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Ezekiel 40
Living Bible

40 Early in April of the twenty-fifth year of our exile—the fourteenth year after Jerusalem was captured—the hand of the Lord was upon me, 2 and in a vision he took me to the land of Israel and set me down on a high mountain where I saw what appeared to be a city opposite me. 3 Going nearer, I saw a man whose face shone like bronze, standing beside the Temple gate,[a] holding in his hand a measuring tape and a measuring stick.

4 He said to me: “Son of dust, watch and listen and take to heart everything I show you, for you have been brought here so I can show you many things; and then you are to return to the people of Israel to tell them all you have seen.” 5 The man began to measure the wall around the outside of the Temple area with his measuring stick, which was 10-1/2 feet long. He told me, “This wall is 10-1/2 feet high and 10-1/2 feet wide.” 6 Then he took me over to the passageway that goes through the eastern wall. We climbed the seven steps into the entrance, and he measured the entry hall of the passage; it was 10-1/2 feet wide.

7-12 Walking on through the passageway I saw that there were three guardrooms on each side; each of these rooms was 10-1/2 feet square, with a distance of 8-3/4 feet along the wall between them. In front of these rooms was a low barrier 18 inches high and 18 inches wide.[b] Beyond the guardrooms was a 10-1/2-foot doorway opening into a 14-foot hall with 3-1/2-foot columns. Beyond this hall, at the inner end of the passageway, was a vestibule 22-3/4 feet wide and 17-1/2 feet long.

13 Then he measured the entire outside width of the passageway, measuring across the roof from the outside doors of the guardrooms; this distance was 43-3/4 feet. 14 Then he estimated the pillars on each side of the porch to be about 100 feet high. 15 The full length of the entrance passage was 87-1/2 feet from one end to the other. 16 There were windows that narrowed inward through the walls along both sides of the passageway and along the guardroom walls. The windows were also in the exit and in the entrance halls. The pillars were decorated with palm tree decorations.

17 And so we passed through the passageway to the court inside. A stone pavement ran around the inside of the walls, and thirty rooms were built against the walls, opening onto this pavement. 18 This was called “the lower pavement.” It extended out from the walls into the court the same distance as the passageway did.

19 Then he measured across to the wall on the other side of this court (which was called “the outer court” of the Temple)[c] and found that the distance was 175 feet. 20 As I followed, he left the eastern passageway and went over to the passage through the northern wall and measured it. 21 Here, too, there were three guardrooms on each side, and all the measurements were the same as for the east passageway—87-1/2 feet long and 43-3/4 feet from side to side across the top of the guardrooms. 22 There were windows, an entry hall, and the palm tree decorations just the same as on the east side. And there were seven steps leading up to the doorway to the entry hall inside.

23 Here at the north entry, just as at the east, if one walked through the passageway into the court and straight across it, he came to an inner wall and a passageway through it to an inner court. The distance between the two passageways was 175 feet. 24 Then he took me around to the south gate and measured the various sections of its passageway and found they were just the same as in the others. 25 It had windows along the walls as the others did, and an entry hall. And like the others, it was 87-1/2 feet long and 43-3/4 feet wide. 26 It, too, had a stairway of seven steps leading up to it, and there were palm tree decorations along the walls. 27 And here again, if one walked through the passageway into the court and straight across it, he came to the inner wall and a passageway through it to the inner court. And the distance between the passageways was 175 feet.

28 Then he took me over to the inner wall and its south passageway. He measured this passageway and found that it had the same measurements as the passageways of the outer wall.[d] 29-30 Its guardrooms, pillars, and entrance and exit hall were identical to all the others, and so were the windows along its walls and entry. And, like the others, it was 87-1/2 feet long by 43-3/4 feet wide.[e] 31 The only difference was that it had eight steps leading up to it instead of seven. It had palm tree decorations on the pillars, just as the others.

32 Then he took me along the court to the eastern entrance of the inner wall, and measured it. It, too, had the same measurements as the others. 33 Its guardrooms, pillars, and entrance hall were the same size as those of the other passageways, and there were windows along the walls and in the entry hall; and it was 87-1/2 feet long by 43-3/4 feet wide. 34 Its entry hall faced the outer court, and there were palm tree decorations on its columns, but there were eight steps instead of seven going up to the entrance.

35 Then he took me around to the north gate of the inner wall, and the measurements there were just like the others: 36 The guardrooms, pillars, and entry hall of this passageway were the same as the others, with a length of 87-1/2 feet and a width of 43-3/4 feet. 37 Its entry hall faced toward the outer court; it had palm tree decorations on the walls of each side of the passageway, and there were eight steps leading up to the entrance.

38 But a door led from its entry hall into a side room where the flesh of the sacrifices was washed before being taken to the altar; 39 on each side of the entry hall of the passageway there were two tables where the animals for sacrifice were slaughtered for the burnt offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings to be presented in the Temple. 40 Outside the entry hall, on each side of the stairs going up to the north entrance, there were two more tables. 41 So, in all there were eight tables, four inside and four outside, where the sacrifices were cut up and prepared. 42 There were also four stone tables where the butchering knives and other implements were laid. These tables were about 2-5/8 feet square and 1-3/4 feet high. 43 There were hooks, 3 or 4 inches long, fastened along the walls of the entry hall, and on the tables the flesh of the offering was to be laid.

44 In the inner court there were two one-room buildings, one beside the northern entrance, facing south, and one beside the southern entrance, facing north.

45 And he said to me: “The building beside the inner northern gate is for the priests who supervise the maintenance. 46 The building beside the inner southern entrance is for the priests in charge of the altar—the descendants of Zadok—for they alone of all the Levites may come near to the Lord to minister to him.”

47 Then he measured the inner court in front of the Temple[f] and found it to be 175 feet square, and there was an altar in the court, standing in front of the Temple. 48-49 Then he brought me to the entrance hall of the Temple. Ten steps led up to it from the inner court. Its walls extended up on either side to form two pillars, each of them 8-3/4 feet thick. The entrance was 24-1/2 feet wide with 5-1/4-foot walls. Thus the entry hall was 35 feet wide and 19-1/4 feet long.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 40:3 standing beside the Temple gate, implied.
  2. Ezekiel 40:7 18 inches wide, or an 18-inch pillar in front of (or between) the guardrooms, projecting out into the hallway.
  3. Ezekiel 40:19 (which was called “the outer court” of the Temple), implied.
  4. Ezekiel 40:28 Some manuscripts add to this verse: “And the arches around it were 37-1/2 feet by 8-3/4 feet broad.”
  5. Ezekiel 40:29 Verse 30, omitted in the Septuagint and several other of the ancient manuscripts, reads, “There were vestibules round about, and they were 37-1/2 feet long and 8-3/4 feet broad.”
  6. Ezekiel 40:47 in front of the Temple, implied.
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Ezekiel 40
New American Standard Bible

Vision of the Man with a Measuring Rod

40 In the (A)twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the (B)city was [a]taken, on this very day the (C)hand of the Lord was upon me and He brought me there. 2 In the (D)visions of God He brought me into the land of Israel and set me on a very (E)high mountain, and on it (F)to the south there was something like a (G)structure of a city. 3 So He brought me there; and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of (H)bronze, with a (I)thread of flax and a (J)measuring [b]rod in his hand; and he was standing in the gateway. 4 And the man said to me, “(K)Son of man, (L)see with your eyes, hear with your ears, and [c]pay attention to all that I am going to show you; for you have been brought here in order to show it to you. (M)Declare to the house of Israel all that you see.”

Measurements Relating to the Temple

5 And behold, there was a (N)wall on the outside of the [d]temple all around, and in the man’s hand was a measuring rod of six [e]cubits, [f]each of which was a [g]cubit and a hand width. So he measured the thickness of the [h]wall, one rod; and the height, one rod. 6 Then he went to the gate which faced (O)east, went up its steps, and measured the threshold of the gate, one rod [i]in width; and the other threshold was one rod [j]in width. 7 The (P)guardroom was one rod long and one rod wide; and there were five cubits between the guardrooms. And the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate [k]facing inward was one rod. 8 Then he measured the porch of the gate [l]facing inward, one rod. 9 And he measured the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and its side pillars, two cubits. And the porch of the gate was [m]faced inward. 10 The guardrooms of the gate toward the east numbered three on each side; the three of them had the same measurement. The side pillars also had the same measurement on each side. 11 And he measured the width of the [n]gateway, ten cubits, and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits. 12 There was a [o]barrier wall one cubit wide in front of the guardrooms on each side; and the guardrooms were six cubits square on each side. 13 And he measured the gate from the roof of the one guardroom to the roof of the other, a width of twenty-five cubits, from one door to the door opposite. 14 He made the side pillars sixty cubits high; the gate extended all around to the side pillar of the (Q)courtyard. 15 And from the front of the entrance gate to the front of the inner porch of the gate was fifty cubits. 16 And there were [p](R)shuttered windows looking toward the guardrooms, and toward their side pillars within the gate all around, and likewise for the porches. And there were windows all around inside; and on each side pillar were (S)palm tree decorations.

17 Then he brought me into the (T)outer courtyard, and behold, there were (U)chambers and a stone pavement made for the courtyard all around; thirty chambers [q]faced the pavement. 18 And the pavement (that is, the lower pavement) was by the [r]side of the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates. 19 Then he measured the width from the front of the (V)lower gate to the front of the exterior of the inner courtyard, a (W)hundred cubits on the east and on the north.

20 And as for the (X)gate of the outer courtyard which faced north, he measured its length and its width. 21 [s]It had three (Y)guardrooms on each side; and its (Z)side pillars and its porches [t]had the same measurement as the first gate. Its length was (AA)fifty cubits, and the width (AB)twenty-five cubits. 22 Its (AC)windows, its porches, and its palm tree decorations had the same measurements as the (AD)gate which faced east; and [u]it was reached by seven (AE)steps, and its [v]porch was in front of them. 23 The inner courtyard had a gate opposite the gate on the north as well as the gate on the east; and he measured a (AF)hundred cubits from gate to gate.

24 Then he led me toward the south, and behold, there was a (AG)gate toward the south; and he measured its (AH)side pillars and its porches according to [w]those same measurements. 25 [x]The gate and its porches had (AI)windows all around like [y]those other windows; the length was (AJ)fifty cubits and the width, twenty-five cubits. 26 There were seven (AK)steps going up to it, and its porches were in front of them; and it had (AL)palm tree decorations on its side pillars, one on each side. 27 The inner courtyard had a gate toward the (AM)south; and he measured from gate to gate toward the south, a (AN)hundred cubits.

28 Then he brought me to the inner courtyard by the south gate; and he measured the south gate (AO)according to those same measurements. 29 Its (AP)guardrooms also, its side pillars, and its (AQ)porches were according to those same measurements. And [z]the gate and its porches had (AR)windows all around; it was (AS)fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 30 There were (AT)porches all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide. 31 And its porches were toward the outer courtyard; and (AU)palm tree decorations were on its side pillars, and its stairway had eight (AV)steps.

32 Then he brought me into the (AW)inner courtyard toward the east. And he measured the gate (AX)according to those same measurements. 33 Its (AY)guardrooms also, its side pillars, and its porches were according to those same measurements. And [aa]the gate and its porches had (AZ)windows all around; it was (BA)fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 34 Its (BB)porches were toward the outer courtyard; and (BC)palm tree decorations were on its side pillars, on each side, and its stairway had eight (BD)steps.

35 Then he brought me to the (BE)north gate; and he measured it according to those same measurements, 36 with its (BF)guardrooms, its side pillars, and its (BG)porches. And [ab]the gate had (BH)windows all around; the length was (BI)fifty cubits and the width twenty-five cubits. 37 And its side pillars were toward the outer courtyard; and (BJ)palm tree decorations were on its side pillars, on each side, and its stairway had eight (BK)steps.

38 A (BL)chamber with its doorway was by the side pillars at the gates; there they (BM)rinse the burnt offering. 39 And in the porch of the gate were two (BN)tables on each side, on which to slaughter the (BO)burnt offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering. 40 On the outer [ac]side, [ad]as one went up to the [ae]gateway toward the north, were two tables; and on the other [af]side of the porch of the gate were two tables. 41 Four (BP)tables were on each side [ag]next to the gate; eight tables on which they slaughter sacrifices. 42 For the burnt offering there were four (BQ)tables of (BR)cut stone, a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high, on which they set the utensils with which they slaughter the (BS)burnt offering and the sacrifice. 43 And the double [ah]hooks, [ai]one hand width in length, were installed [aj]in the house all around; and on the tables was the flesh of the offering.

44 From the outside to the (BT)inner gate were [ak](BU)chambers for the (BV)singers in the inner courtyard, one of which was at the [al]side of the north gate, with [am]its front toward the south, and one at the [an]side of the [ao]south gate facing north. 45 Then he said to me, “This is the (BW)chamber which faces south, intended for the priests who [ap]are (BX)responsible for the [aq]temple; 46 but the (BY)chamber which faces north is for the priests who [ar]are (BZ)responsible for the altar. They are the (CA)sons of Zadok, who from the sons of Levi (CB)come near to the Lord to serve Him.” 47 He measured the courtyard, a perfect square, a (CC)hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits wide; and the altar was in front of the [as]temple.

48 Then he brought me to the (CD)porch of the [at]temple and measured each side pillar of the porch, five cubits on each side; and the width of the gate was three cubits on each side. 49 The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the width eleven cubits; and at the (CE)stairway by which it was ascended were (CF)columns belonging to the side pillars, one on each side.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 40:1 Lit struck
  2. Ezekiel 40:3 Lit reed, and so throughout the ch
  3. Ezekiel 40:4 Lit set your heart
  4. Ezekiel 40:5 Lit house
  5. Ezekiel 40:5 I.e., “long” cubits, see note 4
  6. Ezekiel 40:5 Lit by the cubit and
  7. Ezekiel 40:5 A cubit and hand width equals about 21 in. or 53 cm
  8. Ezekiel 40:5 Lit building
  9. Ezekiel 40:6 Or in depth
  10. Ezekiel 40:6 Or in depth
  11. Ezekiel 40:7 Lit from the house
  12. Ezekiel 40:8 Lit from the house
  13. Ezekiel 40:9 Lit from the house
  14. Ezekiel 40:11 Lit entrance of the gate
  15. Ezekiel 40:12 Lit border
  16. Ezekiel 40:16 Or beveled inwards
  17. Ezekiel 40:17 Lit to
  18. Ezekiel 40:18 Lit shoulder
  19. Ezekiel 40:21 Lit Its guardrooms were three
  20. Ezekiel 40:21 Lit were
  21. Ezekiel 40:22 Lit they were going up into it
  22. Ezekiel 40:22 Another reading is porches
  23. Ezekiel 40:24 Lit these measurements, and so throughout the ch
  24. Ezekiel 40:25 Lit It
  25. Ezekiel 40:25 Lit these windows
  26. Ezekiel 40:29 Lit it
  27. Ezekiel 40:33 Lit it
  28. Ezekiel 40:36 Lit it
  29. Ezekiel 40:40 Lit shoulder
  30. Ezekiel 40:40 Lit to the one going up
  31. Ezekiel 40:40 Lit entrance of the gate
  32. Ezekiel 40:40 Lit shoulder
  33. Ezekiel 40:41 Lit to the shoulder of
  34. Ezekiel 40:43 Or ledges
  35. Ezekiel 40:43 About 3 in. or 7.5 cm
  36. Ezekiel 40:43 Or inside
  37. Ezekiel 40:44 LXX two chambers
  38. Ezekiel 40:44 Lit shoulder
  39. Ezekiel 40:44 Lit their
  40. Ezekiel 40:44 Lit shoulder
  41. Ezekiel 40:44 As in LXX; MT east
  42. Ezekiel 40:45 Lit keep the duty of
  43. Ezekiel 40:45 Lit house
  44. Ezekiel 40:46 Lit keep the duty of
  45. Ezekiel 40:47 Lit house
  46. Ezekiel 40:48 Lit house
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Ezekiel 39
Ezekiel 41
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