Ezekiel 40

In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the start of the year, on the tenth day of the month (fourteen years after the city was struck down) on that very day the hand of the LORD was on me, and he brought me there.

1In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and brought me thither.

NoteEzekiel and his fellow exiles were deported from Jerusalem to Babylon in 597 BC, and they counted years from that deportation; the twenty-fifth year is about 573 BC. "The city" is Jerusalem, destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC, fourteen years before this vision. Which month is meant by "the start of the year" is not stated; on the reckoning that began the year in autumn, the tenth day of that month was the Day of Atonement. "The hand of the LORD was on me" is Ezekiel's standard phrase for the overpowering grip that seizes him when a vision begins.

2In visions from God he brought me to the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain. On its south side there was something built that looked like a city.

2In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on the south.

NoteThe Hebrew says simply "a structure like a city", a walled complex of buildings seen from a distance. It turns out in what follows to be the temple and its courtyards.

3He brought me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze. He had a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand, and he was standing in the gateway.

3And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.

NoteTwo surveying tools: a linen cord for long distances, and a rigid rod for short ones. The man is never named or identified further.

4The man said to me, "Son of man, look with your eyes, listen with your ears, and pay close attention to everything I am going to show you. That is why you were brought here. Report to the people of Israel everything you see."

4And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for to the intent that I might shew them unto thee art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel.

Note"Son of man" is a Hebrew idiom meaning simply "human being" or "mortal." It is how God addresses Ezekiel throughout the book, more than ninety times; it is not a title.

5Then I saw a wall running all the way around the outside of the temple. The measuring rod in the man's hand was six cubits long, each cubit being a regular cubit plus a handbreadth. He measured the wall: one rod thick and one rod high.

5And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man’s hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and an hand breadth: so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.

Note"The temple" is literally "the house," the ordinary Hebrew word for it. Ezekiel measures in a long cubit: an ordinary cubit (the forearm's length, about eighteen inches) plus a handbreadth (about three inches), so roughly twenty-one inches. The six-cubit rod is therefore about ten and a half feet. In the figures that follow, twenty-five cubits is about forty-four feet, fifty cubits about eighty-seven feet, and a hundred cubits about a hundred and seventy-five feet.

6Then he came to the gate that faces east and climbed its steps. He measured the threshold of the gate: one rod deep. He measured the other threshold: one rod deep.

6Then came he unto the gate which looketh toward the east, and went up the stairs thereof, and measured the threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad; and the other threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad.

NoteA city or temple gate of this period was not a doorway but a whole building: a deep passage running through the thickness of the wall, with rooms opening off it and a roofed hall at the far end. Everything measured in verses 6-16 belongs to one such gatehouse.

7Each guard room was one rod long and one rod wide, and there were five cubits between the guard rooms. The threshold of the gate beside the gate's porch on the inside was one rod deep.

7And every little chamber was one reed long, and one reed broad; and between the little chambers were five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate within was one reed.

NoteThe guard rooms are recesses opening off the passage, three on each side, of the kind found in excavated Israelite city gates. Gates were where guards were posted, tolls collected and legal business done.

8He also measured the porch of the gateway on the inside: one rod.

8He measured also the porch of the gate within, one reed.

9Then he measured the porch of the gateway: eight cubits deep, and its side posts: two cubits thick. The porch of the gateway faced inward, toward the temple.

9Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was inward.

NoteThe porch is a roofed entrance hall at the inner end of the gate passage. The side posts are the massive jambs or piers framing it.

10The east gateway had three guard rooms on each side. All three were the same size, and the side posts on each side were the same size.

10And the little chambers of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side; they three were of one measure: and the posts had one measure on this side and on that side.

11He measured the opening of the gateway: ten cubits wide. The length of the gateway was thirteen cubits.

11And he measured the breadth of the entry of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits.

NoteThe relationship between the ten-cubit opening and the thirteen-cubit length is unclear in the Hebrew, and translations differ on what is being measured.

12In front of the guard rooms there was a space of one cubit on one side and one cubit on the other side, and the guard rooms themselves were six cubits on each side.

12The space also before the little chambers was one cubit on this side, and the space was one cubit on that side: and the little chambers were six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side.

NoteA low curb or barrier wall running along the front of each guard room, separating it from the passage.

13Then he measured the gateway from the roof of one guard room to the roof of the one across from it: twenty-five cubits, doorway facing doorway.

13He measured then the gate from the roof of one little chamber to the roof of another: the breadth was five and twenty cubits, door against door.

14He also made the side posts: sixty cubits. The gateway reached all the way around to the post of the courtyard.

14He made also posts of threescore cubits, even unto the post of the court round about the gate.

NoteThis verse is one of the most obscure in the chapter. Sixty cubits, over a hundred feet, is out of scale with everything else measured here, and the Hebrew wording is broken; ancient and modern translations differ widely over what the figure refers to.

15From the front of the gateway at the entrance to the front of the porch of the inner gateway was fifty cubits.

15And from the face of the gate of the entrance unto the face of the porch of the inner gate were fifty cubits.

16The guard rooms and their side posts had narrow windows all around the inside of the gateway, and so did the porches. There were windows all around on the inside, and each side post had palm trees carved on it.

16And there were narrow windows to the little chambers, and to their posts within the gate round about, and likewise to the arches: and windows were round about inward: and upon each post were palm trees.

NoteCarved palm trees were a standard decorative motif in temples and palaces across the region, and were used in Solomon's temple as well. The narrow windows are usually understood as recessed or splayed, wider on one face than the other.

17Then he brought me into the outer courtyard. There were rooms there, and a stone pavement laid all around the courtyard. Thirty rooms faced the pavement.

17Then brought he me into the outward court, and, lo, there were chambers, and a pavement made for the court round about: thirty chambers were upon the pavement.

NoteRooms of this kind, ranged around a temple courtyard, were used to store offerings and equipment and to eat the portions of sacrifices that belonged to the priests and worshipers.

18The pavement ran alongside the gateways and matched their length. This was the lower pavement.

18And the pavement by the side of the gates over against the length of the gates was the lower pavement.

Note"Lower" because the inner courtyard stood on higher ground; this pavement is the one at the outer, lower level.

19Then he measured the distance from the front of the lower gateway to the outside of the inner courtyard: one hundred cubits, on the east side and on the north side.

19Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate unto the forefront of the inner court without, an hundred cubits eastward and northward.

20He also measured the length and the width of the gateway of the outer courtyard that faces north.

20And the gate of the outward court that looked toward the north, he measured the length thereof, and the breadth thereof.

21It had three guard rooms on each side, and its side posts and its porch were the same size as those of the first gateway. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.

21And the little chambers thereof were three on this side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first gate: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.

22Its windows, its porch, and its palm trees matched those of the gate that faces east. Seven steps led up to it, and its porch was across from the steps.

22And their windows, and their arches, and their palm trees, were after the measure of the gate that looketh toward the east; and they went up unto it by seven steps; and the arches thereof were before them.

NoteNote the rising levels: seven steps up to the outer gates, eight up to the inner gates (verses 31, 34, 37), and more again up to the temple porch. Each enclosure stands physically higher than the one outside it.

23There was a gate to the inner courtyard facing the north gate, just as there was on the east side. He measured from gate to gate: one hundred cubits.

23And the gate of the inner court was over against the gate toward the north, and toward the east; and he measured from gate to gate an hundred cubits.

24After that he led me toward the south, and I saw a gateway facing south. He measured its side posts and its porch, and they matched these same measurements.

24After that he brought me toward the south, and behold a gate toward the south: and he measured the posts thereof and the arches thereof according to these measures.

25The gateway and its porch had windows all around, like the other windows. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.

25And there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.

26Seven steps led up to it, and its porch was across from the steps. It had palm trees carved on its side posts, one on each side.

26And there were seven steps to go up to it, and the arches thereof were before them: and it had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, upon the posts thereof.

27The inner courtyard also had a gate facing south. He measured from gate to gate toward the south: one hundred cubits.

27And there was a gate in the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south an hundred cubits.

28Then he brought me into the inner courtyard through the south gate, and he measured that south gate. It matched these same measurements.

28And he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures;

29Its guard rooms, its side posts, and its porch matched these same measurements, and the gateway and its porch had windows all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.

29And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.

30The porches all around were twenty-five cubits long and five cubits deep.

30And the arches round about were five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad.

NoteThis verse is absent from some Hebrew manuscripts and from the ancient Greek translation, and its figures do not fit the measurements around it.

31Its porch faced the outer courtyard, and palm trees were carved on its side posts. Eight steps led up to it.

31And the arches thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof: and the going up to it had eight steps.

32Then he brought me into the inner courtyard on the east side, and he measured the gateway. It matched these same measurements.

32And he brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures.

33Its guard rooms, its side posts, and its porch matched these same measurements, and the gateway and its porch had windows all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.

33And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, were according to these measures: and there were windows therein and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.

34Its porch faced the outer courtyard, and palm trees were carved on its side posts, on each side. Eight steps led up to it.

34And the arches thereof were toward the outward court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps.

35Then he brought me to the north gate and measured it. It matched these same measurements

35And he brought me to the north gate, and measured it according to these measures;

36its guard rooms, its side posts, its porch, and its windows all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.

36The little chambers thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, and the windows to it round about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.

37Its side posts faced the outer courtyard, and palm trees were carved on them, on each side. Eight steps led up to it.

37And the posts thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps.

38There was a room with a doorway beside the side posts of the gateways. That is where they washed the burnt offering.

38And the chambers and the entries thereof were by the posts of the gates, where they washed the burnt offering.

NoteIn a burnt offering the whole animal was burned on the altar rather than eaten. Certain parts, the entrails and legs, were rinsed with water first.

39In the porch of the gateway were two tables on one side and two tables on the other side. On them they killed the animals for the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering.

39And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to slay thereon the burnt offering and the sin offering and the trespass offering.

NoteThree of the standard sacrifices. The burnt offering was consumed entirely by fire; the sin offering (or purification offering) cleansed the sanctuary and the worshiper from defilement; the guilt offering (or reparation offering) covered wrongs that required compensation as well as pardon.

40Outside, as you go up to the entrance of the north gateway, there were two tables. On the other side, by the porch of the gateway, there were two more tables.

40And at the side without, as one goeth up to the entry of the north gate, were two tables; and on the other side, which was at the porch of the gate, were two tables.

41Four tables stood on one side and four tables on the other side, beside the gateway, eight tables in all, on which they killed the sacrifices.

41Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, whereupon they slew their sacrifices.

42There were also four tables of cut stone for the burnt offering. Each was a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high. On them they laid the tools used to kill the burnt offerings and the other sacrifices.

42And the four tables were of hewn stone for the burnt offering, of a cubit and an half long, and a cubit and an half broad, and one cubit high: whereupon also they laid the instruments wherewith they slew the burnt offering and the sacrifice.

NoteCut stone means quarried blocks squared and dressed with tools, as opposed to rough fieldstone. The "tools" are the slaughtering equipment, knives, forks, basins.

43Inside, hooks a handbreadth long were fastened all around, and the meat of the offering was placed on the tables.

43And within were hooks, an hand broad, fastened round about: and upon the tables was the flesh of the offering.

NoteThe Hebrew word here occurs nowhere else and its meaning is unknown; it has been taken as hooks for hanging carcasses, as ledges or shelves, and as a rim or border around the tables. A handbreadth is about three inches.

44Outside the inner gateway, in the inner courtyard, were the rooms for the singers. One was beside the north gate and faced south, and one was beside the east gate and faced north.

44And without the inner gate were the chambers of the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward the south: one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north.

NoteThe singers were Levites appointed to perform music in the temple. The Hebrew of this verse is difficult: it names the singers and describes only one room clearly, while the ancient Greek translation reads "two chambers" and places the second by the south gate, which is what most modern versions follow.

45He said to me, "This room that faces south is for the priests who are responsible for the care of the temple.

45And he said unto me, This chamber, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house.

46The room that faces north is for the priests who are responsible for the care of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, the ones among the Levites who may come near to the LORD to serve him."

46And the chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok among the sons of Levi, which come near to the LORD to minister unto him.

NoteZadok was chief priest under David and Solomon, and his descendants held the senior priesthood in Jerusalem thereafter. The Levites were the tribe set apart for sanctuary duty; Ezekiel's plan restricts service at the altar itself to the one Levite family descended from Zadok.

47Then he measured the courtyard: one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide, a perfect square. The altar stood in front of the temple.

47So he measured the court, an hundred cubits long, and an hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar that was before the house.

NoteThe altar was a large open-air structure standing in the courtyard in front of the temple building, where animals were burned. Sacrifice happened outdoors; only priests entered the building itself.

48Then he brought me to the porch of the temple and measured each side post of the porch: five cubits on one side and five cubits on the other side. The gateway measured three cubits across on one side and three cubits on the other.

48And he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate was three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side.

NoteThe Hebrew reads "three cubits on one side and three on the other" for the gateway, without giving the width of the opening between them. The ancient Greek translation supplies fourteen cubits for that opening, which fits the rest of the plan, and many modern versions follow it.

49The porch was twenty cubits long and eleven cubits wide, and he brought me up by the steps that led to it. There were pillars beside the side posts, one on each side.

49The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits; and he brought me by the steps whereby they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side.

NoteThe Hebrew reads eleven cubits and does not say how many steps there were; the ancient Greek translation reads twelve cubits and ten steps. The pillars are free-standing columns flanking the entrance, like the two named Jachin and Boaz that stood before Solomon's temple.