Ezekiel 40-41

New Catholic Bible

The New Israel^[a]

The Future Temple

Chapter 40

The Man with a Measuring Rod. ¹ During the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, fourteen years after the fall of the city, on that very day the hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me there. ² In divine visions, he brought me to the land of Israel and set me down on a very high mountain, to the south of which a city seemed to have been built.

³ When he had brought me there, I beheld a man whose appearance was like that of bronze. He had a linen cord^[b] and a measuring rod in his hand, and he was standing in the gateway. ⁴ The man said to me, “Son of man, look carefully and listen attentively, and pay close attention to all that I will show you. That is the reason why you were brought here. Report to the house of Israel everything that you see.”

⁵ Then I beheld an outer wall that surrounded the temple on all sides. The length of the measuring rod that the man was holding was six cubits long, each cubit^[c] being a cubit and a handbreadth in length. He measured the thickness and the height of the wall; each was one rod.

The East Gate. ⁶ Then he went to the gate which faced eastward, mounted its steps, and measured the gate’s threshold; it was one rod deep. ⁷ Each cell was one rod long and one rod wide, and the walls between the cells measured five cubits. The threshold of the gate adjoining the vestibule of the gate at the inner end measured one rod.

⁸ Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, ⁹ which was eight cubits, and its pilasters, which were two cubits. The vestibule of the gate was at the inner end. ¹⁰ Inside the east gate were three cells on each side. All of them were identical in size, and the pilasters on either side were also of equal size.

¹¹ After this, he measured the width of the entrance of the gateway, which was ten cubits, while its length was thirteen cubits. ¹² There was a wall, one cubit high, in front of each cell, and the cells were six cubits square. ¹³ He then measured the width of the gate from the back wall of one cell to the back of the cell on the opposite side. The width was twenty-five cubits from wall to wall. ¹⁴ After this, he measured the vestibule, which was twenty cubits, and also the pilasters adjoining the court on either side, which were six cubits.

¹⁵ From the front of the entrance gate to the far end of its portico, the distance was fifty cubits. ¹⁶ Both the guardrooms and their pilasters had windows on the inside of the gateway, and the vestibules also had windows all around; the pilasters were decorated with palm trees.

¹⁷ The Outer Court. Then he brought me to the outer court, where there were rooms and a paved terrace all around the court. There was a total of thirty rooms. ¹⁸ The pavement was laid along the side of the gates, its width equaling the length of the gates. This was the lower pavement. ¹⁹ Then he measured the width of the court, from the front of the lower gateway to the outside of the inner court; there were one hundred cubits between them.

²⁰ The North Gate. Then he measured the length and breadth of the gate leading into the outer court that faced north. ²¹ Its cells, three on either side, and its pilasters and its vestibules were of the same size as those of the first gate. Its depth was fifty cubits, and its width was twenty-five cubits.

²² Its windows, its vestibule, and its palm trees were identical in size to those of the gate that faced toward the east. Seven steps led up to it, and its vestibule was at the inner end. ²³ Opposite the north gate there was a gate that led to the inner court, exactly like the one opposite the east gate. He measured one hundred cubits from one gate to the other.

²⁴ The South Gate. Then he led me to the south side, and I saw a gate facing south. He measured its cells, its pilasters, and its vestibule; they all had the same dimensions as the others. ²⁵ The gate and its vestibule had windows all around. Each window was fifty cubits in depth and twenty-five cubits in width.

²⁶ There were seven steps leading up to it. Its vestibule was on the inside, and palm trees decorated its pilasters, one on either side. ²⁷ The inner court had a gate facing south. He measured the distance from this gate to the outer gate on the south—one hundred cubits.

²⁸ The Inner Court Gates. Then he brought me into the inner court by the south gate. He measured the south gate, which had the same dimensions as the others. ²⁹ Its cells, its pilasters, and its vestibule were the same size as those of the others. The gate and its vestibule had windows all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.

³⁰ The vestibules of the gateways around the inner court were twenty-five cubits wide and five cubits deep. ³¹ However, the major vestibule faced the outer court. Palm trees were carved on its pilasters, and it had a stairway of eight steps.

³² Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side and measured the gate, its dimensions were identical to those of the others. ³³ Its cells, its pilasters, and its vestibule were the same size as those of the others. The gate and its vestibule had windows all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁴ Its vestibule opened onto the outer court. There were palm trees carved on its pilasters, and there were eight steps leading up to it.

³⁵ Then he brought me to the north gate, and he measured it. Its dimensions were identical to those of the others. ³⁶ Its cells, its pilasters, and its vestibule were of the same size as those of the others, and it had windows all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁷ Its portico faced the outer court; it had a palm tree carved on its pilasters on either side, and its stairway had eight steps.

³⁸ The Side Chambers.^[d]There was a room that was entered through a door in the vestibule of the gateway. That was where the burnt offerings were to be washed. ³⁹ In the vestibule of the gate, there were two tables on either side, on which the burnt offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings were slaughtered.

⁴⁰ On the outside of the vestibule, near the entrance of the north gate, were two tables, and on the other side of the vestibule of the gate were two tables. ⁴¹ Thus, four tables were inside the gate and four tables were outside the gate—eight tables upon which the sacrifices were slaughtered.

⁴² There were also four slabs of cut stone that were used for holocausts—one and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and a cubit high—on which were placed the instruments for slaughtering the burnt offerings and the other sacrifices. ⁴³ Double-pronged hooks, a handbreadth wide, were attached to the nearby wall, and on the tables the flesh of the offering was laid.

⁴⁴ Then he led me into the inner court, where there were two rooms—one on the side of the north gate, facing south; the other on the side of the south gate, facing north. ⁴⁵ He said to me, “This room that faces south is for the priests who are in charge of the temple. ⁴⁶ The room that faces north is for the priests who have charge of the altar. These are the descendants of Zadok, who alone among the descendants of Levi are allowed to come near to minister to the Lord.” ⁴⁷ Thereupon, he measured the court. It was a perfect square, one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide, with the altar standing in front of the temple.

⁴⁸ The Temple. Then he brought me into the vestibule of the temple and measured the pilasters of the vestibule; it was five cubits on either side. The width of the gate was fourteen cubits, and the side walls of the gate were three cubits on either side. ⁴⁹ The vestibule was twenty cubits long and twelve cubits wide. There were ten steps leading up to it, and there were pillars beside the pilasters, one on either side.

Chapter 41

¹ Then he brought me into the sanctuary and measured the pilasters. They were six cubits wide on each side. ² The width of the entrance was ten cubits, and the walls on either side of the entrance were five cubits each. Then he measured the length of the nave, which was fifty cubits, while its width was twenty cubits.

³ Then he went into the inner room and measured the pilasters at the entrance; they were two cubits. The width of the entrance was six cubits, and the walls at either side of the entrance were seven cubits. ⁴ Beyond the nave, he measured the length of the inner sanctuary, which was twenty cubits, and its width, which was also twenty cubits, after which he said to me, “This is the Holy of Holies.”

⁵ Then he measured the wall of the temple, which was six cubits thick. The width of the side chambers was four cubits all around the temple. ⁶ The side chambers were on three levels, one above the other, with thirty chambers on each level. There were ledges all around the wall of the temple that were designed to serve as supports for the side chambers, but there were no supports in the wall of the temple itself.

⁷ The passageway leading upward to the side chambers became broader from story to story, for the structure surrounding the temple was constructed in successive stages, so that the width of the cells increased from one story to the next. One ascended from the lowest story to the highest story by means of the middle one.

⁸ I also noted that there was a raised pavement encircling the temple all around. This formed the foundation of the side chambers, measuring a full rod, six cubits high. ⁹ The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits. Between the cells of the temple ¹⁰ and the chambers of the court, there was an open space, twenty cubits wide, surrounding the temple on every side.

¹¹ The side chambers had entrances to the open space, one entrance on the north side and one on the south side. The width of the free space was five cubits all around. ¹² On the western side, the building that faced the temple yard was seventy cubits wide. The wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length was ninety cubits.

¹³ Then, he measured the temple, whose length was one hundred cubits. ¹⁴ The temple courtyard and the buildings with its walls were also one hundred cubits. ¹⁵ Next, he measured the length of the building facing the courtyard, and together with its walls on either side, it came to one hundred cubits.

The Temple Interior. The inner nave of the temple and the inner room and outer vestibule ¹⁶ were paneled with precious wood from the floor up to the windows and thresholds, and the windows were covered with latticework. ¹⁷ The wood extended up to the lintel of the door, even to the outer sanctuary. And on all the walls throughout the inner room and the nave there was a pattern ¹⁸ that depicted cherubim and palm trees, with one palm tree between every pair of cherubim.

Each cherub had two faces: ¹⁹ a human face turned toward the palm tree on one side, and the face of a young lion turned toward the palm tree on the other side. ²⁰ From the floor to the lintel above the door, the cherubim and the palm trees were carved on the wall. ²¹ The doorposts of the temple were square.

In front of the sanctuary, there was something that resembled ²² an altar of wood, three cubits high and two cubits long. Its corners, its base, and its sides were of wood. He said to me, “This is the table of the Lord.” ²³ The nave and the holy place each had a double door. ²⁴ The double doors each had two hinged leaves, two leaves for each door.

²⁵ Carved upon the doors of the nave were cherubim and palm trees, like those carved in the walls. Also, there was a wooden lattice over the vestibule. ²⁶ On both sides of the vestibule were recessed windows and palm trees.