Beginning

A Vision of the New Temple^[a]

40 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year,^[b] 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 came upon me, and he brought me there. ² In visions of God, he brought me to the land of Israel and set me down on a very high mountain. On the south side there was a structure that resembled a city. ³ When he brought me there, I saw a man who looked as if he were made of bronze. In his hand he had a linen cord and a measuring rod. He was standing by the gatehouse.

⁴ The man said to me, “Son of man, watch carefully, listen carefully, and pay attention to^[c] everything that I am about to show you, because you were brought here so that I could show it to you. Report everything you see to the house of Israel.”

The Wall and Outer Gates
The Wall

⁵ I saw a wall^[d] all the way around the temple compound. In the man’s hand was the measuring rod, six cubits long (using the long cubit).^[e] When he measured the thickness of the structure, it was one rod thick, and its height was one rod.

The East Gatehouse

⁶ Then he approached the gatehouse^[f] that was on the east side of the temple compound and went up its steps. He measured the threshold of the gate. It was one rod deep.^{[g] 7} Each guardroom^[h] was one rod wide and one rod deep. Between the guardrooms, the walls were five cubits thick,^[i] and the threshold of the gate of the vestibule^[j] on the inner side of the gatehouse was one rod deep. ⁸ ⎣He measured the vestibule on the inner side of the gatehouse. It was one rod.⎦^[k]

⁹ He measured the vestibule of the gatehouse, which was eight cubits,^[l] and its gateposts were two cubits. The vestibule of the gatehouse was located at the inner end of the gateway. ¹⁰ Inside the east gatehouse, there were three guardrooms on either side of the entry. All three were the same size, and the gateposts on either side were also the same size. ¹¹ Then he measured the width of the entry into the gateway. It was ten cubits, and the length of the gateway was thirteen cubits.^{[m] 12} There was a barrier in front of the guardrooms, one cubit wide, on both sides of the passage. Each guardroom was six cubits square.^[n]

¹³ Next he measured the passageway through the gatehouse, from the outside edge of the ceiling of one guardroom to the outside edge of the ceiling opposite it. The total width was twenty-five cubits.^[o] The doorways to the guardrooms were facing each other on each side of the passageway. ¹⁴ He determined that the measurement of the gateposts was sixty cubits,^[p] and the courtyard all around the gateway reached to the gateposts.^{[q] 15} From the front of the outer entrance of the gateway to the outside edge of the vestibule on the inner side of the gateway was fifty cubits.^{[r] 16} The guardrooms and their doorposts had openings on all sides. The openings were slits that were narrower toward the inside of the gate, and likewise, the vestibule had openings that narrowed toward the inside all the way around.^[s] The doorposts had decorations like palm trees.

The Outer Courtyard

¹⁷ Then he brought me into the outer courtyard. There were rooms and a pavement constructed all the way around the courtyard. Thirty rooms faced the pavement.^{[t] 18} The pavement ran along the sides of the gates. The pavement was as wide as the length of the gatehouse. This was the lower pavement. ¹⁹ He measured the width of the pavement from the inside edge of the outer gatehouse to the outside edge of the inner courtyard. It measured one hundred cubits^[u] on the east and on the north sides of the temple.

The North Gatehouse

²⁰ There was a gateway leading into the outer courtyard on the north side. The man measured its length and its width. ²¹ Its guardrooms, three on each side, its gateposts, and its vestibule had the same measurements as the first gatehouse, fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ²² The entry, the vestibule, and its palm decorations also had the same measurements as those of the gatehouse facing east. From outside the temple compound one could enter the gate by seven steps, and the vestibule of the gateway was straight ahead at the inner end of the gateway.

²³ A gateway into the inner courtyard was opposite the outer gatehouse (the same as on the east side), and he measured from the outer gate to the inner one opposite it. The distance was one hundred cubits.^[v]

The South Gatehouse

²⁴ Next, he led me toward the south, and there also was a gatehouse on the south side of the temple compound. He measured its gateposts and its vestibule, and the measurements were like the others. ²⁵ It and its vestibule had openings all around like the openings of the others. Its length was fifty cubits and its width was twenty-five cubits. ²⁶ It had seven steps going up to it, and its vestibule was straight ahead of them at the opposite end of the gateway, and it had palm decorations on either side on its gateposts. ²⁷ The inner courtyard also had a gateway facing south. He measured from one gate to the other toward the south. It was one hundred cubits.

The Gates to the Inner Courtyard

²⁸ Then he brought me into the inner courtyard through its south gate.^[w] He measured this gatehouse on the south side of the inner courtyard. Its measurements were like those of the previous gatehouses. ²⁹ Its guardrooms, gateposts, and vestibule had the same measurements as the others. Both the gatehouse and the vestibule had openings all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.

³⁰ There were vestibules on each side of the inner courtyard. They were twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide.^{[x] 31} The vestibule of the inner gatehouse faced the outer courtyard. There were palm decorations on its gateposts, and its stairway had eight steps.

³² Next he brought me into the inner courtyard through the gate facing east. He measured the gatehouse, and its dimensions were the same as the others. ³³ Its guardrooms, gateposts, and vestibule were the same size as the others. It and its vestibule had openings all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁴ Its vestibule faced the outer court, and there were palm decorations on its gateposts on either side. Its stairs had eight steps.

³⁵ Then he brought me to the north gatehouse and measured it. It had the same measurements as the others. ³⁶ This was also true of its guardrooms, its gateposts, and its vestibule. It had openings all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁷ Its vestibule faced the outer courtyard, and there were palm decorations on its gateposts on either side. Its stairway had eight steps.

Rooms of the Inner Courtyard

³⁸ There was a room with a door, next to the gateposts at each of the inner gateways,^[y] where they washed the burnt offering.^[z]

³⁹ Inside the vestibule of the gateway, on each side, there were two tables upon which to slaughter the whole burnt offering, the sin offering, and the restitution offering. ⁴⁰ Next to the outside wall of the vestibule, as one goes toward the entrance of the north gateway, there were two more tables. Next to the other outside wall of the vestibule of the gateway were two more tables. ⁴¹ That is, there were four tables on one side and four on the other side of the gateway—eight tables on which they were to slaughter the sacrifices.

⁴² Four more tables for the burnt offering were made of hewn stone. They were one and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one cubit high. On them they placed the instruments with which they slaughtered the burnt offering and the other sacrifices. ⁴³ Double-pronged hooks, each a handbreadth^[aa] long, were fastened to the building all around, but the meat for the sacrifice was placed on the tables.

⁴⁴ Just outside of the inner gateway, in the inner courtyard, were two rooms,^[ab] one beside the north gate, which faced south, and the other beside the south^[ac] gate, which faced north. ⁴⁵ He said to me, “This room that faces south is for the priests who guard the temple, ⁴⁶ and the room that faces north is for the priests who guard the altar. They are descendants of Zadok, the only Levites who may approach the Lord to minister to him.”

The Inner Courtyard

⁴⁷ Then he measured the courtyard.^[ad] It was one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide^[ae]—a square. The altar was in front of the temple.

The Temple Building
The Vestibule

⁴⁸ Next he brought me to the vestibule of the temple building.^[af] He measured each doorpost of the vestibule: five cubits^[ag] on either side. The width of the gate was ⎣fourteen cubits.^[ah] The sides of the gate were⎦ three cubits^[ai] on either side.^{[aj] 49} The length of the vestibule was twenty cubits, and its width was eleven cubits.^[ak] One entered it by ten^[al] steps, and there were pillars by the doorposts, one on either side.

The Rooms of the Temple

41 Then he brought me to the outer room of the sanctuary^[am] and measured the doorposts, six cubits^[an] wide on either side. This was the width of the Tent.^{[ao] 2} The width of the entrance was ten cubits,^[ap] and the side walls of the entrance were five cubits^[aq] on either side. Then he measured the outer room’s length, forty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits.^[ar]

³ Then he entered the inner room of the sanctuary^[as] and measured the doorposts of its entrance, two cubits, and the width of the entrance was six cubits, and the side walls of the entrance were seven cubits on either side.^{[at] 4} He measured its length, twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits,^[au] the same as the width of the outer room. Then he said to me, “This is the Holy of Holies.”

⁵ Next he measured the wall of the temple building. It was six cubits thick, and the width of each side room was four cubits. The side rooms^[av] ran all around the temple. ⁶ The side rooms were stacked on top of one another, in three stories, with thirty rooms in each story. The floors of the side rooms rested on ledges attached to the wall of the temple all the way around, so that the supports for the rooms would not cut into the temple wall itself. ⁷ The side rooms all around the temple became wider as one went up from story to story, because their supporting ledges in the wall of the temple ascended like steps. Therefore, the width of the interior of the attached structure increased as one went up from the lowest story to the highest by way of the middle story.^[aw]

The Platform and Courtyard

⁸ I saw a raised platform all around the temple that served as a foundation for the side rooms. The terrace built on this foundation, measured by a full rod, was six long cubits tall.^{[ax] 9} The thickness of the outer wall of the side rooms was five cubits. The open area^[ay] between the side rooms attached to the temple ¹⁰ and the other rooms on the other side of the inner courtyard was twenty cubits wide^[az] all around the temple. ¹¹ There were entrances into the side rooms from the open area, one entrance on the north side, one on the south. The width of the terrace^[ba] bordering the open area was five cubits all around.^[bb]

¹² The building^[bc] on the far side of the restricted area^[bd] on the western side of the temple was seventy cubits wide.^[be] The wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length was ninety cubits.^[bf]

¹³ Then he measured the temple building. Its length was one hundred cubits.^[bg] The restricted area and the building with its walls also had a length of one hundred cubits. ¹⁴ The width of the area in front of the temple, including the restricted areas east of the temple, was one hundred cubits as well. ¹⁵ He also measured the length of the building facing the restricted area at the rear of the temple, along with its balconies on either side. It was one hundred cubits.

The Interior Decoration

The outer and inner rooms of the sanctuary,^[bh] the vestibules of the courtyard, ¹⁶ the thresholds, and the windows with slanting frames, as well as the balconies around the three sides, opposite the threshold, were paneled with wood all the way around, from the floor to the upper windows, and the windows were covered with lattices.^{[bi] 17} The paneling extended up to the space above the entrance, both in the inner and outer sanctuary. On all the walls all around, in both the inner and outer sanctuary, there were geometric patterns,^{[bj] 18} carved cherubim, and decorations like palms. There was a palm decoration between each cherub and its neighbor. Each cherub had two faces: ¹⁹ the face of a man turned toward the palm on one side and the face of a lion turned toward the palm on the other side. They were carved all around the whole temple. ²⁰ From the floor up to the space above the entrance, cherubim and palms were carved, even on the walls of the outer room of the sanctuary.^{[bk] 21} As for the outer room of the sanctuary, its doorposts were square, and the front of the Holy of Holies had the same design.

The Altar in the Temple

²² The altar was made of wood, three cubits high. Its length was two cubits, and its width was two cubits.^[bl] Its corners, its base,^[bm] and its sides were also of wood. He said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.”

²³ Both the outer room of the sanctuary and the Holy of Holies had double doors. ²⁴ The doors had two leaves apiece, two folding leaves—two for one door and two leaves for the other door. ²⁵ Carved on the doors of the outer room there were cherubim and palm decorations, like those carved on the walls. Outside there was a wooden canopy in front of the vestibule. ²⁶ There were also windows narrowing toward the inside and palm decorations on both side walls of the vestibule. The side rooms of the temple also had canopies.

Rooms North of the Temple

42 Then he led me out into the outer courtyard which was north of the temple building, and he brought me to a set of rooms which bordered on the south side of the restricted area and was north of the structure of the temple building.^{[bn] 2} This building north of the temple, which had doors facing north, was one hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide.^[bo]

³ On each side of the north courtyard, across from the twenty cubits that belonged to the inner courtyard on the south side and across from the pavement that belonged to the outer courtyard on the north side, two sets of balconies faced each other.^[bp] Each was three stories high.^{[bq] 4} In front of the rooms on the inside of the courtyard was a walkway^[br] ten cubits wide and one hundred cubits long.^[bs] The entrances of the rooms faced north.^[bt]

⁵ The upper rooms were narrower, because the balconies took more space away from them than from the building’s bottom and middle floors. ⁶ These rooms were arranged in three stories and had no pillars like the pillars in the courtyards, so as you went up from ground level, the upper story had to be set back more than the lower and middle ones.^[bu]

⁷ There was a wall in the outer courtyard, which ran parallel to the rooms on the east side.^[bv] It was fifty cubits long. ⁸ The length of the set of rooms on the east side of the building facing toward the outer courtyard was fifty cubits, but the length of those on the north side was one hundred cubits long.^{[bw] 9} On the bottom floor of these rooms on the east end of the building, there was an entrance, through which one could enter them from the outer courtyard.^[bx]

The Same Rooms on the South Side

¹⁰ At the head of the wall of the courtyard,^[by] on the south^[bz] side of the temple, opposite the restricted area and opposite the building, there were rooms. ¹¹ They also had a passageway in front of them. They looked just like the rooms on the north. They were the same length and also the same width, and they were the same in regard to all their exits, their designs, and their entrances. ¹² Also identical were the entrances to the rooms on the south, at the head of the passageway, that is, the passageway opposite the corresponding wall, as one enters them from the east.

¹³ Then he said to me, “The northern and southern rooms in front of the restricted area are holy rooms where the priests who approach the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. There they will deposit the most holy offerings, the grain offering, the sin offering, and the restitution offering, for the place is holy. ¹⁴ When the priests go to enter these rooms, they must not go out from the holy place into the outer courtyard until they have put away their vestments in which they have ministered there, because the vestments are holy. They must put on other clothing before they approach the area that is for the people.”

¹⁵ In this way the man finished the measurements of the interior of the temple complex. Then he led me out through the gate on the east side of the temple complex and measured the temple area all the way around. ¹⁶ He measured the east side using the measuring rod. It measured five hundred cubits,^[ca] using canes, that is, the measuring rod. ¹⁷ Then he turned and measured the north side. It was five hundred cubits, using canes, that is, the measuring rod. ¹⁸ Then he turned and measured the south side. It was five hundred cubits, using canes, that is, the measuring rod. ¹⁹ He turned to the west side and measured again. It also was five hundred cubits, using canes, that is, the measuring rod. ²⁰ Thus he measured the temple area on all four sides. It had a wall all the way around it. It was five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, in order to separate the holy from the common.