The Prophet Ezekiel

⭑ King James Version :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 40 -

(Zechariah 2:1–5)

In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day the hand of the Lord was upon me, and brought me thither.

In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on the south.(a)

And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.

And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for to the intent that I might shew them unto thee art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel.

The East Gate

And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man’s hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and an hand breadth: so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.

Then came he unto the gate which looketh toward the east, and went up the stairs thereof, and measured the threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad; and the other threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad.(b)

And every little chamber was one reed long, and one reed broad; and between the little chambers were five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate within was one reed.

He measured also the porch of the gate within, one reed.

Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was inward.

And the little chambers of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side; they three were of one measure: and the posts had one measure on this side and on that side.

And he measured the breadth of the entry of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits.

The space also before the little chambers was one cubit on this side, and the space was one cubit on that side: and the little chambers were six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side.(c)

He measured then the gate from the roof of one little chamber to the roof of another: the breadth was five and twenty cubits, door against door.

He made also posts of threescore cubits, even unto the post of the court round about the gate.

And from the face of the gate of the entrance unto the face of the porch of the inner gate were fifty cubits.

And there were narrow windows to the little chambers, and to their posts within the gate round about, and likewise to the arches: and windows were round about inward: and upon each post were palm trees.(d)

(e)

(f)

The Outer Court

Then brought he me into the outward court, and, lo, there were chambers, and a pavement made for the court round about: thirty chambers were upon the pavement.

And the pavement by the side of the gates over against the length of the gates was the lower pavement.

Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate unto the forefront of the inner court without, an hundred cubits eastward and northward.(g)

The North Gate

And the gate of the outward court that looked toward the north, he measured the length thereof, and the breadth thereof.(h)

And the little chambers thereof were three on this side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first gate: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.(i)

And their windows, and their arches, and their palm trees, were after the measure of the gate that looketh toward the east; and they went up unto it by seven steps; and the arches thereof were before them.

And the gate of the inner court was over against the gate toward the north, and toward the east; and he measured from gate to gate an hundred cubits.

The South Gate

After that he brought me toward the south, and behold a gate toward the south: and he measured the posts thereof and the arches thereof according to these measures.

And there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.

And there were seven steps to go up to it, and the arches thereof were before them: and it had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, upon the posts thereof.

And there was a gate in the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south an hundred cubits.

The Gates of the Inner Court

And he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures;

And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.

And the arches round about were five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad.(j)

And the arches thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof: and the going up to it had eight steps.

And he brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures.

And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, were according to these measures: and there were windows therein and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.

And the arches thereof were toward the outward court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps.

And he brought me to the north gate, and measured it according to these measures;

The little chambers thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, and the windows to it round about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.

And the posts thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps.

Eight Tables for Sacrifices

And the chambers and the entries thereof were by the posts of the gates, where they washed the burnt offering.

And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to slay thereon the burnt offering and the sin offering and the trespass offering.

And at the side without, as one goeth up to the entry of the north gate, were two tables; and on the other side, which was at the porch of the gate, were two tables.(k)

Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, whereupon they slew their sacrifices.

And the four tables were of hewn stone for the burnt offering, of a cubit and an half long, and a cubit and an half broad, and one cubit high: whereupon also they laid the instruments wherewith they slew the burnt offering and the sacrifice.

And within were hooks, an hand broad, fastened round about: and upon the tables was the flesh of the offering.(l)

Chambers for Ministry

And without the inner gate were the chambers of the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward the south: one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north.

And he said unto me, This chamber, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house.(m)

And the chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok among the sons of Levi, which come near to the Lord to minister unto him.

The Inner Court

So he measured the court, an hundred cubits long, and an hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar that was before the house.

And he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate was three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side.

The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits; and he brought me by the steps whereby they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side.

Footnotes

(a)40:2 by which: or, upon which

(b)40:6 which looketh…: Heb. whose face was the way toward the east

(d)40:16 narrow: Heb. closed

(e)40:16 arches: or, galleries, or, porches

(f)40:16 inward: or, within

(g)40:19 without: or, from without

(h)40:20 that looked: Heb. whose face was

(i)40:21 arches: or, galleries, or, porches

(j)40:30 broad: Heb. breadth

(k)40:40 as one…: or, at the step

(l)40:43 hooks: or, andirons, or, the two hearthstones

(m)40:45 charge: or, ward, or, ordinance

(Zechariah 2:1–5)

In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck, in the same day, the LORD’s hand was on me, and he brought me there.

In the visions of God he brought me into the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was something like the frame of a city to the south.

He brought me there; and, behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze, with a line of flax in his hand and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.

The man said to me, “Son of man, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart on all that I will show you; for you have been brought here so that I may show them to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.”

The East Gate

Behold, there was a wall on the outside of the house all around, and in the man’s hand a measuring reed six cubits(a) long, of a cubit and a hand width each. So he measured the thickness of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.

Then he came to the gate which looks toward the east, and went up its steps. He measured the threshold of the gate, one reed wide; and the other threshold, one reed wide.

Every lodge was one reed long and one reed wide. Between the lodges was five cubits. The threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate toward the house was one reed.

He measured also the porch of the gate toward the house, one reed.

Then he measured the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and its posts, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was toward the house.

The side rooms of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side. The three of them were of one measure. The posts had one measure on this side and on that side.

He measured the width of the opening of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits;

and a border before the lodges, one cubit on this side, and a border, one cubit on that side; and the side rooms, six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side.

He measured the gate from the roof of the one side room to the roof of the other, a width of twenty-five cubits, door against door.

He also made posts, sixty cubits; and the court reached to the posts, around the gate.

From the forefront of the gate at the entrance to the forefront of the inner porch of the gate were fifty cubits.

There were closed windows to the side rooms, and to their posts within the gate all around, and likewise to the arches. Windows were around inward. Palm trees were on each post.

The Outer Court

Then he brought me into the outer court. Behold, there were rooms and a pavement made for the court all around. Thirty rooms were on the pavement.

The pavement was by the side of the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates, even the lower pavement.

Then he measured the width from the forefront of the lower gate to the forefront of the inner court outside, one hundred cubits, both on the east and on the north.

The North Gate

He measured the length and width of the gate of the outer court which faces toward the north.

The lodges of it were three on this side and three on that side. Its posts and its arches were the same as the measure of the first gate: its length was fifty cubits, and the width twenty-five cubits.

Its windows, its arches, and its palm trees were the same as the measure of the gate which faces toward the east. They went up to it by seven steps. Its arches were before them.

There was a gate to the inner court facing the other gate, on the north and on the east. He measured one hundred cubits from gate to gate.

The South Gate

He led me toward the south; and behold, there was a gate toward the south. He measured its posts and its arches according to these measurements.

There were windows in it and in its arches all around, like the other windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the width twenty-five cubits.

There were seven steps to go up to it, and its arches were before them. It had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, on its posts.

There was a gate to the inner court toward the south. He measured one hundred cubits from gate to gate toward the south.

The Gates of the Inner Court

Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate. He measured the south gate according to these measurements;

with its lodges, its posts, and its arches, according to these measurements. There were windows in it and in its arches all around. It was fifty cubits long, and twenty-five cubits wide.

There were arches all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide.

Its arches were toward the outer court. Palm trees were on its posts. The ascent to it had eight steps.

He brought me into the inner court toward the east. He measured the gate according to these measurements;

with its lodges, its posts, and its arches, according to these measurements. There were windows in it and in its arches all around. It was fifty cubits long, and twenty-five cubits wide.

Its arches were toward the outer court. Palm trees were on its posts on this side and on that side. The ascent to it had eight steps.

He brought me to the north gate, and he measured it according to these measurements—

its lodges, its posts, and its arches. There were windows in it all around. The length was fifty cubits and the width twenty-five cubits.

Its posts were toward the outer court. Palm trees were on its posts on this side and on that side. The ascent to it had eight steps.

Eight Tables for Sacrifices

A room with its door was by the posts at the gates. They washed the burnt offering there.

In the porch of the gate were two tables on this side and two tables on that side, on which to kill the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering.

On the one side outside, as one goes up to the entry of the gate toward the north, were two tables; and on the other side, which belonged to the porch of the gate, were two tables.

Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate: eight tables, on which they killed the sacrifices.

There were four cut stone tables for the burnt offering, a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high. They laid the instruments with which they killed the burnt offering and the sacrifice on them.

The hooks, a hand width long, were fastened within all around. The meat of the offering was on the tables.

Chambers for Ministry

Outside of the inner gate were rooms for the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate. They faced toward the south. One at the side of the east gate faced toward the north.

He said to me, “This room, which faces toward the south, is for the priests who perform the duty of the house.

The room which faces toward the north is for the priests who perform the duty of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who from among the sons of Levi come near to the LORD to minister to him.”

The Inner Court

He measured the court, one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide, square. The altar was before the house.

Then he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side. The width of the gate was three cubits on this side and three cubits on that side.

The length of the porch was twenty cubits and the width eleven cubits, even by the steps by which they went up to it. There were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side.

Footnotes

(a)40:5 A normal cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimeters. A handbreadth is about 4.3 inches or 11 centimeters, so the long cubit described here would be about 22.3 inches or 57 centimeters long. Thus, a 6 long cubit measuring reed would have been about 3 yards 26.6 inches or about 3.42 meters long.