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Chambers of the Temple

42 Then he (the angel) brought me out into the outer courtyard, toward the north; and he led me to the [attached] chamber which was opposite the separate area and opposite the building to the north. Along the length, one hundred cubits, was the north door; and the width was fifty cubits. Opposite the twenty cubits which belonged to the inner courtyard, and opposite the pavement which belonged to the outer courtyard, was gallery (balcony) corresponding to gallery in three stories. In front of the [attached] chambers was an inner walkway ten cubits wide [a]and one hundred cubits long; and their entrances were on the north. Now the upper chambers were smaller because the galleries took away more space from them than from the chambers on the lower and middle stories of the building; for they were in three stories and did not have pillars like the pillars of the [outer] courtyards; therefore the upper chambers were [b]set back from the ground more than the lower and the middle ones. And the outer wall, by the side of the chambers, toward the outer courtyard facing the chambers, was fifty cubits long. For the length of the chambers which were in the outer courtyard was fifty cubits, [c]while the length of those facing the temple was a hundred cubits. Below these chambers was the entrance on the east side, as one enters them from the outer courtyard.

10 In the width of the wall of the courtyard toward the east, facing the separate area and facing the building, were chambers; 11 and a passage in front of them was like the appearance of the [attached] chambers on the north, and they had the same length and width, and all their exits were like both their [d]arrangements and their entrances. 12 And like the entrances of the chambers that were toward the south there was an entrance at the head of the walkway, the walkway in front of the [e]dividing wall toward the east, as one enters them.

13 Then he (the angel) said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers, which are opposite the separate area, are the holy chambers where the priests who are close to the Lord shall eat the most holy offerings. There they shall place the most holy things—the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering—for the place is holy. 14 When the priests enter [the Holy Place], they shall not go out from the sanctuary into the outer court [f]unless they lay there their garments in which they minister, for these are holy (set apart). They shall put on other garments before they approach that which is for the people.”

15 Now when he had finished measuring the inner temple, he brought me out toward the gate which faced east and measured the outer area all around. 16 He measured the east side with the measuring [g]rod, five hundred rods by the measuring rod. 17 He measured the north side, five hundred rods by the measuring rod. 18 He measured the south side, five hundred rods by the measuring rod. 19 He turned about to the west side and measured five hundred rods by the measuring rod. 20 He measured it on the four sides; it had a wall all around, the length five hundred and the width five hundred, to make a separation between that which was holy [the temple proper] and that which was common [the outer area].

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 42:4 Lit a way of...cubits; and.
  2. Ezekiel 42:6 Lit shortened.
  3. Ezekiel 42:8 Lit and behold.
  4. Ezekiel 42:11 Or floor plans.
  5. Ezekiel 42:12 Or protecting.
  6. Ezekiel 42:14 Lit but they shall.
  7. Ezekiel 42:16 Lit reed, and so throughout the chapter.

The Rooms for the Priests

42 Then the man led me northward into the outer court and brought me to the rooms(A) opposite the temple courtyard(B) and opposite the outer wall on the north side.(C) The building whose door faced north was a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide.[a] Both in the section twenty cubits[b] from the inner court and in the section opposite the pavement of the outer court, gallery(D) faced gallery at the three levels.(E) In front of the rooms was an inner passageway ten cubits wide and a hundred cubits[c] long.[d] Their doors were on the north.(F) Now the upper rooms were narrower, for the galleries took more space from them than from the rooms on the lower and middle floors of the building. The rooms on the top floor had no pillars, as the courts had; so they were smaller in floor space than those on the lower and middle floors. There was an outer wall parallel to the rooms and the outer court; it extended in front of the rooms for fifty cubits. While the row of rooms on the side next to the outer court was fifty cubits long, the row on the side nearest the sanctuary was a hundred cubits long. The lower rooms had an entrance(G) on the east side as one enters them from the outer court.

10 On the south side[e] along the length of the wall of the outer court, adjoining the temple courtyard(H) and opposite the outer wall, were rooms(I) 11 with a passageway in front of them. These were like the rooms on the north; they had the same length and width, with similar exits and dimensions. Similar to the doorways on the north 12 were the doorways of the rooms on the south. There was a doorway at the beginning of the passageway that was parallel to the corresponding wall extending eastward, by which one enters the rooms.

13 Then he said to me, “The north(J) and south rooms(K) facing the temple courtyard(L) are the priests’ rooms, where the priests who approach the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. There they will put the most holy offerings—the grain offerings,(M) the sin offerings[f](N) and the guilt offerings(O)—for the place is holy.(P) 14 Once the priests enter the holy precincts, they are not to go into the outer court until they leave behind the garments(Q) in which they minister, for these are holy. They are to put on other clothes before they go near the places that are for the people.(R)

15 When he had finished measuring what was inside the temple area, he led me out by the east gate(S) and measured the area all around: 16 He measured the east side with the measuring rod; it was five hundred cubits.[g][h] 17 He measured the north side; it was five hundred cubits[i] by the measuring rod. 18 He measured the south side; it was five hundred cubits by the measuring rod. 19 Then he turned to the west side and measured; it was five hundred cubits by the measuring rod. 20 So he measured(T) the area(U) on all four sides. It had a wall around it,(V) five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide,(W) to separate the holy from the common.(X)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 42:2 That is, about 175 feet long and 88 feet wide or about 53 meters long and 27 meters wide
  2. Ezekiel 42:3 That is, about 35 feet or about 11 meters
  3. Ezekiel 42:4 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew and one cubit
  4. Ezekiel 42:4 That is, about 18 feet wide and 175 feet long or about 5.3 meters wide and 53 meters long
  5. Ezekiel 42:10 Septuagint; Hebrew Eastward
  6. Ezekiel 42:13 Or purification offerings
  7. Ezekiel 42:16 See Septuagint of verse 17; Hebrew rods; also in verses 18 and 19.
  8. Ezekiel 42:16 Five hundred cubits equal about 875 feet or about 265 meters; also in verses 17, 18 and 19.
  9. Ezekiel 42:17 Septuagint; Hebrew rods