Ezekiel 40-41

New English Translation

Vision of the New Temple

40 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city^[a] was struck down, on this very day,^[b] the hand^[c] of the Lord was on me, and he brought me there.^{[d] 2} By divine visions^[e] he brought me to the land of Israel and placed me on a very high mountain,^[f] and on it was a structure like a city, to the south. ³ When he brought me there, I saw^[g] a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring stick in his hand. He was standing in the gateway. ⁴ The man said to me, “Son of man, watch closely, listen carefully, and pay attention^[h] to everything I show you, for you have been brought here so that I can show it to you.^[i] Tell the house of Israel everything you see.”

⁵ I saw^[j] a wall all around the outside of the temple.^[k] In the man’s hand was a measuring stick 10½ feet^[l] long. He measured the thickness of the wall^[m] as 10½ feet,^[n] and its height as 10½ feet. ⁶ Then he went to the gate facing east. He climbed its steps and measured the threshold of the gate as 10½ feet deep.^{[o] 7} The alcoves were 10½ feet long and 10½ feet wide; between the alcoves were 8¾ feet.^[p] The threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate facing inward was 10½ feet. ⁸ Then he measured the porch of the gate facing inward as 10½ feet. ⁹ He measured the porch of the gate as 14 feet,^[q] and its jambs as 3½ feet;^[r] the porch of the gate faced inward. ¹⁰ There were three alcoves on each side of the east gate; the three had the same measurement, and the jambs on either side had the same measurement.^{[s] 11} He measured the width of the entrance of the gateway as 17½ feet,^[t] and the length of the gateway as 22¾ feet.^{[u] 12} There was a barrier in front of the alcoves, 1¾ feet^[v] on either side; the alcoves were 10½ feet^[w] on either side. ¹³ He measured the gateway from the roof of one alcove to the roof of the other, a width of 43¾ feet^[x] from one entrance to the opposite one. ¹⁴ He measured^[y] the porch^[z] at 105 feet^[aa] high;^[ab] the gateway went all around to the jamb of the courtyard. ¹⁵ From the front of the entrance gate to the porch of the inner gate was 87½ feet.^{[ac] 16} There were closed windows toward the alcoves and toward their jambs within the gate all around, and likewise for the porches. There were windows all around the inside, and on each jamb were decorative palm trees.^[ad]

¹⁷ Then he brought me to the outer court. I saw^[ae] chambers there and a pavement made for the court all around; thirty chambers faced the pavement. ¹⁸ The pavement was beside the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates; this was the lower pavement. ¹⁹ Then he measured the width from before the lower gate to the front of the exterior of the inner court as 175 feet^[af] on the east and on the north.

²⁰ He measured the length and width of the gate of the outer court that faces north. ²¹ Its alcoves, three on each side, and its jambs and porches had the same measurement as the first gate; 87½ feet^[ag] long and 43¾ feet^[ah] wide. ²² Its windows, its porches, and its decorative palm trees had the same measurement as the gate that faced east. Seven steps led up to it, and its porch was in front of them. ²³ Opposite the gate on the north and the east was a gate of the inner court; he measured the distance from gate to gate at 175 feet.^[ai]

²⁴ Then he led me toward the south. I saw^[aj] a gate on the south. He measured its jambs and its porches; they had the same dimensions as the others. ²⁵ There were windows all around it and its porches, like the windows of the others;^[ak] 87½ feet^[al] long and 43¾ feet^[am] wide. ²⁶ There were seven steps going up to it; its porches were in front of them. It had decorative palm trees on its jambs, one on either side. ²⁷ The inner court had a gate toward the south; he measured it from gate to gate toward the south as 175 feet.^[an]

²⁸ Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate. He measured the south gate; it had the same dimensions as the others. ²⁹ Its alcoves, its jambs, and its porches had the same dimensions as the others, and there were windows all around it and its porches; its length was 87½ feet^[ao] and its width 43¾ feet.^{[ap] 30} There were porches all around, 43¾ feet^[aq] long and 8¾ feet^[ar] wide. ³¹ Its porches faced the outer court, and decorative palm trees were on its jambs, and its stairway had eight steps.

³² Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side. He measured the gate; it had the same dimensions as the others. ³³ Its alcoves, its jambs, and its porches had the same dimensions as the others, and there were windows all around it and its porches; its length was 87½ feet^[as] and its width 43¾ feet.^{[at] 34} Its porches faced the outer court, it had decorative palm trees on its jambs, and its stairway had eight steps.

³⁵ Then he brought me to the north gate, and he measured it; it had the same dimensions as the others— ³⁶ its alcoves, its jambs, and its porches. It had windows all around it; its length was 87½ feet^[au] and its width 43¾ feet.^{[av] 37} Its jambs^[aw] faced the outer court, and it had decorative palm trees on its jambs on either side, and its stairway had eight steps.

³⁸ There was a chamber with its door by the porch of the gate;^[ax] there they washed the burnt offering. ³⁹ In the porch of the gate were two tables on either side on which to slaughter the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering. ⁴⁰ On the outside of the porch as one goes up at the entrance of the north gate were two tables, and on the other side of the porch of the gate were two tables. ⁴¹ Four tables were on each side of the gate, eight tables on which the sacrifices were to be slaughtered. ⁴² The four tables for the burnt offering were of carved stone, 32 inches^[ay] long, 32 inches^[az] wide, and 21 inches^[ba] high. They would put the instruments that they used to slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice on them. ⁴³ There were hooks^[bb] three inches^[bc] long fastened in the house all around, and on the tables was the flesh of the offering.

⁴⁴ On the outside of the inner gate were chambers for the singers of the inner court, one^[bd] at the side of the north gate facing south, and the other at the side of the south^[be] gate facing north. ⁴⁵ He said to me, “This chamber that faces south is for the priests who keep charge of the temple,^{[bf] 46} and the chamber that faces north is for the priests who keep charge of the altar. These are the descendants of Zadok, from the descendants of Levi, who may approach the Lord to minister to him.” ⁴⁷ He measured the court as a square 175 feet long and 175 feet wide;^[bg] the altar was in front of the temple.

⁴⁸ Then he brought me to the porch of the temple and measured the jambs of the porch as 8¾ feet^[bh] on either side; the width of the gate was 24½ feet,^[bi] and the sides^[bj] were 5¼ feet^[bk] on each side. ⁴⁹ The length of the porch was 35 feet^[bl] and the width 19¼ feet;^[bm] steps^[bn] led up to it, and there were pillars beside the jambs on either side.

The Inner Temple

41 Then he brought me to the outer sanctuary and measured the jambs; the jambs were 10½ feet^[bo] wide on each side. ² The width of the entrance was 17½ feet,^[bp] and the sides^[bq] of the entrance were 8¾ feet^[br] on each side. He measured the length of the outer sanctuary as 70 feet^[bs] and its width as 35 feet.^[bt]

³ Then he went into the inner sanctuary and measured the jambs of the entrance as 3½ feet,^[bu] the entrance as 10½ feet,^[bv] and the width of the entrance as 12¼ feet.^{[bw] 4} Then he measured its length as 35 feet^[bx] and its width as 35 feet,^[by] before the outer sanctuary. He said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.”

⁵ Then he measured the wall of the temple^[bz] as 10½ feet^[ca] and the width of the side chambers as 7 feet,^[cb] all around the temple. ⁶ The side chambers were in three stories, one above the other, thirty in each story. There were offsets in the wall all around to serve as supports for the side chambers, so that the supports were not in the wall of the temple. ⁷ The side chambers surrounding the temple were wider at each successive story,^[cc] for the structure surrounding^[cd] the temple went up story by story all around the temple. For this reason the width of the temple increased as it went up, and one went up from the lowest story to the highest by the way of the middle story.

⁸ I saw that the temple had a raised platform all around; the foundations of the side chambers were a full measuring stick^[ce] of 10½ feet^[cf] high. ⁹ The width of the outer wall of the side chambers was 8¾ feet,^[cg] and the open area between the side chambers of the temple ¹⁰ and the chambers of the court was 35 feet^[ch] in width all around the temple on every side. ¹¹ There were entrances from the side chambers toward the open area, one entrance toward the north, and another entrance toward the south; the width of the open area was 8¾ feet^[ci] all around.

¹² The building that was facing the temple courtyard at the west side was 122½ feet^[cj] wide; the wall of the building was 8¾ feet^[ck] thick all around, and its length 157½ feet.^[cl]

¹³ Then he measured the temple as 175 feet^[cm] long, the courtyard of the temple and the building and its walls as 175 feet^[cn] long, ¹⁴ and also the width of the front of the temple and the courtyard on the east as 175 feet.^[co]

¹⁵ Then he measured the length of the building facing the courtyard at the rear of the temple, with its galleries on either side as 175 feet.^[cp]

The interior of the outer sanctuary and the porch of the court,^{[cq] 16} as well as the thresholds, narrow windows and galleries all around on three sides facing the threshold, were paneled with wood all around, from the ground up to the windows (now the windows were covered), ¹⁷ to the space above the entrance, to the inner room, and on the outside, and on all the walls in the inner room and outside, by measurement.^{[cr] 18} It was made with cherubim and decorative palm trees, with a palm tree between each cherub. Each cherub had two faces: ¹⁹ a human face toward the palm tree on one side and a lion’s face toward the palm tree on the other side. They were carved on the whole temple all around; ²⁰ from the ground to the area above the entrance, cherubim and decorative palm trees were carved on the wall of the outer sanctuary. ²¹ The doorposts of the outer sanctuary were square. In front of the sanctuary one doorpost looked just like the other. ²² The altar was of wood, 5¼ feet^[cs] high, with its length 3½ feet;^[ct] its corners, its length,^[cu] and its walls were of wood. He said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.” ²³ The outer sanctuary and the inner sanctuary each had a double door. ²⁴ Each of the doors had two leaves, two swinging^[cv] leaves; two leaves for one door and two leaves for the other. ²⁵ On the doors of the outer sanctuary were carved cherubim and palm trees, like those carved on the walls, and there was a canopy^[cw] of wood on the front of the outside porch. ²⁶ There were narrow windows and decorative palm trees on either side of the side walls of the porch; this is what the side chambers of the temple and the canopies were like.