The Glory of the LORD Returns to the Temple
And he led me to the gate, the gate that faces the way of the east.
And see: the glory of the God of Israel coming from the way of the east; and his voice was like the voice of many waters, and the earth shone from his glory.
And it was like the appearance of the appearance that I saw, like the appearance I saw when I came to destroy the city; and the appearances were like the appearance I saw by the river Chebar. And I fell on my face.
And the glory of the LORD came to the house by way of the gate whose face is the way of the east.
And a spirit lifted me and brought me to the inner court; and see: the glory of the LORD filled the house.
And I heard one speaking to me from the house, and a man was standing beside me.
And he said to me: Son of man, the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the sons of Israel forever — and the house of Israel will no longer defile my holy name, they and their kings, by their whoredom and by the corpses of their kings at their death;
in their setting their sill beside my sill and their doorpost beside my doorpost, with the wall between me and them; and they defiled my holy name by their abominations that they did, and I devoured them in my anger.
Now let them put their whoredom and the corpses of their kings far from me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.
You, son of man, tell the house of Israel of the house, and let them be humiliated by their iniquities; and let them measure the design.
And if they are humiliated by all that they have done, make known to them the form of the house and its arrangement, its goings out and its comings in, and all its forms, and all its statutes, and all its forms, and all its instructions; and write it before their eyes, so that they keep its whole form and all its statutes and do them.
This is the instruction of the house: on the top of the mountain, all its border all around is the Holy of Holies. See, this is the instruction of the house.
The Altar of Sacrifice
And these are the measures of the altar in cubits — a cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth: the base a cubit, and a cubit in breadth; and its border on its edge all around, one span. And this is the back of the altar.
And from the base on the ground to the lower ledge, two cubits, and a breadth of one cubit; and from the small ledge to the great ledge, four cubits, and a breadth of a cubit.
And the hearth, four cubits; and from the hearth upward, the four horns.
And the hearth: twelve in length by twelve in breadth, square on its four sides.
And the ledge: fourteen in length by fourteen in breadth on its four sides; and the border around it, half a cubit; and its base, a cubit all around; and its steps facing east.
And he said to me: Son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: These are the statutes of the altar on the day it is made, to bring up on it a burnt offering and to throw blood on it.
And you will give to the priests, the Levites who are of the seed of Zadok, who draw near to me, the utterance of the Lord GOD, to serve me, a bull, a son of the herd, for a sin offering.
And you will take of its blood and put it on its four horns and on the four corners of the ledge and on the border all around; and you will purify it and make atonement for it.
And you will take the bull of the sin offering, and he will burn it in the appointed place of the house, outside the sanctuary.
And on the second day you will bring near a he-goat of the goats, without blemish, for a sin offering; and they will purify the altar as they purified it with the bull.
When you finish purifying, you will bring near a bull, a son of the herd, without blemish, and a ram from the flock, without blemish.
And you will bring them near before the LORD; and the priests will cast salt on them and bring them up as a burnt offering to the LORD.
Seven days you will make a goat for a sin offering each day; and a bull, a son of the herd, and a ram from the flock, without blemish, they will make.
Seven days they will make atonement for the altar and cleanse it; and they will fill its hands.
And they will finish the days; and it will be, on the eighth day and onward, that the priests will make on the altar your burnt offerings and your peace offerings; and I will be pleased with you, the utterance of the Lord GOD.