Ezekiel 40-41

Easy-to-Read Version

The New Temple

40 In the twenty-fifth year after we were taken away into captivity, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month,^[a] the Lord’s power came on me. This was fourteen years after the Babylonians took Jerusalem. On that day the Lord took me there in a vision.

² In a vision, God carried me to the land of Israel. He put me down near a very high mountain. On the mountain in front of me was a building that looked like a city.^{[b] 3} He took me to that place. There was a man there who looked like polished bronze. He had a cloth tape measure and a measuring rod in his hand. He was standing by the gate. ⁴ The man said to me, “Son of man,^[c] use your eyes and ears. Look at these things and listen to me. Pay attention to everything that I show you, because you have been brought here so that I can show you these things. You must tell the family of Israel all that you see.”

⁵ I saw a wall that went all the way around the outside of the Temple. In the man’s hand there was a ruler for measuring things. It was 6 cubits^[d] long using the long measurement,^[e] so the man measured the thickness of the wall. It was one ruler^[f] thick. He measured the height of the wall. It was one ruler tall.

⁶ Then the man went to the east gate. He walked up its steps and measured the opening for the gate. It was one ruler wide. ⁷ The guardrooms were one ruler long and one ruler wide. The walls between the rooms were 5 cubits^[g] thick. The opening by the porch at the end of the gateway that faced the Temple was also one ruler wide. ⁸ Then he measured the porch. ⁹ It was 8 cubits^[h] long. He measured the walls on either side of the gate. Each side wall was 2 cubits^[i] wide. The porch was at the end of the gateway that faced the Temple. ¹⁰ There were three little guardrooms on each side of the gateway. All these rooms and their side walls measured the same. ¹¹ The man measured the entrance to the gateway. It was 10 cubits^[j] wide and 13 cubits^[k] long. ¹² There was a low wall in front of each room. That wall was 1 cubit^[l] tall and 1 cubit thick. The rooms were square. Each wall was 6 cubits long.

¹³ The man measured the gateway from the outside edge of the roof of one room to the outside edge of the roof of the opposite room. It was 25 cubits.^[m] Each door was directly opposite the other door. ^14 [n] He measured the faces of all the side walls, including the side walls on either side of the porch at the courtyard. The total was 60 cubits.^{[o] 15} From the inside edge of the outer gate to the far end of the porch was 50 cubits.^{[p] 16} There were small windows^[q] above all the guardrooms, the side walls, and the porch. The wide part of the windows faced into the gateway. There were carvings of palm trees on the walls that were on either side of the gateway.

The Outer Courtyard

¹⁷ Then the man led me into the outer courtyard. I saw thirty rooms and a pavement that went all the way around the courtyard. The rooms were along the wall and faced in toward the pavement. ¹⁸ The pavement was as wide as the gates were long. The pavement reached to the inside end of the gateway. This was the lower pavement. ¹⁹ The man measured the distance from the inside of the lower gateway to the outside of the inner courtyard. It was 100 cubits^[r] on the east side as well as on the north side.

²⁰ Then the man measured the length and width of the north gate that was in the wall surrounding the outer courtyard. ²¹ This gateway, its three rooms on each side, and its porch all measured the same as the first gate. The gateway was 50 cubits long and 25 cubits wide. ²² Its windows, its porch, and its carvings of palm trees measured the same as the east gate. On the outside, there were seven steps leading up to the gate. Its porch was at the inside end of the gateway. ²³ Across the courtyard from the north gate, there was a gate to the inner courtyard. It was like the gate on the east. The man measured from the gate on the inner wall to the gate on the outer wall. It was 100 cubits from gate to gate.

²⁴ Then the man led me to the south wall. I saw a gate in the south wall. He measured its side walls and its porch. They measured the same as the other gates. ²⁵ The gateway and its porch had windows all around like the other gates. The gateway was 50 cubits long and 25 cubits wide. ²⁶ There were seven steps going up to this gate. Its porch was at the inside end of the gateway. It had carvings of palm trees on the walls that were on either side of the gateway. ²⁷ A gate was on the south side of the inner courtyard. The man measured from the gate on the inner wall to the gate on the outer wall. It was 100 cubits from gate to gate.

The Inner Courtyard

²⁸ Then the man led me through the south gate into the inner courtyard. He measured this gate. This gateway measured the same as the other gates to the inner courtyard. ²⁹ Its rooms, side walls, and porch also measured the same as the other gates. There were windows all around the gateway and its porch. The gateway was 50 cubits long and 25 cubits wide. ³⁰ The porch was 25 cubits wide and 5 cubits long. ³¹ And its porch was at the end of the gateway next to the outer courtyard. Carvings of palm trees were on the walls on either side of the gateway. There were eight steps leading up to the gate.

³² Then the man led me into the inner courtyard on the east side. He measured the gate. It measured the same as the other gates. ³³ Its rooms, side walls, and porch also measured the same as the other gates. There were windows all around the gateway and its porch. The gateway was 50 cubits long and 25 cubits wide. ³⁴ And its porch was at the end of the gateway next to the outer courtyard. Carvings of palm trees were on the walls on either side of the gateway. There were eight steps leading up to the gate.

³⁵ Then the man led me to the north gate. He measured it, and it measured the same as the other gates. ³⁶ Its rooms, side walls, and porch also measured the same as the other gates. There were windows all around the gateway and its porch. The gateway was 50 cubits long and 25 cubits wide. ³⁷ And its porch^[s] was at the end of the gateway next to the outer courtyard. Carvings of palm trees were on the walls on either side of the gateway. There were eight steps leading up to the gate.

The Rooms for Preparing Sacrifices

³⁸ There was also a doorway in the side walls of the gates. That doorway led into a room where the priests washed the sacrifices. ³⁹ There were two tables on each side of the door of this porch. The animals for the burnt offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings were killed on these tables. ⁴⁰ There were also two tables on each side of the door on the outside wall of this porch. ⁴¹ So there were four tables on the inside wall and four tables on the outside wall—eight tables that the priests used when they killed the animals for sacrifices. ⁴² There were also four tables made from cut stone for the burnt offerings. These tables were 1 1/2 cubits^[t] long, 1 1/2 cubits wide, and 1 cubit high. On these tables, the priests put their tools that they used to kill the animals for the burnt offerings and other sacrifices. ⁴³ There were meat hooks three inches long^[u] on all the walls in this area. The meat of the offerings was put on the tables.

The Priests’ Rooms

⁴⁴ There were two rooms^[v] in the inner courtyard. One was by the north gate facing south. The other room was by the south^[w] gate facing north. ⁴⁵ The man said to me, “The room that looks to the south is for the priests who are on duty and serving in the Temple area. ⁴⁶ But the room that looks to the north is for the priests who are on duty and serving at the altar. The priests are from the tribe of Levi. But the priests in this second group are the descendants of Zadok. They are the only people who can carry the sacrifices to the altar to serve the Lord.^[x]”

⁴⁷ The man measured the inner courtyard. The courtyard was a perfect square. It was 100 cubits long and 100 cubits wide. The altar was in front of the Temple.

The Porch of the Temple

⁴⁸ Then the man led me to the porch of the Temple and measured the walls on either side of the porch. Each side wall was 5 cubits thick and 3 cubits^[y] wide. The opening between them was 14 cubits.^{[z] 49} The porch was 20 cubits^[aa] wide and 12 cubits^[ab] long.^[ac] Ten steps went up to the porch. There were two columns for the walls on either side of the porch—one at each wall.

The Holy Place of the Temple

41 Then the man led me into the Holy Place. He measured the walls on either side of the room. The side walls were 6 cubits^[ad] thick on each side. ² The door was 10 cubits^[ae] wide. The sides of the doorway were 5 cubits^[af] on each side. He measured that room. It was 40 cubits^[ag] long and 20 cubits wide.

The Most Holy Place in the Temple

³ Then the man went into the last room. He measured the walls on either side of the doorway. Each side wall was 2 cubits^[ah] thick and 7 cubits^[ai] wide. The doorway was 6 cubits wide. ⁴ Then he measured the length of the room. It was 20 cubits long and 20 cubits wide. He said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.”

Other Rooms Around the Temple

⁵ Then the man measured the wall of the Temple. It was 6 cubits thick. There were side rooms all around the Temple. They were 4 cubits^[aj] wide. ⁶ The side rooms were on three different floors, one above the other. There were 30 rooms on each floor. The wall of the Temple was built with ledges. The side rooms rested on these ledges but were not connected to the Temple wall itself. ⁷ Each floor of the side rooms around the Temple was wider than the floor below. The walls of the rooms around the Temple became narrower the higher they went so that the rooms on the top floors were wider. A stairway went up from the lowest floor to the highest floor through the middle floor.

⁸ I also saw that the Temple had a raised base all the way around it. It was the foundation for the side rooms, and it was a full ruler^[ak] high. ⁹ The outer wall of the side rooms was 5 cubits thick. There was an open area between the side rooms of the Temple ¹⁰ and the priests’ rooms. It was 20 cubits^[al] wide and went all the way around the Temple. ¹¹ The doors of the side rooms opened onto the raised base. There was one entrance on the north side and one entrance on the south side. The raised base was 5 cubits wide all around.

¹² There was a building in this restricted area west of the Temple. The building was 70 cubits^[am] wide and 90 cubits^[an] long. The wall of the building was 5 cubits thick all around. ¹³ Then the man measured the Temple. The Temple was 100 cubits^[ao] long. The restricted area, including the building and its walls, was also 100 cubits long. ¹⁴ The restricted area on the east side, in front of the Temple, was 100 cubits long.

¹⁵ The man measured the length of the building in the restricted area at the rear of the Temple. It was 100 cubits from one wall to the other wall.

The Most Holy Place, the Holy Place, and the porch by the courtyard ¹⁶ had wood paneling on all the walls. All the windows and doors had wood trim around them. By the doorway, the Temple had wood paneling from the floor up to the windows and up to the part of the wall ¹⁷ over the doorway.

On all the walls in the inner room and the outer room of the Temple were carvings ¹⁸ of Cherub angels and palm trees. A palm tree was between each Cherub angel. Every Cherub angel had two faces. ¹⁹ One face was a man’s face looking toward the palm tree on one side. The other face was a lion’s face looking toward the palm tree on the other side. They were carved all around on the Temple. ²⁰ From the floor to the area above the door, Cherub angels and palm trees were carved on all walls of the Holy Place.

²¹ The walls on either side of the Holy Place were square. In front of the Most Holy Place, there was something that looked like ²² an altar made from wood. It was 3 cubits^[ap] high and 2 cubits long. Its corners, its base, and its sides were wood. The man said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.”

²³ Both the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place had a double door. ²⁴ Each of the doors was made from two smaller doors. Each door was really two swinging doors. ²⁵ Also Cherub angels and palm trees were carved on the doors of the Holy Place. They were like those carved on the walls. There was a wood roof over the front of the porch. ²⁶ There were windows with frames around them and palm trees on the walls on both sides of the porch, on the roof over the porch, and on the rooms around the Temple.