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The Priests’ Rooms

42 Then the man led me north out into the outer courtyard. He led me to the rooms across from the Temple courtyard. The outer wall was north of these rooms. The building on the north side was 175 feet long and 87½ feet wide. There was 35 feet of the Temple courtyard between this building and the Temple. On the other side, this building faced the stone pavement of the outer courtyard. The building had rooms and balconies on three stories. There was a hallway on the north side of the rooms. It was 17½ feet wide and 175 feet long. Doors led into the rooms from this hallway. The top rooms were narrower. This was because the balconies took more space from them. The rooms on the first and second stories of the building were wider. The rooms were on three stories. They did not have pillars like the pillars of the courtyards. So the top rooms were farther back than those on the first and second stories. There was a wall outside parallel to the rooms and to the outer courtyard. It ran in front of the rooms for 87½ feet. The row of rooms along the outer courtyard was 87½ feet long. The rooms that faced the Temple were about 175 feet long. The lower rooms had an entrance on the east end of the building. This was so a person could enter them from the courtyard.

10 There were rooms on the south side, parallel to the wall of the outer courtyard. They faced the Temple courtyard. 11 These rooms had a hallway in front of them. They were like the rooms on the north. They had the same length and width. And the doors were the same. 12 The doors of the south rooms were like the doors of the north rooms. There was a door at the east end of a hall. This hall went to all the rooms.

13 The man said to me, “The north and south rooms across from the Temple courtyard are holy rooms. There the priests who go near the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. There they will put the most holy offerings: the grain offerings, sin offerings and the penalty offerings. 14 The priests who enter the Holy Place must leave their serving clothes there. Then they may go into the outer courtyard. This is because these clothes are holy. The priests must put on other clothes. Then they may go to the part of the Temple which is for the people.”

The Outside of the Temple

15 The man finished measuring inside the Temple. Then he brought me out through the east gate. He measured the area all around. 16 The man measured the east side with the measuring stick. It was 875 feet by the measuring stick. 17 He measured the north side. It was 875 feet by the measuring stick. 18 He measured the south side. It was 875 feet by the measuring stick. 19 He went around to the west side. And it measured 875 feet by the measuring stick. 20 So he measured the Temple on all four sides. The Temple had a wall all around it. It was 875 feet long and 875 feet wide. It separated the holy from that which is not holy.

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

42 Then he brought me forth into the utter court, the way toward the north: and he brought me into the chamber that was over against the separate place, and which was before the building toward the north.

Before the length of an hundred cubits was the north door, and the breadth was fifty cubits.

Over against the twenty cubits which were for the inner court, and over against the pavement which was for the utter court, was gallery against gallery in three stories.

And before the chambers was a walk to ten cubits breadth inward, a way of one cubit; and their doors toward the north.

Now the upper chambers were shorter: for the galleries were higher than these, than the lower, and than the middlemost of the building.

For they were in three stories, but had not pillars as the pillars of the courts: therefore the building was straitened more than the lowest and the middlemost from the ground.

And the wall that was without over against the chambers, toward the utter court on the forepart of the chambers, the length thereof was fifty cubits.

For the length of the chambers that were in the utter court was fifty cubits: and, lo, before the temple were an hundred cubits.

And from under these chambers was the entry on the east side, as one goeth into them from the utter court.

10 The chambers were in the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, over against the separate place, and over against the building.

11 And the way before them was like the appearance of the chambers which were toward the north, as long as they, and as broad as they: and all their goings out were both according to their fashions, and according to their doors.

12 And according to the doors of the chambers that were toward the south was a door in the head of the way, even the way directly before the wall toward the east, as one entereth into them.

13 Then said he unto me, The north chambers and the south chambers, which are before the separate place, they be holy chambers, where the priests that approach unto the Lord shall eat the most holy things: there shall they lay the most holy things, and the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; for the place is holy.

14 When the priests enter therein, then shall they not go out of the holy place into the utter court, but there they shall lay their garments wherein they minister; for they are holy; and shall put on other garments, and shall approach to those things which are for the people.

15 Now when he had made an end of measuring the inner house, he brought me forth toward the gate whose prospect is toward the east, and measured it round about.

16 He measured the east side with the measuring reed, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about.

17 He measured the north side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about.

18 He measured the south side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed.

19 He turned about to the west side, and measured five hundred reeds with the measuring reed.

20 He measured it by the four sides: it had a wall round about, five hundred reeds long, and five hundred broad, to make a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place.