The Vision of the New Temple

40 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day, the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me there. ² He brought me, in visions of God, to the land of Israel, and set me down upon a very high mountain, on which was a structure like a city to the south. ³ When he brought me there, a man was there, whose appearance shone like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring reed in his hand; and he was standing in the gateway. ⁴ The man said to me, ‘Mortal, look closely and listen attentively, and set your mind upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you; declare all that you see to the house of Israel.’

⁵ Now there was a wall all round the outside of the temple area. The length of the measuring reed in the man’s hand was six long cubits, each being a cubit and a handbreadth in length; so he measured the thickness of the wall, one reed; and the height, one reed. ⁶ Then he went into the gateway facing east, going up its steps, and measured the threshold of the gate, one reed deep.^[a] There were ⁷ recesses, and each recess was one reed wide and one reed deep; and the space between the recesses, five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the vestibule of the gate at the inner end was one reed deep. ⁸ Then he measured the inner vestibule of the gateway, one cubit. ⁹ Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, eight cubits; and its pilasters, two cubits; and the vestibule of the gate was at the inner end. ¹⁰ There were three recesses on either side of the east gate; the three were of the same size; and the pilasters on either side were of the same size. ¹¹ Then he measured the width of the opening of the gateway, ten cubits; and the width of the gateway, thirteen cubits. ¹² There was a barrier before the recesses, one cubit on either side; and the recesses were six cubits on either side. ¹³ Then he measured the gate from the back^[b] of one recess to the back^[c] of the other, a width of twenty-five cubits, from wall to wall.^{[d] 14} He measured^[e] also the vestibule, twenty cubits; and the gate next to the pilaster on every side of the court.^{[f] 15} From the front of the gate at the entrance to the end of the inner vestibule of the gate was fifty cubits. ¹⁶ The recesses and their pilasters had windows, with shutters^[g] on the inside of the gateway all round, and the vestibules also had windows on the inside all round; and on the pilasters were palm trees.

¹⁷ Then he brought me into the outer court; there were chambers there, and a pavement, all round the court; thirty chambers fronted on the pavement. ¹⁸ The pavement ran along the side of the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates; this was the lower pavement. ¹⁹ Then he measured the distance from the inner front of^[h] the lower gate to the outer front of the inner court, one hundred cubits.^[i]

²⁰ Then he measured the gate of the outer court that faced north—its depth and width. ²¹ Its recesses, three on either side, and its pilasters and its vestibule were of the same size as those of the first gate; its depth was fifty cubits, and its width twenty-five cubits. ²² Its windows, its vestibule, and its palm trees were of the same size as those of the gate that faced towards the east. Seven steps led up to it; and its vestibule was on the inside.^{[j] 23} Opposite the gate on the north, as on the east, was a gate to the inner court; he measured from gate to gate, one hundred cubits.

²⁴ Then he led me towards the south, and there was a gate on the south; and he measured its pilasters and its vestibule; they had the same dimensions as the others. ²⁵ There were windows all round in it and in its vestibule, like the windows of the others; its depth was fifty cubits, and its width twenty-five cubits. ²⁶ There were seven steps leading up to it; its vestibule was on the inside.^[k] It had palm trees on its pilasters, one on either side. ²⁷ There was a gate on the south of the inner court; and he measured from gate to gate towards the south, one hundred cubits.

²⁸ Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate, and he measured the south gate; it was of the same dimensions as the others. ²⁹ Its recesses, its pilasters, and its vestibule were of the same size as the others; and there were windows all round in it and in its vestibule; its depth was fifty cubits, and its width twenty-five cubits. ³⁰ There were vestibules all round, twenty-five cubits deep and five cubits wide. ³¹ Its vestibule faced the outer court, and palm trees were on its pilasters, and its stairway had eight steps.

³² Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side, and he measured the gate; it was of the same size as the others. ³³ Its recesses, its pilasters, and its vestibule were of the same dimensions as the others; and there were windows all round in it and in its vestibule; its depth was fifty cubits, and its width twenty-five cubits. ³⁴ Its vestibule faced the outer court, and it had palm trees on its pilasters, on either side; and its stairway had eight steps.

³⁵ Then he brought me to the north gate, and he measured it; it had the same dimensions as the others. ³⁶ Its recesses, its pilasters, and its vestibule were of the same size as the others;^[l] and it had windows all round. Its depth was fifty cubits, and its width twenty-five cubits. ³⁷ Its vestibule^[m] faced the outer court, and it had palm trees on its pilasters, on either side; and its stairway had eight steps.

³⁸ There was a chamber with its door in the vestibule of the gate,^[n] where the burnt-offering was to be washed. ³⁹ And in the vestibule of the gate were two tables on either side, on which the burnt-offering and the sin-offering and the guilt-offering were to be slaughtered. ⁴⁰ On the outside of the vestibule^[o] at the entrance of the north gate were two tables; and on the other side of the vestibule of the gate were two tables. ⁴¹ Four tables were on the inside, and four tables on the outside of the side of the gate, eight tables, on which the sacrifices were to be slaughtered. ⁴² There were also four tables of hewn stone for the burnt-offering, a cubit and a half long, and one cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high, on which the instruments were to be laid with which the burnt-offerings and the sacrifices were slaughtered. ⁴³ There were pegs, one handbreadth long, fastened all round the inside. And on the tables the flesh of the offering was to be laid.

⁴⁴ On the outside of the inner gateway there were chambers for the singers in the inner court, one^[p] at the side of the north gate facing south, the other at the side of the east gate facing north. ⁴⁵ He said to me, ‘This chamber that faces south is for the priests who have charge of the temple, ⁴⁶ and the chamber that faces north is for the priests who have charge of the altar; these are the descendants of Zadok, who alone among the descendants of Levi may come near to the Lord to minister to him.’ ⁴⁷ He measured the court, one hundred cubits deep, and one hundred cubits wide, a square; and the altar was in front of the temple.

The Temple

⁴⁸ Then he brought me to the vestibule of the temple and measured the pilasters of the vestibule, five cubits on either side; and the width of the gate was fourteen cubits; and the side walls of the gate were three cubits^[q] on either side. ⁴⁹ The depth of the vestibule was twenty cubits, and the width twelve^[r] cubits; ten steps led up^[s] to it; and there were pillars beside the pilasters on either side.

41 Then he brought me to the nave, and measured the pilasters; on each side six cubits was the width of the pilasters.^{[t] 2} The width of the entrance was ten cubits; and the side walls of the entrance were five cubits on either side. He measured the length of the nave, forty cubits, and its width, twenty cubits. ³ Then he went into the inner room and measured the pilasters of the entrance, two cubits; and the width of the entrance, six cubits; and the side walls^[u] of the entrance, seven cubits. ⁴ He measured the depth of the room, twenty cubits, and its width, twenty cubits, beyond the nave. And he said to me, This is the most holy place.

⁵ Then he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits thick; and the width of the side chambers, four cubits, all round the temple. ⁶ The side chambers were in three stories, one over another, thirty in each story. There were offsets^[v] all round the wall of the temple to serve as supports for the side chambers, so that they should not be supported by the wall of the temple. ⁷ The passageway^[w] of the side chambers widened from story to story; for the structure was supplied with a stairway all round the temple. For this reason the structure became wider from story to story. One ascended from the bottom story to the uppermost story by way of the middle one. ⁸ I saw also that the temple had a raised platform all around; the foundations of the side chambers measured a full reed of six long cubits. ⁹ The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits; and the free space between the side chambers of the temple ¹⁰ and the chambers of the court was a width of twenty cubits all round the temple on every side. ¹¹ The side chambers opened on to the area left free, one door towards the north, and another door towards the south; and the width of the part that was left free was five cubits all round.

¹² The building that was facing the temple yard on the west side was seventy cubits wide; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick all round, and its depth ninety cubits.

¹³ Then he measured the temple, one hundred cubits deep; and the yard and the building with its walls, one hundred cubits deep; ¹⁴ also the width of the east front of the temple and the yard, one hundred cubits.

¹⁵ Then he measured the depth of the building facing the yard at the west, together with its galleries^[x] on either side, one hundred cubits.

The nave of the temple and the inner room and the outer^[y] vestibule ¹⁶ were panelled,^[z] and, all round, all three had windows with recessed^[aa] frames. Facing the threshold the temple was panelled with wood all round, from the floor up to the windows (now the windows were covered), ¹⁷ to the space above the door, even to the inner room, and on the outside. And on all the walls all round in the inner room and the nave there was a pattern.^{[ab] 18} It was formed of cherubim and palm trees, a palm tree between cherub and cherub. Each cherub had two faces: ¹⁹ a human face turned towards the palm tree on one side, and the face of a young lion turned towards the palm tree on the other side. They were carved on the whole temple all round; ²⁰ from the floor to the area above the door, cherubim and palm trees were carved on the wall.^[ac]

²¹ The doorposts of the nave were square. In front of the holy place was something resembling ²² an altar of wood, three cubits high, two cubits long, and two cubits wide;^[ad] its corners, its base,^[ae] and its walls were of wood. He said to me, ‘This is the table that stands before the Lord.’ ²³ The nave and the holy place had each a double door. ²⁴ The doors had two leaves apiece, two swinging leaves for each door. ²⁵ On the doors of the nave were carved cherubim and palm trees, such as were carved on the walls; and there was a canopy of wood in front of the vestibule outside. ²⁶ And there were recessed windows and palm trees on either side, on the side walls of the vestibule.^[af]

The Holy Chambers and the Outer Wall

42 Then he led me out into the outer court, towards the north, and he brought me to the chambers that were opposite the temple yard and opposite the building on the north. ² The length of the building that was on the north side^[ag] was^[ah] one hundred cubits, and the width fifty cubits. ³ Across the twenty cubits that belonged to the inner court, and facing the pavement that belonged to the outer court, the chambers rose^[ai] gallery^[aj] by gallery^[ak] in three stories. ⁴ In front of the chambers was a passage on the inner side, ten cubits wide and one hundred cubits deep,^[al] and its^[am] entrances were on the north. ⁵ Now the upper chambers were narrower, for the galleries^[an] 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^[ao] court; for this reason the upper chambers were set back from the ground more than the lower and the middle ones. ⁷ There was a wall outside parallel to the chambers, towards 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. ⁹ At the foot of these chambers ran a passage that one entered from the east in order to enter them from the outer court. ¹⁰ The width of the passage^[ap] was fixed by the wall of the court.

On the south^[aq] 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^[ar] 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.^[as]

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 sin-offering, and the guilt-offering—for the place is holy. 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.’

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 round. ¹⁶ He measured the east side with the measuring reed, five hundred cubits by the measuring reed. ¹⁷ Then he turned and measured^[at] the north side, five hundred cubits by the measuring reed. ¹⁸ Then he turned and measured^[au] 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.