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Ezekiel

About this book
Chapter 43

1 Then he brought me to the gate that faced toward the east. 2 I 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.⁠ 3 It 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. 4 The glory of the Lord came into the temple by way of the gate that faces east. 5 Then a wind lifted me up and brought me to the inner court; I watched the glory of the Lord filling the temple. 6 I heard someone speaking to me from the temple, while the man was standing beside me. 7 He 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. 8 When 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. 9 Now 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. 11 When 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. 14 From 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; 15 and the altar hearth, 7 feet, and from the altar hearth four horns projecting upward. 16 Now the altar hearth is a perfect square, 21 feet long and 21 feet wide. 17 The 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.” 18 Then 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, 19 you 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. 20 You 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. 21 You 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. 23 When you have finished purifying it, you will offer an unblemished young bull and an unblemished ram from the flock. 24 You 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. 26 For seven days they will make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, so they will consecrate it. 27 When 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.”

Texts in conversation

Compare Ezekiel 43:2 and Revelation 14:2

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

Revelation’s description of a voice like the sound of rushing waters recalls Ezekiel’s description of divine glory entering the temple with a similar overwhelming sound. Both use this language to describe divine power and authority.

Passages

Ezekiel 43:2

Hebrew Bible
1 Then he brought me to the gate that faced toward the east. 2 I 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. 3 It 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. 4 The glory of the Lord came into the temple by way of the gate that faces east. 5 Then a wind lifted me up and brought me to the inner court; I watched the glory of the Lord filling the temple.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ezekiel

Revelation 14:2

New Testament
1 Then I looked, and here was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000, who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 I also heard a sound coming out of heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. Now the sound I heard was like that made by harpists playing their harps, 3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one was able to learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from humanity as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb, 5 and no lie was found on their lips; they are blameless.
92–96 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Revelation

References

"... The last book of the New Testament compares the voice to some sort of reality eleven times: a bugle (Revelation 1:10, 4:1), the sound of many waters (Revelation 1:15, 14:2), thunder (Revelation 6:1, 14:2), the sound of carriages led by many horses rushing to war (Revelation 9:9), the onomatopoeia ὡςκιθαρῳδῶν κιθαριζόντων ἐν ταῖς κιθάραις αὐτῶν (Revelation 14:2) and a great crowd (Revelation 19:1 and the parallel sixth verse) ... The comparison of “voice” to “the sound of many waters” makes one think of such a visualization that is incapable of drowning out sound. This is a very expressive force. At the same, time, this voice takes control over all sounds that appear in the surroundings; it dominates yet at the same time fully absorbs one’s attention, not allowing it to escape its experience or message. Thus it is impossible for someone who encounters “the voice as the sound many waters” to not hear it or to evade it. The force of phonetics is simply too great. In the Hebrew Bible, the tying of the voice to the sound of many waters takes place in Jeremiah 51:55; Ezekiel 1:24, 43:2; Psalm 93(92); the Septuagint avoids this form in Ezekiel 43:2, while it uses it in the psalm of voice (Psalm 29[28]:3). Because the fragment of Jeremiah’s prophecy and Psalm 93 make the described voice concrete by describing it as a noise made by waves and rivers, only the texts of Ezekiel and Psalm 29(28) will be analyzed. The latter situates God’s voice above immense waters; however, it does not associate it with noise. At the same time, it refers back to the above-mentioned semantic bank: the aspect of rule and power, victory and control over history ..."
Joanna Nowińska, “‘The Voice as the Sound of Many Waters’ in the Book of Revelation in Light of Old Testament Semantics: A Threatening Message, or One of Beauty?” Ruch Biblijny i Liturgiczny 70.1 (2017): 53–68.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Ezekiel 43:2 and Revelation 14:2

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