Lamedh

Mem

Vision of the New Temple

40 ^(A)In the twenty-fifth year ^(B)of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, ^(C)in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day, ^(D)the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me to the city.^{[a] 2} In ^(E)visions of God he brought me to the land of Israel, and set me down on ^(F)a very high mountain, on which was a structure like a city to the south. ³ When he brought me there, behold, there was ^(G)a man whose appearance was ^(H)like bronze, with ^(I)a linen cord and ^(J)a measuring reed in his hand. And he was standing in the gateway. ⁴ And the man said to me, ^(K)“Son of man, ^(L)look with your eyes, and ^(M)hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you. ^(N)Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.”

The East Gate to the Outer Court

⁵ And behold, there was ^(O)a wall all around the outside of the temple area, and the length of the measuring reed in the man's hand was six long cubits, ^(P)each being a cubit and a handbreadth^[b] in length. So he measured the thickness of the wall, one reed; and the height, one reed. ⁶ Then he went into ^(Q)the gateway facing east, ^(R)going up its steps, and measured the threshold of the gate, one reed deep.^{[c] 7} And ^(S)the side rooms, one reed long and one reed broad; and the space between the side rooms, five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the vestibule of the gate at the inner end, one reed. ⁸ Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, on the inside, one reed. ⁹ Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, eight cubits; ^(T)and its jambs, two cubits; and the vestibule of the gate was at the inner end. ¹⁰ And there were three side rooms on either side of the east gate. ^(U)The three were of the same size, and the jambs on either side were of the same size. ¹¹ Then he measured the width of the opening of the gateway, ten cubits; and the length of the gateway, thirteen cubits. ¹² There was a barrier before the side rooms, one cubit on either side. And the side rooms were six cubits on either side. ¹³ Then he measured the gate from the ceiling of the one side room to the ceiling of the other, a breadth of twenty-five cubits; the openings faced each other. ¹⁴ He measured also ^(V)the vestibule, sixty cubits. And around the vestibule of the gateway was the court.^{[d] 15} From the front of the gate at the entrance to the front of the inner vestibule of the gate was fifty cubits. ¹⁶ And the gateway had ^(W)windows all around, narrowing inwards toward the side rooms and toward their ^(X)jambs, and likewise the vestibule had windows all around inside, and on the jambs were ^(Y)palm trees.

The Outer Court

¹⁷ Then he brought me into ^(Z)the outer court. And behold, there were ^(AA)chambers and a ^(AB)pavement, all around the court. ^(AC)Thirty chambers faced the pavement. ¹⁸ And 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 the lower gate to the outer front of the inner court,^[e] a hundred cubits on the east side and on the north side.^[f]

The North Gate

²⁰ As for ^(AD)the gate that faced toward the north, belonging to ^(AE)the outer court, he measured its length and its breadth. ²¹ Its ^(AF)side rooms, three on either side, and its jambs and its vestibule were of the same size as those of ^(AG)the first gate. Its length was ^(AH)fifty cubits, and its breadth ^(AI)twenty-five cubits. ²² And ^(AJ)its windows, its vestibule, and ^(AK)its palm trees were of the same size as those of the gate that faced toward the east. And by seven steps ^(AL)people would go up to it, and find its vestibule before them. ²³ And opposite the gate on the north, as on the east, was a gate to ^(AM)the inner court. And ^(AN)he measured from gate to gate, a hundred cubits.

The South Gate

²⁴ And he led me toward the south, and behold, there was a gate on the south. And ^(AO)he measured its jambs and its vestibule; they had the same size as the others. ²⁵ Both it and its vestibule ^(AP)had windows all around, like the windows of the others. Its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth twenty-five cubits. ²⁶ And there were seven steps leading up to it, and its vestibule was before them, and it had ^(AQ)palm trees on its jambs, one on either side. ²⁷ And there was a gate on the south of ^(AR)the inner court. And he measured from gate to gate toward the south, a hundred cubits.

The Inner Court

²⁸ Then he brought me to ^(AS)the inner court through the south gate, and ^(AT)he measured the south gate. It was of the same size as the others. ²⁹ Its ^(AU)side rooms, its jambs, and its vestibule were of the same size as the others, and both it and its vestibule ^(AV)had windows all around. ^(AW)Its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth twenty-five cubits. ³⁰ And there were vestibules all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits broad. ³¹ Its vestibule faced the outer court, and ^(AX)palm trees were on its jambs, and ^(AY)its stairway had eight steps.

³² Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side, and ^(AZ)he measured the gate. It was of the same size as the others. ³³ Its side rooms, its jambs, and its vestibule were of the same size as the others, and both it and its vestibule had windows all around. Its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth twenty-five cubits. ^34 (BA)Its vestibule faced the outer court, and it had palm trees on its jambs, on either side, and its stairway had eight steps.

³⁵ Then he brought me to ^(BB)the north gate, and ^(BC)he measured it. It had the same size as the others. ³⁶ Its side rooms, its jambs, and its vestibule were of the same size as the others,^[g] and it had windows all around. Its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth twenty-five cubits. ³⁷ Its vestibule^[h] faced the outer court, and it had palm trees on its jambs, on either side, and its stairway had eight steps.

³⁸ There was ^(BD)a chamber with its door in the vestibule of the gate,^{[i] (BE)}where the burnt offering was to be washed. ³⁹ And in the vestibule of the gate were two ^(BF)tables on either side, on which the ^(BG)burnt offering and the ^(BH)sin offering and the ^(BI)guilt offering were to be slaughtered. ⁴⁰ And off to the side, on the outside as one goes up to the entrance of the north gate, were two tables; and off to the other side of the vestibule of the gate were two tables. ^41 (BJ)Four tables were on either side of the gate, eight tables, ^(BK)on which to slaughter. ⁴² And there were four tables ^(BL)of hewn stone for the burnt offering, a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high, on which the instruments were to be laid with which the ^(BM)burnt offerings and the sacrifices were slaughtered. ⁴³ And hooks,^[j] a handbreadth long, were fastened all around within. And on the tables the flesh of the offering was to be laid.

Oaths

³³ “Again ^(A)you have heard that it was said to those of old, ^(B)‘You shall not swear falsely, but ^(C)shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, ^(D)Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for ^(E)it is the throne of God, ³⁵ or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is ^(F)the city of the great King. ³⁶ And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷ Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; ^(G)anything more than this comes from evil.^[a]

Retaliation

^38 (H)“You have heard that it was said, ^(I)‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹ But I say to you, ^(J)Do not resist the one who is evil. But ^(K)if anyone ^(L)slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰ And ^(M)if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,^[b] let him have your cloak as well. ⁴¹ And if anyone ^(N)forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. ^42 (O)Give to the one who begs from you, and ^(P)do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Love Your Enemies

^43 (Q)“You have heard that it was said, ^(R)‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, ^(S)Love your enemies and ^(T)pray for those who persecute you, ^45 (U)so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and ^(V)sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ^46 (W)For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers,^[c] what more are you doing than others? Do not even ^(X)the Gentiles do the same? ^48 (Y)You therefore must be ^(Z)perfect, ^(AA)as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Giving to the Needy

6 “Beware of ^(AB)practicing your righteousness before other people in order ^(AC)to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

^2 (AD)“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may ^(AE)be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have ^(AF)received their reward. ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. ^(AG)And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.