Ezekiel 40:38-43:27

Holman Christian Standard Bible

Rooms for Preparing Sacrifices

³⁸ There was a chamber whose door opened into the portico of the gate.^[a] The burnt offering was to be washed there.^{(A) 39} Inside the portico of the gate there were two tables on each side, on which to slaughter the burnt offering, sin offering,^(B) and restitution offering.^{(C) 40} Outside, as one approaches the entrance of the north gate, there were two tables on one side and two more tables on the other side of the gate’s portico. ⁴¹ So there were four tables inside the gate and four outside, eight tables in all on which the slaughtering was to be done. ⁴² There were also four tables of cut stone for the burnt offering,^(D) each 31½ inches^[b] long, 31½ inches wide, and 21 inches^[c] high. The utensils used to slaughter the burnt offerings and other sacrifices were placed on them. ⁴³ There were three-inch^[d] hooks^[e] fastened all around the inside of the room, and the flesh of the offering was to be laid on the tables.

Rooms for Singers and Priests

⁴⁴ Outside the inner gate, within the inner court, there were chambers for the singers:^[f](E) one^[g] beside the north gate, facing south, and another beside the south^[h] gate, facing north. ⁴⁵ Then the man said to me: “This chamber that faces south is for the priests who keep charge of the temple.^{(F) 46} The chamber that faces north is for the priests who keep charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok,^(G) the ones from the sons of Levi who may approach the Lord to serve Him.”^{(H) 47} Next he measured the court. It was square, 175 feet^[i] long and 175 feet wide. The altar^(I) was in front of the temple.

⁴⁸ Then he brought me to the portico of the temple and measured the pilasters of the portico; they were 8¾ feet^[j] thick on each side. The width of the gateway was 24½ feet,^[k] and the side walls of the gate were^[l] 5¼ feet^[m] wide on each side. ⁴⁹ The portico was 35 feet^[n] across and 21^[o] feet^[p] deep, and 10 steps led^[q] up to it.^(J) There were pillars by the pilasters, one on each side.^(K)

Inside the Temple

41 Next he brought me into the great hall and measured the pilasters;^(L) on each side the width of the pilaster was 10½ feet.^{[r][s] 2} The width of the entrance was 17½ feet,^[t] and the side walls of the entrance were 8¾ feet^[u] wide on each side. He also measured the length of the great hall, 70 feet,^[v] and the width, 35 feet.^{[w](M) 3} He went inside the next room and measured the pilasters at the entrance;^(N) they were 3½ feet^[x] wide. The entrance was 10½ feet^[y] wide, and the width of the entrance’s side walls on each side^[z] was 12¼ feet.^{[aa] 4} He then measured the length of the room adjacent to the great hall, 35 feet,^[ab] and the width, 35 feet.^(O) And he said to me, “This is the most holy place.”^(P)

Outside the Temple

⁵ Then he measured the wall of the temple; it was 10½ feet^[ac] thick. The width of the side rooms all around the temple was seven feet.^{[ad](Q) 6} The side rooms were arranged one above another in three stories of 30 rooms each.^[ae] There were ledges on the wall of the temple all around to serve as supports for the side rooms, so that the supports would not be in the temple wall itself.^{(R) 7} The side rooms surrounding the temple widened at each successive story, for the structure surrounding the temple went up by stages. This was the reason for the temple’s broadness as it rose. And so, one would go up from the lowest story to the highest by means of the middle one.^[af](S)

⁸ I saw that the temple had a raised platform surrounding it; this foundation for the side rooms was 10½ feet high.^{[ag](T) 9} The thickness of the outer wall of the side rooms was 8¾ feet.^[ah] The free space between the side rooms of the temple ¹⁰ and the outer chambers was 35 feet^[ai] wide all around the temple.^{(U) 11} The side rooms opened into the free space, one entrance toward the north and another to the south. The area of free space was 8¾ feet^[aj] wide all around.

¹² Now the building that faced the temple yard toward the west was 122½ feet^[ak] wide. The wall of the building was 8¾ feet^[al] thick on all sides, and the building’s length was 157½ feet.^[am]

¹³ Then the man measured the temple; it was 175 feet^[an] long.^(V) In addition, the temple yard and the building, including its walls, were 175 feet long. ¹⁴ The width of the front of the temple along with the temple yard to the east was 175 feet. ¹⁵ Next he measured the length of the building facing the temple yard to the west, with its galleries^[ao] on each side;^(W) it was 175 feet.

Interior Wooden Structures

The interior of the great hall and the porticoes of the court— ¹⁶ the thresholds, the beveled windows,^(X) and the balconies all around with their three levels opposite the threshold—were overlaid with wood on all sides.^(Y) They were paneled from the ground to the windows (but the windows were covered), ¹⁷ reaching to the top of the entrance, and as far as the inner temple and on the outside. On every wall all around, on the inside and outside, was a pattern ¹⁸ carved with cherubim and palm trees.^(Z) There was a palm tree between each pair of cherubim.^(AA) Each cherub had two faces: ¹⁹ a human face turned toward the palm tree on one side,^(AB) and a lion’s face turned toward it on the other. They were carved throughout the temple on all sides. ²⁰ Cherubim and palm trees were carved from the ground to the top of the entrance and on the wall of the great hall.

²¹ The doorposts of the great hall were square,^(AC) and the front of the sanctuary had the same appearance. ²² The altar was^[ap] made of wood, 5¼ feet^[aq] high and 3½ feet^[ar] long.^[as] It had corners, and its length^[at] and sides were of wood.^(AD) The man told me, “This is the table that stands before the Lord.”^(AE)

²³ The great hall and the sanctuary each had a double door,^{(AF) 24} and each of the doors had two swinging panels.^(AG) There were two panels for one door and two for the other. ²⁵ Cherubim and palm trees were carved on the doors of the great hall like those carved on the walls. There was a wooden canopy^[au](AH) outside, in front of the portico. ²⁶ There were beveled windows and palm trees on both sides,^(AI) on the side walls of the portico, the side rooms of the temple, and the canopies.^[av]

The Priests’ Chambers

42 Then the man led me out by way of the north gate into the outer court.^(AJ) He brought me to the group of chambers opposite the temple yard and opposite the building^(AK) to the north. ² Along the length of the chambers, which was 175 feet,^[aw](AL) there was an entrance on the north; the width was 87½ feet.^{[ax] 3} Opposite the 35 foot space^[ay] belonging to the inner court and opposite the paved surface^(AM) belonging to the outer court, the structure rose gallery by gallery^(AN) in three tiers. ⁴ In front of the chambers was a walkway toward the inside,^(AO) 17½ feet^[az] wide and 175 feet^[ba] long,^[bb] and their entrances were on the north. ⁵ The upper chambers were narrower because the galleries took away more space from them than from the lower and middle stories of the building. ⁶ For they were arranged in three stories and had no pillars like the pillars of the courts;^(AP) therefore the upper chambers were set back from the ground more than the lower and middle stories. ⁷ A wall on the outside ran in front of the chambers, parallel to them, toward the outer court; it was 87½ feet^[bc] long. ⁸ For the chambers on the outer court were 87½ feet long, while those facing the great hall were 175 feet^[bd] long.^{(AQ) 9} At the base of these chambers there was an entryway on the east side as one enters them from the outer court.^(AR)

¹⁰ In the thickness of the wall of the court toward the south,^[be] there were chambers facing the temple yard^(AS) and the western building, ¹¹ with a passageway in front of them, just like the chambers that faced north.^(AT) Their length and width, as well as all their exits, measurements, and entrances, were identical. ¹² The entrance at the beginning of the passageway, the way in front of the corresponding^[bf] wall as one enters on the east side, was similar to the entrances of the chambers that were on the south side.

¹³ Then the man said to me, “The northern and southern chambers that face the temple yard are the holy chambers where the priests who approach the Lord will eat^(AU) the most holy offerings.^(AV) There they will deposit the most holy offerings—the grain offerings, sin offerings, and restitution offerings—for the place is holy.^{(AW) 14} Once the priests have entered, they must not go out from the holy area to the outer court until they have removed the clothes they minister in, for these are holy.^(AX) They are to put on other clothes before they approach the public area.”^(AY)

Outside Dimensions of the Temple Complex

¹⁵ When he finished measuring inside the temple complex, he led me out by way of the gate that faced east and measured all around the complex.^(AZ)

²⁰ He measured the temple complex on all four sides. It had a wall all around it,^(BA) 875 feet long and 875 feet^(BB) wide, to separate the holy from the common.^(BC)

Return of the Lord’s Glory

43 He led me to the gate,^(BD) the one that faces east, ² and I saw the glory of the God of Israel^(BE) coming from the east.^(BF) His voice sounded like the roar of mighty waters,^(BG) and the earth shone with His glory.^{(BH) 3} The vision I saw^(BI) was like the one I had seen when He^[bq] came to destroy the city,^(BJ) and like the ones I had seen by the Chebar Canal.^(BK) I fell facedown.^{(BL) 4} The glory of the Lord entered the temple by way of the gate that faced east.^{(BM) 5} Then the Spirit lifted me up^(BN) and brought me to the inner court, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.^(BO)

⁶ While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from the temple.^{(BP) 7} He said to me: “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place for the soles of My feet,^(BQ) where I will dwell among the Israelites forever.^(BR) The house of Israel and their kings will no longer defile My holy name by their religious prostitution and by the corpses^[br](BS) of their kings at their high places.^{[bs](BT) 8} Whenever they placed their threshold next to My threshold and their doorposts beside My doorposts, with only a wall between Me and them, they were defiling My holy name by the detestable acts they committed.^(BU) So I destroyed them in My anger. ⁹ Now let them remove their prostitution and the corpses^[bt](BV) of their kings far from Me, and I will dwell among them forever.^(BW)

¹⁰ “As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel,^(BX) so that they may be ashamed of their iniquities.^(BY) Let them measure its pattern,^{(BZ) 11} and they will be ashamed of all that they have done. Reveal^[bu] the design of the temple to them—its layout with its exits and entrances^(CA)—its complete design along with all its statutes, design specifications, and laws. Write it down in their sight^(CB) so that they may observe its complete design and all its statutes and may carry them out.^{(CC) 12} This is the law of the temple: all its surrounding territory on top of the mountain^(CD) will be especially holy. Yes, this is the law of the temple.

The Altar

¹³ “These are the measurements of the altar^(CE) in units of length (each unit being the standard length plus three inches^(CF)):^[bv] the gutter is 21 inches^[bw] deep and 21 inches wide, with a rim of nine inches^[bx] around its edge. This is the base^[by] of the altar. ¹⁴ The distance from the gutter on the ground to the lower ledge is 3½ feet,^[bz] and the width of the ledge is 21 inches.^[ca] There are seven feet^[cb] from the small ledge to the large ledge, whose width is also 21 inches. ¹⁵ The altar hearth^[cc] is seven feet^[cd] high, and four horns^(CG) project upward from the hearth. ¹⁶ The hearth is square, 21 feet^[ce] long by 21 feet wide.^{(CH) 17} The ledge is 24½ feet^[cf] long by 24½ feet wide, with four equal sides.^(CI) The rim all around it is 10½ inches,^[cg] and its gutter is 21 inches^[ch] all around it. The altar’s steps face east.”^(CJ)

¹⁸ Then He said to me: “Son of man,^(CK) this is what the Lord God says: These are the statutes for the altar on the day it is constructed, so that burnt offerings^(CL) may be sacrificed on it and blood may be sprinkled on it:^{(CM) 19} You are to give a bull from the herd^(CN) as a sin offering^(CO) to the Levitical priests who are from the offspring of Zadok,^(CP) who approach Me in order to serve Me.”^(CQ) This is the declaration of the Lord God. ²⁰ “You must take some of its blood and apply it to the four horns^(CR) of the altar, the four corners of the ledge, and all around the rim. In this way you will purify the altar and make atonement for it.^{(CS) 21} Then you must take away the bull for the sin offering, and it must be burned outside the sanctuary in the place appointed for the temple.^(CT)

²² “On the second day you are to present an unblemished male goat as a sin offering. They will purify the altar just as they did with the bull. ²³ When you have finished the purification, you are to present a young, unblemished bull^(CU) and an unblemished ram from the flock.^{(CV) 24} You must present them before the Lord; the priests will throw salt on them and sacrifice them as a burnt offering to the Lord.^{(CW) 25} You will offer a goat for a sin offering each day for seven days.^(CX) A young bull and a ram from the flock, both unblemished, must also be offered. ²⁶ For seven days the priests are to make atonement for the altar and cleanse it. In this way they will consecrate it^{[ci] 27} and complete the days of purification. Then on the eighth day^(CY) and afterward, the priests will offer your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar, and I will accept you.”^(CZ) This is the declaration of the Lord God.