Ezekiel 40

1In 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 had been struck down, on that very day the hand of Yahweh was upon me, and he brought me there.

2In visions of God he brought me into the land of Israel and set me down on a very high mountain; on it, to the south, was something like the structure of a city.

3He brought me there, and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze, with a linen cord in his hand and a measuring reed; and he was standing in the gateway.

4And the man said to me, “Son of man, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart on all that I show you, for you were brought here so that I might show you these things. Declare to the house of Israel all that you see.”

5And behold, there was a wall outside the house, all around, and in the hand of the man was a measuring reed of six cubits, each cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth. And he measured the width of the structure: one reed, and the height: one reed.

6Then he came to the gate that faced east, and he went up its steps and measured the threshold of the gate: one reed wide. And the other threshold was one reed wide.

7And each guardroom was one reed long and one reed wide, and between the guardrooms was five cubits. And the threshold of the gate beside the portico of the gate on the inside was one reed.

8Then he measured the vestibule of the gate on the inside: one rod.

9Then he measured the portico of the gate: eight cubits, and its side pillars two cubits; and the portico of the gate was toward the temple.

10And the guardrooms of the gate facing east were three on this side and three on that side; the three of them had one measure, and the side pillars had one measure on this side and on that side.

11Then he measured the width of the entrance of the gate: ten cubits, and the length of the gate: thirteen cubits.

12And there was a barrier of one cubit in front of the side rooms, and a barrier of one cubit on the other side; and each side room was six cubits on this side and six cubits on that side.

13Then he measured the gateway from the roof of one guardroom to the roof of the other: twenty-five cubits wide, doorway opposite doorway.

14And he made the jambs sixty cubits, and to the jamb of the court the gate extended all around.

15And from the front of the outer gateway to the front of the vestibule of the inner gate was fifty cubits.

16And there were recessed windows toward the guardrooms and toward their side pillars, inward, all around the gate; and likewise for the porticos. And windows were all around on the inside, and on each pillar were palm-tree decorations.

17Then he brought me into the outer court, and behold, there were chambers and a pavement made for the court all around, all around; thirty chambers were on the pavement.

18And the pavement was beside the side of the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates—the lower pavement.

19Then he measured the width from the front of the lower gate to the front of the inner court outside: one hundred cubits, to the east and to the north.

20As for the gate whose front faced north toward the outer court, he measured its length and its width.

21Its guardrooms were three on this side and three on that side, and its side pillars and its portico had the same measurements as the first gate: its length was fifty cubits, and the width twenty-five cubits.

22Its windows, its porch, and its palm-tree decorations had the same measurements as the gate that faced east. People would go up to it by seven steps, and its porch was in front of them.

23And a gate to the inner court was opposite the gate on the north and on the east; and he measured from gate to gate one hundred cubits.

24Then he led me by way of the south, and behold, there was a gate facing south. He measured its side pillars and its porch according to these measurements.

25And it had windows all around, and its porch also had windows all around, like these windows. The length was fifty cubits, and the width twenty-five cubits.

26And its ascent had seven steps, with its vestibule before them; and it had palm-tree ornaments, one on this side and one on that side, on its jambs.

27And there was a gate to the inner court toward the south, and he measured from gate to gate toward the south: one hundred cubits.

28Then he brought me into the inner court by way of the south gate, and he measured the south gate according to these measurements.

29And its guardroom, its side pillars, and its porch were according to these measurements; and it had windows, and its porch had windows, all around. The length was fifty cubits, and the width twenty-five cubits.

30And vestibules all around, all around: twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide.

31Its portico faced the outer court, and palm trees were on its jambs, and eight steps went up to it.

32Then he brought me into the inner court by way of the east, and he measured the gate according to these measurements.

33And its guardrooms, its side pillars, and its portico were according to these measurements; and it and its side pillars had windows all around. Its length was fifty cubits, and its width twenty-five cubits.

34Its portico faced the outer court, and palm trees were on its jambs, on this side and on that side; and eight steps went up to it.

35Then he brought me to the north gate and measured it according to these measurements.

36Its guardrooms, its side pillars, and its portico, with windows all around, had a length of fifty cubits and a width of twenty-five cubits.

37Its portico faced the outer court, and palm trees were on its jambs, on this side and on that side; and eight steps went up to it.

38There was a chamber with its doorway by the gateposts of the gates; there they would rinse the burnt offering.

39And in the portico of the gate were two tables on this side and two tables on that side, on which they slaughtered the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering.

40And on the outer side, by the ascent to the entrance of the north gate, were two tables; and on the other side, which belonged to the porch of the gate, were two tables.

41Four tables on this side and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate—eight tables; on them they slaughtered.

42And four tables for the burnt offering were of cut stone, a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high. On them they placed the implements with which they slaughtered the burnt offering and the sacrifice.

43And hooks, a handbreadth long, were fastened all around inside the house, and on the tables was the flesh of the offering.

44And outside the inner gate were chambers for singers in the inner court, which were beside the shoulder of the north gate, with their front toward the south; one was beside the shoulder of the east gate, facing toward the north.

45Then he spoke to me: “This chamber, whose front faces south, is for the priests who keep charge of the temple.”

46And the chamber whose front faces north is for the priests who keep charge of the altar. They are the sons of Zadok, who from among the sons of Levi come near to Yahweh to minister to him.

47Then he measured the court: one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide, square; and the altar was before the house.

48Then he brought me to the vestibule of the house, and he measured the jambs of the vestibule: five cubits on this side and five cubits on that side; and the width of the gate was three cubits on this side and three cubits on that side.

49The length of the vestibule was twenty cubits, and the width was twelve cubits, and by the steps by which one went up to it; and pillars were beside the sidewalls, one on this side and one on that side.