Ezekiel 41–42

Inside the Temple

41Next he brought me into the great hall and measured the pilasters; ^don each side the width of the pilaster was 10½ feet. ^ef2The width of the entrance was 17½ feet, ^gand the side walls of the entrance were 8¾ feet ^hwide on each side. He also measured the length of the great hall, 70 feet, ⁱand the width, 35 feet. ^jk3He went inside the next room and measured the pilasters at the entrance; ^lthey were 3½ feet ^mwide. The entrance was 10½ feet ⁿwide, and the width of the entrance’s side walls on each side ^owas 12¼ feet. ^p4He then measured the length of the room adjacent to the great hall, 35 feet, ^qand the width, 35 feet. ^rAnd he said to me, “This is the most holy place.” ^s

Outside the Temple

⁵Then he measured the wall of the temple; it was 10½ feet ^tthick. The width of the side rooms all around the temple was seven feet. ^uv6The side rooms were arranged one above another in three stories of 30 rooms each. ^wThere were ledges on the wall of the temple all around to serve as supports for the side rooms, so that the supports would not be in the temple wall itself. ^x7The side rooms surrounding the temple widened at each successive story, for the structure surrounding the temple went up by stages. This was the reason for the temple’s broadness as it rose. And so, one would go up from the lowest story to the highest by means of the middle one. ^yz

⁸I saw that the temple had a raised platform surrounding it; this foundation for the side rooms was 10½ feet high. ^ab9The thickness of the outer wall of the side rooms was 8¾ feet. ^cThe free space between the side rooms of the temple ¹⁰and the outer chambers was 35 feet ^dwide all around the temple. ^e11The side rooms opened into the free space, one entrance toward the north and another to the south. The area of free space was 8¾ feet ^fwide all around.

¹²Now the building that faced the temple yard toward the west was 122½ feet ^gwide. The wall of the building was 8¾ feet ^hthick on all sides, and the building’s length was 157½ feet. ⁱ

¹³Then the man measured the temple; it was 175 feet ^jlong. ^kIn addition, the temple yard and the building, including its walls, were 175 feet long. ¹⁴The width of the front of the temple along with the temple yard to the east was 175 feet. ¹⁵Next he measured the length of the building facing the temple yard to the west, with its galleries ^lon each side; ^mit was 175 feet.

Interior Wooden Structures

The interior of the great hall and the porticoes of the court— ¹⁶the thresholds, the beveled windows, ⁿand the balconies all around with their three levels opposite the threshold—were overlaid with wood on all sides. ^oThey were paneled from the ground to the windows (but the windows were covered), ¹⁷reaching to the top of the entrance, and as far as the inner temple and on the outside. On every wall all around, on the inside and outside, was a pattern ¹⁸carved with cherubim and palm trees. ^pThere was a palm tree between each pair of cherubim. ^qEach cherub had two faces: ¹⁹a human face turned toward the palm tree on one side, ^rand a lion’s face turned toward it on the other. They were carved throughout the temple on all sides. ²⁰Cherubim and palm trees were carved from the ground to the top of the entrance and on the wall of the great hall.

²¹The doorposts of the great hall were square, ^sand the front of the sanctuary had the same appearance. ²²The altar was ^tmade of wood, 5¼ feet ^uhigh and 3½ feet ^vlong. ^wIt had corners, and its length ^xand sides were of wood. ^yThe man told me, “This is the table that stands before the Lord.” ^z

²³The great hall and the sanctuary each had a double door, ^a24and each of the doors had two swinging panels. ^bThere were two panels for one door and two for the other. ²⁵Cherubim and palm trees were carved on the doors of the great hall like those carved on the walls. There was a wooden canopy ^cdoutside, in front of the portico. ²⁶There were beveled windows and palm trees on both sides, ^eon the side walls of the portico, the side rooms of the temple, and the canopies. ^f

The Priests’ Chambers

42Then the man led me out by way of the north gate into the outer court. ^gHe brought me to the group of chambers opposite the temple yard and opposite the building ^hto the north. ²Along the length of the chambers, which was 175 feet, ^ijthere was an entrance on the north; the width was 87½ feet. ^k3Opposite the 35 foot space ^lbelonging to the inner court and opposite the paved surface ^mbelonging to the outer court, the structure rose gallery by gallery ⁿin three tiers. ⁴In front of the chambers was a walkway toward the inside, ^o17½ feet ^pwide and 175 feet ^qlong, ^rand their entrances were on the north. ⁵The upper chambers were narrower because the galleries took away more space from them than from the lower and middle stories of the building. ⁶For they were arranged in three stories and had no pillars like the pillars of the courts; ^stherefore the upper chambers were set back from the ground more than the lower and middle stories. ⁷A wall on the outside ran in front of the chambers, parallel to them, toward the outer court; it was 87½ feet ^tlong. ⁸For the chambers on the outer court were 87½ feet long, while those facing the great hall were 175 feet ^ulong. ^v9At the base of these chambers there was an entryway on the east side as one enters them from the outer court. ^w

¹⁰In the thickness of the wall of the court toward the south, ^xthere were chambers facing the temple yard ^yand the western building, ¹¹with a passageway in front of them, just like the chambers that faced north. ^zTheir length and width, as well as all their exits, measurements, and entrances, were identical. ¹²The entrance at the beginning of the passageway, the way in front of the corresponding ^awall as one enters on the east side, was similar to the entrances of the chambers that were on the south side.

¹³Then the man said to me, “The northern and southern chambers that face the temple yard are the holy chambers where the priests who approach the Lord will eat ^bthe most holy offerings. ^cThere they will deposit the most holy offerings—the grain offerings, sin offerings, and restitution offerings—for the place is holy. ^d14Once the priests have entered, they must not go out from the holy area to the outer court until they have removed the clothes they minister in, for these are holy. ^eThey are to put on other clothes before they approach the public area.” ^f

Outside Dimensions of the Temple Complex

¹⁵When he finished measuring inside the temple complex, he led me out by way of the gate that faced east and measured all around the complex. ^g

¹⁶He measured the east side with a measuring rod;

it was 875 feet ^hby the measuring rod. ⁱ

¹⁷He ^jmeasured the north side;

it was 875 feet ^kby the measuring rod. ^l

¹⁸He ^mmeasured the south side;

it was 875 feet ⁿby the measuring rod. ^o

¹⁹Then he turned to the west side

and measured 875 feet ^pby the measuring rod. ^q

²⁰He measured the temple complex on all four sides. It had a wall all around it, ^r875 feet long and 875 feet ^swide, to separate the holy from the common. ^t