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Description of Rooms for the Priests

42 And he brought me out to the outer courtyard to the north,[a] and he brought me to the chamber which was opposite the courtyard and which is opposite the building to the north. As to[b] the face of the length of the building with the doorway to the north, it was a hundred cubits,[c] and its[d] width was fifty cubits.[e] Opposite the twenty cubits of the inner courtyard,[f] and opposite the pavement that was to the outer courtyard was a gallery facing[g] a gallery in the three stories. And in front of[h] the chambers was a passageway ten cubits[i] in width toward the inside, a walkway of one cubit,[j] and their doorways were to the north. And the upper chambers narrowed, for the galleries took away space from them more than they took from the lower levels and more than they took from the middle level in the building. For they[k] were three stories and they had no pillars[l] like[m] the pillars of[n] the courtyards; therefore they were smaller than the lower stories and than the middle stories from the ground up. And there was a wall that was to the outside alongside[o] the chambers on the walkway to[p] the outer courtyard[q] in front of[r] the chambers; its length was fifty[s] cubits.[t] For[u] the length of the chambers which were to the outer courtyard was fifty[v] cubits,[w] and look![x] The chambers on the front of the temple were a hundred[y] cubits.[z] And from under these chambers was the entrance[aa] from the east for them when one enters[ab] from the outer courtyard.

10 All along the width of the wall of the courtyard eastward[ac] in front of the courtyard to the front of the building were chambers. 11 And a walkway was before them[ad] like the appearance of the chambers which were on the north,[ae] just like them in their length, and so was their width and all their exits, and they were built like their arrangements and like their doorways, 12 and like the doorways of the chambers which were on the way of the south was a doorway at the head of the way[af] before the stone wall, projecting[ag] on[ah] the way of the east at their coming.[ai]

13 And he said to me, “The chambers of the north and the chambers of the south which are before[aj] the courtyard, they are the holy chambers[ak] in which the priests, who are near to Yahweh, will eat the most holy objects.[al] There they shall put the most holy objects,[am] and the grain offering and the sin offering and the guilt offering, for the place is holy. 14 When the priests enter,[an] then they shall not go out from the sanctuary to the outer courtyard; and there they must put[ao] their garments in which they serve because they are holy. They must put on other garments and then they may approach the area that is for the people.

15 And he completed the measurements of the inner temple, and he brought me to the walkway of the gate that faces toward the east[ap] and he measured it all the way around.[aq] 16 He measured the east side with the reed[ar] for[as] measuring, five hundred cubits,[at] with respect to reeds with the reed for measurement, he measured it all around. 17 He measured the north side as five hundred cubits, with respect to reeds with the reed for measurement all around. 18 Then he measured the south side as five hundred cubits, with respect to reeds with the reed for measurement. 19 He went around the west side[au] and he measured five hundred cubits, with respect to reeds with the reed for measurement. 20 Toward the four sides[av] he measured it; there was a wall for it all the way around.[aw] Its length was five hundred cubits[ax] and its width was five hundred cubits, in order to make a separation between what is holy and what is common.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 42:1 Literally “to the way of the north”
  2. Ezekiel 42:2 Or “along the face of”
  3. Ezekiel 42:2 That is, 175 feet
  4. Ezekiel 42:2 Or “the”
  5. Ezekiel 42:2 That is, 87.5 feet
  6. Ezekiel 42:3 Literally “which were to the courtyard the inner”
  7. Ezekiel 42:3 Literally “toward in the face/front of”
  8. Ezekiel 42:4 Literally “to the face of”
  9. Ezekiel 42:4 That is, 17.5 feet
  10. Ezekiel 42:4 One cubit of 18–21 inches is problematic; LXX and Syriac read 100 cubits (175 feet) running the length of the building
  11. Ezekiel 42:6 Or “there”
  12. Ezekiel 42:6 Literally “there were not for them pillars”
  13. Ezekiel 42:6 Or “as”
  14. Ezekiel 42:6 Or “for”
  15. Ezekiel 42:7 Literally “to the outside to corresponding”
  16. Ezekiel 42:7 Or “of”
  17. Ezekiel 42:7 That is, “to the north”
  18. Ezekiel 42:7 Literally “to in face of”
  19. Ezekiel 42:7 That is, 87.5 feet
  20. Ezekiel 42:7 Hebrew “cubit”
  21. Ezekiel 42:8 Or “while”
  22. Ezekiel 42:8 Hebrew “cubit”
  23. Ezekiel 42:8 That is, 87.5 feet
  24. Ezekiel 42:8 Or “yet!”
  25. Ezekiel 42:8 Hebrew “cubit”
  26. Ezekiel 42:8 That is, 175 feet
  27. Ezekiel 42:9 Reading the Ketiv
  28. Ezekiel 42:9 Literally “at/in his/its coming”
  29. Ezekiel 42:10 Literally “on the way of the east”
  30. Ezekiel 42:11 Literally “was to the face of them”
  31. Ezekiel 42:11 Literally “were on the way of the north”
  32. Ezekiel 42:12 Dropping one “way”
  33. Ezekiel 42:12 Or “protecting wall”
  34. Ezekiel 42:12 Or “toward”
  35. Ezekiel 42:12 That is, when people entered the complex
  36. Ezekiel 42:13 Literally “to the front of”
  37. Ezekiel 42:13 Literally “are the chambers of the holiness”
  38. Ezekiel 42:13 Literally “holy objects of the holy objects”
  39. Ezekiel 42:13 Literally “holy objects of the holy objects”
  40. Ezekiel 42:14 Literally “at coming their”
  41. Ezekiel 42:14 Or “deposit/leave/remove”
  42. Ezekiel 42:15 Literally “which its face is to the way of the east”
  43. Ezekiel 42:15 Literally “all around, all around”
  44. Ezekiel 42:16 Or “rod”
  45. Ezekiel 42:16 Literally “of measuring”
  46. Ezekiel 42:16 Hebrew has “reeds” here (= 5,250 feet), which is not correct; 500 cubits = 875 feet.
  47. Ezekiel 42:19 Or “side toward/to the sea”
  48. Ezekiel 42:20 Literally “toward the four winds”
  49. Ezekiel 42:20 Literally “all around, all around”
  50. Ezekiel 42:20 That is, 875 feet

The Priests’ Chambers

42 Then the man led me out by way of the north gate into the outer court.(A) He brought me to the group of chambers opposite the temple yard and opposite the building(B) to the north. Along the length of the chambers, which was 175 feet,[a](C) there was an entrance on the north; the width was 87½ feet.[b] Opposite the 35 foot space[c] belonging to the inner court and opposite the paved surface(D) belonging to the outer court, the structure rose gallery by gallery(E) in three tiers. In front of the chambers was a walkway toward the inside,(F) 17½ feet[d] wide and 175 feet[e] long,[f] and their entrances were on the north. The upper chambers were narrower because the galleries took away more space from them than from the lower and middle stories of the building. For they were arranged in three stories and had no pillars like the pillars of the courts;(G) therefore the upper chambers were set back from the ground more than the lower and middle stories. A wall on the outside ran in front of the chambers, parallel to them, toward the outer court; it was 87½ feet[g] long. For the chambers on the outer court were 87½ feet long, while those facing the great hall were 175 feet[h] long.(H) At the base of these chambers there was an entryway on the east side as one enters them from the outer court.(I)

10 In the thickness of the wall of the court toward the south,[i] there were chambers facing the temple yard(J) and the western building, 11 with a passageway in front of them, just like the chambers that faced north.(K) Their length and width, as well as all their exits, measurements, and entrances, were identical. 12 The entrance at the beginning of the passageway, the way in front of the corresponding[j] wall as one enters on the east side, was similar to the entrances of the chambers that were on the south side.

13 Then the man said to me, “The northern and southern chambers that face the temple yard are the holy chambers where the priests who approach the Lord will eat(L) the most holy offerings.(M) There they will deposit the most holy offerings—the grain offerings, sin offerings, and restitution offerings—for the place is holy.(N) 14 Once the priests have entered, they must not go out from the holy area to the outer court until they have removed the clothes they minister in, for these are holy.(O) They are to put on other clothes before they approach the public area.”(P)

Outside Dimensions of the Temple Complex

15 When he finished measuring inside the temple complex, he led me out by way of the gate that faced east and measured all around the complex.(Q)

16 He measured the east side with a measuring rod;
it was 875 feet[k] by the measuring rod.[l]
17 He[m] measured the north side;
it was 875 feet[n] by the measuring rod.[o]
18 He[p] measured the south side;
it was 875 feet[q] by the measuring rod.[r]
19 Then he turned to the west side
and measured 875 feet[s] by the measuring rod.[t]

20 He measured the temple complex on all four sides. It had a wall all around it,(R) 875 feet long and 875 feet(S) wide, to separate the holy from the common.(T)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 42:2 Lit 100 cubits
  2. Ezekiel 42:2 Lit 50 cubits
  3. Ezekiel 42:3 Lit 20 [cubits]
  4. Ezekiel 42:4 Lit 10 cubits
  5. Ezekiel 42:4 Lit 100 cubits
  6. Ezekiel 42:4 LXX, Syr; MT reads wide, a way of one cubit
  7. Ezekiel 42:7 Lit 50 cubits
  8. Ezekiel 42:8 Lit 100 cubits
  9. Ezekiel 42:10 LXX; MT reads east
  10. Ezekiel 42:12 Or protective; Hb obscure
  11. Ezekiel 42:16 Lit 500 in rods
  12. Ezekiel 42:16 Lit rod all around
  13. Ezekiel 42:17 LXX reads Then he turned to the north and
  14. Ezekiel 42:17 Lit 500 in rods
  15. Ezekiel 42:17 Lit rod all around
  16. Ezekiel 42:18 LXX reads Then he turned to the south and
  17. Ezekiel 42:18 Lit 500 in rods
  18. Ezekiel 42:18 Lit rod all around
  19. Ezekiel 42:19 Lit 500 in rods
  20. Ezekiel 42:19 Lit rod all around