The Vision of Jerusalem

1At the beginning of year 25 of our captivity, on the tenth day of the fourteenth year after the destruction of Jerusalema —on that very day—the LORD grabbed me in his hand and took me there. 2God brought me in a series of visions to the land of Israel and placed me on top of a very high mountain, where to the south there was something that looked like the outline of a city. 3That’s where he took me. All of a sudden, there was a man whose appearance resembled glowingb bronze! He had a measuring reed and line in his hand as he stood in the city gate. 4This is what the man told me: “Son of Man, watch carefully,c listen closely,d and remembere everything I’m going to be showing you, because you’ve been brought here to be shown what you’re about to see. Be sure that you tell the house of Israel everything that you observe.”

Measuring the Temple Grounds

5All of a sudden, we were at the exterior wall that completely surrounded the Temple. The man whom I had observed held a measuring reed that was six cubitsf long as measured in cubits that were a cubit and a handbreadthg long. As he measured the thickness of the wall, he measured out one reed.h Its height was also one reed.i 6Then he went over to the gate that faced toward the east, ascended its steps, and measured its thresholds. One threshold measured one reedj and the other one measured one reed.k 7Each guardhousel measured one reedm long and one reedn wide, and the distanceo between each guardhouse was five cubits.p The threshold of the gate near the vestibule facing away from the Temple entranceq measured one reed.r

8Next, he measured the vestibule of the gate facing away from the Temple entrance at one reed.s 9He measured the vestibule of the gate inside at eight cubitst and the doorjambs at two cubits.u (The vestibule at the gate faced away from the Temple.) 10Gate guardhouses stood facing east, numbering three on each side,v each of them of equal sizew to the door jamb; that is, having the samex measurement on each side.y 11He measured the width of the gateway at ten cubits,z and the length of the gate at thirteen cubits.aa

12The retainingbb wall in front of the guardhouses measured one cubitcc wide. It stood one cubitdd from the wall to the guardhouses, which were six cubitsee square.ff 13He measured the gate from the roof of the guardhouses to the roof of anothergg at 25 cubitshh from doorway to opposite doorway. 14Then he measuredii the open air porchjj at 60 cubitskk from the doorjamb of the courtyard that encompassed the gate. 15The distance from the front entrance gate to the vestibule of the inner gate measured 50 cubits.ll 16Latticed windows faced the guardhouses, their side pillars within the gate all around, and also for the porches. Windows were placed all around inside, and the side pillars were engraved with palm trees.

The Outer Court

17Next, he brought me into the outer court, where chambers and a paved area had been constructed all around the courtyard, with 30 chambers facing the pavement. 18The pavement to the sidemm of the gates corresponded to the length of the gates. 19He also measured the width from the front lower gate to the front of the exterior inner court at 100 cubitsnn to the east and to the north.

The North Facing Outer Court

20Next, he measured the length and width of the outer north-facing gate to the courtyard. 21It was equippedoo with three guardhouses on each side. Its side pillars and porches had measurements identical to the first gate: 50 cubitspp long and 25 cubitsqq wide. 22Its windows, porches, and palm tree ornaments had measurements identical to the east-facing gate. Reached by seven ascendingrr steps, its porch layss to the front of the steps. 23From a gate that stood opposite the northern gate he measured 100 cubits,tt as well as from the eastern gate.

The South Facing Gate

24Then he led me toward the south, where there was a gate with side pillar and porch measurements identical to the others. 25The gate and its porches contained windows all around, identical to the other windows. The length of the porchuu was 50 cubitsvv and its width was 25 cubits.ww 26Seven steps led up to it, with a porch in front of them. Palm tree ornaments were engraved on its side pillars, one on each side. 27The inner court contained a south-facing gate measuring 100 cubitsxx from gate to gate toward the south.

The Inner Southern Court

28Next, he brought me to the inner courtyard by way of the south-facing gate. He measured the south-facing gate as having measurements identical to the others. 29The measurements of its guardhouses, its side pillars, and its porches were identical to the others. The gate and its porches contained windows all around. The length of the porchyy was 50 cubitszz and its width was 25 cubits.aaa 30Porches lay all around, measuring 25 cubitsbbb long and five cubitsccc wide, 31leading to the outer courtyard. Palm tree ornaments were engraved on its side pillars. The stairway leading to it contained eight steps.

The Inner Eastern Court

32Then he brought me into the inner east-facing courtyard, where he measured the gate, identical to the others. 33The measurement of its guardhouses, side pillars, and porches was identical to the others. The gate and its porches contained windows all around. The length of the porchddd was 50 cubitseee and its width was 25 cubits,fff 34leading to the outer courtyard. Palm tree ornaments were engraved on its side pillars. The stairway leading to it contained eight steps.

The North Facing Gate

35Next, he brought me to the north-facing gate, where he measured the gate, identical to the others. 36The measurement of its guardhouses, side pillars, and porches was identical to the others. The gate and its porches contained windows all around. The length of the porchggg was 50 cubitshhh and its width was 25 cubits,iii 37leading to the outer courtyard. Palm tree ornaments were engraved on its side pillars. The stairway leading to it contained eight steps. 38There was a chamber with a doorway by the side pillars next to the gate where they preparejjj the burnt offerings.

39In the porch leading in front of the gate there were two tables on either side for slaughtering burnt offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings, 40and on the outer side, approaching the northern gateway, there were two tables, as well as two tables on the opposite side of the porch in front of the gate. 41In that way, there were four tables on each side in front of the gate, for a total of eight tables for use in slaughtering the offerings.kkk

42There were four tables carved from stone for the burnt offering, each one and a half cubitslll long, one and a half cubitsmmm wide, and one cubitnnn high, on which the instruments are laid for slaughtering burnt offerings and sacrifices. 43Double hooks, a single handbreadthooo in length, were installed all around in this portion ofppp the temple area.

The Inner Gate

44From outside leading into the inner gate there were chambers for the choir. One was beside the north gate facing the south, and another was at the south gate facing the north. 45The angelqqq told me, “This south-facing chamber is for the priests who maintain the Temple, 46and the north-facing chamber is for the priests who maintain the altar. These are Zadok’s descendants, who, as descendants of Levi approach the LORD to minister directly to him.” 47He measured the court in the form of a square at 100 cubitsrrr long and 100 cubitssss wide. The altar stood in front of the Temple.

The Temple Porch

48Next, he brought me to the Temple porch and measured the side pillars at five cubitsttt on each side. The width of the gate measured three cubitsuuu on each side. 49The porch was 20 cubitsvvv long and eleven cubitswww wide. The stairway by which it was ascended was equipped with columns attached to its side pillars, one on each side.