Ezekiel 40
World English Bible
40 In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck, in the same day, Yahweh’s hand was on me, and he brought me there. 2 In the visions of God he brought me into the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was something like the frame of a city to the south. 3 He brought me there; and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate. 4 The man said to me, “Son of man, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart on all that I will show you; for you have been brought here so that I may show them to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.”
5 Behold, there was a wall on the outside of the house all around, and in the man’s hand a measuring reed six cubits[a] long, of a cubit and a hand width each. So he measured the thickness of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.
6 Then he came to the gate which looks toward the east, and went up its steps. He measured the threshold of the gate, one reed wide; and the other threshold, one reed wide. 7 Every lodge was one reed long and one reed wide. Between the lodges was five cubits. The threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate toward the house was one reed.
8 He measured also the porch of the gate toward the house, one reed. 9 Then he measured the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and its posts, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was toward the house.
10 The lodges of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side. The three of them were of one measure. The posts had one measure on this side and on that side. 11 He measured the width of the opening of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits; 12 and a border before the lodges, one cubit on this side, and a border, one cubit on that side; and the lodges, six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side. 13 He measured the gate from the roof of the one lodge to the roof of the other, a width of twenty-five cubits, door against door. 14 He also made posts, sixty cubits; and the court reached to the posts, around the gate. 15 From the forefront of the gate at the entrance to the forefront of the inner porch of the gate were fifty cubits. 16 There were closed windows to the lodges, and to their posts within the gate all around, and likewise to the arches. Windows were around inward. Palm trees were on each post.
17 Then he brought me into the outer court. Behold, there were rooms and a pavement made for the court all around. Thirty rooms were on the pavement. 18 The pavement was by the side of the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates, even the lower pavement. 19 Then he measured the width from the forefront of the lower gate to the forefront of the inner court outside, one hundred cubits, both on the east and on the north.
20 He measured the length and width of the gate of the outer court which faces toward the north. 21 The lodges of it were three on this side and three on that side. Its posts and its arches were the same as the measure of the first gate: its length was fifty cubits, and the width twenty-five cubits. 22 Its windows, its arches, and its palm trees were the same as the measure of the gate which faces toward the east. They went up to it by seven steps. Its arches were before them. 23 There was a gate to the inner court facing the other gate, on the north and on the east. He measured one hundred cubits from gate to gate.
24 He led me toward the south; and behold, there was a gate toward the south. He measured its posts and its arches according to these measurements. 25 There were windows in it and in its arches all around, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the width twenty-five cubits. 26 There were seven steps to go up to it, and its arches were before them. It had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, on its posts. 27 There was a gate to the inner court toward the south. He measured one hundred cubits from gate to gate toward the south.
28 Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate. He measured the south gate according to these measurements; 29 with its lodges, its posts, and its arches, according to these measurements. There were windows in it and in its arches all around. It was fifty cubits long, and twenty-five cubits wide. 30 There were arches all around, twenty-five cubits long, and five cubits wide. 31 Its arches were toward the outer court. Palm trees were on its posts. The ascent to it had eight steps.
32 He brought me into the inner court toward the east. He measured the gate according to these measurements; 33 with its lodges, its posts, and its arches, according to these measurements. There were windows in it and in its arches all around. It was fifty cubits long, and twenty-five cubits wide. 34 Its arches were toward the outer court. Palm trees were on its posts on this side and on that side. The ascent to it had eight steps.
35 He brought me to the north gate, and he measured it according to these measurements; 36 its lodges, its posts, and its arches. There were windows in it all around. The length was fifty cubits and the width twenty-five cubits. 37 Its posts were toward the outer court. Palm trees were on its posts on this side and on that side. The ascent to it had eight steps.
38 A room with its door was by the posts at the gates. They washed the burnt offering there. 39 In the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, on which to kill the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. 40 On the one side outside, as one goes up to the entry of the gate toward the north, were two tables; and on the other side, which belonged to the porch of the gate, were two tables. 41 Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate: eight tables, on which they killed the sacrifices. 42 There were four tables for the burnt offering, of cut stone, a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high. They laid the instruments with which they killed the burnt offering and the sacrifice on them. 43 The hooks, a hand width long, were fastened within all around. The meat of the offering was on the tables.
44 Outside of the inner gate were rooms for the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate. They faced toward the south. One at the side of the east gate faced toward the north. 45 He said to me, “This room, which faces toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the duty of the house. 46 The room which faces toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the duty of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who from among the sons of Levi come near to Yahweh to minister to him.” 47 He measured the court, one hundred cubits long, and a hundred cubits wide, square. The altar was before the house.
48 Then he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side. The width of the gate was three cubits on this side and three cubits on that side. 49 The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the width eleven cubits; even by the steps by which they went up to it. There were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side.
Footnotes
- 40:5 A normal cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimeters. A handbreadth is about 4.3 inches or 11 centimeters, so the long cubit described here would be about 22.3 inches or 57 centimeters long. Thus, a 6 long cubit measuring reed would have been about 3 yards 26.6 inches or about 3.42 meters long.
Ezekiel 40
New Living Translation
The New Temple Area
40 On April 28,[a] during the twenty-fifth year of our captivity—fourteen years after the fall of Jerusalem—the Lord took hold of me. 2 In a vision from God he took me to the land of Israel and set me down on a very high mountain. From there I could see toward the south what appeared to be a city. 3 As he brought me nearer, I saw a man whose face shone like bronze standing beside a gateway entrance. He was holding in his hand a linen measuring cord and a measuring rod.
4 He said to me, “Son of man, watch and listen. Pay close attention to everything I show you. You have been brought here so I can show you many things. Then you will return to the people of Israel and tell them everything you have seen.”
The East Gateway
5 I could see a wall completely surrounding the Temple area. The man took a measuring rod that was 10 1⁄2 feet[b] long and measured the wall, and the wall was 10 1⁄2 feet[c] thick and 10 1⁄2 feet high.
6 Then he went over to the eastern gateway. He climbed the steps and measured the threshold of the gateway; it was 10 1⁄2 feet front to back.[d] 7 There were guard alcoves on each side built into the gateway passage. Each of these alcoves was 10 1⁄2 feet square, with a distance between them of 8 3⁄4 feet[e] along the passage wall. The gateway’s inner threshold, which led to the entry room at the inner end of the gateway passage, was 10 1⁄2 feet front to back. 8 He also measured the entry room of the gateway.[f] 9 It was 14 feet[g] across, with supporting columns 3 1⁄2 feet[h] thick. This entry room was at the inner end of the gateway structure, facing toward the Temple.
10 There were three guard alcoves on each side of the gateway passage. Each had the same measurements, and the dividing walls separating them were also identical. 11 The man measured the gateway entrance, which was 17 1⁄2 feet[i] wide at the opening and 22 3⁄4 feet[j] wide in the gateway passage. 12 In front of each of the guard alcoves was a 21-inch[k] curb. The alcoves themselves were 10 1⁄2 feet[l] on each side.
13 Then he measured the entire width of the gateway, measuring the distance between the back walls of facing guard alcoves; this distance was 43 3⁄4 feet.[m] 14 He measured the dividing walls all along the inside of the gateway up to the entry room of the gateway; this distance was 105 feet.[n] 15 The full length of the gateway passage was 87 1⁄2 feet[o] from one end to the other. 16 There were recessed windows that narrowed inward through the walls of the guard alcoves and their dividing walls. There were also windows in the entry room. The surfaces of the dividing walls were decorated with carved palm trees.
The Outer Courtyard
17 Then the man brought me through the gateway into the outer courtyard of the Temple. A stone pavement ran along the walls of the courtyard, and thirty rooms were built against the walls, opening onto the pavement. 18 This pavement flanked the gates and extended out from the walls into the courtyard the same distance as the gateway entrance. This was the lower pavement. 19 Then the man measured across the Temple’s outer courtyard between the outer and inner gateways; the distance was 175 feet.[p]
The North Gateway
20 The man measured the gateway on the north just like the one on the east. 21 Here, too, there were three guard alcoves on each side, with dividing walls and an entry room. All the measurements matched those of the east gateway. The gateway passage was 87 1⁄2 feet long and 43 3⁄4 feet wide between the back walls of facing guard alcoves. 22 The windows, the entry room, and the palm tree decorations were identical to those in the east gateway. There were seven steps leading up to the gateway entrance, and the entry room was at the inner end of the gateway passage. 23 Here on the north side, just as on the east, there was another gateway leading to the Temple’s inner courtyard directly opposite this outer gateway. The distance between the two gateways was 175 feet.
The South Gateway
24 Then the man took me around to the south gateway and measured its various parts, and they were exactly the same as in the others. 25 It had windows along the walls as the others did, and there was an entry room where the gateway passage opened into the outer courtyard. And like the others, the gateway passage was 87 1⁄2 feet long and 43 3⁄4 feet wide between the back walls of facing guard alcoves. 26 This gateway also had a stairway of seven steps leading up to it, and an entry room at the inner end, and palm tree decorations along the dividing walls. 27 And here again, directly opposite the outer gateway, was another gateway that led into the inner courtyard. The distance between the two gateways was 175 feet.
Gateways to the Inner Courtyard
28 Then the man took me to the south gateway leading into the inner courtyard. He measured it, and it had the same measurements as the other gateways. 29 Its guard alcoves, dividing walls, and entry room were the same size as those in the others. It also had windows along its walls and in the entry room. And like the others, the gateway passage was 87 1⁄2 feet long and 43 3⁄4 feet wide. 30 (The entry rooms of the gateways leading into the inner courtyard were 14 feet[q] across and 43 3⁄4 feet wide.) 31 The entry room to the south gateway faced into the outer courtyard. It had palm tree decorations on its columns, and there were eight steps leading to its entrance.
32 Then he took me to the east gateway leading to the inner courtyard. He measured it, and it had the same measurements as the other gateways. 33 Its guard alcoves, dividing walls, and entry room were the same size as those of the others, and there were windows along the walls and in the entry room. The gateway passage measured 87 1⁄2 feet long and 43 3⁄4 feet wide. 34 Its entry room faced into the outer courtyard. It had palm tree decorations on its columns, and there were eight steps leading to its entrance.
35 Then he took me around to the north gateway leading to the inner courtyard. He measured it, and it had the same measurements as the other gateways. 36 The guard alcoves, dividing walls, and entry room of this gateway had the same measurements as in the others and the same window arrangements. The gateway passage measured 87 1⁄2 feet long and 43 3⁄4 feet wide. 37 Its entry room[r] faced into the outer courtyard, and it had palm tree decorations on the columns. There were eight steps leading to its entrance.
Rooms for Preparing Sacrifices
38 A door led from the entry room of one of the inner gateways into a side room, where the meat for sacrifices was washed. 39 On each side of this entry room were two tables, where the sacrificial animals were slaughtered for the burnt offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings. 40 Outside the entry room, on each side of the stairs going up to the north entrance, were two more tables. 41 So there were eight tables in all—four inside and four outside—where the sacrifices were cut up and prepared. 42 There were also four tables of finished stone for preparation of the burnt offerings, each 31 1⁄2 inches square and 21 inches high.[s] On these tables were placed the butchering knives and other implements for slaughtering the sacrificial animals. 43 There were hooks, each 3 inches[t] long, fastened all around the foyer walls. The sacrificial meat was laid on the tables.
Rooms for the Priests
44 Inside the inner courtyard were two rooms,[u] one beside the north gateway, facing south, and the other beside the south[v] gateway, facing north. 45 And the man said to me, “The room beside the north inner gate is for the priests who supervise the Temple maintenance. 46 The room beside the south inner gate is for the priests in charge of the altar—the descendants of Zadok—for they alone of all the Levites may approach the Lord to minister to him.”
The Inner Courtyard and Temple
47 Then the man measured the inner courtyard, and it was a square, 175 feet wide and 175 feet across. The altar stood in the courtyard in front of the Temple. 48 Then he brought me to the entry room of the Temple. He measured the walls on either side of the opening to the entry room, and they were 8 3⁄4 feet thick. The entrance itself was 24 1⁄2 feet wide, and the walls on each side of the entrance were an additional 5 1⁄4 feet long.[w] 49 The entry room was 35 feet[x] wide and 21 feet[y] deep. There were ten steps[z] leading up to it, with a column on each side.
Footnotes
- 40:1 Hebrew At the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This event occurred on April 28, 573 B.c.; also see note on 1:1.
- 40:5a Hebrew 6 long cubits [3.2 meters], each being a cubit [18 inches or 45 centimeters] and a handbreadth [3 inches or 8 centimeters] in length.
- 40:5b Hebrew 1 rod [3.2 meters]; also in 40:5c, 7.
- 40:6 As in Greek version, which reads 1 rod [3.2 meters] deep; Hebrew reads 1 rod deep, and 1 threshold, 1 rod deep.
- 40:7 Hebrew 5 cubits [2.7 meters]; also in 40:48.
- 40:8 As in many Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac version; other Hebrew manuscripts add which faced inward toward the Temple; it was 1 rod [10.5 feet or 3.2 meters] deep. 9 Then he measured the entry room of the gateway.
- 40:9a Hebrew 8 cubits [4.2 meters].
- 40:9b Hebrew 2 cubits [1.1 meters].
- 40:11a Hebrew 10 cubits [5.3 meters].
- 40:11b Hebrew 13 cubits [6.9 meters].
- 40:12a Hebrew 1 cubit [53 centimeters].
- 40:12b Hebrew 6 cubits [3.2 meters].
- 40:13 Hebrew 25 cubits [13.3 meters]; also in 40:21, 25, 29, 30, 33, 36.
- 40:14 Hebrew 60 cubits [31.8 meters]. Greek version reads 20 cubits [35 feet or 10.6 meters]. The meaning of the Hebrew in this verse is uncertain.
- 40:15 Hebrew 50 cubits [26.5 meters]; also in 40:21, 25, 29, 33, 36.
- 40:19 Hebrew 100 cubits [53 meters]; also in 40:23, 27, 47.
- 40:30 As in 40:9, which reads 8 cubits [14 feet or 4.2 meters]; here the Hebrew reads 5 cubits [8 3⁄4 feet or 2.7 meters]. Some Hebrew manuscripts and the Greek version lack this entire verse.
- 40:37 As in Greek version (compare parallels at 40:26, 31, 34); Hebrew reads Its dividing wall.
- 40:42 Hebrew 1 1⁄2 cubits [80 centimeters] long and 1 1⁄2 cubits wide and 1 cubit [53 centimeters] high.
- 40:43 Hebrew a handbreadth [8 centimeters].
- 40:44a As in Greek version; Hebrew reads rooms for singers.
- 40:44b As in Greek version; Hebrew reads east.
- 40:48 As in Greek version, which reads The entrance was 14 cubits [7.4 meters] wide, and the walls of the entrance were 3 cubits [1.6 meters] on each side; Hebrew lacks 14 cubits wide, and the walls of the entrance were.
- 40:49a Hebrew 20 cubits [10.6 meters].
- 40:49b As in Greek version, which reads 12 cubits [21 feet or 6.4 meters]; Hebrew reads 11 cubits [19 1⁄4 feet or 5.8 meters].
- 40:49c As in Greek version; Hebrew reads There were steps that were.
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