Ezekiel 41-42

Complete Jewish Bible

41 He brought me to the sanctuary and measured at ten-and-a-half feet the thickness of the walls on either side of its entrance, which was [also] the thickness of [the walls surrounding] the “tent” [that is, the sanctuary together with the Especially Holy Place]. ² The width of the entrance was seventeen-and-a-half feet. The sides of the entrance were eight-and-three-quarters feet on the one side and the same on the other. He measured its length at seventy feet and its width at thirty-five feet.

³ Next, he went farther in [to the entranceway leading to the Especially Holy Place] and measured at three-and-a-half feet [the thickness of] each entrance support. He measured at ten-and-a-half feet the total thickness of the walls on either side of the entrance; and he measured at twelve-and-a-quarter feet the width of the entrance. ⁴ [Continuing into the inner room,] he said to me, “This is the Especially Holy Place.” He measured its length at thirty-five feet and its width at thirty-five feet along the wall nearest the sanctuary.

⁵ [On his way out,] he measured the thickness of the wall of the house at ten-and-a-half feet [at ground level], and the width of all the side-rooms surrounding the house, seven feet [at ground level]. ⁶ There were three floors of side-rooms, thirty on each floor; and the wall around the house was terraced, so that the side-rooms rested on the terraces and were not supported on [the vertical parts of] the wall. ⁷ The higher side-rooms surrounding the house were wider than the lower ones, as were the passageways next to the side-rooms on each floor; thus the width of the side-rooms plus that of the passageways increased as one went up from floor to floor. The ascent from the lowest floor to the highest was [by a ramp] through the middle floor.

⁸ I saw that the house had a raised pavement all around it which extended outward a full rod of ten-and-a-half feet from where the foundations of the side-rooms joined it.

⁹ The outer wall of the side-rooms was eight-and-three-quarters feet thick [at ground level], likewise the empty space left [between] the structure containing the side-rooms [and the house itself also measured eight-and-three quarters feet wide]. ¹⁰ On all sides around the house itself was a space thirty-five feet wide between it and the [block of] rooms [for the cohanim]. ¹¹ The doors of the side-rooms opened toward an empty space, one door facing north and the other facing south; the empty space was eight-and-three-quarters feet [wide] all around.

¹² The building on the west facing the separated yard had a[n interior] width of 122 1/2 feet, a[n interior] length of 157 1/2 feet and exterior walls eight-and-three-quarters feet thick all the way around.

¹³ He measured the length of the house at 175 feet; then a distance that included [the width of] the separated yard, [the interior width of] the building and [the thickness of] its [front and back exterior] walls, at 175 feet. ¹⁴ The distance along the facade of the house on the east through the separated yard[s to the north and south] was 175 feet. ¹⁵ He measured the length of the building facing the separated yard behind [the house], together with its galleries on both sides, at 175 feet.

The sanctuary, the inner place and the vestibules [leading from the house] to the courtyard, ¹⁶ as well as the thresholds, narrow windows and galleries around these three, had wood panelling around them as far as the thresholds and from the ground up to the windows; and the windows were covered. ¹⁷ From the area above the entrance to the interior of the house, as well as outside, and on the entire wall all the way around, both inside and outside, was a pattern ¹⁸ consisting of k’ruvim and palm trees, with a palm tree between every two k’ruvim. Every keruv had two faces; ¹⁹ so that there was the face of a man toward the palm tree on its one side and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on its other side — this was the pattern all the way around the house. ²⁰ The k’ruvim and palm trees ran from the ground to above the door, and likewise on the wall of the sanctuary. ²¹ As for the sanctuary, the door-frames were squared, and the appearance of the [Especially] Holy Place was like the appearance [I saw at the K’var River]. ²² The altar was of wood, five-and-a-quarter feet high and three-and-a-half feet long; its length and walls were also of wood. He said to me, “This is the table which is in the presence of Adonai.”

²³ The sanctuary had two doors, and the [Especially] Holy Place ²⁴ had two doors. The doors had two swinging leaves each — two leaves for the one door and two for the other. ²⁵ On them, that is, on the doors of the sanctuary, were carved k’ruvim and palm trees like those on the walls; and on the exterior facade of the outside entrance were thick beams of wood. ²⁶ There were narrow windows flanked by palm trees on both sides of the entrance; the side-rooms of the house and the thick beams also [had palm trees].

42 Then he led me into the outer courtyard — the route went north — and brought me to the [block of] rooms opposite the separated yard and opposite the building to the north. ² The length of the front was 175 feet on the north side, where the door was; the width was eighty-seven-and-a-half feet. ³ It was located between the inner courtyard, which was thirty-five feet wide, and the flooring of the outer courtyard. It had galleries, one above the other, on three floors. ⁴ In front of the [block of] rooms was a walkway seventeen-and-a-half feet wide and a path twenty-one inches [wide]; their doors faced north.

⁵ The upper rooms were shorter, because the galleries took up some of their space, more than from the [rooms on the] lower and middle [floors] of the building. ⁶ For the rooms were on three floors, and they didn’t have columns like those in the courtyards; therefore space was taken away from the [rooms on the] lower and middle [floors], in comparison with the ground. ⁷ The length of the wall outside, next to the rooms, toward the outer courtyard in front of the rooms, was eighty-seven-and-a-half feet. ⁸ For the length of the rooms toward the outer courtyard was eighty-seven-and-a-half feet, whereas [the length of] the side facing the sanctuary was 175 feet. ⁹ Under these rooms was the entrance to the east side, leading in from the outer courtyard.

¹⁰ In the width of the courtyard wall on the east, facing the separated yard and facing the building, there were rooms, ¹¹ with a passageway in front of them, similar to the rooms on the north. They were the same length and width and had similarly made exits and entrances.

¹² By the entrances of the rooms on the south there was an entrance at the end of the passage, the passageway right in front of the wall, toward the eastern entrances.

¹³ Then he said to me, “The north and south [blocks of] rooms in front of the separated yard are the holy rooms where the cohanim who approach Adonai will eat the especially holy things. This is where they will put the especially holy things — the grain offerings, sin offerings and guilt offerings; for the place is holy. ¹⁴ When the cohanim come, they will not go out of the [Especially] Holy Place into the outer courtyard; rather, they will leave [in these rooms] the clothes they use when ministering, because they are holy. They will put on other clothes and only then approach the areas permitted to the people.”

¹⁵ After he had finished measuring the inner house, he brought me out by way of the gate facing east and measured the whole area. ¹⁶ He measured the east side with the measuring rod; it was 875 feet by the measuring rod. ¹⁷ He measured the north side; it was 875 feet by the measuring rod. ¹⁸ He measured the south side; it was 875 feet by the measuring rod. ¹⁹ He turned to the west side and measured 875 feet with the measuring rod. ²⁰ He measured its four sides; it had a wall around it; and it was 875 [feet] long and 875 [feet] wide. Thus a division was made between what was holy and what was common.