The Daily Audio Bible

²⁸ Then I followed him to the inner court across from the south gate. He took measurements of the gate complex and discovered it had the exact same dimensions as the others. ²⁹ Its chambers, columns, and porticos were the exact same as the others. The gate and its porticos had the same kind of windows with multiple recessed frames all around. It was 87½ feet long and 43¾ feet wide. ³⁰ The interior gate had porticos all around that were 43¾ feet wide and 8¾ feet deep. ³¹ Eight steps led up to its porticos, which faced the outer courtyard. Palm trees decorated the columns.

³² Then I followed my guide to the inner courtyard on the eastern side, and he took measurements of the gate complex and discovered it had the exact same measurements as the others. ³³ Its chambers, columns, and porticos were the exact same as the others. The gate and its porticos had the same kind of windows with multiple recessed frames all around. It was 87½ feet long and 43¾ feet wide. ³⁴ Eight steps led up to its porticos, which faced the outer courtyard. Palm trees decorated the columns.

³⁵ Then I followed the man around the inner court to the interior north gate. He took measurements and discovered it had the exact same measurements as the others. ³⁶ Its chambers, columns, and porticos were the exact same as the others. The gate had windows with multiple recessed frames all around. It was 87½ feet long and 43¾ feet wide. ³⁷ Eight steps led up to its porticos, which faced the outer courtyard. Palm trees decorated the columns.

³⁸ Near the porticos in each of the inner gates was a chamber with a doorway. There the burnt offerings were cleansed after their slaughter but before their offering. ³⁹ Inside of the portico, there were four tables (two on each side) where the whole burnt offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings were slaughtered. ⁴⁰ There were also two tables outside at each outer wall of the portico where one would climb up to the north gate. ⁴¹ This means there were eight tables in all—four inside each gate and four outside. These tables were where the offerings were slaughtered. ^42-43 There were also four tables carved from stone used for the burnt offerings. They were 31½ inches square and 21 inches high and held the flesh of the offerings. The tools used to slaughter the sacrificial animals for burnt offerings rested on these tables. Hooks, about 3 inches long, were attached to the walls around the stone tables. The meats for the burnt offerings were prepared on these tables.

⁴⁴ There were two chambers for the singers and the priests within the inner court, just outside the inner gate. One chamber was on the side of the north gate and faced the south. The other chamber was on the side of the south^[a] gate and faced the north.

⁴⁷ Then the man took measurements of the inner courtyard: it was 175 feet square. The altar sat in front of the temple in the inner courtyard.

⁴⁸ Then I followed him to the temple’s portico, and he took the measurements of the portico’s columns. They were 8¾ feet wide on both sides. The gate entrance was [24½ feet deep, and the walls were]^[b] 5¼ feet wide on both sides. ⁴⁹ The portico was 30 feet long and 18 feet wide. There were steps leading^[c] up to the portico, as well as columns like the Jachin and Boaz columns of Solomon’s temple on both sides.

41 Then I followed the man whose appearance was like bronze to the outer nave of the temple; he took measurements of the pillars. Each was 10½ feet wide on each side.

² The entrance was 17½ feet wide. The walls on both sides of the entrance were 8¾ feet wide. He measured the outer nave of the temple and discovered it was 70 feet long and 35 feet wide. ³ Then he went inside by himself and took measurements of the columns of the entrance to the inner sanctuary. Each column was 3½ feet wide, the entrance was 10½ feet wide, and the [walls on each side of it were]^[d] 12¼ feet long. ⁴ Then the man took measurements of the inner sanctuary, which was 35 feet long and wide.

⁵ Then he walked over to the temple wall and took its measurements and the measurements of each chamber surrounding the temple. The wall of the temple was 10½ feet thick, and each side chamber was 7 feet wide. ^6-7 The side chambers were built in 3 stories (one right on top of the other), and there were 30 chambers on each level. The chambers on the second story were wider than those on the first, and the chambers on the third story were wider than the second’s. To keep the second and third stories from overhanging the temple’s sacred space, the wall separating the temple’s inner chamber and the side chambers widened from top to bottom. One entered the third story by climbing stairs through the first and second stories. ⁸ I noticed the temple floor was higher than the rest of the complex. This raised foundation was also the foundation of the side chambers, and it was 10½ feet thick. ⁹ The wall on the outside of the side chambers was 8¾ feet thick. The open area between the temple’s side chambers ¹⁰ and the priests’ chambers circumscribed the temple, 35 feet around. ¹¹ In that open space were two entrances to the temple’s side chambers. One of the entrances was on the north side, and the other one was on the south side. The open area was exactly 8¾ feet wide all around the temple.

¹² On the west end of the complex there was a structure that faced the temple courtyard. It was 122½ feet wide and 157½ feet long. Its walls were 8¾ feet thick. ¹³ Then the man measured the temple and discovered that it was 175 feet long. The courtyard of the temple plus the western structure and its walls measured 175 feet as well. ¹⁴ The eastern courtyard in front of the temple was 175 feet wide. ¹⁵ Then he measured the length of the western structure and the galleries on both sides that faced the courtyard west of the temple. It, too, was 175 feet.

The temple’s nave and outer portico^{[e] 16} were paneled.^[f] The recessed windows were trimmed in wood. The interior walls and the space between the floor and the windows were all covered with wood. ^17-18 Images of winged guardians^[g] and palm trees were carved into the wood above the entrance that led to the sanctuary and also all over the walls of the inner and outer sanctuaries. The two symbols alternated palm tree, guardian, palm tree, etc. Each winged guardian was carved with only two faces: ¹⁹ the face of a man peered in the direction of the palm tree on one side, and the face of a lion gazed in the direction of the palm tree on the other side. This relief encompassed the entire temple. ²⁰ Carvings of winged guardians and palm trees covered the wall of the sanctuary in the space between the floor and the top of the entrance.

²¹ The doorframes leading into the outer sanctuary were square, as were the ones leading to the inner sanctuary. ²² The altar was made of wood. It was 5¼ feet high and 3½ feet square. All of it—its base, horns, and sides—was made of wood.

²³ The outer nave and the inner holy place each had a double door. ²⁴ Each door was made of two panels hinged together.^{[h] 25} On the doors of the outer sanctuary were carvings of winged guardians and palm trees—the exact same images that were on the walls. A wooden roof hung over the front of the outside portico. ²⁶ On both side walls of the portico were windows that had carvings of palm trees. There were roofs over all the side chambers of the temple.

4 Where do you think your fighting and endless conflict come from? Don’t you think that they originate in the constant pursuit of gratification that rages inside each of you like an uncontrolled militia? ² You crave something that you do not possess, so you murder to get it. You desire the things you cannot earn, so you sue others and fight for what you want. You do not have because you have chosen not to ask. ³ And when you do ask, you still do not get what you want because your motives are all wrong—because you continually focus on self-indulgence. ⁴ You are adulterers. Don’t you know that making friends with this corrupt world order is open aggression toward God? So anyone who aligns with this bogus world system is declaring war against the one true God. ⁵ Do you think it is empty rhetoric when the Scriptures say, “The spirit that lives in us is addicted to envy and jealousy”?^{[a] 6} You may think that the situation is hopeless, but God gives us more grace when we turn away from our own interests. That’s why Scripture says,

⁷ So submit yourselves to the one true God and fight against the devil and his schemes. If you do, he will run away in failure. ⁸ Come close to the one true God, and He will draw close to you. Wash your hands; you have dirtied them in sin. Cleanse your heart, because your mind is split down the middle, your love for God on one side and selfish pursuits on the other.

⁹ Now is the time to lament, to grieve, and to cry. Dissolve your laughter into sobbing, and exchange your joy for depression. ¹⁰ Lay yourself bare, facedown to the ground, in humility before the Lord; and He will lift your head so you can stand tall. ¹¹ My brothers and sisters, do not assault each other with criticism. If you decide your job is to accuse and judge another believer, then you are a self-appointed critic and judge of the law; if so, then you are no longer a doer of the law and subject to its rule; you stand over it as a judge. ¹² Know this—there is One who stands supreme as Judge and Lawgiver. He alone is able to save and to destroy, so who are you to step in and try to judge another?

¹³ Listen carefully, those of you who make your plans and say, “We are traveling to this city in the next few days. We’ll stay there for one year while our business explodes and revenue is up.” ¹⁴ The reality is you have no idea where your life will take you tomorrow. You are like a mist that appears one moment and then vanishes another. ¹⁵ It would be best to say, “If it is the Lord’s will and we live long enough, we hope to do this project or pursue that dream.” ¹⁶ But your current speech indicates an arrogance that does not acknowledge the One who controls the universe, and this kind of big talking is the epitome of evil. ¹⁷ So if you know the right way to live and ignore it, it is sin—plain and simple.