Ezekiel 40

₁The Lord put his hand on me. It was in the 25th year after we had become prisoners in Babylon. It was the beginning of the year, on the 10th day of the month. It was 14 years after Jerusalem was destroyed. ₂The Lord showed me a vision and in the vision He took me to Jerusalem and He put me down on a very high mountain. South of the mountain I saw a big city with a lot of buildings. ₃The Lord took me to the city and there was a man who was shining like bronze. He was standing at the gate of the city and he was holding a cord made of flax and a measuring-stick in his hand. ₄The man said to me: ‘Son of man, you must look carefully and listen to what I say and remember everything that I show you, because that is why the Lord has brought you here. You must go and tell the Israelites everything that you have seen.’

₅I saw that there was a wall around the temple. The man measured the wall with the measuring-stick that was 6 temple-cubits long, that is 6 cubits and 6 handbreadths. The wall was one measuring-stick thick and one measuring-stick high.

₆Then the man went to the gate on the eastern side. He went up the stairs and he measured the doorstep of the gate. The doorstep was one measuring-stick wide. There was only one doorstep and it was one measuring-stick wide. ₇There were rooms at the gate. Each room was one measuring-stick long and one measuring-stick wide. Each wall between the rooms was 5 cubits thick. There was a porch leading to the front of the temple and the doorstep of the gate to the porch was one measuring-stick. ₈The man measured the doorstep of the porch in front of the temple. It was one measuring-stick wide. ₉Then he measured the porch. It was 8 cubits. The pillars of the porch were 2 cubits thick. The porch of the gate was in front of the temple. ₁₀There were 3 rooms on each side of the gate. The rooms were the same size and the pillars on both sides were the same size.

₁₁The man measured how wide the gate was through which people had to go. It was 10 cubits. The gate was 13 cubits long. ₁₂There was a low wall in front of the rooms on both sides. The wall was one cubit high. The rooms on both sides were 6 cubits wide. ₁₃The man also measured how wide the gate was, from one outside wall to the other outside wall. It was 25 cubits. The doors of the rooms were opposite each other. ₁₄He also measured the porch. It was 60 cubits to the first pillar of the courtyard behind the gate. ₁₅It was 50 cubits from the front of the gate where people could go in, to the front of the porch of the inner gate. ₁₆There were windows in the walls of all the rooms and in the pillars at the inside of the gate. There were shutters in front of the windows. There were windows in all the walls of the porch and there were pictures of palm trees carved out onto the pillars.

₁₇The man took me to the courtyard outside the temple. There were rooms and a pavement of stones around the courtyard and 30 rooms around the pavement. ₁₈The pavement was next to the gates and it was as long as the gates. That was the lower pavement. ₁₉The man measured how far it was from the front of the lower gate to the outside of the courtyard. It was 100 cubits to the east and northern sides.

₂₀The man also measured how long and how wide the northern gate was leading to the courtyard outside the temple. ₂₁The gate also had 3 rooms on each side and the pillars and porch were as big as the first gate. The gate was 50 cubits long and 25 cubits wide. ₂₂The windows and the pillars and carved palm trees in this gate were the same size as the windows and pillars of the eastern gate. There were 7 steps leading up to the gate. There was a porch on the inside. ₂₃There was also a gate next to the courtyard on the inside, opposite the northern gate. It was the same as the eastern gate. The man measured how far apart the gates were. They were 100 cubits from each other.

₂₄Then the man took me to the southern side, to the southern gate outside the temple. He then measured the pillars and porch of the gate. They were as big as the pillars and porch of the other gates. ₂₅There were windows in the gate and the porch. The gate was 50 cubits long and 25 cubits wide. ₂₆There were 7 steps leading up to the gate and there was a porch on the inside. There were pictures of palm trees carved out onto the pillars on both sides. ₂₇There was a gate at the southern side of the inside courtyard. The man measured how far it was from one gate to the other. It was 100 cubits.

₂₈Then the man took me to the southern gate to the inner courtyard. He measured the inside southern gate and I saw that it was as big as the other gates. ₂₉The rooms and pillars and porches were as big as the other rooms and pillars and porches. There were windows in all the walls. There were also windows in all the walls of the gate and the porch. The gate was 50 cubits long and 25 cubits wide. ₃₀Each courtyard had a porch that was 25 cubits long and 5 cubits wide. ₃₁There were pictures of palm trees carved out onto the pillars and there were 8 steps going up to the gate. One could go through the porch to the outer courtyard.

₃₂Then the man took me to the inner courtyard on the eastern side. There was a big gate and he measured the gate. It was as big as the other gates. ₃₃The rooms at the gate and the pillars and the porch were as big as the other rooms and pillars and porches. The porch also had windows. The gate was 50 cubits long and 25 cubits wide. ₃₄One could go through the porch to the outer courtyard. There were pictures of palm trees carved out onto the pillars on both sides and there were 8 steps going up to the gate.

₃₅Then the man took me to the northern gate and he measured the gate. It was as big as the other gates. ₃₆There were rooms and pillars and a porch and windows in all the walls. The gate was 50 cubits long and 25 cubits wide. ₃₇One could go through the porch to the outer courtyard. There were pictures of palm trees carved out onto the pillars on both sides. There were 8 steps going up to the gate.

₃₈There was another room. The door of this room was in the porch of the gate. That is where the priests washed the animals for the burnt-offering. ₃₉In the porch of the gate were 2 tables, one on each side. That is where the priests killed the animals for the burnt-offering, the sin-offering and the guilt-offering. ₄₀There were 2 tables outside, next to the stairs where one could go to the northern gate, and 2 tables on the other side of the porch of the gate. ₄₁There were 4 tables outside and 4 tables inside the gate. The priests killed the animals for the offerings on these tables. _42-43The 4 tables where they killed the animals for the burnt-offering were made of stones that were cut. Each table was one and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide and one cubit high. There were 2 small walls that were one handbreadth wide, where the priests put their tools that they used to kill the animals for the burnt-offerings and other sacrifices.

₄₄Outside the inner gate were rooms for people who had to sing. They were in the inner courtyard. One of the rooms was next to the Northern Gate. The door of the room was on the southern side. The other rooms were next to the Eastern Gate. The door of this room was north. ₄₅The man said to me: ‘One of the rooms next to the Northern Gate is for the priests who work in the temple. ₄₆The room next to the Eastern Gate is for the priests who work at the altar. All of them are descendants of Zadok. Only these priests who are descendants of Levi may come near the altar to work for the Lord.’

₄₇Then the man measured the courtyard. It was square, 100 cubits long and 100 cubits wide. The altar was in front of the temple. ₄₈Then the man took me to the porch of the temple. He measured the walls on both sides of the door. Each wall was 5 cubits. The door on each side was 3 cubits wide. ₄₉The porch was 20 cubits long and 11 cubits wide. There were stairs leading to the porch and there were pillars on both sides of the porch.