Ezekiel, who witnessed God's glory departing eastward in chapter 10, now sees it return from the same direction, creating a perfect theological arc of divine abandonment and restoration.
Ezekiel 43
The Return of God's Glory
1Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looks toward the east.
2Behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth was illuminated with his glory.
3It was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city; and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face.
4The LORD’s glory came into the house by the way of the gate which faces toward the east.
5The Spirit took me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the LORD’s glory filled the house.
6I heard one speaking to me out of the house, and a man stood by me.
7He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell among the children of Israel forever. The house of Israel will no more defile my holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their prostitution and by the dead bodies of their kings in their high places;
8in their setting of their threshold by my threshold and their door post beside my door post. There was a wall between me and them; and they have defiled my holy name by their abominations which they have committed. Therefore I have consumed them in my anger.
9Now let them put away their prostitution, and the dead bodies of their kings far from me. Then I will dwell among them forever.
10“You, son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern.
11If they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the form of the house, its fashion, its exits, its entrances, its structure, all its ordinances, all its forms, and all its laws; and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form of it, and all its ordinances, and do them.
12“This is the law of the house. On the top of the mountain the whole limit around it shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.
The Altar and Its Consecration
13“These are the measurements of the altar by cubits (the cubit is a cubit and a hand width): the bottom shall be a cubit, and the width a cubit, and its border around its edge a span; and this shall be the base of the altar.
14From the bottom on the ground to the lower ledge shall be two cubits, and the width one cubit; and from the lesser ledge to the greater ledge shall be four cubits, and the width a cubit.
15The upper altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar hearth and upward there shall be four horns.
16The altar hearth shall be twelve cubits long by twelve wide, square in its four sides.
17The ledge shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen wide in its four sides; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and its bottom shall be a cubit around; and its steps shall look toward the east.”
18He said to me, “Son of man, the Lord GOD says: ‘These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they make it, to offer burnt offerings on it, and to sprinkle blood on it.
19You shall give to the Levitical priests who are of the offspring of Zadok, who are near to me, to minister to me,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘a young bull for a sin offering.
20You shall 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. You shall cleanse it and make atonement for it that way.
21You shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and it shall be burned in the appointed place of the house, outside of the sanctuary.
22“On the second day you shall offer a male goat without defect for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they cleansed it with the bull.
23When you have finished cleansing it, you shall offer a young bull without defect and a ram out of the flock without defect.
24You shall bring them near to the LORD, and the priests shall cast salt on them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering to the LORD.
25“Seven days you shall prepare every day a goat for a sin offering. They shall also prepare a young bull and a ram out of the flock, without defect.
26Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and purify it. So shall they consecrate it.
27When they have accomplished the days, it shall be that on the eighth day and onward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings on the altar and your peace offerings. Then I will accept you,’ says the Lord GOD.”
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Theme
Ezekiel witnesses the dramatic return of God's glory to the newly revealed temple, entering from the east as it had departed years earlier. God declares this temple will be His eternal dwelling place among Israel, contingent upon their repentance and abandonment of idolatrous practices that previously defiled His holy name. The chapter concludes with detailed specifications for the altar of sacrifice, including precise measurements and consecration rituals, establishing the framework for restored worship.
Context
This chapter marks the climactic return of God's presence after the detailed temple vision of chapters 40-42, preparing for the final restoration themes in chapters 44-48.
Key Themes
Outline
- 1-5 Glory Returns to the Temple God's glory enters the temple from the east, filling the house as Ezekiel is brought into the inner court.
- 6-9 God's Promise of Eternal Presence God declares the temple as His throne and promises to dwell among Israel forever if they abandon their spiritual adultery.
- 10-12 Conditions for Restoration Israel must be ashamed of their sins and carefully follow the temple's design and laws for God to remain among them.
- 13-17 Altar Specifications Detailed measurements are given for the altar's construction, including its base, ledges, and hearth dimensions.
- 18-27 Altar Consecration Rituals Seven days of sacrificial offerings are prescribed to consecrate the altar before regular worship can begin.
The Return of God's Glory
43:1–43:12 prophecy vision triumphant
God's glory returns to fill the new temple from the east, and God declares this as his eternal dwelling place among Israel. This climactic vision promises divine presence contingent upon Israel's repentance from their abominations.
person_contrast
Ezekiel, who witnessed God's glory departing eastward in chapter 10, now sees it return from the same direction, creating a perfect theological arc of divine abandonment and restoration.
The Altar and Its Consecration
43:13–43:27 prophecy instruction solemn
Detailed instructions for the measurements and consecration of the altar in Ezekiel's temple vision. The passage describes the seven-day consecration process involving sin offerings and burnt offerings to make atonement.
person_contrast
Ezekiel, who typically prophesies judgment and exile, here provides the Bible's most detailed altar measurements, reversing his usual role from pronouncing destruction to prescribing restoration.
Insights
Ezekiel, who typically prophesies judgment and exile, here provides the Bible's most detailed altar measurements, reversing his usual role from pronouncing destruction to prescribing restoration.
Cross-References
Connected passages across Scripture
Ezekiel 43:1 5 references
Lexicals 5
Ezekiel 46:1 Lexical
“‘The Lord GOD says: “The gate of the inner court that looks toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on…
Ezekiel 47:2 Lexical
Then he brought me out by the way of the gate northward, and led me around by the way outside to the outer gate, by the…
Ezekiel 44:1 Lexical
Then he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which looks toward the east; and it was shut.
Ezekiel 11:1 Lexical
Moreover the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the LORD’s house, which looks eastward. Behold, twen…
Ezekiel 46:12 Lexical
When the prince prepares a free will offering, a burnt offering or peace offerings as a free will offering to the LORD,…
Ezekiel 43:3 3 references
Lexicals 3
Ezekiel 1:1 Lexical
Now in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river…
Ezekiel 10:22 Lexical
As for the likeness of their faces, they were the faces which I saw by the river Chebar, their appearances and themselve…
Ezekiel 3:23 Lexical
Then I arose, and went out into the plain, and behold, the LORD’s glory stood there, like the glory which I saw by the r…
Ezekiel 43:5 2 references
Ezekiel 43:7 5 references
Lexicals 5
Joshua 4:18 Lexical
When the priests who bore the ark of the LORD’s covenant had come up out of the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of t…
Jeremiah 31:40 Lexical
The whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields to the brook Kidron, to the corner of the horse…
Numbers 14:33 Lexical
Your children shall be wanderers in the wilderness forty years, and shall bear your prostitution, until your dead bodies…
Numbers 35:34 Lexical
You shall not defile the land which you inhabit, where I dwell; for I, the LORD, dwell among the children of Israel.’”
Numbers 5:3 Lexical
You shall put both male and female outside of the camp so that they don’t defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwe…
Ezekiel 43:8 2 references
Ezekiel 43:9 1 reference
Ezekiel 43:13 5 references
Lexicals 5
Ezekiel 40:5 Lexical
Behold, there was a wall on the outside of the house all around, and in the man’s hand a measuring reed six cubits long,…
Ezekiel 40:33 Lexical
with its lodges, its posts, and its arches, according to these measurements. There were windows in it and in its arches…
Ezekiel 40:29 Lexical
with its lodges, its posts, and its arches, according to these measurements. There were windows in it and in its arches…
Exodus 36:9 Lexical
The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits. All the curtains had one…
Ezekiel 40:21 Lexical
The lodges of it were three on this side and three on that side. Its posts and its arches were the same as the measure o…
Ezekiel 43:14 5 references
Lexicals 5
2 Chronicles 6:13 Lexical
(for Solomon had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high, and had set it in th…
1 Kings 6:6 Lexical
The lowest floor was five cubits wide, and the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for on t…
Ezekiel 40:19 Lexical
Then he measured the width from the forefront of the lower gate to the forefront of the inner court outside, one hundred…
Exodus 36:9 Lexical
The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits. All the curtains had one…
Exodus 26:2 Lexical
The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits: all the curtains sha…
Ezekiel 43:16 5 references
Lexicals 5
Exodus 36:15 Lexical
The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits the width of each curtain. The eleven curtains had one mea…
Exodus 26:8 Lexical
The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits: the eleven curtains shall…
Exodus 38:1 Lexical
He made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood. It was square. Its length was five cubits, its width was five cubits…
Exodus 30:2 Lexical
Its length shall be a cubit, and its width a cubit. It shall be square, and its height shall be two cubits. Its horns sh…
Exodus 37:25 Lexical
He made the altar of incense of acacia wood. It was square: its length was a cubit, and its width a cubit. Its height wa…
Ezekiel 43:17 5 references
Lexicals 5
Ezekiel 40:49 Lexical
The length of the porch was twenty cubits and the width eleven cubits, even by the steps by which they went up to it. Th…
Ezekiel 40:42 Lexical
There were four cut stone tables for the burnt offering, a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide, and one cubit…
Exodus 36:15 Lexical
The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits the width of each curtain. The eleven curtains had one mea…
Exodus 26:8 Lexical
The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits: the eleven curtains shall…
2 Chronicles 6:13 Lexical
(for Solomon had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high, and had set it in th…
Ezekiel 43:18 5 references
Lexicals 5
Leviticus 9:12 Lexical
He killed the burnt offering; and Aaron’s sons delivered the blood to him, and he sprinkled it around on the altar.
2 Kings 16:13 Lexical
He burned his burnt offering and his meal offering, poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offe…
2 Kings 16:15 Lexical
King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “On the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, the evening meal off…
Leviticus 7:2 Lexical
In the place where they kill the burnt offering, he shall kill the trespass offering; and its blood he shall sprinkle ar…
Leviticus 1:5 Lexical
He shall kill the bull before the LORD. Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall present the blood and sprinkle the blood around…
Ezekiel 43:19 5 references
Lexicals 5
Ezekiel 44:15 Lexical
“‘“But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who performed the duty of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went…
Ezekiel 44:27 Lexical
In the day that he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin o…
Ezekiel 45:18 Lexical
“‘The Lord GOD says: “In the first month, on the first day of the month, you shall take a young bull without defect, and…
Ezekiel 44:12 Lexical
Because they ministered to them before their idols, and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, the…
Jeremiah 33:22 Lexical
As the army of the sky can’t be counted, and the sand of the sea can’t be measured, so I will multiply the offspring of…
Ezekiel 43:20 5 references
Lexicals 5
Leviticus 8:15 Lexical
He killed it; and Moses took the blood, and put it around on the horns of the altar with his finger, and purified the al…
Ezekiel 45:19 Lexical
The priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the door posts of the house, and on the four corner…
Leviticus 16:18 Lexical
“He shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the bull’s blood…
Exodus 27:2 Lexical
You shall make its horns on its four corners. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. You shall overlay it with bronze.
Exodus 38:2 Lexical
He made its horns on its four corners. Its horns were of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with bronze.
Ezekiel 43:21 5 references
Lexicals 5
Exodus 29:14 Lexical
But the meat of the bull, and its skin, and its dung, you shall burn with fire outside of the camp. It is a sin offering…
Leviticus 16:27 Lexical
The bull for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Ho…
Leviticus 4:21 Lexical
He shall carry the bull outside the camp, and burn it as he burned the first bull. It is the sin offering for the assemb…
Leviticus 8:17 Lexical
But the bull, and its skin, and its meat, and its dung, he burned with fire outside the camp, as the LORD commanded Mose…
Leviticus 4:12 Lexical
—all the rest of the bull—outside of the camp to a clean place where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with…
Ezekiel 43:22 5 references
Lexicals 5
Ezekiel 45:23 Lexical
The seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the LORD, seven bulls and seven rams without defect dai…
Leviticus 4:23 Lexical
if his sin in which he has sinned is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering a goat, a male without defect.
Leviticus 4:3 Lexical
if the anointed priest sins so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer for his sin which he has sinned a you…
Leviticus 9:3 Lexical
You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering; and a calf and a lamb, both a y…
Numbers 7:87 Lexical
all the cattle for the burnt offering twelve bulls, the rams twelve, the male lambs a year old twelve, and their meal of…
Ezekiel 43:23 5 references
Lexicals 5
Numbers 29:13 Lexical
You shall offer a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to the LORD: thirteen young bulls, two r…
Numbers 28:11 Lexical
“‘In the beginnings of your months, you shall offer a burnt offering to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, seven male l…
Leviticus 23:18 Lexical
You shall present with the bread seven lambs without defect a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be a bu…
Numbers 28:19 Lexical
but you shall offer an offering made by fire, a burnt offering to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lam…
Numbers 29:8 Lexical
but you shall offer a burnt offering to the LORD for a pleasant aroma: one young bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year…
Ezekiel 43:25 5 references
Lexicals 5
Ezekiel 45:23 Lexical
The seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the LORD, seven bulls and seven rams without defect dai…
Numbers 7:87 Lexical
all the cattle for the burnt offering twelve bulls, the rams twelve, the male lambs a year old twelve, and their meal of…
Numbers 28:11 Lexical
“‘In the beginnings of your months, you shall offer a burnt offering to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, seven male l…
Numbers 29:2 Lexical
You shall offer a burnt offering for a pleasant aroma to the LORD: one young bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old…
Leviticus 23:18 Lexical
You shall present with the bread seven lambs without defect a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be a bu…
Ezekiel 43:26 1 reference
Ezekiel 43:27 5 references
Lexicals 5
Ezekiel 45:15 Lexical
and one lamb of the flock out of two hundred, from the well-watered pastures of Israel—for a meal offering, for a burnt…
Leviticus 22:27 Lexical
“When a bull, a sheep, or a goat is born, it shall remain seven days with its mother. From the eighth day on it shall be…
Ezekiel 20:40 Lexical
For in my holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel,” says the Lord GOD, “there all the house of Israel, al…
Ezekiel 22:31 Lexical
Therefore I have poured out my indignation on them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have brought their…
Amos 5:22 Lexical
Yes, though you offer me your burnt offerings and meal offerings, I will not accept them; neither will I regard the peac…
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