Holy Place

⁸ The poles extended far enough that their ends were visible from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are there to this day.

⁹ There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD had made a covenant with the Israelites after they had come out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁰ And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the house of the LORD

⁹ The poles of the ark extended far enough that their ends were visible from in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are there to this day.

¹⁰ There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD had made a covenant with the Israelites after they had come out of Egypt.

¹¹ Now all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves regardless of their divisions. And when the priests came out of the Holy Place,

¹² all the Levitical singers—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps, and lyres, accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets.

¹ Then Solomon declared: “The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud;

² and I have built You an exalted house, a place for You to dwell forever.”

⁵ “Listen to me, O Levites,” he said. “Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the house of the LORD, the God of your fathers. Remove from the Holy Place every impurity.

⁶ For our fathers were unfaithful and did evil in the sight of the LORD our God. They abandoned Him, turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the LORD, and turned their backs on Him.

⁷ They also shut the doors of the portico and extinguished the lamps. They did not burn incense or present burnt offerings in the Holy Place of the God of Israel.

Moreover, stand in the Holy Place by the divisions of the families of your kinsmen the lay people, and by the divisions of the families of the Levites.

²¹ The outer sanctuary had a rectangular doorframe, and the doorframe of the sanctuary was similar.

²² There was an altar of wood three cubits high and two cubits square. Its corners, base, and sides were of wood. And the man told me, “This is the table that is before the LORD.”

²³ Both the outer sanctuary and the inner sanctuary had double doors,

²⁴ and each door had two swinging panels. There were two panels for one door and two for the other.

Once the priests have entered the holy area, they must not go out into the outer court until they have left behind the garments in which they minister, for these are holy. They are to put on other clothes before they approach the places that are for the people.”

And on the day he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he must present his sin offering, declares the Lord GOD.

It will be a holy portion of the land to be used by the priests who minister in the sanctuary, who draw near to minister before the LORD. It will be a place for their houses, as well as a holy area for the sanctuary.

A tabernacle was prepared. In its first room were the lampstand, the table, and the consecrated bread. This was called the Holy Place.