Ezekiel 40:1-7

1 It was the tenth day of the new year, which was the twenty-fifth year after we had been taken into exile and the fourteenth year after Jerusalem was captured. On that day I felt the powerful presence of the Lord, and he carried me away.
2 In a vision God took me to the land of Israel and put me on a high mountain. I saw in front of me a group of buildings that looked like a city. 1
3 He took me closer, and I saw a man who shone like bronze. He was holding a linen tape measure and a measuring rod and was standing by a gateway. 2
4 He said to me, "Watch, mortal man. Listen carefully and pay close attention to everything I show you, because this is why you were brought here. You are to tell the people of Israel everything you see."
5 What I saw was the Temple, and there was a wall around it. The man took his measuring rod, which was 10 feet long, and measured the wall. It was 10 feet high and 10 feet thick. 3
6 Then he went to the gateway that faced east. He went up the steps, and at the top he measured the entrance; it was 10 feet deep.
7 Beyond it there was a passageway, which had three guardrooms on each side. Each of the rooms was square, 10 feet on each side, and the walls between them were 8 feet thick. Beyond the guardrooms there was a passageway 10 feet long that led to an entrance room which faced the Temple.

Cross References 3

  • 1. 40.2Revelation 21.10.
  • 2. 40.3Revelation 11.1; 21.15.
  • 3. 40.5--42.20 1 K 6.1-38;2 Chronicles 3.1-9.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. [One ancient translation] in front of me; [Hebrew] in the south.
  • [b]. [One ancient translation] deep; [Hebrew] deep, one entrance 10 feet deep.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.