Ezekiel 40

New King James Version

A New City, a New Temple

40 In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, at the beginning of the year, on the tenthdayof the month, in the fourteenth year after^(A)the city was^[a]captured, on the very same day^(B)the hand of theLordwas upon me; and He took me there.^2 (C)In the visions of God He took me into the land of Israel and^(D)set me on a very high mountain; on it toward the southwassomething like the structure of a city.³ He took me there, and behold,there wasa man whose appearancewas^(E)like the appearance of bronze.^(F)He had a line of flax^(G)and a measuring rod in his hand, and he stood in the gateway.

⁴ And the man said to me,^(H)“Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and^[b]fix your mind on everything I show you; for youwerebrought here so that I might showthemto you.^(I)Declare to the house of Israel everything you see.”⁵ Now there was^(J)a wall all around the outside of the^[c]temple. In the man’s hand was a measuring rod six^[d]cubitslong, each being acubit and a handbreadth; and he measured the width of the wall structure, one rod; and the height, one rod.

The Eastern Gateway of the Temple

⁶ Then he went to the gateway which faced^(K)east; and he went up its stairs and measured the threshold of the gateway,which wasone rod wide, and the other thresholdwasone rod wide.⁷ Each gate chamberwasone rod long and one rod wide; between the gate chamberswas a space offive cubits; and the threshold of the gateway by the vestibule of the inside gatewasone rod.⁸ He also measured the vestibule of the inside gate, one rod.⁹ Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, eight cubits; and the gateposts, two cubits. The vestibule of the gatewason the inside.¹⁰ In the eastern gatewaywerethree gate chambers on one side and three on the other; the threewereall the same size; also the gateposts were of the same size on this side and that side.

¹¹ He measured the width of the entrance to the gateway, ten cubits;andthe length of the gate, thirteen cubits.¹² There wasa^[e]space in front of the gate chambers, one cubiton this sideand one cubit on that side; the gate chambersweresix cubits on this side and six cubits on that side.¹³ Then he measured the gateway from the roof ofonegate chamber to the roof of the other; the widthwastwenty-five cubits, as door faces door.¹⁴ He measured the gateposts, sixty cubits high, and the court all around the gatewayextendedto the gatepost.¹⁵ Fromthe front of the entrance gate to the front of the vestibule of the inner gatewasfifty cubits.¹⁶ There were^(L)beveled windowframesin the gate chambers and in their intervening archways on the inside of the gateway all around, and likewise in the vestibules.There werewindows all around on the inside. And on each gatepostwere^(M)palm trees.

The Outer Court

¹⁷ Then he brought me into^(N)the outer court; andthere were^(O)chambers and a pavement made all around the court;^(P)thirty chambers faced the pavement.¹⁸ The pavement was by the side of the gateways, corresponding to the length of the gateways;this wasthe lower pavement.¹⁹ Then he measured the width from the front of the lower gateway to the front of the inner court exterior, one hundred cubits toward the east and the north.

The Northern Gateway

²⁰ On the outer court was also a gateway facing north, and he measured its length and its width.²¹ Its gate chambers, three on this side and three on that side, its gateposts and its archways, had the same measurements as the first gate; its lengthwasfifty cubits and its width twenty-five cubits.²² Its windows and those of its archways, and also its palm trees,hadthe same measurements as the gateway facing east; it was ascended by seven steps, and its archwaywasin front of it.²³ A gate of the inner court was opposite the northern gateway, just as the easterngateway;and he measured from gateway to gateway, one hundred cubits.

The Southern Gateway

²⁴ After that he brought me toward the south, and there a gateway was facing south; and he measured its gateposts and archways according to these same measurements.²⁵ There werewindows in it and in its archways all around like those windows; its lengthwasfifty cubits and its width twenty-five cubits.²⁶ Seven steps led up to it, and its archwaywasin front of them; and it had palm trees on its gateposts, one on this side and one on that side.²⁷ There wasalso a gateway on the inner court, facing south; and he measured from gateway to gateway toward the south, one hundred cubits.

Gateways of the Inner Court

²⁸ Then he brought me to the inner court through the southern gateway; he measured the southern gateway according to these same measurements.²⁹ Also its gate chambers, its gateposts, and its archwayswereaccording to these same measurements;there werewindows in it and in its archways all around;it wasfifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.³⁰ There werearchways all around,^(Q)twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide.³¹ Its archways faced the outer court, palm treeswereon its gateposts, and going up to itwereeight steps.

³² And he brought me into the inner court facing east; he measured the gateway according to these same measurements.³³ Also its gate chambers, its gateposts, and its archwayswereaccording to these same measurements; andthere werewindows in it and in its archways all around;it wasfifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.³⁴ Its archways faced the outer court, and palm treeswereon its gateposts on this side and on that side; and going up to itwereeight steps.

³⁵ Then he brought me to the north gateway and measureditaccording to these same measurements—³⁶ also its gate chambers, its gateposts, and its archways. It had windows all around; its lengthwasfifty cubits and its width twenty-five cubits.³⁷ Its gateposts faced the outer court, palm treeswereon its gateposts on this side and on that side, and going up to itwereeight steps.

Where Sacrifices Were Prepared

³⁸ There wasa chamber and its entrance by the gateposts of the gateway, where they^(R)washed the burnt offering.³⁹ In the vestibule of the gatewayweretwo tables on this side and two tables on that side, on which to slay the burnt offering,^(S)the sin offering, and^(T)the trespass offering.⁴⁰ At the outer side of thevestibule, as one goes up to the entrance of the northern gateway,weretwo tables; and on the other side of the vestibule of the gatewayweretwo tables.⁴¹ Four tableswereon this side and four tables on that side, by the side of the gateway, eight tables on which they slaughteredthe sacrifices.⁴² There werealso four tables of hewn stone for the burnt offering, one cubit and a half long, one cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high; on these they laid the instruments with which they slaughtered the burnt offering and the sacrifice.⁴³ Insidewerehooks, a handbreadth wide, fastened all around; and the flesh of the sacrificeswason the tables.

Chambers for Singers and Priests

⁴⁴ Outside the inner gatewerethe chambers for^(U)the singers in the inner court, one facing south at the side of the northern gateway, and the other facing north at the side of the^[f]southern gateway.⁴⁵ Then he said to me, “This chamber which faces southisfor^(V)the priests who have charge of the temple.⁴⁶ The chamber which faces northisfor the priests^(W)who have charge of the altar; thesearethe sons of^(X)Zadok, from the sons of Levi, who come near theLordto minister to Him.”

Dimensions of the Inner Court and Vestibule^(Y)

⁴⁷ And he measured the court, one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide, foursquare. The altarwasin front of the temple.⁴⁸ Then he brought me to the^(Z)vestibule of the temple and measured the doorposts of the vestibule, five cubits on this side and five cubits on that side; and the width of the gateway was three cubits on this side and three cubits on that side.^49 (AA)The length of the vestibulewastwenty cubits, and the width eleven cubits; and by the steps which led up to itthere were^(AB)pillars by the doorposts, one on this side and another on that side.