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40
1 At the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month of the twenty-fifth year of our exile, (fourteenth years after Jerusalem had been captured), was the exact day that the Lord's power came over me and he took me there to the city. 2 God took me to the country of Israel in vision and set me down on a very high mountain. On the south side of the mountain there were buildings that seemed to be a city. 3 When he took me there I saw a man who looked like shining bronze. He was holding a linen cord and a measuring rod as he stood in the entrance way.
4 “Son of man,” he told me, “watch with your eyes, listen with your ears. Concentrate on everything I'm about to show you, because that's the reason you were brought here. You are to explain to the people of Israel what you've been shown, everything you see.”
5 I could see a wall that surrounded the Temple. The measuring rod the man was holding was six long cubits in length (a long cubit is a cubit plus a handbreadth). He measured the wall as six cubits thick and six cubits high.
6 Then he went up the steps of the east-facing gate. He measured the gate's threshold as six cubits deep. 7 Beyond that were alcoves that measured six cubits by six cubits, with five cubits between the alcoves. The threshold of the inside entrance facing the porch measured six cubits. 8 Then he measured the entrance porch. 9 It was eight cubits deep, and its posts* “Posts” this is thought to refer to the side of a door, otherwise known as the “door jamb.” Sometimes this word is translated as “pillars,” but in verse 49 it clearly refers to “columns” (or pillars) beside the posts. were two cubits thick. The entrance porch faced the Temple.
10 There were three alcoves on each side of the east gate entrance that all measured the same. The posts on each side also measured the same. 11 He measured the width of the entrance gateway as ten cubits. It was thirteen cubits long.
12 A wall one cubit high was in front of alcove, and the alcoves measured six cubits by six cubits. 13 Then he measured the entrance gateway from the roof of one alcove to the roof of the one opposite. It was twenty-five cubits from one doorway to the opposite doorway.
14 Then he measured the distance between the posts as sixty cubits. The gateway led all the way around to the courtyard. 15 It was fifty cubits from the gateway entrance to the far side of the inside porch.
16 The alcoves and their pillars had narrow windows on all of the inside of the gateway. The porches also had windows on all of the inside. All the posts were decorated with palm tree designs.
17 He took me into the outer courtyard. I saw rooms and a pavement had been constructed around the courtyard. There were thirty rooms facing the pavement. 18 This was termed the lower pavement and it extended along the sides of the gateways and was the same length as them.
19 He measured the distance from the front of the lower gateway to the far side of the inner courtyard as one hundred cubits, both to the east side and the north.
20 He also measured the length and width of the gateway of the outer courtyard that faced north. 21 Its three alcoves on both sides, its posts, and its porch all measured the same as the first gateway and was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 22 Its windows, porch, and palm tree decorations were the same as those of the east-facing gate. It had seven steps leading up to it, with its porch facing them.
23 There was an entrance to the inner courtyard facing the north gate, just like the east gate. He measured the distance from the entrance to the gate as a hundred cubits.
24 He took me to the south side, and I saw a gateway that faced south. He measured its posts and its porch, and they measured the same as those previously. 25 Both the gateway and its porch had windows all around it that were like the other windows. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 26 It had seven steps leading up to it, and its porch faced them. It had one post on each side with palm tree designs on them.
27 The inner courtyard also had an entrance facing south, and he measured the distance from the entrance to the south gate as a hundred cubits.
28 He took me into the inner courtyard through the south gate, and he measured the south gate. It measured the same as those previously. 29 Its alcoves, posts, and porch had the same measurements as those previously. The gateway and its porch had windows all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 30 (The other surrounding porches measured twenty-five cubits long and five cubits deep.) 31 Its porch faced the outer courtyard, and its pillars were decorated with palm tree designs. It had eight steps leading up to it.
32 He took me to the inner courtyard on the east side. He measured the gateway and it measured the same as those previously. 33 Its alcoves, posts, and porch measured the same as those previously. The gateway and its porch had windows all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 34 Its porch faced the outer courtyard, and its posts were decorated with palm tree designs. It had eight steps leading up to it.
35 He took me to the north gate and measured it. It measured the same as those previously, 36 including its alcoves, posts, and porch. The gateway and its porch had windows all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 37 Its porch faced the outer courtyard, and its posts were decorated with palm tree designs on all sides. It had eight steps leading up to it.
38 A room with a doorway stood beside by the porch of the inner gateways. This was where the burnt offering was washed. 39 Inside the gateway porch were two tables on both sides, where the sacrificial animals were slaughtered for burnt offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings.
40 Outside, on the way up to the entrance of the north gateway, were two tables on one side of the gate's porch and two tables on the other side. 41 So there were four tables on the inside the of gateway and another four outside, making a total of eight tables. This is where the sacrifices were slaughtered.
42 There were also four tables of cut stone for the burnt offering. They each measured one and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and a cubit high. The tools used to slaughter the burnt offerings and the other sacrifices were placed on these tables.
43 Hooks measuring the width of a hand were attached to the walls inside the room. The meat of the offering was to be placed on the tables.
44 Outside the inner gate but inside the inner courtyard were two rooms. One was beside the north gate and faced south; the other beside the south gate and faced north.
45 The man told me: “The room that faces south is for the priests in charge of the Temple, 46 and the room that faces north is for the priests in charge of the altar. These priests are the descendants of Zadok and are the only Levites who are allowed to come near to the Lord and minister before him.”
47 He measured the square courtyard: a hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits wide. The altar stood in the courtyard in front of the Temple.
48 He took me to the Temple porch and measured the pillars of the porch as five cubits on each side. The gateway was fourteen cubits wide and its sides measured three cubits. 49 The porch was twenty cubits wide and twelve cubits deep, and had ten steps leading up to it. There were columns by the posts, one on both sides.

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*40:9 “Posts” this is thought to refer to the side of a door, otherwise known as the “door jamb.” Sometimes this word is translated as “pillars,” but in verse 49 it clearly refers to “columns” (or pillars) beside the posts.

© 2018 Dr. Jonathan Gallagher