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Translation
King James Version
And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon.
Complete Jewish Bible
He said to me, "Human being, Adonai ELOHIM says, 'These are the regulations for the altar when the time comes to construct it, offer burnt offerings on it and splash the blood against it:
Berean Standard Bible
Then He said to me: “Son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘These are the statutes for the altar on the day it is constructed, so that burnt offerings may be sacrificed on it and blood may be sprinkled on it:
American Standard Version
And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt-offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon.
World English Bible Messianic
He said to me, Son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings on it, and to sprinkle blood on it.
Geneva Bible (1599)
And he said vnto me, Sone of man, thus saith ye Lord God, These are ye ordinances of ye altar in the day when they shall make it to offer the burnt offring thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon.
Young's Literal Translation
And He saith unto me, `Son of man, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: These are statutes of the altar in the day of its being made to cause burnt-offering to go up on it, and to sprinkle on it blood.
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Commentary on Ezekiel 43 verses 13–27
13 ¶ And these are the measures of the altar after the cubits: The cubit is a cubit and an hand breadth; even the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about shall be a span: and this shall be the higher place of the altar.
14 And from the bottom upon the ground even to the lower settle shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser settle even to the greater settle shall be four cubits, and the breadth one cubit.
15 So the altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar and upward shall be four horns.
16 And the altar shall be twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four squares thereof.
17 And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and his stairs shall look toward the east.
18 And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon.
19 And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord GOD, a young bullock for a sin offering.
20 And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about: thus shalt thou cleanse and purge it.
21 Thou shalt take the bullock also of the sin offering, and he shall burn it in the appointed place of the house, without the sanctuary.
22 And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse it with the bullock.
23 When thou hast made an end of cleansing it, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish.
24 And thou shalt offer them before the LORD, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the LORD.
25 Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a sin offering: they shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish.
26 Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it; and they shall consecrate themselves.
27 And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD.
This relates to the altar in this mystical temple, and that is mystical too; for Christ is our altar. The Jews, after their return out of captivity, had an altar long before they had a temple, Ezr 3:3. But this was an altar in the temple. Now here we have,
I. The measures of the altar, Eze 43:13. It was six yards square at the top and seven yards square at the bottom; it was four yards and a half high; it had a lower bench or shelf, here called a settle, a yard from the ground, on which some of the priests stood to minister, and another two yards above that, on which others of them stood, and these were each of them half a yard broad, and had ledges on either side, that they might stand firmly upon them. The sacrifices were killed at the table spoken of before, Eze 40:39. What was to be burnt on the altar was given up to those on the lower bench, and handed by them to those on the higher, and they laid it on the altar. Thus in the service of God we must be assistant to one another.
II. The ordinances of the altar. Directions are here given, 1. Concerning the dedication of the altar at first. Seven days were to be spent in the dedication of it, and every day sacrifices were to be offered upon it, and particularly a goat for a sin-offering (Eze 43:25), besides a young bullock for a sin-offering on the first day (Eze 43:19), which teaches us in all our religious services to have an eye to Christ the great sin-offering. Neither our persons nor our performances can be acceptable to God unless sin be taken away, and that cannot be taken away but by the blood of Christ, which both sanctifies the altar (for Christ entered by his own blood, Heb 9:12) and the gift upon the altar. There were also to be a bullock and a ram offered for a burnt-offering (Eze 43:24), which was intended purely for the glory of God, to teach us to have an eye to that in all our services; we present ourselves as living sacrifices, and our devotions as spiritual sacrifices, that we and they may be to him for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory. The dedication of the altar is here called the cleansing and purging of it, Eze 43:20, Eze 43:26. Christ, our altar, though he had no pollution to be cleansed from, yet sanctified himself (Joh 17:19); and when we consecrate the altars of our hearts to God, to have the fire of holy love always burning upon them, we must see that they be purified and cleansed from the love of the world and the lusts of the flesh. It is observable that there are several differences between the rites of dedication here and those which were appointed Ex. 29, to intimate that the ceremonial institutions were mutable things, and the changes in them were earnests of their period in Christ. Only here, according to the general law, that all the sacrifices must be seasoned with salt (Lev 2:13), particular orders are given (Eze 43:24) that the priests shall cast salt upon the sacrifices. Grace is the salt with which all our religious performances must be seasoned, Col 4:6. An everlasting covenant is called a covenant of salt, because it is incorruptible. The glory reserved for us is incorruptible and undefiled; and the grace wrought in us is the hidden man of the heart in that which is not corruptible. 2. Concerning the constant use that should be made of it, when it was dedicated: Henceforward the priests shall make their burnt-offerings and peace-offerings upon this altar (Eze 43:27), for therefore it was sanctified, that it might sanctify the gift that was offered upon it. Observe further, (1.) Who were to serve at the altar: The priests of the seed of Zadok, Eze 43:19. That family was substituted in the room of Abiathar by Solomon, and God confirms it. His name signifies righteous, for they are the righteous seed that are priests to God, through Christ the Lord our righteousness. (2.) How they should prepare for this service (Eze 43:26): They shall consecrate themselves, shall fill their hand with the offerings, in token of the giving up of themselves with their offerings to God and to his service. Note, Before we minister to the Lord in holy things we must consecrate ourselves by getting our hands and hearts filled with those things. (3.) How they should speed in it (Eze 43:27): I will accept you. And if God now accept our works, if our services be pleasing to him, it is enough, we need no more. Those that give themselves to God shall be accepted of God, their persons first and then their performances, through the Mediator.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 13–27. Public domain.
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Commentary on Ezekiel
(Ver. 18 and following) And he said to me: Son of man, thus says the Lord God: These are the rituals of the altar when it is made, to offer a burnt offering and pour out blood. And you shall give to the priests, the Levites who are of the seed of Zadok, who approach me, says the Lord God: to offer to me a young bull from the herd as a sin offering. And you shall take some of its blood, and put it on the four horns and on the four corners of the ledge, and on the border all around; and you shall cleanse it and make atonement for it. And you shall take the calf that was offered for sin and burn it in a separate place outside the sanctuary. And on the second day you shall offer a male goat without blemish for sin, and they shall make atonement for the altar as they made atonement for the calf. LXX: 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, upon which burnt offerings are offered and blood is poured out on it. And you shall give to the Levite priests who are of the seed of Sadduc, and who approach me, says the Lord God, to minister to me a calf from the cattle for a sin offering. And they shall take its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar, and on its base all around, and they shall cleanse and make atonement for it. And they shall take the calf for a sin offering and burn it in a designated place outside the sanctuary of the house. And on the second day they shall take two male goats without blemish from the goats for a sin offering, and they shall make atonement for the altar as they made atonement with the calf. After the prophet showed the altar, and its cubit, which was two cubits, and again a cubit and four cubits, and a third cubit, as well as twelve cubits for the other twelve, and four horns of the altar: also twelve cubits for Ariel, by twelve cubits, and a ledge, that is, a mercy seat, of fourteen cubits, by fourteen cubits: also its crown, and a breast boundary of half a cubit and one cubit all around: and steps to the east, the number of which is uncertain, a man spoke, whose pen and cord were in his hand, and he instructed him how, with the work of the altar completed, the altar should be cleansed and consecrated. And first a victim is offered, and it is given to the priests of the tribe of Levi, who are from the descendants of Sadoc, whom the Seventy call Sadduc, which I cannot understand. But Sadoc means just. And according to the Seventy and Theodotion, a calf is offered; according to Symmachus, a bull, which is called Phar in Hebrew. But the calf that was sacrificed for us, and many passages of the Scriptures, and the notable Epistle of Barnabas, which is found among the apocryphal writings, mention it. And a male goat of the she-goats is offered on the second day. Hence, those who will celebrate Passover take a lamb and a kid from the flock, and those who could not celebrate the first Passover, celebrate it in the second month: one of which pertains to the righteous, the other to the penitents. But if we agree with the interpretation of the Seventy, who said: 'On the second day, they shall take two unblemished kids for the sin,' it is daring indeed what we are about to say, but the opinion of others must be simply presented, who say that two unblemished kids were offered after the Lord's passion on the altar of the Lord, Jacob and Stephen: one of whom was from the number of the apostles, the other was the chief among the seven chosen for the ministry of the Lord (Acts XXII). This is James, who saw the Transfigured Savior on the mountain (cf. Mark 9), who witnessed the raising of the daughter of the synagogue official with the Lord Peter and John (cf. Matthew 17), who is listed as the first among the apostles, with his name paired with his brother's (cf. Mark 9). He was killed by Herod (cf. Matthew 9), and like an unblemished lamb, he was sacrificed on the day after the Savior's passion (cf. Mark 3). The Jews also stoned Stephen, whose wisdom and teaching no one could resist (Acts 6:10), and he saw the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God, and said (Acts 7:59): Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And the Jews also stoned him. And just as the Apostle names certain first fruits of the believers in Achaia and Asia (1 Corinthians 16), so these were the first fruits of the martyrs, whom the confession of Christ afterwards crowned. And it should be noted that the whole calf is offered as a burnt offering, and the thickness of its body is consumed by the divine fire. For we used to know Christ according to the flesh, but now we no longer know Him according to the flesh (2 Corinthians 5:16). However, Jacob and Stephen, who were offered on the second day, or the goat, which is mentioned in the Hebrew narrative, is indeed offered as a sacrifice, but the burnt offering is reserved for the presence of the Lord. And as for the blood that Peter speaks of when he says, 'You were redeemed from your vain conversation by the precious blood of Christ' (1 Peter 1); and the Apostle Paul teaches, 'You were bought with a price' (1 Corinthians 7:23); and in another place, 'Making peace through the blood of His cross, whether on earth or in heaven' (Colossians 1:20), that signifies that by the blood of the Savior, the four horns of the altar are purified, that is, the four corners of the world are cleansed; and the mercy seat is sprinkled, or the bases are sprinkled all around, so that everything may be cleansed and the propitiation may be firm. Therefore, on the second day, either two young goats, of which we have spoken above, or a he-goat is taken; because the animal always hastens to higher places and sustains no danger on precipices, and there it finds a path where destruction is to other animals. Therefore, in Greek speech, the flock of goats and he-goats is called conversation of the sublime, that is, αἰπόλιον, as if αἰποπόλιον, since αἴπος, high, and πόλιον (Mss. πολεῖν), signifies conversation. Furthermore, the altar of Christ is cleansed with blood, so that the prayers of the saints may reach God in purity. It should also be noted that, according to the Hebrew Ezekiel himself, he is commanded to take a calf as a priest and offer it as a burnt offering, and sprinkle its blood around the altar, as well as the corners and the crown or base. However, the Seventy Interpreters show other priests doing this, of whom it is said: You shall give to the Levite priests, who are of the seed of Zadok, who come near to me.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Ezekiel 43:18 unveils the divine mandates for the visionary temple's altar, a blueprint revealed to the prophet during the Babylonian exile. This verse meticulously outlines the sacred protocols for its construction and use, specifically detailing the requirements for offering burnt offerings and sprinkling blood. It underscores God's absolute holiness and His precise demands for approaching His presence, emphasizing the foundational role of sacrifice, purity, and obedience in maintaining communion with the Lord GOD within the restored community.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Ezekiel 43:18 employs several significant literary devices that amplify its theological weight. Divine Discourse is central, as the verse immediately begins with the direct address, "And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD." This opening formula is characteristic of prophetic literature, unequivocally establishing the authoritative, divine origin of the communication and ensuring the audience understands that these are not Ezekiel's words but God's. Symbolism is also profoundly pervasive; the altar itself symbolizes the crucial point of encounter between a holy God and sinful humanity, where reconciliation and atonement are made possible. The burnt offerings (Hebrew: ‘olah, meaning "that which goes up") symbolize complete dedication, propitiation, and the ascending of the sacrifice in its entirety to God as a pleasing aroma. The sprinkling of blood is a potent and recurring symbol throughout the Old Testament, representing life, purification, and atonement, signifying the life given to cover sin and consecrate. Furthermore, the meticulous detail found in this verse and the surrounding chapters employs a form of Architectural and Liturgical Precision as a literary technique. This precision emphasizes God's absolute holiness, His demand for order and exactitude in worship, and the seriousness with which He is to be approached. This detailed description also serves as a Foreshadowing device, pointing beyond the immediate context to the ultimate, perfect sacrifice that would one day fulfill these types and shadows in a definitive way.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Ezekiel 43:18, with its emphasis on the altar, burnt offerings, and sprinkled blood, firmly roots itself in the broader biblical theology of atonement and God's holiness. The Old Testament sacrificial system, meticulously detailed in the Pentateuch, was God's ordained means for a sinful people to approach a holy God. The shedding and sprinkling of blood were not arbitrary acts but profound theological statements: life (represented by blood) was given to atone for sin, making reconciliation possible. This verse reiterates that access to God's presence, even in a restored future, still depended on a divinely prescribed means of dealing with sin. It highlights the unchanging nature of God's holiness and the gravity of sin, which always requires a costly remedy. The meticulous "ordinances" underscore that worship is not on human terms but on God's, a principle that transcends dispensations and points to the necessity of divine initiative in salvation.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
While the detailed temple rituals of the Old Covenant are no longer practiced by believers today, Ezekiel's vision of the altar and its ordinances holds profound spiritual significance and offers timeless principles for Christian life and worship. This verse reminds us that approaching God has always been, and always will be, on His terms, not ours. The meticulousness of the Old Testament law concerning the altar and sacrifices underscores God's absolute holiness and the gravity of sin, which necessitates a perfect atonement. For believers in Christ, this means recognizing that our access to God is entirely through the finished work of Jesus, who perfectly fulfilled every type and shadow of the Old Covenant. We are called to worship God "in spirit and in truth" John 4:24, offering our lives as "living sacrifices" Romans 12:1, holy and acceptable to Him, because of Christ's ultimate sacrifice. This passage compels us to reflect on the immense cost of our redemption and to live lives that honor the One who made perfect atonement for us, walking in gratitude and obedience to His divine will.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What is the significance of the "altar" in Ezekiel's vision?
Answer: The altar (Hebrew: mizbêach) in Ezekiel's temple vision is of paramount significance, serving as the central point of worship and atonement. It symbolizes the sacred place where sinful humanity can meet a holy God through divinely prescribed means. Its detailed dimensions and ordinances, as described in Ezekiel 43, emphasize God's absolute holiness and His demand for precision and purity in approaching Him. It is the place where sacrifices, particularly "burnt offerings," are made, and where "blood" is "sprinkled," rituals essential for purification, consecration, and making atonement for sins, thereby facilitating communion with God in the restored community.
Why are "burnt offerings" and "sprinkling blood" mentioned specifically in relation to the altar?
Answer: "Burnt offerings" (Hebrew: ʻôlâh) and the "sprinkling of blood" (Hebrew: dâm and zâraq) are mentioned because they were core elements of the Old Testament sacrificial system, central to the concept of atonement and reconciliation with God. A burnt offering was entirely consumed by fire on the altar, symbolizing complete dedication, propitiation for sin, and the worshiper's total surrender to God. The blood, understood as representing life (as seen in Leviticus 17:11), was ritually sprinkled to purify, consecrate, and make atonement. This act signified the transfer of life for the purpose of cleansing and forgiveness, highlighting that "without shedding of blood is no remission" Hebrews 9:22. These rituals were God's appointed means for dealing with sin and maintaining a covenant relationship with His people, pointing forward to the ultimate sacrifice.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Ezekiel 43:18, with its emphasis on the altar, burnt offerings, and the sprinkling of blood, finds its ultimate and perfect fulfillment in Jesus Christ. The elaborate temple rituals and the meticulous "ordinances" of the altar were but shadows pointing to the substance that is Christ Colossians 2:17. Jesus Himself is the perfect Altar, the place where the ultimate sacrifice was offered, not of animals, but of Himself, as the author of Hebrews declares, "We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat" Hebrews 13:10. He is the supreme Burnt Offering, whose life was completely consecrated and offered to God, a "fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" Ephesians 5:2, symbolizing His perfect obedience and full dedication to the Father's will, even unto death on the cross. Most profoundly, it is His Sprinkled Blood that accomplishes what the blood of bulls and goats never could Hebrews 10:4. His precious blood, shed once for all, cleanses us from all sin 1 John 1:7 and grants us direct, confident access to God's presence in the heavenly sanctuary Hebrews 10:19-20. Thus, Ezekiel's vision of the altar, while a promise of restoration for Israel, ultimately foreshadows the perfect, eternal atonement wrought by the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who takes away the sin of the world John 1:29.