Ezekiel 42
New Living Translation
Rooms for the Priests
42 Then the man led me out of the Temple courtyard by way of the north gateway. We entered the outer courtyard and came to a group of rooms against the north wall of the inner courtyard. 2 This structure, whose entrance opened toward the north, was 175 feet[a] long and 87 1⁄2 feet[b] wide. 3 One block of rooms overlooked the 35-foot[c] width of the inner courtyard. Another block of rooms looked out onto the pavement of the outer courtyard. The two blocks were built three levels high and stood across from each other. 4 Between the two blocks of rooms ran a walkway 17 1⁄2 feet[d] wide. It extended the entire 175 feet of the complex,[e] and all the doors faced north. 5 Each of the two upper levels of rooms was narrower than the one beneath it because the upper levels had to allow space for walkways in front of them. 6 Since there were three levels and they did not have supporting columns as in the courtyards, each of the upper levels was set back from the level beneath it. 7 There was an outer wall that separated the rooms from the outer courtyard; it was 87 1⁄2 feet long. 8 This wall added length to the outer block of rooms, which extended for only 87 1⁄2 feet, while the inner block—the rooms toward the Temple—extended for 175 feet. 9 There was an eastern entrance from the outer courtyard to these rooms.
10 On the south[f] side of the Temple there were two blocks of rooms just south of the inner courtyard between the Temple and the outer courtyard. These rooms were arranged just like the rooms on the north. 11 There was a walkway between the two blocks of rooms just like the complex on the north side of the Temple. This complex of rooms was the same length and width as the other one, and it had the same entrances and doors. The dimensions of each were identical. 12 So there was an entrance in the wall facing the doors of the inner block of rooms, and another on the east at the end of the interior walkway.
13 Then the man told me, “These rooms that overlook the Temple from the north and south are holy. Here the priests who offer sacrifices to the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. And because these rooms are holy, they will be used to store the sacred offerings—the grain offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings. 14 When the priests leave the sanctuary, they must not go directly to the outer courtyard. They must first take off the clothes they wore while ministering, because these clothes are holy. They must put on other clothes before entering the parts of the building complex open to the public.”
15 When the man had finished measuring the inside of the Temple area, he led me out through the east gateway to measure the entire perimeter. 16 He measured the east side with his measuring rod, and it was 875 feet long.[g] 17 Then he measured the north side, and it was also 875 feet. 18 The south side was also 875 feet, 19 and the west side was also 875 feet. 20 So the area was 875 feet on each side with a wall all around it to separate what was holy from what was common.
Footnotes
- 42:2a Hebrew 100 cubits [53 meters]; also in 42:8.
- 42:2b Hebrew 50 cubits [26.5 meters]; also in 42:7, 8.
- 42:3 Hebrew 20[-cubit] [10.6-meter].
- 42:4a Hebrew 10 cubits [5.3 meters].
- 42:4b As in Greek and Syriac versions, which read Its length was 100 cubits [53 meters]; Hebrew reads and a passage 1 cubit [21 inches or 53 centimeters] wide.
- 42:10 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads east.
- 42:16 As in 45:2 and in Greek version at 42:17, which reads 500 cubits [265 meters]; Hebrew reads 500 rods [5,250 feet or 1,590 meters]; similarly in 42:17, 18, 19, 20.
Ezekiel 42
Living Bible
42 Then he led me out of the Temple, back into the inner court to the rooms north of the Temple yard, and to another building. 2 This group of structures was 175 feet long by 87-1/2 feet wide. 3 The rows of rooms behind this building were the inner wall of the court. The rooms were in three tiers, overlooking the outer court on one side, and having a 35-foot strip of inner court on the other. 4 A 17-1/2-foot walk ran between the building and the tiers of rooms, extending the entire length, with the doors of the building facing north. 5 The upper two tiers of rooms were not as wide as the lower one, because the upper tiers had wider walkways beside them. 6 And since the building was not built with girders as those in the outer court were, the upper stories were set back from the ground floor.
7-8 The north tiers, next to the outer court, were 87-1/2 feet long—only half as long as the inner wing that faced the Temple court, which was 175 feet long. But a wall extended from the end of the shorter wing, parallel to the longer wing. 9-10 And there was an entrance from the outer court to these rooms from the east. On the opposite side of the Temple a similar building composed of two units of tiers was on the south side of the inner court, between the Temple and the outer court, arranged the same as the other. 11 There was a walk between the two wings of the building, the same as in the other building across the court—the same length and width and the same exits and doors—they were identical units. 12 And there was a door from the outer court[a] at the east.
13 Then he told me: “These north and south tiers of rooms facing the Temple yard are holy; there the priests who offer up the sacrifices to the Lord shall eat of the most holy offerings and store them—the cereal offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings, for these rooms are holy. 14 When the priests leave the Holy Place—the nave of the Temple—they must change their clothes before going out to the outer court. The special robes in which they have been ministering must first be removed, for these robes are holy. They must put on other clothes before entering the parts of the building open to the public.”
15 When he had finished making these measurements, he led me out through the east passageway to measure the entire Temple area. 16-20 He found that it was in the form of a square, 875 feet long on each side, with a wall all around it to separate the restricted area from the public places.[b]
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 42:12 from the outer court, implied.
- Ezekiel 42:16 to separate the restricted area from the public places, literally, “between the holy and the common.”
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.