Ezekiel 40

₁It was the tenth day of the new year, which was the 25th year after we had been taken into exile and the fourteenth year after Jerusalem was captured. On that day I felt the powerful presence of the LORD, and he carried me away. ₂In a vision God took me to the land of Israel and put me on a high mountain. I saw in front of me a group of buildings that looked like a city. ₃He took me closer, and I saw a man who shone like bronze. He was holding a linen tape measure and a measuring rod and was standing by a gateway.

₄He said to me, “Watch, mortal man. Listen carefully and pay close attention to everything I show you, because this is why you were brought here. You are to tell the people of Israel everything you see.”

₅What I saw was the Temple, and there was a wall round it. The man took his measuring rod, which was three metres long, and measured the wall. It was three metres high and three metres thick. ₆Then he went to the gateway that faced east. He went up the steps, and at the top he measured the entrance; it was three metres deep. ₇Beyond it there was a passage, which had three guardrooms on each side. Each of the rooms was square, three metres on each side, and the walls between them were 2.5 metres thick. Beyond the guardrooms there was a passage three metres long that led to an entrance room which faced the Temple. _8-9He measured this room, and found it was four metres deep. It formed that end of the gateway which was nearest the Temple, and at its far end the walls were one metre thick. ₁₀(These guardrooms on each side of the passage were all the same size, and the walls between them were all of the same thickness.)

₁₁Next, the man measured the width of the passage in the gateway. It was 6.5 metres altogether, and the space between the open gates was five metres. ₁₂In front of each of the guardrooms there was a low wall fifty centimetres high and fifty centimetres thick. (The rooms were three metres square.) ₁₃Then he measured the distance from the back wall of one room to the back wall of the room across the passage from it, and it was 12.5 metres. ₁₄The room at the far end led out to a courtyard. He measured that room and found it was ten metres wide. ₁₅The total length of the gateway from the outside wall of the gate to the far side of the last room was 25 metres. ₁₆There were small openings in the outside walls of all the rooms and also in the inner walls between the rooms. There were palm trees carved on the inner walls that faced the passage.

₁₇The man took me through the gateway into the courtyard. There were thirty rooms built against the outer wall, and in front of them there was an area paved with stones, ₁₈which extended round the courtyard. This outer courtyard was at a lower level than the inner courtyard.

₁₉There was a gateway at a higher level that led to the inner courtyard. The man measured the distance between the two gateways, and it was fifty metres.

₂₀Then the man measured the gateway on the north side that led into the outer courtyard. ₂₁The three guardrooms on each side of the passage, the walls between them, and the entrance room all had the same measurements as those in the east gateway. The total length of the gateway was 25 metres and the width 12.5 metres. ₂₂The entrance room, the windows, and the carved palm trees were like those in the east gate. Here seven steps led up to the gate, and the entrance room was at the end facing the courtyard. ₂₃Across the courtyard from this north gateway was another gateway leading to the inner courtyard, just as there was on the east side. The man measured the distance between these two gateways, and it was fifty metres.

₂₄Next, the man took me to the south side, and there we saw another gateway. He measured its inner walls and its entrance room, and they were the same as the others. ₂₅There were windows in the rooms of this gateway just as in the others. The total length of the gateway was 25 metres, and the width 12.5 metres. ₂₆Seven steps led up to it, and its entrance room was also at the end facing the courtyard. There were palm trees carved on the inner walls that faced the passage. ₂₇Here, too, there was a gateway leading to the inner courtyard. The man measured the distance to this second gateway, and it was fifty metres.

₂₈The man took me through the south gateway into the inner courtyard. He measured the gateway, and it was the same size as the gateways in the outer wall. _29-30Its guardrooms, its entrance room, and its inner walls were the same size as those in the other gateways. There were also windows in the rooms of this gateway. The total length was 25 metres and the width 12.5 metres. ₃₁Its entrance room faced the other courtyard, and palm trees were carved on the walls along the passage. Eight steps led up to this gate.

₃₂The man took me through the east gateway into the inner courtyard. He measured the gateway, and it was the same size as the others. ₃₃Its guardrooms, its entrance room, and its inner walls measured the same as those in the other gateways. There were windows all round, and in the entrance room also. The total length was 25 metres and the width 12.5 metres. ₃₄The entrance room faced the outer courtyard. Palm trees were carved on the walls along the passage. Eight steps led up to this gate.

₃₅Then the man took me to the north gateway. He measured it, and it was the same size as the others. ₃₆Like them, it also had guardrooms, decorated inner walls, an entrance room, and windows all round. Its total length was 25 metres and its width 12.5 metres. ₃₇The entrance room faced the outer courtyard. Palm trees were carved on the walls along the passage. Eight steps led up to this gate.

₃₈In the outer courtyard there was an annexe attached to the inner gateway on the north side. It opened into the entrance room that faced the courtyard, and there they washed the carcasses of the animals to be burnt whole as sacrifices. ₃₉In this entrance room there were four tables, two on each side of the room. It was on these tables that they killed the animals to be offered as sacrifices, either to be burnt whole or to be sacrifices for sin or as repayment offerings. ₄₀Outside the room there were four similar tables, two on either side of the entrance of the north gate. ₄₁Altogether there were eight tables on which the animals to be sacrificed were killed: four inside the room and four out in the courtyard. ₄₂The four tables in the annexe, used to prepare the offerings to be burnt whole, were of cut stone. They were fifty centimetres high, and their tops were 75 centimetres square. All the equipment used in killing the sacrificial animals was kept on these tables. ₄₃Ledges 25 millimetres wide ran round the edge of the tables. All the meat to be offered in sacrifice was placed on the tables.

₄₄Then he brought me into the inner courtyard. There were two rooms opening on the inner courtyard, one facing south beside the north gateway and the other facing north beside the south gateway. ₄₅The man told me that the room which faced south was for the priests who served in the Temple, ₄₆and the room which faced north was for the priests who served at the altar. All the priests are descended from Zadok; they are the only members of the tribe of Levi who are permitted to go into the LORD's presence to serve him.

₄₇The man measured the inner courtyard, and it was fifty metres square. The Temple was on the west side, and in front of it was an altar. ₄₈Then he took me into the entrance room of the Temple. He measured the entrance: it was 2.5 metres deep and seven metres wide, with walls 1.5 metres thick on either side. ₄₉Steps led up to the entrance room, which was ten metres wide and six metres deep. There were two columns, one on each side of the entrance.