The Daily Audio Bible

Rooms for the Religious Leaders

42 Then he brought me to the outside open space toward the north. He brought me to the rooms which were on the other side of the open space and the building to the north. ² The building whose door faced north was as long as 100 cubits and as wide as fifty cubits. ³ Over from the place in the inner open space which was as wide as twenty cubits, and over from the stone floor in the outer open space, was a walkway on the three floors, one above the other. ⁴ In front of the rooms was an inside walkway as wide as ten cubits and as long as 100 cubits. Their doors were on the north. ⁵ The upper rooms were smaller because the walkways took more away from them than from the rooms on the first and second floors of the building. ⁶ For the rooms on all three floors had no pillars like the other buildings on the grounds. So the upper rooms were smaller than the ones on the first and second floors. ⁷ There was an outside wall built beside the rooms toward the outer open space. It was in front of the rooms for fifty cubits. ⁸ The rooms next to the outer open space were as long as fifty cubits, and those over from the Lord’s house were as long as 100 cubits. ⁹ Below these rooms was a door on the east side, as one goes into them from the outer open space.

¹⁰ There were rooms in the width of the wall of the open space toward the east, over from the other open space and the other building. ¹¹ These rooms had a walkway in front of them, and they were like the rooms on the north. They had the same length and width. The ways out of them were the same, and the doors were made the same way. ¹² And like the doors of the rooms on the south side, there was a door at the beginning of the walkway in front of the wall toward the east, as one goes into them.

¹³ Then he said to me, “The north rooms and the south rooms, over from the other open space, are the holy rooms where the religious leaders who go near the Lord eat the most holy things. There they will lay the most holy things, the grain gift, the sin gift, and the guilt gift. For the place is holy. ¹⁴ When the religious leaders go in, they are not to go out into the outer open space from the holy place without leaving behind the clothes they wear while they do the Lord’s work, for these are holy. They must put on other clothes before they go near the places that are for the people.”

¹⁵ When he had finished showing me the lengths and widths of the inner house, he brought me out through the east gate. And he showed me the lengths of all the open space around the house. ¹⁶ He showed me with his stick that the east side was as long as 500 sticks. ¹⁷ The north side was as long as 500 sticks. ¹⁸ The south side was as long as 500 sticks. ¹⁹ And the west side was as long as 500 sticks. ²⁰ He showed me the length of the four sides. It had a wall all around it, as long as 500 sticks and as wide as 500 sticks. This wall divided what was holy from what was not.

The Lord Returns to the House of God

43 Then he brought me to the east gate, ² and I saw the shining-greatness of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters, and the earth was shining because of His greatness. ³ It was like the special dream that I saw when He came to destroy the city. It was like the special dream that I saw by the Chebar River. I fell with my face to the ground. ⁴ As the shining-greatness of the Lord came into the house through the east gate, ⁵ the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner open space. And the shining-greatness of the Lord filled the house.

⁶ While the man was standing beside me, I heard Someone speaking to me from inside the house. ⁷ And He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place for My throne and for the bottom of My feet, where I will live among the people of Israel forever. No longer will the people of Israel or their kings make My holy name unclean, by worshiping other gods or by the dead bodies of their kings. ⁸ They put their doorways by My doorways, and their door pillars beside My door pillars, with only a wall between Me and them. In doing so, they have made My holy name unclean by the hated sins they have done. So I have destroyed them in My anger. ⁹ Now let them put their worship of other gods and the dead bodies of their kings far from Me. And I will live among them forever.

¹⁰ “Son of man, tell the people of Israel about the house of the Lord, that they may be ashamed of their sins. Let them look over the plan. ¹¹ And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, let them know how the house is built, the house with its doors and gateways, and its whole plan. Let them know all its laws. Write it down in front of them, so that they will see its whole plan and obey all its laws. ¹² This is the law of the house: All the ground around it on top of the mountain will be most holy. This is the law of the house.

The Altar

¹³ “This is the length, width, and height of the altar by cubits (with the length of the hand being added to the length of each arm). The base will be one cubit long and one cubit wide, with a side piece going around it as wide as a man’s spread hand. This will be the height of the altar: ¹⁴ The base will be two cubits long from the base on the ground to its top, and one cubit wide. And it will be four cubits from the smaller part up to its larger top part, and one cubit wide. ¹⁵ The altar fireplace will be four cubits high, and four horns will go up from the top four corners of the altar one cubit high. ¹⁶ This top part of the altar will be twelve cubits long and twelve cubits wide, the same on each of the four sides. ¹⁷ The side of it will be fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide, the same on each of the four sides. And a side piece half a cubit will be around that. Its base will be a cubit wide all around, and its steps will be on the east side.”

¹⁸ And He said to me, “Son of man, the Lord God says, ‘These are the laws for giving burnt gifts and for putting blood on the altar on the day it is built: ¹⁹ You must give a young bull for a sin gift to the Levite religious leaders of the sons of Zadok. They are the ones who come near Me to do My work,’ says the Lord God. ²⁰ ‘You must take some of the bull’s blood and put it on the four horns of the altar, and on the four corners of the top of the altar, and on the side piece that goes around it. In this way you will make it clean and free from sin. ²¹ You must also take the bull for the sin gift, and burn it in the chosen place of the house, outside the holy place. ²² On the second day you must give a male goat that is perfect for a sin gift. And the altar will be made clean, as it was made clean with the bull. ²³ When you have finished making it clean, you must give a young bull that is perfect, and a ram from the flock that is perfect. ²⁴ You must bring them before the Lord. The religious leaders will throw salt on them, and burn them on the altar as a gift to the Lord. ²⁵ You must make ready a goat for a sin gift each day for seven days. Also make ready a young bull and a ram from the flock. They must be perfect. ²⁶ For seven days they must make the altar free from sin and make it pure, so it will be set apart to Me. ²⁷ At the end of these days, from the eighth day on, the religious leaders will give your burnt gifts and peace gifts on the altar. And I will receive you,’ says the Lord God.”

5 Listen, you rich men! Cry about the troubles that will come to you. ² Your riches are worth nothing. Your fine clothes are full of moth holes. ³ Your gold and silver have rusted. Their rust will speak against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have saved riches for yourselves for the last days. ⁴ See! The men working in your fields are crying against you because you have kept back part of their pay. Their cries have been heard by the Lord Who hears His people. ⁵ You have had everything while you lived on the earth and have enjoyed its fun. You have made your hearts fat and are ready to be killed as an animal is killed. ⁶ You have killed men who are right with God who were not making it hard for you.

The Lord Will Come Again

⁷ Christian brothers, be willing to wait for the Lord to come again. Learn from the farmer. He waits for the good fruit from the earth until the early and late rains come. ⁸ You must be willing to wait also. Be strong in your hearts because the Lord is coming again soon. ⁹ Do not complain about each other, Christian brothers. Then you will not be judged. See! The Judge is standing at the door. ¹⁰ See how the early preachers spoke for the Lord by their suffering and by being willing to wait. ¹¹ We think of those who stayed true to Him as happy even though they suffered. You have heard how long Job waited. You have seen what the Lord did for him in the end. The Lord is full of loving-kindness and pity.

¹² My Christian brothers, do not swear. Do not use heaven or earth or anything else to swear by. If you mean yes, say yes. If you mean no, say no. You will be guilty for saying anything more.

The Power of Prayer in Healing

¹³ Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone happy? He should sing songs of thanks to God. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? He should send for the church leaders and they should pray for him. They should pour oil on him in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ The prayer given in faith will heal the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Tell your sins to each other. And pray for each other so you may be healed. The prayer from the heart of a man right with God has much power. ¹⁷ Elijah was a man as we are. He prayed that it might not rain. It did not rain on the earth for three and one-half years. ¹⁸ Then he prayed again that it would rain. It rained much and the fields of the earth gave fruit.

Bring Back Those Who Are Lost in Sin

¹⁹ My Christian brothers, if any of you should be led away from the truth, let someone turn him back again. ²⁰ That person should know that if he turns a sinner from the wrong way, he will save the sinner’s soul from death and many sins will be forgiven.

The Law of the Lord

119 Happy are those whose way is without blame, who walk in the Law of the Lord. ² Happy are those who keep His Law and look for Him with all their heart. ³ They also do not sin, but walk in His ways. ⁴ You have set down Laws that we should always obey. ⁵ O, that my ways may be always in keeping with Your Law! ⁶ Then I will not be put to shame when I respect Your Word. ⁷ I will praise You with a heart that is right when I learn how right You judge. ⁸ I will obey Your Law. Do not leave me all alone.

⁹ How can a young man keep his way pure? By living by Your Word. ¹⁰ I have looked for You with all my heart. Do not let me turn from Your Law. ¹¹ Your Word have I hid in my heart, that I may not sin against You. ¹² Great and honored are You, O Lord. Teach me Your Law. ¹³ I have told with my lips of all the Laws of Your mouth. ¹⁴ I have found as much joy in following Your Law as one finds in much riches. ¹⁵ I will think about Your Law and have respect for Your ways. ¹⁶ I will be glad in Your Law. I will not forget Your Word.

⁶ A poor man who walks in his honor is better than a rich man who is sinful in his ways.

⁷ He who keeps the law is a wise son, but a friend of men who eat too much puts his father to shame.