Ezek. 43

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

6I heard someone speaking to me from the temple, while the man was standing beside me. 7He said to me: “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet, 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. 8When 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. 9Now they must put away their spiritual prostitution and the pillars of their kings far from me, and then I will live among them forever.

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. 11When 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.

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.

13“And these are the measurements of the altar: Its base is 1¾ feet high and 1¾ feet wide, and its border 9 inches on its edge. This is to be the height of the altar. 14From the base of the ground to the lower ledge is 3½ feet, and the width 1¾ feet; and from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge, 7 feet, and the width 1¾ feet; 15and the altar hearth, 7 feet, and from the altar hearth four horns projecting upward. 16Now the altar hearth is a perfect square, 21 feet long and 21 feet wide. 17The ledge is 24½ feet long and 24½ feet wide on four sides; the border around it is 10½ inches, and its surrounding base 1¾ feet. Its steps face east.”

18Then 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, 19you 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. 20You 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 purify it and make atonement for it. 21You will also take the bull for the sin offering, and it will be burned in the appointed place in the temple, outside the sanctuary.

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. 23When you have finished purifying it, you will offer an unblemished young bull and an unblemished ram from the flock. 24You will present them before the Lord, and the priests will scatter salt on them and offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord.

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. 26For seven days they will make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, so they will consecrate it. 27When the prescribed period is over, on the eighth day and thereafter the priests will offer up on the altar your burnt offerings and your peace offerings; I will accept you, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

Ps. 104:1–18

104:1 Praise the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord my God, you are magnificent.

You are robed in splendor and majesty.

2He covers himself with light as if it were a garment.

He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain

3and lays the beams of the upper rooms of his palace on the rain clouds.

He makes the clouds his chariot

and travels on the wings of the wind.

4He makes the winds his messengers

and the flaming fire his attendant.

5He established the earth on its foundations;

it will never be moved.

6The watery deep covered it like a garment;

the waters reached above the mountains.

7Your shout made the waters retreat;

at the sound of your thunderous voice they hurried off—

8as the mountains rose up

and the valleys went down—

to the place you appointed for them.

9You set up a boundary for them that they could not cross,

so that they would not cover the earth again.

10He turns springs into streams;

they flow between the mountains.

11They provide water for all the animals in the field;

the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

12The birds of the sky live beside them;

they chirp among the bushes.

13He waters the mountains from the upper rooms of his palace;

the earth is full of the fruit you cause to grow.

14He provides grass for the cattle

and crops for people to cultivate,

so they can produce food from the ground

15as well as wine that makes people glad,

and olive oil to make their faces shine

as well as bread that sustains them.

16The trees of the Lord receive all the rain they need,

the cedars of Lebanon that he planted,

17where the birds make nests

near the evergreens in which the herons live.

18The wild goats live in the high mountains;

the rock badgers find safety in the cliffs.

Heb. 11:1–12

11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see. 2For by it the people of old received God’s commendation. 3By faith we understand that the worlds were set in order at God’s command, so that the visible has its origin in the invisible. 4By faith Abel offered God a greater sacrifice than Cain, and through his faith he was commended as righteous because God commended him for his offerings. And through his faith he still speaks, though he is dead. 5By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death, and he was not to be found because God took him up. For before his removal he had been commended as having pleased God. 6Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7By faith Noah, when he was warned about things not yet seen, with reverent regard constructed an ark for the deliverance of his family. Through faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

8By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going. 9By faith he lived as a foreigner in the promised land as though it were a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with firm foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11By faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was too old, he received the ability to procreate because he regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy. 12So in fact children were fathered by one man—and this one as good as dead—like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand on the seashore. (NET Bible)