Ezekiel 42
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Holy Chambers and the Outer Wall
42 Then he led me out into the outer court toward the north, and he brought me to the chambers that were opposite the temple yard and opposite the building on the north.(A) 2 The length of the building that was on the north side[a] was[b] one hundred cubits and the width fifty cubits. 3 Facing the twenty cubits that belonged to the inner court and facing the pavement that belonged to the outer court, the chambers rose[c] gallery[d] by gallery[e] in three stories.(B) 4 Amid the chambers was an interior passage, ten cubits wide and one hundred cubits deep,[f] and its[g] entrances were on the north.(C) 5 Now the upper chambers were narrower, for the galleries[h] took more away from them than from the lower and middle chambers in the building. 6 For they were in three stories, and they had no pillars like the pillars of the outer[i] court; for this reason the upper chambers were set back from the ground more than the lower and the middle ones.(D) 7 There was a wall outside parallel to the chambers, toward the outer court, opposite the chambers, fifty cubits long. 8 For the chambers on the outer court were fifty cubits long, while those opposite the temple were one hundred cubits long.(E) 9 At the foot of these chambers ran a passage that one entered from the east in order to enter them from the terrace space outside.(F) 10 The entrance was aligned with the start of the wall[j] toward the court.
On the south[k] also, opposite the vacant area and opposite the building, there were chambers 11 with a passage in front of them; they were similar to the chambers on the north, of the same length and width, with the same exits[l] and arrangements and doors. 12 So the entrances of the chambers to the south were entered through the entrance at the head of the corresponding passage, from the east, along the matching wall.[m]
13 Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers opposite the vacant area are the holy chambers where the priests who approach the Lord shall eat the most holy offerings; there they shall deposit the most holy offerings—the grain offering, the purification offering, and the guilt offering—for the place is holy.(G) 14 When the priests enter the holy place, they shall not go out of it into the outer court without laying there the vestments in which they minister, for these are holy; they shall put on other garments before they go near to the area open to the people.”(H)
15 When he had finished measuring the interior of the temple area, he led me out by the gate that faces east and measured the temple area all around.(I) 16 He measured the east side with the measuring reed, five hundred cubits by the measuring reed. 17 Then he turned and measured[n] the north side, five hundred cubits by the measuring reed. 18 Then he turned and measured[o] the south side, five hundred cubits by the measuring reed. 19 Then he turned to the west side and measured, five hundred cubits by the measuring reed. 20 He measured it on the four sides. It had a wall around it, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to make a separation between the holy and the common.(J)
Footnotes
- 42.2 Gk: Heb door
- 42.2 Gk: Heb before the length
- 42.3 Heb lacks the chambers rose
- 42.3 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 42.3 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 42.4 Gk Syr: Heb a way of one cubit
- 42.4 Heb their
- 42.5 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 42.6 Gk: Heb lacks outer
- 42.10 Compare Gk: Heb in the thickness of the wall
- 42.10 Gk: Heb east
- 42.11 Heb and all their exits
- 42.12 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 42.17 Gk: Heb measuring reed all around. He measured
- 42.18 Gk: Heb measuring reed all around. He measured
Ezekiel 42
International Standard Version
The Vision of the Outer Court
42 Then he brought me to the outer, north-facing courtyard into the chamber that stood opposite the structure that was facing north. 2 It stood 100 cubits[a] long and 50 cubits[b] wide, with a door in the middle.[c] 3 Opposite the 20 cubits[d] wide inner court, and opposite the paved area that comprised the outer court, there were three stories of galleries that faced each other. 4 In front of the chambers there was an inner walkway ten cubits wide and 100 cubits[e] wide, the openings to which were on the[f] north. 5 The upper chambers were narrower, since the galleries required more space than did the lower and middle portions of the building. 6 The three part structure had no columns, unlike the courts, which is why the upper chambers were offset from the ground upward, more so than the lower and middle chambers.
7 The outer wall by the side of the chambers toward the outer court and facing the chambers was 50 cubits[g] long. 8 While the chambers in the outer court were 50 cubits[h] in length, the chambers facing the Temple were 100 cubits[i] long. 9 Below these chambers, as one might enter from the outer court, was the east side entrance. 10 There were chambers built into the thick part of the wall of the court facing the east; that is, facing the separate area toward the front of the building, 11 with a passageway in front of them, similar in appearance to the chambers that were on the north, proportional to their length and width, with all of their exits according to their arrangements and doorways. 12 Corresponding to the chamber doorways facing the south was an opening at the beginning of the passage; that is, the passage in front of the corresponding part of the wall facing east as one might enter.
The Place for Holy Things
13 Then he told me, “The north and south chamber, which are opposite the courtyard, are consecrated areas where the priests who approach the Lord will eat consecrated offerings and lay the consecrated grain offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings, because the area is holy. 14 When the priest enters, they will not enter the outer court from the sanctuary without having removed their garments worn during their time of ministry, because they are holy. They will put on different clothes, and then they will approach the area reserved for the people.”
15 After he had finished measuring the inner temple, he brought me out through the east-facing gate and measured it all around. 16 He measured the east side at 500 reeds,[j] according to the length of the measuring stick, 17 the north side at 500 reeds, according to the length of the measuring stick, 18 the south side at 500 reeds, according to the length of the measuring stick, 19 and the west side at 500 reeds, according to the length of the measuring stick. 20 He measured a wall that encompassed all four sides, 500 hundred long and 500 wide, dividing between the sacred and common areas.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 42:2 I.e. about 175 feet; the royal cubit was 21 inches
- Ezekiel 42:2 I.e. about 87.5 feet; the royal cubit was 21 inches
- Ezekiel 42:2 Lit. north
- Ezekiel 42:3 I.e. about 35 feet; the royal cubit was 21 inches
- Ezekiel 42:4 So with LXX Syr; MT reads and one cubit
- Ezekiel 42:4 Or which faced
- Ezekiel 42:7 I.e. about 87.5 feet; the royal cubit was 21 inches
- Ezekiel 42:8 I.e. about 87.5 feet; the royal cubit was 21 inches
- Ezekiel 42:8 I.e. about 175 feet; the royal cubit was 21 inches
- Ezekiel 42:16 I.e. about one mile, and so through vs. 20
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