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Ezekiel 40
New International Version

The Temple Area Restored

40 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the fall of the city(A)—on that very day the hand of the Lord was on me(B) and he took me there. 2 In visions(C) of God he took me to the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain,(D) on whose south side were some buildings that looked like a city. 3 He took me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze;(E) he was standing in the gateway with a linen cord and a measuring rod(F) in his hand. 4 The man said to me, “Son of man, look carefully and listen closely and pay attention to everything I am going to show you,(G) for that is why you have been brought here. Tell(H) the people of Israel everything you see.(I)”

The East Gate to the Outer Court

5 I saw a wall completely surrounding the temple area. The length of the measuring rod in the man’s hand was six long cubits,[a] each of which was a cubit and a handbreadth. He measured(J) the wall; it was one measuring rod thick and one rod high.

6 Then he went to the east gate.(K) He climbed its steps and measured the threshold of the gate; it was one rod deep. 7 The alcoves(L) for the guards were one rod long and one rod wide, and the projecting walls between the alcoves were five cubits[b] thick. And the threshold of the gate next to the portico facing the temple was one rod deep.

8 Then he measured the portico of the gateway; 9 it[c] was eight cubits[d] deep and its jambs were two cubits[e] thick. The portico of the gateway faced the temple.

10 Inside the east gate were three alcoves on each side; the three had the same measurements, and the faces of the projecting walls on each side had the same measurements. 11 Then he measured the width of the entrance of the gateway; it was ten cubits and its length was thirteen cubits.[f] 12 In front of each alcove was a wall one cubit high, and the alcoves were six cubits square. 13 Then he measured the gateway from the top of the rear wall of one alcove to the top of the opposite one; the distance was twenty-five cubits[g] from one parapet opening to the opposite one. 14 He measured along the faces of the projecting walls all around the inside of the gateway—sixty cubits.[h] The measurement was up to the portico[i] facing the courtyard.[j](M) 15 The distance from the entrance of the gateway to the far end of its portico was fifty cubits.[k] 16 The alcoves and the projecting walls inside the gateway were surmounted by narrow parapet openings all around, as was the portico; the openings all around faced inward. The faces of the projecting walls were decorated with palm trees.(N)

The Outer Court

17 Then he brought me into the outer court.(O) There I saw some rooms and a pavement that had been constructed all around the court; there were thirty rooms(P) along the pavement.(Q) 18 It abutted the sides of the gateways and was as wide as they were long; this was the lower pavement. 19 Then he measured the distance from the inside of the lower gateway to the outside of the inner court;(R) it was a hundred cubits[l](S) on the east side as well as on the north.

The North Gate

20 Then he measured the length and width of the north gate, leading into the outer court. 21 Its alcoves(T)—three on each side—its projecting walls and its portico(U) had the same measurements as those of the first gateway. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 22 Its openings, its portico(V) and its palm tree decorations had the same measurements as those of the gate facing east. Seven steps led up to it, with its portico opposite them.(W) 23 There was a gate to the inner court facing the north gate, just as there was on the east. He measured from one gate to the opposite one; it was a hundred cubits.(X)

The South Gate

24 Then he led me to the south side and I saw the south gate. He measured its jambs and its portico, and they had the same measurements(Y) as the others. 25 The gateway and its portico had narrow openings all around, like the openings of the others. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.(Z) 26 Seven steps led up to it, with its portico opposite them; it had palm tree decorations on the faces of the projecting walls on each side.(AA) 27 The inner court(AB) also had a gate facing south, and he measured from this gate to the outer gate on the south side; it was a hundred cubits.(AC)

The Gates to the Inner Court

28 Then he brought me into the inner court through the south gate, and he measured the south gate; it had the same measurements(AD) as the others. 29 Its alcoves,(AE) its projecting walls and its portico had the same measurements as the others. The gateway and its portico had openings all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.(AF) 30 (The porticoes(AG) of the gateways around the inner court were twenty-five cubits wide and five cubits deep.) 31 Its portico(AH) faced the outer court; palm trees decorated its jambs, and eight steps led up to it.(AI)

32 Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side, and he measured the gateway; it had the same measurements(AJ) as the others. 33 Its alcoves,(AK) its projecting walls and its portico had the same measurements as the others. The gateway and its portico had openings all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 34 Its portico(AL) faced the outer court; palm trees decorated the jambs on either side, and eight steps led up to it.

35 Then he brought me to the north gate(AM) and measured it. It had the same measurements(AN) as the others, 36 as did its alcoves,(AO) its projecting walls and its portico, and it had openings all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 37 Its portico[m](AP) faced the outer court; palm trees decorated the jambs on either side, and eight steps led up to it.(AQ)

The Rooms for Preparing Sacrifices

38 A room with a doorway was by the portico in each of the inner gateways, where the burnt offerings(AR) were washed. 39 In the portico of the gateway were two tables on each side, on which the burnt offerings,(AS) sin offerings[n](AT) and guilt offerings(AU) were slaughtered.(AV) 40 By the outside wall of the portico of the gateway, near the steps at the entrance of the north gateway were two tables, and on the other side of the steps were two tables. 41 So there were four tables on one side of the gateway and four on the other—eight tables in all—on which the sacrifices were slaughtered. 42 There were also four tables of dressed stone(AW) for the burnt offerings, each a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide and a cubit high.[o] On them were placed the utensils for slaughtering the burnt offerings and the other sacrifices.(AX) 43 And double-pronged hooks, each a handbreadth[p] long, were attached to the wall all around. The tables were for the flesh of the offerings.

The Rooms for the Priests

44 Outside the inner gate, within the inner court, were two rooms, one[q] at the side of the north gate and facing south, and another at the side of the south[r] gate and facing north. 45 He said to me, “The room facing south is for the priests who guard the temple,(AY) 46 and the room facing north(AZ) is for the priests who guard the altar.(BA) These are the sons of Zadok,(BB) who are the only Levites who may draw near to the Lord to minister before him.(BC)”

47 Then he measured the court: It was square—a hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits wide. And the altar was in front of the temple.(BD)

The New Temple

48 He brought me to the portico of the temple(BE) and measured the jambs of the portico; they were five cubits wide on either side. The width of the entrance was fourteen cubits[s] and its projecting walls were[t] three cubits[u] wide on either side. 49 The portico(BF) was twenty cubits[v] wide, and twelve[w] cubits[x] from front to back. It was reached by a flight of stairs,[y] and there were pillars(BG) on each side of the jambs.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 40:5 That is, about 11 feet or about 3.2 meters; also in verse 12. The long cubit of about 21 inches or about 53 centimeters is the basic unit of measurement of length throughout chapters 40–48.
  2. Ezekiel 40:7 That is, about 8 3/4 feet or about 2.7 meters; also in verse 48
  3. Ezekiel 40:9 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts gateway facing the temple; it was one rod deep. 9 Then he measured the portico of the gateway; it
  4. Ezekiel 40:9 That is, about 14 feet or about 4.2 meters
  5. Ezekiel 40:9 That is, about 3 1/2 feet or about 1 meter
  6. Ezekiel 40:11 That is, about 18 feet wide and 23 feet long or about 5.3 meters wide and 6.9 meters long
  7. Ezekiel 40:13 That is, about 44 feet or about 13 meters; also in verses 21, 25, 29, 30, 33 and 36
  8. Ezekiel 40:14 That is, about 105 feet or about 32 meters
  9. Ezekiel 40:14 Septuagint; Hebrew projecting wall
  10. Ezekiel 40:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.
  11. Ezekiel 40:15 That is, about 88 feet or about 27 meters; also in verses 21, 25, 29, 33 and 36
  12. Ezekiel 40:19 That is, about 175 feet or about 53 meters; also in verses 23, 27 and 47
  13. Ezekiel 40:37 Septuagint (see also verses 31 and 34); Hebrew jambs
  14. Ezekiel 40:39 Or purification offerings
  15. Ezekiel 40:42 That is, about 2 2/3 feet long and wide and 21 inches high or about 80 centimeters long and wide and 53 centimeters high
  16. Ezekiel 40:43 That is, about 3 1/2 inches or about 9 centimeters
  17. Ezekiel 40:44 Septuagint; Hebrew were rooms for singers, which were
  18. Ezekiel 40:44 Septuagint; Hebrew east
  19. Ezekiel 40:48 That is, about 25 feet or about 7.4 meters
  20. Ezekiel 40:48 Septuagint; Hebrew entrance was
  21. Ezekiel 40:48 That is, about 5 1/4 feet or about 1.6 meters
  22. Ezekiel 40:49 That is, about 35 feet or about 11 meters
  23. Ezekiel 40:49 Septuagint; Hebrew eleven
  24. Ezekiel 40:49 That is, about 21 feet or about 6.4 meters
  25. Ezekiel 40:49 Hebrew; Septuagint Ten steps led up to it
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Ezekiel 40
Common English Bible

Vision of restoration

40 In the beginning of the twenty-fifth year of our exile, on the tenth day of the month, exactly fourteen years after the city was struck down, on that very day, the Lord’s power was on me, and he took me there. 2 In God’s visions, he brought me to the land of Israel and set me down on a very high mountain, where there was a city structure to the south. 3 When he brought me there, I saw a man standing in the gate. He appeared to be bronze, and he had a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand. 4 The man spoke to me, “Human one, look and listen well, and take seriously everything I show you, because you were brought here so that these things could be revealed to you. Describe everything you see to the house of Israel.”

Temple compound

5 Now there was an outer wall that went all the way around the temple compound. The measuring rod in the man’s hand was ten and a half feet[a] (based on a standard eighteen inches[b] plus three inches[c]). When he measured the wall’s height and width it was ten and a half feet high and ten and a half feet wide. 6 He entered the gate facing east. He went up its steps, and he measured the plaza[d] at the gate. It was ten and a half feet wide: the plaza was ten and a half feet wide. 7 The rooms were ten and a half feet long and ten and a half feet wide, with a space of seven and a half feet between them. The plaza next to the porch at the gate opposite the temple was ten and a half feet. 8 He measured the porch of the gate opposite the temple: it was ten and a half feet. 9 Then he measured the porch of the gate: it was twelve feet,[e] and its arches were three feet. The porch of the gate was opposite the temple. 10 Inside the east gate, there were three rooms on each side. Each was the same size, and the arches on each side were the same size also. 11 Then he measured the width of the gate opening, which was fifteen feet, and the gate’s length, which was nineteen and a half feet. 12 A border running along the front of the rooms on each side was eighteen inches wide, and each of the rooms was nine feet square. 13 He measured the gate through the room openings that faced each other. From the outer ceiling edge of one room to the outer ceiling edge of the other, the gate was thirty-seven and a half feet wide. 14 Next he made out the perimeter of the hallway, defined by the arches inside the gate: it was ninety feet. 15 It was seventy-five feet from the front of the outer gate to the front of the inner porch of the gate. 16 Inside the gate, all of the rooms and their arches had closed windows; there were also niches inside the porch all the way around. The arches were decorated with palm trees.

17 Then he brought me to the outer courtyard, which consisted of chambers and a pavement all the way around. Thirty chambers came up to the pavement, 18 and the pavement came up to the facades of the gates along their entire length. That was the lower pavement. 19 When he measured the width from the inside of the lower gate to the outer edge of the inner courtyard, it was one hundred fifty feet.

After he measured the east gate, he measured the north gate, 20 the one facing north at the outer courtyard. He measured its length and width, 21 its three inner rooms on each side, its arches, and its porch. Its measurements were the same as the first gate: seventy-five feet long and thirty-seven and a half feet wide. 22 The windows, porch, and palm decorations had the same measurements as those of the east gate. Seven steps led up to the entrance, and the porch was at the other end. 23 There were also gates to the inner courtyard opposite the north and east gates. When he measured from gate to gate, it was one hundred fifty feet.

24 Then he had me walk toward the south, where there was a gate facing south. He measured its arches and porch using the same measurements. 25 Its windows and its porch all around were like the others, and the gate also was seventy-five feet long and thirty-seven and a half feet wide. 26 Its stairway had seven steps, and its porch was at the other end. On its arches, one on either side, were palm decorations. 27 There was a gate to the inner courtyard on the south. When he measured from gate to gate on the south side, it was one hundred fifty feet.

28 When he brought me to the inner courtyard by way of the south gate, he took the same measurements of the south gate. 29 Its rooms, arches, and porch, as well as its windows and porch all the way around, measured the same as the others. It was seventy-five feet long and thirty-seven and a half feet wide. 30 There were porches all around, thirty-seven and a half feet long and seven and a half feet wide. 31 Its porch faced the outer courtyard. Palms decorated its arches, and its stairway had eight steps.

32 Then he brought me to the inner courtyard on the east side, and again he took the same measurements of the gate. 33 Its rooms, arches, and porch measured the same as the others, as well as its windows and porch all the way around. It was seventy-five feet long and thirty-seven and a half feet wide. 34 Its porch faced the outer courtyard. Palm trees decorated its arches on both sides, and its stairway had eight steps. 35 Then he brought me to the north gate and took the same measurements of the 36 rooms, arches, and porch, and also its windows all around. It was seventy-five feet long and thirty-seven and a half feet wide. 37 Its porch[f] faced the outer courtyard. Palm trees decorated its arches on both sides, and its stairway had eight steps.

38 At that gate, there was a room with an entrance in the arches for washing the entirely burned offering, 39 and inside the porch on each side of the gate were two tables where the entirely burned offerings, the purification offerings, and the compensation offerings were slaughtered. 40 Outside, two pairs of tables flanked the entrance of the north gate at both ends, at the steps on one end and the porch on the other. 41 There were four tables on each side of the gate, eight tables in all, for preparing the animal offerings. 42 The four tables that were used for the entirely burned offering as well as for the communal sacrifices were made of hewn stone. Each was twenty-seven inches square and eighteen inches high. Equipment used in the ritual slaughter was set on them. 43 Hooks,[g] three inches wide, were securely fixed all the way around. The tables were for the flesh of the offerings.

44 Outside the inner gate there were two[h] chambers in the inner courtyard. The one beside the north gate faced south, and the one beside the east gate faced north. 45 He spoke to me: “The chamber facing south is for the priests who keep watch over the temple, 46 and the chamber facing north is for the priests who keep watch over the altar. Of all the Levites, only the Zadokites may draw near to serve the Lord.” 47 Then he measured the courtyard. It was square, one hundred fifty feet long and one hundred fifty feet wide. The altar was in front of the temple.

The temple

48 Then he brought me to the porch of the temple and measured its arches. They were seven and a half feet on each side, and the width of the gate was four and a half feet on each side. 49 The porch was thirty feet long and eighteen feet wide. Steps led up into the porch, and there were columns for the arches, one on each side.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 40:5 Heb shesh ammoth ba'ammah traditionally six long cubits, which is defined as six times a standard ammah of eighteen inches plus a topha (traditionally handbreadth) of three inches. So the measuring rod has six segments of twenty-one inches each, which equals ten and a half feet. It is unclear whether the measurements with the rod continue past 40:8, when standard ammah appear, though the longer ammah do continue briefly in 43:13-17 for the altar.
  2. Ezekiel 40:5 Or a standard cubit
  3. Ezekiel 40:5 Or a handbreadth
  4. Ezekiel 40:6 Or threshold; Heb architectural and decorative terminology in Ezek 40–48 is often uncertain.
  5. Ezekiel 40:9 Or eight cubits
  6. Ezekiel 40:37 LXX; MT arches
  7. Ezekiel 40:43 Heb uncertain
  8. Ezekiel 40:44 LXX; MT singing
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