½ feet, ⁷³  the entrance as 10½ feet, ⁷⁴  and the width of the entrance as 12¼ feet ⁷⁵  41:4 Then he measured its length as 35 feet, ⁷⁶  and its width as 35 feet, ⁷⁷  before the outer sanctuary. He said to me, “This is the most holy place.”

41:5 Then he measured the wall of the temple ⁷⁸  as 10½ feet, ⁷⁹  and the width of the side chambers as 7 feet, ⁸⁰  all around the temple. 41:6 The side chambers were in three stories, one above the other, thirty in each story. There were offsets in the wall all around to serve as supports for the side chambers, so that the supports were not in the wall of the temple. 41:7 The side chambers surrounding the temple were wider at each successive story; ⁸¹  for the structure ⁸²  surrounding the temple went up story by story all around the temple. For this reason the width of the temple increased as it went up, and one went up from the lowest story to the highest by the way of the middle story.

41:8 I saw that the temple had a raised platform all around; the foundations of the side chambers were a full measuring stick ⁸³  of 10½ feet ⁸⁴  high. 41:9 The width of the outer wall of the side chambers was 8¾ feet, ⁸⁵  and the open area between the side chambers of the temple 41:10 and the chambers of the court was 35 feet ⁸⁶  in width all around the temple on every side. 41:11 There were entrances from the side chambers toward the open area, one entrance toward the north, and another entrance toward the south; the width of the open area was 8¾ feet ⁸⁷  all around.

41:12 The building that was facing the temple courtyard at the west side was 122½ feet ⁸⁸  wide; the wall of the building was 8¾ feet ⁸⁹  all around, and its length 157½ feet. ⁹⁰ 

41:13 Then he measured the temple as 175 feet ⁹¹  long, the courtyard of the temple and the building and its walls as 175 feet ⁹²  long, 41:14 and also the width of the front of the temple and the courtyard on the east as 175 feet. ⁹³ 

41:15 Then he measured the length of the building facing the courtyard at the rear of the temple, with its galleries on either side as 175 feet. ⁹⁴ 

The interior of the outer sanctuary and the porch of the court, ⁹⁵  41:16 as well as the thresholds, narrow windows and galleries all around on three sides facing the threshold were paneled with wood all around, from the ground up to the windows (now the windows were covered), 41:17 to the space above the entrance, to the inner room, and on the outside, and on all the walls in the inner room and outside, by measurement. ⁹⁶  41:18 It was made with cherubim and decorative palm trees, with a palm tree between each cherub. Each cherub had two faces: 41:19 a human face toward the palm tree on one side and a lion’s face toward the palm tree on the other side. They were carved on the whole temple all around; 41:20 from the ground to the area above the entrance, cherubim and decorative palm trees were carved on the wall of the outer sanctuary. 41:21 The doorposts of the outer sanctuary were square. In front of the sanctuary one doorpost looked just like the other. 41:22 The altar was of wood, 5¼ feet ⁹⁷  high, with its length 3½ feet; ⁹⁸  its corners, its length, ⁹⁹  and its walls were of wood. He said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.” 41:23 The outer sanctuary and the inner sanctuary each had a double door. 41:24 Each of the doors had two leaves, two swinging ¹⁰⁰  leaves; two leaves for one door and two leaves for the other. 41:25 On the doors of the outer sanctuary were carved cherubim and palm trees, like those carved on the walls, and there was a canopy ¹⁰¹  of wood on the front of the outside porch. 41:26 There were narrow windows and decorative palm trees on either side of the side walls of the porch; this is what the side chambers of the temple and the canopies were like.

42:1 Then he led me out to the outer court, toward the north, and brought me to the chamber which was opposite the courtyard and opposite the building on the north. 42:2 Its length was 175 feet ¹⁰²  on the north side, ¹⁰³  and its width 87½ feet. ¹⁰⁴  42:3 Opposite the 35 feet ¹⁰⁵  that belonged to the inner court, and opposite the pavement which belonged to the outer court, gallery faced gallery in the three stories. 42:4 In front of the chambers was a walkway on the inner side, 17½ feet ¹⁰⁶  wide at a distance of 1¾ feet, ¹⁰⁷  and their entrances were on the north. 42:5 Now the upper chambers were narrower, because the galleries took more space from them than from the lower and middle chambers of the building. 42:6 For they were in three stories and had no pillars like the pillars of the courts; therefore the upper chambers ¹⁰⁸  were set back from the ground more than the lower and upper ones. 42:7 As for the outer wall by the side of the chambers, toward the outer court facing the chambers, it was 87½ feet ¹⁰⁹  long. 42:8 For the chambers on the outer court were 87½ feet ¹¹⁰  long, while those facing the temple were 175 feet ¹¹¹  long. 42:9 Below these chambers was a passage on the east side as one enters from the outer court.

42:10 At the beginning ¹¹²  of the wall of the court toward the south, ¹¹³  facing the courtyard and the building, were chambers 42:11 with a passage in front of them. They looked like the chambers on the north. Of the same length and width, and all their exits according to their arrangements and entrances 42:12 were the chambers ¹¹⁴  which were toward the south. There was an opening at the head of the passage, the passage in front of the corresponding wall toward the east when one enters.

42:13 Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers which face the courtyard are holy chambers where the priests ¹¹⁵  who approach the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. There they will place the most holy offerings – the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, because the place is holy. 42:14 When the priests enter, then they will not go out from the sanctuary to the outer court without taking off their garments in which they minister, for these are holy; they will put on other garments, then they will go near the places where the people are.”

42:15 Now when he had finished measuring the interior of the temple, he led me out by the gate which faces east and measured all around. 42:16 He measured the east side with the measuring stick ¹¹⁶  as 875 feet ¹¹⁷  by the measuring stick. 42:17 He measured the north side as 875 feet by the measuring stick. 42:18 He measured the south side as 875 feet by the measuring stick. 42:19 He turned to the west side and measured 875 feet by the measuring stick. 42:20 He measured it on all four sides. It had a wall around it, 875 feet long and 875 feet wide, to separate the holy and common places.

43:1 Then he brought me to the gate that faced toward the east. 43:2 I saw ¹¹⁸  the glory of the God of Israel ¹¹⁹  coming from the east; ¹²⁰  the sound was like that of rushing water; ¹²¹  and the earth radiated ¹²²  his glory. 43:3 It was like the vision I saw when he ¹²³  came to destroy the city, and the vision I saw by the Kebar River. I threw myself face down. 43:4 The glory of the Lord came into the temple by way of the gate that faces east. 43:5 Then a wind ¹²⁴  lifted me up and brought me to the inner court; I watched ¹²⁵  the glory of the Lord filling the temple. ¹²⁶ 

43:6 I heard someone speaking to me from the temple, while the man was standing beside me. 43:7 He said to me: “Son of man, this is the place of my throne ¹²⁷  and the place for the soles of my feet, ¹²⁸  where I will live among the people of Israel forever. The house of Israel will no longer profane my holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their spiritual prostitution or by the pillars of their kings set up when they die. ¹²⁹  43:8 When they placed their threshold by my threshold and their doorpost by my doorpost, with only the wall between me and them, they profaned my holy name by the abominable deeds they committed. So I consumed them in my anger. 43:9 Now they must put away their spiritual prostitution and the pillars of their kings far from me, and then I will live among them forever.

43:10 “As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, so that they will be ashamed of their sins and measure the pattern. 43:11 When they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple, its pattern, its exits and entrances, and its whole design – all its statutes, its entire design, and all its laws; write it all down in their sight, so that they may observe its entire design and all its statutes and do them.

43:12 “This is the law of the temple: The entire area on top of the mountain all around will be most holy. Indeed, this is the law of the temple.

43:13 “And these are the measurements of the altar: ¹³⁰  Its base ¹³¹  is 1¾ feet ¹³²  high, ¹³³  and 1¾ feet ¹³⁴  wide, and its border nine inches ¹³⁵  on its edge. This is to be the height ¹³⁶  of the altar. 43:14 From the base of the ground to the lower edge is 3½ feet, ¹³⁷  and the width 1¾ feet; ¹³⁸  and from the smaller ledge to the larger edge, 7 feet, ¹³⁹  and the width 1¾ feet; 43:15 and the altar hearth, 7 feet, and from the altar hearth four horns projecting upward. 43:16 Now the altar hearth ¹⁴⁰  is a perfect square, 21 feet ¹⁴¹  long and 21 feet wide. 43:17 The ledge is 24½ feet ¹⁴²  long and 24½ feet wide on four sides; the border around it is 10½ inches, ¹⁴³  and its surrounding base 1¾ feet. ¹⁴⁴  Its steps face east.”

43:18 Then he said to me: “Son of man, this is what the sovereign Lord says: These are the statutes of the altar: On the day it is built to offer up burnt offerings on it and to sprinkle blood on it, ¹⁴⁵  43:19 you will give a young bull for a sin offering to the Levitical priests who are descended from Zadok, who approach me to minister to me, declares the sovereign Lord. 43:20 You will take some of its blood, and place it on the four horns of the altar, on the four corners of the ledge, and on the border all around; you will cleanse it and make atonement for it. ¹⁴⁶  43:21 You will also take the bull for the sin offering, and it will be burned in the appointed place in the temple, outside the sanctuary.

43:22 “On the second day, you will offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering. They will purify the altar just as they purified it with the bull. 43:23 When you have finished purifying it, you will offer an unblemished young bull and an unblemished ram from the flock. 43:24 You will present them before the Lord, and the priests will scatter salt on them ¹⁴⁷  and offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord.

43:25 “For seven days you will provide every day a goat for a sin offering; a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without blemish, will be provided. 43:26 For seven days they will make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, so they will consecrate it. ¹⁴⁸  43:27 When the prescribed period is over, ¹⁴⁹  on the eighth day and thereafter the priests will offer up on the altar your burnt offerings and your peace offerings; ¹⁵⁰  I will accept you, declares the sovereign Lord.”

44:1 Then he brought me back by way of the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces east, but it was shut. 44:2 The Lord said to me: “This gate will be shut; it will not be opened, and no one will enter by it. For the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it will remain shut. 44:3 Only the prince may sit in it to eat a sacrificial meal ¹⁵¹  before the Lord; he will enter by way of the porch of the gate and will go out by the same way.”

44:4 Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. As I watched, I noticed ¹⁵²  the glory of the Lord filling the Lord’s temple, and I threw myself face down. 44:5 The Lord said to me: “Son of man, pay attention, ¹⁵³  watch closely and listen carefully to ¹⁵⁴  everything I tell you concerning all the statutes of the Lord’s house and all its laws. Pay attention to the entrances ¹⁵⁵  to the temple with all the exits of the sanctuary. 44:6 Say to the rebellious, ¹⁵⁶  to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Enough of all your abominable practices, O house of Israel! 44:7 When you bring foreigners, those uncircumcised in heart and in flesh, into my sanctuary, you desecrate ¹⁵⁷  it – even my house – when you offer my food, the fat and the blood. You ¹⁵⁸  have broken my covenant by all your abominable practices. 44:8 You have not kept charge of my holy things, but you have assigned foreigners ¹⁵⁹  to keep charge of my sanctuary for you. 44:9 This is what the sovereign Lord says: No foreigner, who is uncircumcised in heart and flesh among all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, will enter into my sanctuary. ¹⁶⁰ 

44:10 “‘But the Levites who went far from me, straying off from me after their idols when Israel went astray, will be responsible for ¹⁶¹  their sin. 44:11 Yet they will be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the temple, and serving the temple. They will slaughter the burnt offerings and the sacrifices for the people, and they will stand before them to minister to them. 44:12 Because they used to minister to them before their idols, and became a sinful obstacle ¹⁶²  to the house of Israel, consequently I have made a vow ¹⁶³  concerning them, declares the sovereign Lord, that they will be responsible ¹⁶⁴  for their sin. 44:13 They will not come near me to serve me as priest, nor will they come near any of my holy things, the things which are most sacred. They will bear the shame of the abominable deeds they have committed. 44:14 Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the temple, all of its service and all that will be done in it.

44:15 “‘But the Levitical priests, the descendants of Zadok ¹⁶⁵  who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, will approach me to minister to me; they will stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the sovereign Lord. 44:16 They will enter my sanctuary, and approach my table to minister to me; they will keep my charge.

44:17 “‘When they enter the gates of the inner court, they must wear linen garments; they must not have any wool on them when they minister in the inner gates of the court and in the temple. 44:18 Linen turbans will be on their heads and linen undergarments will be around their waists; they must not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat. 44:19 When they go out to the outer court to the people, they must remove the garments they were ministering in, and place them in the holy chambers; they must put on other garments so that they will not transmit holiness to the people with their garments. ¹⁶⁶ 

44:20 “‘They must not shave their heads ¹⁶⁷  nor let their hair grow long; ¹⁶⁸  they must only trim their heads. 44:21 No priest may drink wine when he enters the inner court. 44:22 They must not marry a widow or a divorcee, but they may marry a virgin from the house of Israel ¹⁶⁹  or a widow who is a priest’s widow. 44:23 Moreover, they will teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the ceremonially unclean and the clean. ¹⁷⁰ 

44:24 “‘In a controversy they will act as judges; ¹⁷¹  they will judge according to my ordinances. They will keep my laws and my statutes regarding all my appointed festivals and will observe ¹⁷²  my Sabbaths.

44:25 “‘They must not come near a dead person or they will be defiled; ¹⁷³  however, for father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister, they may defile themselves. 44:26 After a priest ¹⁷⁴  has become ceremonially clean, they ¹⁷⁵  must count off a period of seven days for him. 44:27 On the day he enters the sanctuary, into the inner court to serve in the sanctuary, he must offer his sin offering, declares the sovereign Lord.

44:28 “‘This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance, and you must give them no property in Israel; I am their property. ¹⁷⁶  44:29 They may eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, and every devoted thing in Israel will be theirs. 44:30 The first of all the first fruits and all contributions of any kind ¹⁷⁷  will be for the priests; you will also give to the priest the first portion of your dough, so that a blessing may rest on your house. 44:31 The priests will not eat any bird or animal that has died a natural death or was torn to pieces by a wild animal. ¹⁷⁸ 

45:1 “‘When you allot the land as an inheritance, you will offer an allotment ¹⁷⁹  to the Lord, a holy portion from the land; the length will be eight and a quarter miles ¹⁸⁰  and the width three and one-third miles. ¹⁸¹  This entire area will be holy. ¹⁸²  45:2 Of this area a square 875 feet ¹⁸³  by 875 feet will be designated for the sanctuary, with 87½ feet ¹⁸⁴  set aside for its open space round about. 45:3 From this measured area you will measure a length of eight and a quarter miles ¹⁸⁵  and a width of three and one-third miles; ¹⁸⁶  in it will be the sanctuary, the most holy place. 45:4 It will be a holy portion of the land; it will be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary who approach the Lord to minister to him. It will be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. ¹⁸⁷  45:5 An area eight and a quarter miles ¹⁸⁸  in length and three and one-third miles ¹⁸⁹  in width will be for the Levites, who minister at the temple, as the place for the cities ¹⁹⁰  in which they will live.

45:6 “‘Alongside the portion set apart as the holy allotment, you will allot for the city an area one and two-thirds miles ¹⁹¹  wide and eight and a quarter miles ¹⁹²  long; it will be for the whole house of Israel.

45:7 “‘For the prince there will be land on both sides of the holy allotment and the allotted city, alongside the holy allotment and the allotted city, on the west side and on the east side; it will be comparable in length to one of the portions, from the west border to the east border 45:8 of the land. This will be his property in Israel. My princes will no longer oppress my people, but the land will be allotted to the house of Israel according to their tribes.

45:9 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Enough, you princes of Israel! Put away violence and destruction, and do what is just and right. Put an end to your evictions of my people, ¹⁹³  declares the sovereign Lord. 45:10 You must use just balances, ¹⁹⁴  a just dry measure (an ephah), ¹⁹⁵  and a just liquid measure (a bath). ¹⁹⁶  45:11 The dry and liquid measures will be the same, the bath will contain a tenth of a homer, ¹⁹⁷  and the ephah a tenth of a homer; the homer will be the standard measure. 45:12 The shekel will be twenty gerahs. Sixty shekels ¹⁹⁸  will be a mina for you.

45:13 “‘This is the offering you must offer: a sixth of an ephah from a homer of wheat; a sixth of an ephah from a homer of barley, 45:14 and as the prescribed portion of olive oil, one tenth of a bath from each kor (which is ten baths or a homer, for ten baths make a homer); 45:15 and one sheep from each flock of two hundred, from the watered places of Israel, for a grain offering, burnt offering, and peace offering, to make atonement for them, declares the sovereign Lord. 45:16 All the people of the land will contribute ¹⁹⁹  to this offering for the prince of Israel. 45:17 It will be the duty of the prince to provide the burnt offerings, the grain offering, and the drink offering at festivals, on the new moons and Sabbaths, at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel; he will provide the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings to make atonement for the house of Israel.

45:18 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: In the first month, on the first day of the month, you must take an unblemished young bull and purify the sanctuary. 45:19 The priest will take some of the blood of the sin offering and place it on the doorpost of the temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the doorpost of the gate of the inner court. 45:20 This is what you must do on the seventh day of the month for anyone who sins inadvertently or through ignorance; so you will make atonement for the temple.

45:21 “‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you will celebrate the Passover, and for seven days bread made without yeast will be eaten. 45:22 On that day the prince will provide for himself and for all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering. 45:23 And during the seven days of the feast he will provide as a burnt offering to the Lord seven bulls and seven rams, all without blemish, on each of the seven days, and a male goat daily for a sin offering. 45:24 He will provide as a grain offering an ephah for each bull, an ephah for each ram, and a gallon ²⁰⁰  of olive oil for each ephah of grain. ²⁰¹  45:25 In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, at the feast, ²⁰²  he will make the same provisions for the sin offering, burnt offering, and grain offering, and for the olive oil, for the seven days.

46:1 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: The gate of the inner court that faces east ²⁰³  will be closed six working days, but on the Sabbath day it will be opened and on the day of the new moon it will be opened. 46:2 The prince will enter by way of the porch of the gate from the outside, and will stand by the doorpost of the gate. The priests will provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he will bow down at the threshold of the gate and then go out. But the gate will not be closed until evening. 46:3 The people of the land will bow down at the entrance of that gate before the Lord on the Sabbaths and on the new moons. 46:4 The burnt offering which the prince will offer to the Lord on the Sabbath day will be six unblemished lambs and one unblemished ram. 46:5 The grain offering will be an ephah with the ram, and the grain offering with the lambs will be as much as he is able to give, ²⁰⁴  and a gallon ²⁰⁵  of olive oil with an ephah. 46:6 On the day of the new moon he will offer ²⁰⁶  an unblemished young bull, and six lambs and a ram, all without blemish. 46:7 He will provide a grain offering: an ephah with the bull and an ephah with the ram, and with the lambs as much as he wishes, ²⁰⁷  and a gallon ²⁰⁸  of olive oil with each ephah of grain. ²⁰⁹  46:8 When the prince enters, he will come by way of the porch of the gate and will go out the same way.

46:9 “‘When the people of the land come before the Lord at the appointed feasts, whoever enters by way of the north gate to worship will go out by way of the south gate; whoever enters by way of the south gate will go out by way of the north gate. No one will return by way of the gate they entered but will go out straight ahead. 46:10 When they come in, the prince will come in with them, and when they go out, he will go out.

46:11 “‘At the festivals and at the appointed feasts the grain offering will be an ephah with the bull and an ephah with the ram, and with the lambs as much as one is able, ²¹⁰  and a gallon ²¹¹  of olive oil with each ephah of grain. ²¹²  46:12 When the prince provides a freewill offering, a burnt offering, or peace offerings as a voluntary offering to the Lord, the gate facing east will be opened for him, and he will provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings just as he did on the Sabbath. Then he will go out, and the gate will be closed after he goes out. ²¹³ 

46:13 “‘You ²¹⁴  will provide a lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering daily to the Lord; morning by morning he will provide it. 46:14 And you ²¹⁵  will provide a grain offering with it morning by morning, a sixth of an ephah, and a third of a gallon ²¹⁶  of olive oil to moisten the choice flour, as a grain offering to the Lord; this is a perpetual statute. 46:15 Thus they will provide the lamb, the grain offering, and the olive oil morning by morning, as a perpetual burnt offering.

46:16 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: If the prince should give a gift to one of his sons as ²¹⁷  his inheritance, it will belong to his sons, it is their property by inheritance. 46:17 But if he gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, it will be his until the year of liberty; ²¹⁸  then it will revert to the prince. His inheritance will only remain with his sons. 46:18 The prince will not take away any of the people’s inheritance by oppressively removing them from their property. He will give his sons an inheritance from his own possessions so that my people will not be scattered, each from his own property.’”

46:19 Then he brought me through the entrance, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers for the priests which faced north. There I saw ²¹⁹  a place at the extreme western end. 46:20 He said to me, “This is the place where the priests will boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where they will bake the grain offering, so that they do not bring them out to the outer court to transmit holiness to the people.”

46:21 Then he brought me out to the outer court and led me past the four corners of the court, and I noticed ²²⁰  that in every corner of the court there was a court. 46:22 In the four corners of the court were small ²²¹  courts, 70 feet ²²²  in length and 52½ feet ²²³  in width; the four were all the same size. 46:23 There was a row of masonry around each of the four courts, and places for boiling offerings were made under the rows all around. 46:24 Then he said to me, “These are the houses for boiling, where the ministers of the temple boil the sacrifices of the people.”

47:1 Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple. I noticed ²²⁴  that water was flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from under the right side of the temple, from south of the altar. 47:2 He led me out by way of the north gate and brought me around the outside of the outer gate that faces toward the east; I noticed ²²⁵  that the water was trickling out from the south side.

47:3 When the man went out toward the east with a measuring line in his hand, he measured 1,750 feet, ²²⁶  and then he led me through water, which was ankle deep. 47:4 Again he measured 1,750 feet and led me through the water, which was now knee deep. Once more he measured 1,750 feet and led me through the water, which was waist deep. 47:5 Again he measured 1,750 feet and it was a river I could not cross, for the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed. 47:6 He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?”

Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 47:7 When I had returned, I noticed ²²⁷  a vast number of trees on the banks of the river, on both sides. 47:8 He said to me, “These waters go out toward the eastern region and flow down into the Arabah; when they enter the Dead Sea, ²²⁸  where the sea is stagnant, ²²⁹  the waters become fresh. ²³⁰  47:9 Every living creature which swarms where the river ²³¹  flows will live; there will be many fish, for these waters flow there. It will become fresh ²³²  and everything will live where the river flows. 47:10 Fishermen will stand beside it; from Engedi to En-eglaim they will spread nets. They will catch many kinds of fish, like the fish of the Great Sea. ²³³  47:11 But its swamps and its marshes will not become fresh; they will remain salty. 47:12 On both sides of the river’s banks, every kind of tree will grow for food. Their leaves will not wither nor will their fruit fail, but they will bear fruit every month, because their water source flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.” ²³⁴ 

47:13 This is what the sovereign Lord says: “Here ²³⁵  are the borders ²³⁶  you will observe as you allot the land to the twelve tribes of Israel. (Joseph will have two portions.) ²³⁷  47:14 You must divide it equally just as I vowed to give it to your forefathers; ²³⁸  this land will be assigned as your inheritance. ²³⁹ 

47:15 “This will be the border of the land: ²⁴⁰  On the north side, from the Great Sea by way of Hethlon to the entrance of Zedad; 47:16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath, as far as Hazer-hattikon, which is on the border of Hauran. 47:17 The border will run from the sea to Hazar-enan, at the border of Damascus, and on the north is the border of Hamath. This is the north side. 47:18 On the east side, between Hauran and Damascus, and between Gilead and the land of Israel, will be the Jordan. You will measure from the border to the eastern sea. This is the east side. 47:19 On the south side it will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath Kadesh, the river, ²⁴¹  to the Great Sea. This is the south side. 47:20 On the west side the Great Sea will be the boundary to a point opposite Lebo-hamath. This is the west side.

47:21 “This is how you will divide this land for yourselves among the tribes of Israel. 47:22 You must allot it as an inheritance among yourselves and for the foreigners who reside among you, who have fathered sons among you. You must treat them as native-born among the people of Israel; they will be allotted an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. ²⁴²  47:23 In whatever tribe the foreigner resides, there you will give him his inheritance,” declares the sovereign Lord.

48:1 “These are the names of the tribes: From the northern end beside the road of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan (which is on the border of Damascus, toward the north beside Hamath), extending from the east side to the west, Dan will have one portion. 48:2 Next to the border of Dan, from the east side to the west, Asher ²⁴³  will have one portion. 48:3 Next to the border of Asher from the east side to the west, Naphtali will have one portion. 48:4 Next to the border of Naphtali from the east side to the west, Manasseh will have one portion. 48:5 Next to the border of Manasseh from the east side to the west, Ephraim will have one portion. 48:6 Next to the border of Ephraim from the east side to the west, Reuben will have one portion. 48:7 Next to the border of Reuben from the east side to the west, Judah ²⁴⁴  will have one portion.

48:8 “Next to the border of Judah from the east side to the west will be the allotment you must set apart. It is to be eight and a quarter miles ²⁴⁵  wide, and the same length as one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west; the sanctuary will be in the middle of it. 48:9 The allotment you set apart to the Lord will be eight and a quarter miles ²⁴⁶  in length and three and one-third miles ²⁴⁷  in width. 48:10 These will be the allotments for the holy portion: for the priests, toward the north eight and a quarter miles ²⁴⁸  in length, toward the west three and one-third miles ²⁴⁹  in width, toward the east three and one-third miles ²⁵⁰  in width, and toward the south eight and a quarter miles ²⁵¹  in length; the sanctuary of the Lord will be in the middle. 48:11 This will be for the priests who are set apart from the descendants of Zadok who kept my charge and did not go astray when the people of Israel strayed off, like the Levites did. ²⁵²  48:12 It will be their portion from the allotment of the land, a most holy place, next to the border of the Levites.

48:13 “Alongside the border of the priests, the Levites will have an allotment eight and a quarter miles ²⁵³  in length and three and one-third miles ²⁵⁴  in width. The whole length will be eight and a quarter miles ²⁵⁵  and the width three and one-third miles. ²⁵⁶  48:14 They must not sell or exchange any of it; they must not transfer this choice portion of land, for it is set apart ²⁵⁷  to the Lord.

48:15 “The remainder, one and two-thirds miles ²⁵⁸  in width and eight and a quarter miles ²⁵⁹  in length, will be for common use by the city, for houses and for open space. The city will be in the middle of it; 48:16 these will be its measurements: The north side will be one and one-half miles, ²⁶⁰  the south side one and one-half miles, the east side one and one-half miles, and the west side one and one-half miles. 48:17 The city will have open spaces: On the north there will be 437½ feet, ²⁶¹  on the south 437½ feet, on the east 437½ feet, and on the west 437½ feet. 48:18 The remainder of the length alongside the holy allotment will be three and one-third miles ²⁶²  to the east and three and one-third miles toward the west, and it will be beside the holy allotment. Its produce will be for food for the workers of the city. 48:19 The workers of the city from all the tribes of Israel will cultivate it. 48:20 The whole allotment will be eight and a quarter miles ²⁶³  square, you must set apart the holy allotment with the possession of the city.

48:21 “The rest, on both sides of the holy allotment and the property of the city, will belong to the prince. Extending from the eight and a quarter miles ²⁶⁴  of the holy allotment to the east border, and westward from the eight and a quarter miles ²⁶⁵  to the west border, alongside the portions, it will belong to the prince. The holy allotment and the sanctuary of the temple will be in the middle of it. 48:22 The property of the Levites and of the city will be in the middle of that which belongs to the prince. The portion between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin will be for the prince.

48:23 “As for the rest of the tribes: From the east side to the west side, Benjamin will have one portion. 48:24 Next to the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, Simeon will have one portion. 48:25 Next to the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, Issachar will have one portion. 48:26 Next to the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, Zebulun will have one portion. 48:27 Next to the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side, Gad will have one portion. 48:28 Next to the border of Gad, at the south side, the border will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath Kadesh, to the Stream of Egypt ²⁶⁶  and on to the Great Sea. 48:29 This is the land which you will allot to the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, declares the sovereign Lord.

48:30 “These are the exits of the city: On the north side, one and one-half miles ²⁶⁷  by measure, 48:31 the gates of the city ²⁶⁸  will be named for the tribes of Israel; there will be three gates to the north: one gate for Reuben, one gate for Judah, and one gate for Levi. 48:32 On the east side, one and one-half miles in length, there will be three gates: one gate for Joseph, one gate for Benjamin, and one gate for Dan. 48:33 On the south side, one and one-half miles by measure, there will be three gates: one gate for Simeon, one gate for Issachar, and one gate for Zebulun. 48:34 On the west side, one and one-half miles in length, there will be three gates: one gate for Gad, one gate for Asher, and one gate for Naphtali. 48:35 The circumference of the city will be six miles. ²⁶⁹  The name of the city from that day forward will be: ‘The Lord Is There.’” ²⁷⁰