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The Courtyards of the Lord’s New Temple

42 Then the man led me out toward the north to the outer courtyard. He brought me to the side rooms opposite both the open area and the northern building. The building that faced north was 175 feet long and 87½ feet wide. Opposite the inner courtyard was an area that was 35 feet wide, and opposite the pavement of the outer courtyard were corridors facing corridors on all three stories. In front of the side rooms was a walkway, 17½ feet wide and 175 feet long. The doors of these side rooms faced north.

The side rooms on the third story were narrower than those on the first or second stories of the building because the corridors took space away from them. The rooms were in three stories. They didn’t have pillars like the pillars in the courtyards. That is why the rooms on the third story were set farther back than those on the first and second stories. There was a wall which ran parallel to the side rooms and the outer courtyard. It ran alongside the side rooms for 87½ feet. The row of rooms in the outer courtyard was 87½ feet long. The rooms that faced the temple were 175 feet long. These lower side rooms had an entrance on the east side. A person was able to enter the outer courtyard through them.

10 There were side rooms parallel to the wall of the courtyard on the south side.[a] They faced the open area and the building. 11 There was a walkway in front of them like the one that was in front of the side rooms on the north side. These side rooms were as long and as wide as the northern rooms. They had the same exits, dimensions, and doors. 12 The doors to the south rooms were the same as the doors to the north rooms. There was a doorway at the other end of the walkway that was parallel to the corresponding wall that ran eastward. People entered through that doorway.

13 Then the man said to me, “The northern and southern side rooms that face the open area are holy rooms. These rooms are where the priests who come near Yahweh eat the holiest offerings. Because these rooms are holy, the priests keep the holiest offerings there: the grain offerings, the offerings for sin, and the guilt offerings. 14 Once the priests enter the holy place, they must not go out of the holy place into the outer courtyard until they leave behind the clothes that they wore as they served. These clothes are holy. The priests must put on other clothes. Then they can go into the area that is for the people.”

15 When the man had finished measuring the inner part of the temple area, he led me out through the east gate. Then he measured all the way around the outer area. 16 He measured the east side with a measuring stick. It was 875 feet long according to the measuring stick. 17 He measured the north side. It was 875 feet long according to the measuring stick. 18 He measured the south side. It was 875 feet long according to the measuring stick. 19 He came around to the west side and measured it. It was 875 feet long according to the measuring stick. 20 So he measured all four sides. There was a wall all around it. The wall was 875 feet long and 875 feet wide. It separated what was holy from what was unholy.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 42:10 Greek; Masoretic Text “east side.”

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