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The Altar

13 “And these are the measurements of the altar:[a] Its base[b] is 1¾ feet[c] high[d] and 1¾ feet[e] wide, and its border nine inches[f] on its edge. This is to be the height[g] of the altar. 14 From the base of the ground to the lower ledge is 3½ feet,[h] and the width 1¾ feet;[i] and from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge, 7 feet,[j] and the width 1¾ feet; 15 and the altar hearth, 7 feet, and from the altar hearth four horns projecting upward. 16 Now the altar hearth[k] is a perfect square, 21 feet[l] long and 21 feet wide. 17 The ledge is 24½ feet[m] long and 24½ feet wide on four sides; the border around it is 10½ inches,[n] and its surrounding base 1¾ feet.[o] Its steps face east.”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 43:13 tn Heb “the measurements of the altar by cubits, the cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth.” The measuring units here and in the remainder of this section are the Hebrew “long” cubit, consisting of a cubit (about 18 inches or 45 cm) and a handbreadth (about 3 inches or 7.5 cm), for a total of 21 inches (52.5 cm). Because modern readers are not familiar with the cubit as a unit of measurement, and due to the additional complication of the “long” cubit as opposed to the regular cubit, all measurements have been converted to American standard feet and inches, with the Hebrew measurements and the metric equivalents given in the notes. On the altar see Ezek 40:47.
  2. Ezekiel 43:13 tn The Hebrew term normally means “bosom.” Here it refers to a hollow in the ground.
  3. Ezekiel 43:13 tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm).
  4. Ezekiel 43:13 tn The word “high” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
  5. Ezekiel 43:13 tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm).
  6. Ezekiel 43:13 tn Heb “one span.” A span was three handbreadths, or about nine inches (i.e., 22.5 cm).
  7. Ezekiel 43:13 tc Heb “bulge, protuberance, mound.” The translation follows the LXX.
  8. Ezekiel 43:14 tn Heb “2 cubits” (i.e., 1.05 meters).
  9. Ezekiel 43:14 tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm; the phrase occurs again later in this verse).
  10. Ezekiel 43:14 tn Heb “4 cubits” (i.e., 2.1 meters; the phrase also occurs in the next verse).
  11. Ezekiel 43:16 tn The precise Hebrew word used here to refer to an “altar hearth” occurs only here in the OT.
  12. Ezekiel 43:16 tn Heb “12 cubits” (i.e., 6.3 meters; the phrase occurs twice in this verse).
  13. Ezekiel 43:17 tn Heb “fourteen”; the word “cubits” is not in the Hebrew text but is understood from the context; the phrase occurs again later in this verse. Fourteen cubits is about 7.35 meters.
  14. Ezekiel 43:17 tn Heb “half a cubit” (i.e., 26.25 cm).
  15. Ezekiel 43:17 tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm).

13 And these are the measurements of the altar in the cubits[a] (a cubit is a cubit and a handbreadth):[b] now its gutter[c] is a cubit[d] in depth by a cubit[e] in width[f] and its rim along its edge all around is one span,[g] and this is also the height of the altar. 14 And from the gutter[h] at the ground up to the lower ledge is two cubits,[i] and its width is one cubit,[j] and from the small ledge up to the large ledge is four cubits,[k] and its width is one cubit. 15 And the altar hearth was four cubits,[l] and from the altar hearth and upwards[m] were the four horns of the altar. 16 And the altar hearth was twelve[n] cubits in length and twelve[o] cubits in width[p]; it was squared on its four sides.[q] 17 And the ledge was fourteen[r] cubits in length with fourteen[s] cubits its width[t] to all four of its sides, and a rim was all around it of one-half cubit.[u] And the gutter[v] for it was a cubit[w] all around, and its steps were facing east.”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 43:13 Or “in long cubits”
  2. Ezekiel 43:13 That is, about 18 inches (regular cubit) + 3 inches = 21 inches (long cubit)
  3. Ezekiel 43:13 Or “trench” (NJPS)
  4. Ezekiel 43:13 That is, 21 inches
  5. Ezekiel 43:13 That is, 21 inches
  6. Ezekiel 43:13 Literally “the cubit and cubit its width”
  7. Ezekiel 43:13 That is, 9 inches
  8. Ezekiel 43:14 Or “trench”
  9. Ezekiel 43:14 That is, 3 feet 6 inches
  10. Ezekiel 43:14 That is, 21 inches
  11. Ezekiel 43:14 That is, 7 feet
  12. Ezekiel 43:15 That is, 7 feet
  13. Ezekiel 43:15 Literally “and to above”
  14. Ezekiel 43:16 Literally “two ten”
  15. Ezekiel 43:16 Literally “two ten”
  16. Ezekiel 43:16 That is, 21 feet square
  17. Ezekiel 43:16 Literally “squared to the four of its sides”
  18. Ezekiel 43:17 Literally “four ten”
  19. Ezekiel 43:17 Literally “four ten”
  20. Ezekiel 43:17 That is, 24.5 feet on all four sides, a square
  21. Ezekiel 43:17 That is, 10.5 inches
  22. Ezekiel 43:17 Or “trench”
  23. Ezekiel 43:17 That is, 21 inches