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42 And he brought me forth into the outer court, the way toward the north; and he brought me to the cells that were over against the separate place and which were over against the building, toward the north,

before the length of the hundred cubits: the entry was on the north, and the breadth was fifty cubits,

over against the twenty [cubits] that pertained to the inner court, and over against the pavement that pertained to the outer court; there was gallery against gallery in the third [story];

and before the cells was a walk of ten cubits in breadth, [and] a way of a hundred cubits inward; and their entries were toward the north.

And the upper cells, because the galleries encroached on them, were shorter than the lower, and than the middle-most of the building.

For they were in three [stories], but had not pillars as the pillars of the courts; therefore [the third story] was straitened more than the lowest and the middle-most from the ground.

And the wall that was without, answering to the cells, toward the outer court in the front of the cells, its length was fifty cubits:

for the length of the cells that were against the outer court was fifty cubits; but behold, before the temple it was a hundred cubits.

And under these cells was the entry from the east, as one goeth into them from the outer court.

10 In the breadth of the wall of the court toward the south, before the separate place, and before the building, were cells;

11 and a passage before them, like the appearance of the cells that were toward the north, according to their length, according to their breadth and all their goings out, and according to their fashions, and according to their doors.

12 And according to the doors of the cells that were toward the south there was a door at the head of the way, the way directly before the corresponding wall toward the east as one entereth into them.

13 And he said unto me, The north cells [and] the south cells, which are before the separate place, they are holy cells, where the priests that come near unto Jehovah shall eat the most holy things; there shall they lay the most holy things, both the oblation and the sin-offering and the trespass-offering: for the place is holy.

14 When the priests enter in, they shall not go forth from the sanctuary into the outer court, but there they shall lay their garments wherein they minister, for they are holy; and they shall put on other garments, and shall approach to that which is for the people.

15 And when he had made an end of measuring the inner house, he brought me forth toward the gate whose front was toward the east, and measured [the enclosure] round about.

16 He measured the east side with the measuring-reed, five hundred reeds, with the measuring-reed round about.

17 He measured the north side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring-reed round about.

18 He measured the south side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring-reed.

19 He turned about to the west side, [and] measured five hundred reeds with the measuring-reed.

20 He measured it on the four sides; it had a wall round about, five hundred long, and five hundred broad, to make a separation between that which was holy and that which was common.

The Rooms for the Priests

42 Then the man led me northward into the outer court and brought me to the rooms(A) opposite the temple courtyard(B) and opposite the outer wall on the north side.(C) The building whose door faced north was a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide.[a] Both in the section twenty cubits[b] from the inner court and in the section opposite the pavement of the outer court, gallery(D) faced gallery at the three levels.(E) In front of the rooms was an inner passageway ten cubits wide and a hundred cubits[c] long.[d] Their doors were on the north.(F) Now the upper rooms were narrower, for the galleries took more space from them than from the rooms on the lower and middle floors of the building. The rooms on the top floor had no pillars, as the courts had; so they were smaller in floor space than those on the lower and middle floors. There was an outer wall parallel to the rooms and the outer court; it extended in front of the rooms for fifty cubits. While the row of rooms on the side next to the outer court was fifty cubits long, the row on the side nearest the sanctuary was a hundred cubits long. The lower rooms had an entrance(G) on the east side as one enters them from the outer court.

10 On the south side[e] along the length of the wall of the outer court, adjoining the temple courtyard(H) and opposite the outer wall, were rooms(I) 11 with a passageway in front of them. These were like the rooms on the north; they had the same length and width, with similar exits and dimensions. Similar to the doorways on the north 12 were the doorways of the rooms on the south. There was a doorway at the beginning of the passageway that was parallel to the corresponding wall extending eastward, by which one enters the rooms.

13 Then he said to me, “The north(J) and south rooms(K) facing the temple courtyard(L) are the priests’ rooms, where the priests who approach the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. There they will put the most holy offerings—the grain offerings,(M) the sin offerings[f](N) and the guilt offerings(O)—for the place is holy.(P) 14 Once the priests enter the holy precincts, they are not to go into the outer court until they leave behind the garments(Q) in which they minister, for these are holy. They are to put on other clothes before they go near the places that are for the people.(R)

15 When he had finished measuring what was inside the temple area, he led me out by the east gate(S) and measured the area all around: 16 He measured the east side with the measuring rod; it was five hundred cubits.[g][h] 17 He measured the north side; it was five hundred cubits[i] by the measuring rod. 18 He measured the south side; it was five hundred cubits by the measuring rod. 19 Then he turned to the west side and measured; it was five hundred cubits by the measuring rod. 20 So he measured(T) the area(U) on all four sides. It had a wall around it,(V) five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide,(W) to separate the holy from the common.(X)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 42:2 That is, about 175 feet long and 88 feet wide or about 53 meters long and 27 meters wide
  2. Ezekiel 42:3 That is, about 35 feet or about 11 meters
  3. Ezekiel 42:4 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew and one cubit
  4. Ezekiel 42:4 That is, about 18 feet wide and 175 feet long or about 5.3 meters wide and 53 meters long
  5. Ezekiel 42:10 Septuagint; Hebrew Eastward
  6. Ezekiel 42:13 Or purification offerings
  7. Ezekiel 42:16 See Septuagint of verse 17; Hebrew rods; also in verses 18 and 19.
  8. Ezekiel 42:16 Five hundred cubits equal about 875 feet or about 265 meters; also in verses 17, 18 and 19.
  9. Ezekiel 42:17 Septuagint; Hebrew rods