Vision of the Man with a Measuring Rod

40 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile [in Babylon], in the beginning of the year, on the tenth [day] of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city [of Jerusalem] was taken, on that [very] same day the hand of the Lord was upon me and He brought me there. ² In the visions of God He brought me to the land of Israel and set me down on a very high mountain, on the south side of which there was what seemed to be a structure of a city. ³ So He brought me there; and behold, there was a man [an angel] whose appearance was like bronze, with a line of flax and a measuring ^[a]rod in his hand; and he was standing in the gateway. ⁴ The man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears and set your heart on all that I am going to show you; for you have been brought here that I may show it to you. Declare to the house of Israel all that you see.”

Measurements Relating to the Temple

⁵ And behold, there was a wall all around the outside [area] of the temple (house) [of the Lord], and in the man’s hand a measuring rod six cubits long (10.2 ft.), ^[b]each ^[c]cubit being longer than the ^[d]standard one by a hand width. So he measured the thickness of the wall, one rod; and the height, one rod. ⁶ Then he went to the gate which faced the east and went up its [seven] steps and measured the threshold of the gate, one rod in width; and the other threshold [of the gate inside the thick wall] was one rod in width. ⁷ The guardroom was one rod long and one rod wide, and [the space] between the guardrooms was five cubits. And the threshold of the gate by the porch (portico) of the gate facing inward was one rod. ⁸ He also measured the porch of the gate facing inward [toward the temple of the Lord], one rod. ⁹ Then he measured the porch of the gate, eight cubits, and its side pillars, two cubits. The porch of the gate faced inward [toward the temple of the Lord]. ¹⁰ There were three guardrooms on each side of the gate toward the east; the three were the same size, and the side pillars on each side measured the same. ¹¹ And he measured the width of the ^[e]gateway, ten cubits, and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits. ¹² On each side a border (barrier wall) one cubit wide stood in front of the guardrooms on each side; and the guardrooms were six cubits square on each side. ¹³ He measured the gate from the roof of one guardroom to the roof of the other, a width of twenty-five cubits from one door to the opposite door. ¹⁴ He made [the measurement of] the side pillars sixty cubits high; the gate extended all around to the side pillar of the courtyard. ¹⁵ From the front of the entrance gate [on the outside] to the front of the inner porch (portico) of the gate [the distance] was fifty cubits. ¹⁶ There were shuttered windows looking toward the guardrooms, and toward their side pillars within the gate all around, and likewise for the porches. And windows were all around inside; and palm tree decorations were on each side pillar.

¹⁷ Then he brought me into the outer courtyard, and behold, there were chambers and a pavement made for the courtyard all around; thirty chambers faced the pavement. ¹⁸ The pavement (that is, the lower pavement) was by the ^[f]side of the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates. ¹⁹ Then he measured the width from the front of the lower gate to the front of the exterior of the inner court, a hundred cubits [both] on the east and on the north.

²⁰ And as for the gate of the outer courtyard which faced the north he measured [both] its length and its width. ²¹ Its guardrooms, three on each side, and its side pillars and its porches had the same measurement as the first gate. Its length was fifty cubits and the width was twenty-five cubits. ²² Its windows and its porches and its palm tree decorations had the same measurements as the gate that faced toward the east. It was reached by going up seven steps, and its porch was in front of them. ²³ The inner courtyard had a gate opposite the gate on the north as well as the gate on the east; and he measured a hundred cubits from gate to gate.

²⁴ Then he led me toward the south, and behold, there was a gate toward the south; and he measured its side pillars and its porches, ^[g]and they measured the same as the others. ²⁵ The gate and its porches had windows all around like those windows [in the other gateways]; the length was fifty cubits and the width was twenty-five cubits. ²⁶ There were seven steps going up to the gate, and its porches were in front of them; and it had palm tree decorations [carved] on its side pillars, one on each side. ²⁷ The inner courtyard had a gate toward the south; and he measured from gate to gate toward the south, a hundred cubits.

²⁸ Then the man (angel) brought me to the inner courtyard by the south gate; and he measured the south gate according to those same measurements. ²⁹ Its guardrooms also, its side pillars and its porches ^[h]measured the same as the others. And the gate and its porches had windows all around; the length was fifty cubits and the width was twenty-five cubits. ³⁰ There were porches all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide. ³¹ Its porches faced the outer courtyard; and palm tree decorations were [carved] on its side pillars, and its stairway had eight steps.

³² He brought me into the inner courtyard toward the east, and he measured the gate; it measured the same as the others. ³³ Its guardrooms also, its side pillars and its porches measured the same as the others. The gate and its porches had windows all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁴ Its porches faced the outer courtyard; and palm tree decorations were [carved] on either side of its side pillars, and its stairway had eight steps.

³⁵ Then he brought me to the north gate and he measured it; the measurements were the same as those of the other gates, ³⁶ with its guardrooms, its side pillars, its porches; and the gate had windows all around. The length was fifty cubits and the width was twenty-five cubits. ³⁷ Its side pillars faced the outer courtyard, and palm tree decorations were [carved] on them on either side. And its stairway had eight steps.

³⁸ A chamber with its doorway was by the side pillars of the gates; there the burnt offering was to be washed. ³⁹ In the porch (portico) of the gate were two tables on each side, on which to slaughter the burnt offering, the sin offering and the guilt offering. ⁴⁰ On the outer ^[i]side, as one went up to the ^[j]gateway toward the north, were two tables; and on the other ^[k]side of the porch of the gate were two tables. ⁴¹ Four tables were on each ^[l]side next to the gate; [a total of] eight tables on which they slaughter sacrifices. ⁴² Moreover, there were four tables of hewn stone (ashlar) for the burnt offering, a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high, on which they lay the instruments with which they slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice. ⁴³ The double hooks, one hand width in length were installed in the ^[m]house all around. The meat of the offering was [to be placed] on the tables.

⁴⁴ From the outside to the inner gate were chambers for the singers in the inner courtyard, one of which was ^[n]beside the north gate, with its front toward the south, and one ^[o]beside the ^[p]south gate facing toward the north. ⁴⁵ He [who was guiding me] said to me, “This is the chamber which faces toward the south; it is for the priests who have the responsibility and take care of the temple; ⁴⁶ but the chamber which faces toward the north is for the priests who have the responsibility and take care of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who [alone] from the sons of Levi come near to the Lord to minister to Him.” ⁴⁷ He measured the courtyard, a hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits wide, a perfect square; and the altar was in front of the temple.

⁴⁸ Then he brought me to the porch of the temple, and he measured each side pillar of the porch, five cubits on each side; and the width of the gate was three cubits on each side. ⁴⁹ The length of the porch was twenty cubits and the width eleven cubits; and at the stairway by which it was ascended, there were [two] columns beside the side pillars, one on each side [of the entrance].

The Inner Temple

41 Then he (the angel) brought me to the nave (outer sanctuary) and measured the side pillars; six cubits wide on each side was the width of the ^[q]side pillar. ² The width of the entrance was ten cubits and the ^[r]sides of the entrance were five cubits on each side; and he measured its length, forty cubits, and its width, twenty cubits. ³ Then he went inside [the inner sanctuary] and measured each side pillar of the doorway, two cubits, and the doorway, six cubits [high], and the width of the doorway, seven cubits.^{(A) 4} He measured the length [of the interior of the inner sanctuary], twenty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits, ^[s]opposite the nave (outer sanctuary); and he said to me, “This is the ^[t]Most Holy Place.”

⁵ Then he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits [thick, to accommodate side chambers]; and the width of every side chamber, four cubits, all around the temple on every side. ⁶ The side chambers were three stories [high], one above another, and thirty chambers in each story; and the side chambers extended to the wall which stood on their inward side all around, so that they would be attached, but not attached to the wall of the temple itself. ⁷ The side chambers became wider at each successive level as they encompassed the temple. Because the structure surrounding the temple went higher by stages on all sides of the temple, for that reason the width of the temple increased as it went higher; and thus one went up from the lowest story to the highest one by way of the ^[u]second story. ⁸ I also saw that the temple (house) had a raised platform all around it; the foundations of the side chambers measured a full rod of six long cubits in height. ⁹ The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits. But the free space between the side chambers belonging to the temple ¹⁰ and the outer chambers was a width of twenty cubits all around the temple on every side. ¹¹ The doorways of the side chambers toward the free space were one doorway toward the north and another doorway toward the south; and the width of the free space was five cubits all around.

¹² The building that was in front of the separate area on the side toward the west was seventy cubits wide; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length was ninety cubits.

¹³ Then he measured the temple, a hundred cubits long; the separate area and the building with its walls were also a hundred cubits long. ¹⁴ Also the width of the front of the temple and the separate areas along the east side totaled a hundred cubits.

¹⁵ He (the angel) measured the length of the building along the front of the separate area behind it, with a gallery on each side, a hundred cubits; he also measured the inner sanctuary and the porches (porticoes) of the courtyard. ¹⁶ The thresholds, the latticed windows, and the galleries all around their three stories, opposite the threshold, were paneled with wood all around, and from the ground to the windows (but the windows were covered), ¹⁷ over the entrance, and to the inner ^[v]room, and on the outside, and on all the wall all around inside and outside, by measurement. ¹⁸ It was ^[w]carved with [figures of] cherubim and palm trees; so that a palm decoration was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces, ¹⁹ so that the face of a man was toward the palm decoration on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm decoration on the other side. It was carved [this way] on the entire house (temple) all around. ²⁰ From the ^[x]floor to [the space] above the entrance cherubim and palm decorations were carved, and also on the wall of the nave [the Holy Place].

²¹ The doorposts of the nave were square; as for the front of the sanctuary, the appearance of one doorpost was like that of the other. ²² The ^[y]altar was of wood, three cubits high and two cubits long; and its corners, its ^[z]base, and its ^[aa]sides were wood. And he said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.” ²³ The nave (Holy Place) and the sanctuary (Holy of Holies) each had a double door. ²⁴ Each of the doors had two leaves, two swinging (folding) leaves; two leaves for the one door and two leaves for the other. ²⁵ And there were carved on them, on the doors of the nave, cherubim and palm decorations like those carved on the walls; and there was a ^[ab]threshold of wood on the front of the porch outside. ²⁶ There were latticed windows and palm decorations on one side and on the other, on the sides of the porch. Thus were the side chambers and the ^[ac]thresholds of the house.

Chambers of the Temple

42 Then he (the angel) brought me out into the outer courtyard, toward the north; and he led me to the [attached] chamber which was opposite the separate area and opposite the building to the north. ² Along the length, one hundred cubits, was the north door; and the width was fifty cubits. ³ Opposite the twenty cubits which belonged to the inner courtyard, and opposite the pavement which belonged to the outer courtyard, was gallery (balcony) corresponding to gallery in three stories. ⁴ In front of the [attached] chambers was an inner walkway ten cubits wide ^[ad]and one hundred cubits long; and their entrances were on the north. ⁵ Now the upper chambers were smaller because the galleries took away more space from them than from the chambers on the lower and middle stories of the building; ⁶ for they were in three stories and did not have pillars like the pillars of the [outer] courtyards; therefore the upper chambers were ^[ae]set back from the ground more than the lower and the middle ones. ⁷ And the outer wall, by the side of the chambers, toward the outer courtyard facing the chambers, was fifty cubits long. ⁸ For the length of the chambers which were in the outer courtyard was fifty cubits, ^[af]while the length of those facing the temple was a hundred cubits. ⁹ Below these chambers was the entrance on the east side, as one enters them from the outer courtyard.

¹⁰ In the width of the wall of the courtyard toward the east, facing the separate area and facing the building, were chambers; ¹¹ and a passage in front of them was like the appearance of the [attached] chambers on the north, and they had the same length and width, and all their exits were like both their ^[ag]arrangements and their entrances. ¹² And like the entrances of the chambers that were toward the south there was an entrance at the head of the walkway, the walkway in front of the ^[ah]dividing wall toward the east, as one enters them.

¹³ Then he (the angel) said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers, which are opposite the separate area, are the holy chambers where the priests who are close to the Lord shall eat the most holy offerings. There they shall place the most holy things—the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering—for the place is holy. ¹⁴ When the priests enter [the Holy Place], they shall not go out from the sanctuary into the outer court ^[ai]unless they lay there their garments in which they minister, for these are holy (set apart). They shall put on other garments before they approach that which is for the people.”

¹⁵ Now when he had finished measuring the inner temple, he brought me out toward the gate which faced east and measured the outer area all around. ¹⁶ He measured the east side with the measuring ^[aj]rod, five hundred rods by the measuring rod. ¹⁷ He measured the north side, five hundred rods by the measuring rod. ¹⁸ He measured the south side, five hundred rods by the measuring rod. ¹⁹ He turned about to the west side and measured five hundred rods by the measuring rod. ²⁰ He measured it on the four sides; it had a wall all around, the length five hundred and the width five hundred, to make a separation between that which was holy [the temple proper] and that which was common [the outer area].