Old/New Testament
40 In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity [by Babylon], in the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city [of Jerusalem] was taken, on the very same day the hand of the Lord was upon me and He brought me to that place.
2 In the visions of God He brought me into the land of Israel and set me down upon a very high mountain, on the south side of which there was what seemed to be the structure of a city.
3 He brought me there, and behold, there was a man [an angel] whose appearance was like bronze, with a line of flax and a measuring reed in his hand, and he stood in the gateway.
4 And the man said to me, Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears and set your heart and mind on all that I will show you, for you are brought here that I may show them to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.
5 And behold, there was a wall all around the outside area of the house [of the Lord], and in the man’s hand a measuring reed six long cubits in length, each cubit being longer [than the usual one] by a handbreadth; so he measured the thickness of the wall, one reed, and the height, one reed.
6 Then he came to the gate which faced the east and went up its [seven] steps and measured the threshold of the gateway, one reed broad, and the other threshold of the gateway [inside the thick wall], one reed broad.
7 And every room for the guards was one reed long and one reed broad, and the space between the guardrooms or lodges was five cubits. And the threshold of the gate by the porch or vestibule of the gateway within was one reed.
8 He measured also the porch or vestibule of the gate toward the house [of the Lord], one reed.
9 Then he measured the porch or vestibule of the gateway, eight cubits, and its posts or jambs, two cubits. And the porch or vestibule of the gate was inside [toward the house of the Lord].
10 And the guardrooms or lodges of the east gateway were three on this side and three on that side; the three were the same size, and the posts or jambs were the same size on either side.
11 And he measured the breadth of the opening of the gateway, ten cubits, and the length of the gateway, thirteen cubits.
12 And a border or barrier before the guardrooms was one cubit on this side, and a border or barrier, one cubit on that side. And the guardrooms or lodges were six cubits on this side and six cubits on that side.
13 And [a]the man [an angel] measured the gate from the outer wall of one chamber or guardroom to the outer wall of another—a breadth of twenty-five cubits from door to door.
14 And [b]the open part of the porch or vestibule of the gateway on the outside was twenty cubits, the chambers or guardrooms of the gate being round about.
15 And including this porch or vestibule of the gate on the outside and the porch or vestibule on the inside, the extent was fifty cubits.
16 And there were closed windows to the guardrooms or chambers and to their posts or pillars within the gate round about, and likewise to the archway or vestibule; and windows were round about facing into the court, and upon each post or pillar were palm tree [decorations].
17 Then he brought me into the outward court, and behold, there were chambers and a pavement round about the court; thirty chambers fronted on the pavement.
18 And the pavement was along by the side of the gates, answerable to the length of the gateways; this was the lower pavement.
19 Then the man measured the distance from the inner front before the lower gate to the outer front of the inner court, a hundred cubits, both on the east and on the north.
20 And the gate of the outward court which faced the north, of it he measured both the length and the breadth.
21 And its guardrooms or lodges, three on this side and three on that side, and its posts or pillars and archway or vestibule were the same size as those of the first gate; the length was fifty cubits and the breadth twenty-five cubits.
22 And its windows and its archway or vestibule and its palm trees were of the same size as those of the gate that faces toward the east. It was reached by going up seven steps, and the archway of its vestibule was on the inner side.
23 Opposite the gate on the north and on the east was a gate to the inner court, and he [the man with the measuring rod of reed] measured from gate to gate, a hundred cubits.
24 After that the man brought me toward the south, and behold, there was a gate on the south, and he measured its posts or pillars and its archway or vestibule; they measured as the others did.
25 And there were windows round about in it and in its archway or vestibule, like those windows in the other gateways; its length was fifty cubits and its breadth twenty-five cubits.
26 And there were seven steps going up to the gate, and its archway or vestibule was on the inside. And it had palm trees, one on this side and another on that side, carved on its posts or pillars.
27 And there was a gate to the inner court on the south, and he measured from gate to gate toward the south, a hundred cubits.
28 And the man [an angel] brought me into the inner court by the south gate, and he measured the south gate; its measurements were the same as those of the other gateways.
29 And its guardrooms or chambers and its posts or pillars and its archway or vestibule measured as did the others. And there were windows in the gateway and in its archway or vestibule round about; its length was fifty cubits and its breadth twenty-five cubits.
30 And there was an archway or a vestibule round about, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide.
31 And its [arched] vestibule faced the outer court; and palm trees were carved upon its posts or pillars, and the steps going up to it were eight.
32 And he brought me into the inner court toward the east and he measured the gate; it measured the same as the others.
33 And its guardrooms or chambers and its posts or pillars and its archway or vestibule measured as did the others. And there were windows in it and in its [arched] vestibule round about; the gateway was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.
34 And its [arched] vestibule faced the outer court; and palm trees were carved upon its posts or pillars on either side, and the steps leading to it were eight.
35 And the man [an angel] brought me to the north gate and measured it; the measurements were the same as those of the other gates.
36 Its guardrooms or chambers, its posts or pillars, its [arched] vestibule, and the windows to it round about [were of the same size as the others]. The length of the gateway was fifty cubits and the width was twenty-five cubits.
37 And its posts or pillars were toward the outer court, and palm trees were carved upon them on either side. And the approach to it had eight steps.
38 There was an attached chamber with its door beside the posts or pillars of the gates where the burnt offering was to be washed.
39 And in the porch or vestibule of the gate were two tables on this side and two tables on that side, on which to slay the burnt offering and the sin offering and the trespass or guilt offering.
40 And on the one side without, as one goes up to the entrance of the gate to the north, were two tables; and on the other side at 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 upon which the sacrifices were to be slain.
42 Moreover, there were four tables of hewn stone for the burnt offering, a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high. Upon them were to be laid the instruments with which were slain the burnt offering and the sacrifice.
43 And slabs or hooks a handbreadth long were fastened within [the room] round about. Upon the tables was to be placed the flesh of the offering.
44 [c]Then the man [an angel] led me [from without] into the inner court, and behold, there were two chambers in the inner court: one beside the north gate but facing the south, and one beside the south gate but looking toward the north.
45 And the man [an angel who was guiding me] said, This chamber with its view to the south is for the priests who have charge of the house [of the Lord],
46 And the chamber with its view to the north is for the priests who have charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who alone among the sons of Levi may come near to the Lord to minister to Him.
47 And he measured the court, a hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar was in front of the house [of the Lord].
48 Then he brought me to the porch or vestibule of the temple proper, and he measured each post or pillar of the porch, five cubits on either side. And the width of the gate was three cubits for this [leaf] and three cubits for that one.
49 And the length of the porch or vestibule was twenty cubits and the breadth eleven cubits; and he brought me by the steps by which it was reached, and there were two pillars standing on the posts [as bases] or beside them, one on either side of the entrance.
41 And the man [an angel] brought me to [the Holy Place of] the temple and measured the wall pillars, six cubits broad on one side [of the ten-cubit door] and six cubits broad on the other side, [d]which was the breadth of the tabernacle or tent [later called the temple].
2 And the breadth of the entrance was ten cubits, and the leaves of the door were five cubits on the one side and five cubits on the other side; and he measured its length, forty cubits, and its breadth, twenty cubits.
3 Then the man [being an angel, and unrestricted] went inside [the inner room, but went alone] and measured each post of the door, two cubits, the doorway, six cubits, and the breadth of the entrance, seven cubits.(A)
4 And he measured the length [of the interior of the second room] in the temple proper, twenty cubits, and the breadth, twenty cubits; and he [came out and] said to me, This is the Most Holy Place (the Holy of Holies).
5 Then he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits thick [to accommodate side chambers]; and the breadth of every side chamber, four cubits, round about the temple proper on every side.
6 These side chambers were three stories high, one over another and thirty in each story; and they entered into the wall which belonged to the house for the side chambers round about, that they might have hold of the wall [of the house], but they did not have hold of the wall of the temple.
7 And the side rooms became broader as they encompassed the temple higher and higher, for the encircling of the house went higher and higher round about the temple; therefore the breadth of the house continued upward, and so one went up from the lowest story to the highest one by way of the middle story [on a winding stairway].
8 I saw also that the temple had an elevation or foundation platform round about it. The foundations of the side chambers measured a full reed measure of six long cubits.
9 The thickness of the outer wall of the side chamber was five cubits, as was the width of that part of the foundation that was left free of the side chambers that belonged to the house.
10 And between [the free space of the foundation platform and] the chambers was a breadth of twenty cubits round about the temple on every side.
11 And the doors of the attached side chambers opened on the free space that was left, one door toward the north and another door toward the south; and the breadth of the space on the foundation platform that was left free was five cubits round about.
12 And the building that faced the temple yard on the west side was seventy cubits broad, and the wall of the building was five cubits thick round about, and its length ninety cubits.
13 And the man [an angel in my vision] measured the temple, a hundred cubits long; and the yard and the building with its walls, a hundred cubits long;
14 Also the breadth of the east front of the temple and the yard, a hundred cubits.
15 Then the man [an angel] measured the length of the building on the west side of the yard with its walls on either side, a hundred cubits. The Holy Place of the temple, the inner Holy of Holies, and the outer vestibule
16 Were roofed over, and all three had latticed windows all around. The inside walls of the temple were paneled with wood round about from the floor up to the windows and from the windows to the roof,
17 Including the space above the door leading to the inner room, inside and out. And on the walls round about in the inner room and the Holy Place were carvings,
18 With figures of cherubim and palm trees, so that a palm tree was between a cherub and a cherub; and every cherub had two faces,
19 So that the face of a man was toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side. It was made this way through all the house round about.
20 From the floor to above the entrance were cherubim and palm trees made, and also on the wall of the temple [the Holy Place].
21 The door frames of the temple were squared, and in front [outside of the sanctuary or Holy of Holies] was what appeared to be
22 An altar of wood, three cubits high and two cubits long [and wide]; and its corners, its base, and its sides were of wood. And the man [an angel] said to me, This is the table that is before the Lord.
23 And the temple or Holy Place and the sanctuary or Holy of Holies, had two doors [one for each of them].
24 And the doors had two leaves apiece, two folding leaves—two leaves for the one door and two leaves for the other door.
25 And there were carved on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubim and palm trees, like those carved upon the walls; and there was also a canopy of wood in front of the porch outside.
26 And there were recessed windows and palm trees on the one side and on the other side of the porch. Thus were the side chambers and the canopies of the house.
3 Beloved, I am now writing you this second letter. In [both of] them I have stirred up your unsullied (sincere) mind by way of remembrance,
2 That you should recall the predictions of the holy (consecrated, dedicated) prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior [given] through your apostles (His special messengers).
3 To begin with, you must know and understand this, that scoffers (mockers) will come in the last days with scoffing, [people who] walk after their own fleshly desires
4 And say, Where is the promise of His coming? For since the forefathers fell asleep, all things have continued exactly as they did from the beginning of creation.
5 For they willfully overlook and forget this [fact], that the heavens [came into] existence long ago by the word of God, and the earth also which was formed out of water and by means of water,
6 Through which the world that then [existed] was deluged with water and perished.(A)
7 But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been stored up (reserved) for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly people.
8 Nevertheless, do not let this one fact escape you, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.(B)
9 The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people’s conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will vanish (pass away) with a thunderous crash, and the [[a]material] elements [of the universe] will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are upon it will be burned up.
11 Since all these things are thus [b]in the process of being dissolved, what kind of person ought [each of] you to be [in the meanwhile] in consecrated and holy behavior and devout and godly qualities,
12 While you wait and earnestly long for (expect and hasten) the coming of the day of God by reason of which the flaming heavens will be dissolved, and the [[c]material] elements [of the universe] will flare and melt with fire?(C)
13 But we look for new heavens and a new earth according to His promise, in which righteousness (uprightness, freedom from sin, and right standing with God) is to abide.(D)
14 So, beloved, since you are expecting these things, be eager to be found by Him [at His coming] without spot or blemish and at peace [in serene confidence, [d]free from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts].
15 And consider that the long-suffering of our Lord [[e]His slowness in avenging wrongs and judging the world] is salvation ([f]that which is conducive to the soul’s safety), even as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the spiritual insight given him,
16 Speaking of this as he does in all of his letters. There are some things in those [epistles of Paul] that are difficult to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist and misconstrue to their own [g]utter destruction, just as [they distort and misinterpret] the rest of the Scriptures.
17 Let me warn you therefore, beloved, that knowing these things beforehand, you should be on your guard, lest you be carried away by the error of lawless and wicked [persons and] fall from your own [present] firm condition [your own steadfastness of mind].
18 But grow in grace (undeserved favor, spiritual strength) and [h]recognition and knowledge and understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (the Messiah). To Him [be] glory (honor, majesty, and splendor) both now and to the day of eternity. Amen (so be it)!
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation