Vision of the Man with a Measuring Rod

40 In the ^(A)twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the ^(B)city was ^[a]taken, on this very day the ^(C)hand of the Lord was upon me and He brought me there. ² In the ^(D)visions of God He brought me into the land of Israel and set me on a very ^(E)high mountain, and on it ^(F)to the south there was something like a ^(G)structure of a city. ³ So He brought me there; and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of ^(H)bronze, with a ^(I)thread of flax and a ^(J)measuring ^[b]rod in his hand; and he was standing in the gateway. ⁴ And the man said to me, “^(K)Son of man, ^(L)see with your eyes, hear with your ears, and ^[c]pay attention to all that I am going to show you; for you have been brought here in order to show it to you. ^(M)Declare to the house of Israel all that you see.”

Measurements Relating to the Temple

⁵ And behold, there was a ^(N)wall on the outside of the ^[d]temple all around, and in the man’s hand was a measuring rod of six ^[e]cubits, ^[f]each of which was a ^[g]cubit and a hand width. So he measured the thickness of the ^[h]wall, one rod; and the height, one rod. ⁶ Then he went to the gate which faced ^(O)east, went up its steps, and measured the threshold of the gate, one rod ^[i]in width; and the other threshold was one rod ^[j]in width. ⁷ The ^(P)guardroom was one rod long and one rod wide; and there were five cubits between the guardrooms. And the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate ^[k]facing inward was one rod. ⁸ Then he measured the porch of the gate ^[l]facing inward, one rod. ⁹ And he measured the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and its side pillars, two cubits. And the porch of the gate was ^[m]faced inward. ¹⁰ The guardrooms of the gate toward the east numbered three on each side; the three of them had the same measurement. The side pillars also had the same measurement on each side. ¹¹ And he measured the width of the ^[n]gateway, ten cubits, and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits. ¹² There was a ^[o]barrier wall one cubit wide in front of the guardrooms on each side; and the guardrooms were six cubits square on each side. ¹³ And he measured the gate from the roof of the one guardroom to the roof of the other, a width of twenty-five cubits, from one door to the door opposite. ¹⁴ He made the side pillars sixty cubits high; the gate extended all around to the side pillar of the ^(Q)courtyard. ¹⁵ And from the front of the entrance gate to the front of the inner porch of the gate was fifty cubits. ¹⁶ And there were ^[p](R)shuttered windows looking toward the guardrooms, and toward their side pillars within the gate all around, and likewise for the porches. And there were windows all around inside; and on each side pillar were ^(S)palm tree decorations.

¹⁷ Then he brought me into the ^(T)outer courtyard, and behold, there were ^(U)chambers and a stone pavement made for the courtyard all around; thirty chambers ^[q]faced the pavement. ¹⁸ And the pavement (that is, the lower pavement) was by the ^[r]side of the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates. ¹⁹ Then he measured the width from the front of the ^(V)lower gate to the front of the exterior of the inner courtyard, a ^(W)hundred cubits on the east and on the north.

²⁰ And as for the ^(X)gate of the outer courtyard which faced north, he measured its length and its width. ^21 [s]It had three ^(Y)guardrooms on each side; and its ^(Z)side pillars and its porches ^[t]had the same measurement as the first gate. Its length was ^(AA)fifty cubits, and the width ^(AB)twenty-five cubits. ²² Its ^(AC)windows, its porches, and its palm tree decorations had the same measurements as the ^(AD)gate which faced east; and ^[u]it was reached by seven ^(AE)steps, and its ^[v]porch was in front of them. ²³ The inner courtyard had a gate opposite the gate on the north as well as the gate on the east; and he measured a ^(AF)hundred cubits from gate to gate.

²⁴ Then he led me toward the south, and behold, there was a ^(AG)gate toward the south; and he measured its ^(AH)side pillars and its porches according to ^[w]those same measurements. ^25 [x]The gate and its porches had ^(AI)windows all around like ^[y]those other windows; the length was ^(AJ)fifty cubits and the width, twenty-five cubits. ²⁶ There were seven ^(AK)steps going up to it, and its porches were in front of them; and it had ^(AL)palm tree decorations on its side pillars, one on each side. ²⁷ The inner courtyard had a gate toward the ^(AM)south; and he measured from gate to gate toward the south, a ^(AN)hundred cubits.

²⁸ Then he brought me to the inner courtyard by the south gate; and he measured the south gate ^(AO)according to those same measurements. ²⁹ Its ^(AP)guardrooms also, its side pillars, and its ^(AQ)porches were according to those same measurements. And ^[z]the gate and its porches had ^(AR)windows all around; it was ^(AS)fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁰ There were ^(AT)porches all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide. ³¹ And its porches were toward the outer courtyard; and ^(AU)palm tree decorations were on its side pillars, and its stairway had eight ^(AV)steps.

³² Then he brought me into the ^(AW)inner courtyard toward the east. And he measured the gate ^(AX)according to those same measurements. ³³ Its ^(AY)guardrooms also, its side pillars, and its porches were according to those same measurements. And ^[aa]the gate and its porches had ^(AZ)windows all around; it was ^(BA)fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁴ Its ^(BB)porches were toward the outer courtyard; and ^(BC)palm tree decorations were on its side pillars, on each side, and its stairway had eight ^(BD)steps.

³⁵ Then he brought me to the ^(BE)north gate; and he measured it according to those same measurements, ³⁶ with its ^(BF)guardrooms, its side pillars, and its ^(BG)porches. And ^[ab]the gate had ^(BH)windows all around; the length was ^(BI)fifty cubits and the width twenty-five cubits. ³⁷ And its side pillars were toward the outer courtyard; and ^(BJ)palm tree decorations were on its side pillars, on each side, and its stairway had eight ^(BK)steps.

³⁸ A ^(BL)chamber with its doorway was by the side pillars at the gates; there they ^(BM)rinse the burnt offering. ³⁹ And in the porch of the gate were two ^(BN)tables on each side, on which to slaughter the ^(BO)burnt offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering. ⁴⁰ On the outer ^[ac]side, ^[ad]as one went up to the ^[ae]gateway toward the north, were two tables; and on the other ^[af]side of the porch of the gate were two tables. ⁴¹ Four ^(BP)tables were on each side ^[ag]next to the gate; eight tables on which they slaughter sacrifices. ⁴² For the burnt offering there were four ^(BQ)tables of ^(BR)cut stone, a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high, on which they set the utensils with which they slaughter the ^(BS)burnt offering and the sacrifice. ⁴³ And the double ^[ah]hooks, ^[ai]one hand width in length, were installed ^[aj]in the house all around; and on the tables was the flesh of the offering.

⁴⁴ From the outside to the ^(BT)inner gate were ^[ak](BU)chambers for the ^(BV)singers in the inner courtyard, one of which was at the ^[al]side of the north gate, with ^[am]its front toward the south, and one at the ^[an]side of the ^[ao]south gate facing north. ⁴⁵ Then he said to me, “This is the ^(BW)chamber which faces south, intended for the priests who ^[ap]are ^(BX)responsible for the ^[aq]temple; ⁴⁶ but the ^(BY)chamber which faces north is for the priests who ^[ar]are ^(BZ)responsible for the altar. They are the ^(CA)sons of Zadok, who from the sons of Levi ^(CB)come near to the Lord to serve Him.” ⁴⁷ He measured the courtyard, a perfect square, a ^(CC)hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits wide; and the altar was in front of the ^[as]temple.

⁴⁸ Then he brought me to the ^(CD)porch of the ^[at]temple and measured each side pillar of the porch, five cubits on each side; and the width of the gate was three cubits on each side. ⁴⁹ The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the width eleven cubits; and at the ^(CE)stairway by which it was ascended were ^(CF)columns belonging to the side pillars, one on each side.

Division of the Land

48 “Now ^(A)these are the names of the tribes: from the northern extremity, ^[a]beside the way of Hethlon to ^[b]Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan at the border of Damascus, toward the north ^[c]beside Hamath, ^[d]running from east to west, ^(B)Dan, one portion. ² Beside the border of Dan, from the east side to the west side, ^(C)Asher, one portion. ³ Beside the border of Asher, from the east side to the west side, ^(D)Naphtali, one portion. ⁴ Beside the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west side, ^(E)Manasseh, one portion. ⁵ Beside the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west side, ^(F)Ephraim, one portion. ⁶ Beside the border of Ephraim, from the east side to the west side, ^(G)Reuben, one portion. ⁷ Beside the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west side, ^(H)Judah, one portion.

⁸ “And beside the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side, shall be the ^[e]allotment which you shall ^[f]set apart, twenty-five thousand ^[g]cubits in width, and in length like one of the portions, from the east side to the west side; and the ^(I)sanctuary shall be in the middle of it. ⁹ The allotment that you shall set apart to the Lord shall be twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width.

Portion for the Priests

¹⁰ The holy allotment shall be for these, namely for the ^(J)priests, toward the north twenty-five thousand cubits in length, toward the west ten thousand in width, toward the east ten thousand in width, and toward the south twenty-five thousand in length; and the sanctuary of the Lord shall be in its midst. ¹¹ It shall be for the priests who are sanctified of the ^(K)sons of Zadok, who have ^[h]taken the responsibility I gave them, who did not go astray when the sons of Israel went astray as the ^(L)Levites went astray. ¹² It shall be an allotment to them from the allotment of the land, a most holy reserve, by the border of the Levites. ¹³ And alongside the border of the priests, the Levites shall have twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width. The entire length shall be twenty-five thousand cubits and the width ten thousand. ¹⁴ Moreover, they ^(M)shall not sell or exchange any of it, or allow this ^[i]choice portion of land to pass to others; for it is holy to the Lord.

¹⁵ “The remainder, five thousand cubits in width and twenty-five thousand ^[j]in length, shall be for ^(N)common use for the city, for homes and for ^[k]open spaces; and the city shall be in its midst. ¹⁶ And these shall be its measurements: the north side, 4,500 cubits, the south side ^(O)4,500 cubits, the east side 4,500 cubits, and the west side, 4,500 cubits. ¹⁷ The city shall have ^[l]open spaces: on the north 250 cubits, on the south 250 cubits, on the east 250 cubits, and on the west 250 cubits. ¹⁸ The remainder of the length alongside the holy allotment shall be ten thousand cubits toward the east and ten thousand toward the west; and it shall be ^[m]alongside the holy allotment. And its produce shall be food for the workers of the city. ¹⁹ And the workers of the city, out of all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it. ²⁰ The whole allotment shall be twenty-five thousand by twenty-five thousand cubits; you shall ^[n]set apart the holy allotment, a ^[o]square, with the ^[p]property of the city.

Portion for the Prince

²¹ “The ^(P)remainder shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy allotment and of the ^[q]property of the city; in front of the twenty-five thousand cubits of the allotment toward the east border and westward in front of the twenty-five thousand toward the west border, alongside the portions, it shall be for the prince. And the holy allotment and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the middle of it. ²² And exclusive of the ^[r]property of the Levites and the ^[s]property of the city, which are in the middle of that which belongs to the prince, everything between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin shall belong to the prince.

Portion for Other Tribes

²³ “As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west side, ^(Q)Benjamin, one portion. ²⁴ Beside the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, ^(R)Simeon, one portion. ²⁵ Beside the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, ^(S)Issachar, one portion. ²⁶ Beside the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, ^(T)Zebulun, one portion. ²⁷ Beside the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side, ^(U)Gad, one portion. ²⁸ And beside the border of Gad, at the south side toward the south, the border shall be from ^(V)Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the brook of Egypt, to the ^(W)Great Sea. ²⁹ This is the ^(X)land which you shall divide by lot to the tribes of Israel for an inheritance, and these are their several portions,” declares the Lord ^[t]God.

The City Gates

³⁰ “Now these are the exits of the city: on the ^(Y)north side, 4,500 cubits by measurement, ^31 [u]shall be the gates of the city, ^[v](Z)named for the tribes of Israel, three gates toward the north: the gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; and the gate of Levi, one. ³² On the east side, 4,500 cubits, ^[w]shall be three gates: the gate of Joseph, one; the gate of Benjamin, one; and the gate of Dan, one. ³³ On the south side, 4,500 cubits by measurement, ^[x]shall be three gates: the gate of Simeon, one; the gate of Issachar, one; and the gate of Zebulun, one. ³⁴ On the west side, 4,500 cubits, shall be three gates: the gate of Gad, one; the gate of Asher, one; and the gate of Naphtali, one. ³⁵ The city shall be eighteen thousand cubits all around; and the ^(AA)name of the city from that day shall be, ‘^[y]The ^(AB)Lord is there.’”