Ezekiel 40:28-43:27

New English Translation

²⁸ Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate. He measured the south gate; it had the same dimensions as the others. ²⁹ Its alcoves, its jambs, and its porches had the same dimensions as the others, and there were windows all around it and its porches; its length was 87½ feet^[a] and its width 43¾ feet.^{[b] 30} There were porches all around, 43¾ feet^[c] long and 8¾ feet^[d] wide. ³¹ Its porches faced the outer court, and decorative palm trees were on its jambs, and its stairway had eight steps.

³² Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side. He measured the gate; it had the same dimensions as the others. ³³ Its alcoves, its jambs, and its porches had the same dimensions as the others, and there were windows all around it and its porches; its length was 87½ feet^[e] and its width 43¾ feet.^{[f] 34} Its porches faced the outer court, it had decorative palm trees on its jambs, and its stairway had eight steps.

³⁵ Then he brought me to the north gate, and he measured it; it had the same dimensions as the others— ³⁶ its alcoves, its jambs, and its porches. It had windows all around it; its length was 87½ feet^[g] and its width 43¾ feet.^{[h] 37} Its jambs^[i] faced the outer court, and it had decorative palm trees on its jambs on either side, and its stairway had eight steps.

³⁸ There was a chamber with its door by the porch of the gate;^[j] there they washed the burnt offering. ³⁹ In the porch of the gate were two tables on either side on which to slaughter the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering. ⁴⁰ On the outside of the porch as one goes up at the entrance of the north gate were two tables, and on the other side of the porch of the gate were two tables. ⁴¹ Four tables were on each side of the gate, eight tables on which the sacrifices were to be slaughtered. ⁴² The four tables for the burnt offering were of carved stone, 32 inches^[k] long, 32 inches^[l] wide, and 21 inches^[m] high. They would put the instruments that they used to slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice on them. ⁴³ There were hooks^[n] three inches^[o] long fastened in the house all around, and on the tables was the flesh of the offering.

⁴⁴ On the outside of the inner gate were chambers for the singers of the inner court, one^[p] at the side of the north gate facing south, and the other at the side of the south^[q] gate facing north. ⁴⁵ He said to me, “This chamber that faces south is for the priests who keep charge of the temple,^{[r] 46} and the chamber that faces north is for the priests who keep charge of the altar. These are the descendants of Zadok, from the descendants of Levi, who may approach the Lord to minister to him.” ⁴⁷ He measured the court as a square 175 feet long and 175 feet wide;^[s] the altar was in front of the temple.

⁴⁸ Then he brought me to the porch of the temple and measured the jambs of the porch as 8¾ feet^[t] on either side; the width of the gate was 24½ feet,^[u] and the sides^[v] were 5¼ feet^[w] on each side. ⁴⁹ The length of the porch was 35 feet^[x] and the width 19¼ feet;^[y] steps^[z] led up to it, and there were pillars beside the jambs on either side.

The Inner Temple

41 Then he brought me to the outer sanctuary and measured the jambs; the jambs were 10½ feet^[aa] wide on each side. ² The width of the entrance was 17½ feet,^[ab] and the sides^[ac] of the entrance were 8¾ feet^[ad] on each side. He measured the length of the outer sanctuary as 70 feet^[ae] and its width as 35 feet.^[af]

³ Then he went into the inner sanctuary and measured the jambs of the entrance as 3½ feet,^[ag] the entrance as 10½ feet,^[ah] and the width of the entrance as 12¼ feet.^{[ai] 4} Then he measured its length as 35 feet^[aj] and its width as 35 feet,^[ak] before the outer sanctuary. He said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.”

⁵ Then he measured the wall of the temple^[al] as 10½ feet^[am] and the width of the side chambers as 7 feet,^[an] all around the temple. ⁶ The side chambers were in three stories, one above the other, thirty in each story. There were offsets in the wall all around to serve as supports for the side chambers, so that the supports were not in the wall of the temple. ⁷ The side chambers surrounding the temple were wider at each successive story,^[ao] for the structure surrounding^[ap] the temple went up story by story all around the temple. For this reason the width of the temple increased as it went up, and one went up from the lowest story to the highest by the way of the middle story.

⁸ I saw that the temple had a raised platform all around; the foundations of the side chambers were a full measuring stick^[aq] of 10½ feet^[ar] high. ⁹ The width of the outer wall of the side chambers was 8¾ feet,^[as] and the open area between the side chambers of the temple ¹⁰ and the chambers of the court was 35 feet^[at] in width all around the temple on every side. ¹¹ There were entrances from the side chambers toward the open area, one entrance toward the north, and another entrance toward the south; the width of the open area was 8¾ feet^[au] all around.

¹² The building that was facing the temple courtyard at the west side was 122½ feet^[av] wide; the wall of the building was 8¾ feet^[aw] thick all around, and its length 157½ feet.^[ax]

¹³ Then he measured the temple as 175 feet^[ay] long, the courtyard of the temple and the building and its walls as 175 feet^[az] long, ¹⁴ and also the width of the front of the temple and the courtyard on the east as 175 feet.^[ba]

¹⁵ Then he measured the length of the building facing the courtyard at the rear of the temple, with its galleries on either side as 175 feet.^[bb]

The interior of the outer sanctuary and the porch of the court,^{[bc] 16} as well as the thresholds, narrow windows and galleries all around on three sides facing the threshold, were paneled with wood all around, from the ground up to the windows (now the windows were covered), ¹⁷ to the space above the entrance, to the inner room, and on the outside, and on all the walls in the inner room and outside, by measurement.^{[bd] 18} It was made with cherubim and decorative palm trees, with a palm tree between each cherub. Each cherub had two faces: ¹⁹ a human face toward the palm tree on one side and a lion’s face toward the palm tree on the other side. They were carved on the whole temple all around; ²⁰ from the ground to the area above the entrance, cherubim and decorative palm trees were carved on the wall of the outer sanctuary. ²¹ The doorposts of the outer sanctuary were square. In front of the sanctuary one doorpost looked just like the other. ²² The altar was of wood, 5¼ feet^[be] high, with its length 3½ feet;^[bf] its corners, its length,^[bg] and its walls were of wood. He said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.” ²³ The outer sanctuary and the inner sanctuary each had a double door. ²⁴ Each of the doors had two leaves, two swinging^[bh] leaves; two leaves for one door and two leaves for the other. ²⁵ On the doors of the outer sanctuary were carved cherubim and palm trees, like those carved on the walls, and there was a canopy^[bi] of wood on the front of the outside porch. ²⁶ There were narrow windows and decorative palm trees on either side of the side walls of the porch; this is what the side chambers of the temple and the canopies were like.

Chambers for the Temple

42 Then he led me out to the outer court, toward the north, and brought me to the chamber that was opposite the courtyard and opposite the building on the north. ² Its length was 175 feet^[bj] on the north side,^[bk] and its width 87½ feet.^{[bl] 3} Opposite the 35 feet^[bm] that belonged to the inner court, and opposite the pavement that belonged to the outer court, gallery faced gallery in the three stories. ⁴ In front of the chambers was a walkway on the inner side, 17½ feet^[bn] wide at a distance of 1¾ feet,^[bo] and their entrances were on the north. ⁵ Now the upper chambers were narrower, because the galleries took more space^[bp] from them than from the lower and middle chambers of the building. ⁶ For they were in three stories and had no pillars like the pillars of the courts; therefore, the upper chambers^[bq] were set back from the ground more than the lower and middle ones. ⁷ As for the outer wall by the side of the chambers, toward the outer court facing the chambers, it was 87½ feet^[br] long. ⁸ For the chambers on the outer court were 87½ feet^[bs] long, while those facing the temple were 175 feet^[bt] long. ⁹ Below these chambers was a passage on the east side as one enters from the outer court.

¹⁰ At the beginning^[bu] of the wall of the court toward the south,^[bv] facing the courtyard and the building, were chambers ¹¹ like those on the north with a passage in front of them. The chambers that were toward the south were the same length and width as those on the north, and had matching exits and entrances and arrangements. ¹² There was an opening at the head of the passage, the passage in front of the corresponding wall toward the east when one enters.

¹³ Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers that face the courtyard are holy chambers where the priests^[bw] who approach the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. There they will place the most holy offerings—the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, because the place is holy. ¹⁴ When the priests enter, then they will not go out from the sanctuary to the outer court without taking off their garments in which they minister, for these are holy; they will put on other garments, then they will go near the places where the people are.”

¹⁵ Now when he had finished measuring the interior of the temple, he led me out by the gate that faces east and measured all around. ¹⁶ He measured the east side with the measuring stick^[bx] as 875 feet^[by] by the measuring stick. ¹⁷ He measured the north side as 875 feet by the measuring stick. ¹⁸ He measured the south side as 875 feet by the measuring stick. ¹⁹ He turned to the west side and measured 875 feet by the measuring stick. ²⁰ He measured it on all four sides. It had a wall around it, 875 feet long and 875 feet wide, to separate the holy and common places.

The Glory Returns to the Temple

43 Then he brought me to the gate that faced toward the east. ² I saw^[bz] the glory of the God of Israel^[ca] coming from the east;^[cb] the sound was like that of rushing water,^[cc] and the earth radiated^[cd] his glory. ³ It was like the vision I saw when he^[ce] 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^[cf] lifted me up and brought me to the inner court; I watched^[cg] the glory of the Lord filling the temple.^[ch]

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^[ci] and the place for the soles of my feet,^[cj] 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.^{[ck] 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.

The Altar

¹³ “And these are the measurements of the altar:^[cl] Its base^[cm] is 1¾ feet^[cn] high^[co] and 1¾ feet^[cp] wide, and its border nine inches^[cq] on its edge. This is to be the height^[cr] of the altar. ¹⁴ From the base of the ground to the lower ledge is 3½ feet,^[cs] and the width 1¾ feet;^[ct] and from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge, 7 feet,^[cu] 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^[cv] is a perfect square, 21 feet^[cw] long and 21 feet wide. ¹⁷ The ledge is 24½ feet^[cx] long and 24½ feet wide on four sides; the border around it is 10½ inches,^[cy] and its surrounding base 1¾ feet.^[cz] 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,^{[da] 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.^{[db] 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^[dc] 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.^{[dd] 27} When the prescribed period is over,^[de] on the eighth day and thereafter the priests will offer up on the altar your burnt offerings and your peace offerings;^[df] I will accept you, declares the Sovereign Lord.”