Ezekiel40
American Standard Version · Public Domain
1In 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 Jehovah was upon me, and he brought me thither.
2In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me down upon a very high mountain, whereon was as it were the frame of a city on the south.
3And 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.
4And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thy heart upon all that I shall show thee; for, to the intent that I may show them unto thee, art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel.
5And, behold, a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man’s hand a measuring reed six cubits long, of a cubit and a handbreadth each: so he measured the thickness of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.
6Then came he unto the gate which looketh toward the east, and went up the steps thereof: and he measured the threshold of the gate, one reed broad; and the other threshold, one reed broad.
7And every lodge was one reed long, and one reed broad; and the space between the lodges was five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate toward the house was one reed.
8He measured also the porch of the gate toward the house, one reed.
9Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was toward the house.
10And the lodges 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.
11And he measured the breadth of the opening of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits;
12and a border before the lodges, one cubit on this side, and a border, one cubit on that side; and the lodges, six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side.
13And he measured the gate from the roof of the one lodge to the roof of the other, a breadth of five and twenty cubits; door against door.
14He made also posts, threescore cubits; and the court reached unto the posts, round about the gate.
15And from the forefront of the gate at the entrance unto the forefront of the inner porch of the gate were fifty cubits.
16And there were closed windows to the lodges, 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.
17Then brought he me into the outer court; and, lo, there were chambers and a pavement, made for the court round about: thirty chambers were upon the pavement.
18And the pavement was by the side of the gates, answerable unto the length of the gates, even the lower pavement.
19Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate unto the forefront of the inner court without, a hundred cubits, both on the east and on the north.
20And the gate of the outer court whose prospect is toward the north, he measured the length thereof and the breadth thereof.
21And the lodges 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.
22And the windows thereof, and the arches thereof, and the palm-trees thereof, were after the measure of the gate whose prospect is toward the east; and they went up unto it by seven steps; and the arches thereof were before them.
23And there was a gate to the inner court over against the other gate, both on the north and on the east; and he measured from gate to gate a hundred cubits.
24And he led 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.
25And 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.
26And 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.
27And there was a gate to the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south a hundred cubits.
28Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures;
29and the lodges 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.
30And there were arches round about, five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad.
31And the arches thereof were toward the outer court; and palm-trees were upon the posts thereof: and the ascent to it had eight steps.
32And he brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures;
33and the lodges thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, 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.
34And the arches thereof were toward the outer court; and palm-trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the ascent to it had eight steps.
35And he brought me to the north gate: and he measured it according to these measures;
36the lodges thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof: and there were windows therein round about; the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.
37And the posts thereof were toward the outer court; and palm-trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the ascent to it had eight steps.
38And a chamber with the door thereof was by the posts at the gates; there they washed the burnt-offering.
39And 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.
40And on the one side without, as one goeth 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.
41Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, whereupon they slew the sacrifices.
42And there were four tables for the burnt-offering, of hewn stone, a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high; whereupon they laid the instruments wherewith they slew the burnt-offering and the sacrifice.
43And the hooks, a handbreadth long, were fastened within round about: and upon the tables was the flesh of the oblation.
44And without the inner gate were chambers for 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.
45And he said unto me, This chamber, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house;
46and 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, who from among the sons of Levi come near to Jehovah to minister unto him.
47And he measured the court, a hundred cubits long, and a hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar was before the house.
48Then 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.
49The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits; even 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.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Ezekiel 40.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The Vision of the Temple. (1-49).
vv1-49
Here is a vision, beginning at Ezek. 40, and continued to the end of the book, Ezek. 48, which is justly looked upon to be one of the most difficult portions in all the book of God. When we despair to be satisfied as to any difficulty we meet with, let us bless God that our salvation does not depend upon it, but that things necessary are plain enough; and let us wait till God shall reveal even this unto us. This chapter describes two outward courts of the temple. Whether the personage here mentioned was the Son of God, or a created angel, is not clear. But Christ is both our Altar and our Sacrifice, to whom we must look with faith in all approaches to God; and he is Salvation in the midst of the earth, Ps. 74:12, to be looked unto from all quarters.
Key Words
שָׁנֶה: a year (as a revolution of time)
גָּלוּת: captivity; concretely, exiles (collectively)
רֹאשׁ: the head (as most easily shaken), whether literal or figurative (in many applications, of place, time, rank, itc.)
עָשׂוֹר: ten; by abbreviated form ten strings, and so a decachord
חֹדֶשׁ: the new moon; by implication, a month
אַחַר: properly, the hind part; generally used as an adverb or conjunction, after (in various senses)
עִיר: a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the widest sense (even of a mere encampment or post)
נָכָה: to strike (lightly or severely, literally or figuratively)
עֶצֶם: a bone (as strong); by extension, the body; figuratively, the substance, i.e. (as pron.) selfsame
יוֹם: a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)
Cross References
Ezekiel 40John's vision of the holy city descending from a great and high mountain echoes Ezekiel's vision.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
John is given a measuring reed to measure the temple, directly mirroring Ezekiel's measuring messenger.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The appearance of the man like brass parallels Christ's appearance of fine brass in Revelation.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The man building/measuring the temple points to the Branch who builds the spiritual temple of God.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Zechariah similarly sees a man with a measuring line to measure Jerusalem's dimensions.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The vast dimensions of the outer wall signify a separation between holy and common ground.
Supported by JFB
Confirms the identity of the sons of Zadok who kept the charge of the sanctuary.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The mountain of the Lord's house established in the top of the mountains.
Supported by JFB
The heavenly Jerusalem which is free, representing the spiritual fulfillment of the vision.
Supported by JFB
Repeats the command to mark well, behold, and hear carefully concerning temple ordinances.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Solomon's temple also had side chambers built against the walls of the house.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Identifies the priests of the seed of Zadok who approach God to minister.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Zadok replaces Abiathar, fulfilling prophecy and establishing his line in the priesthood.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The two bronze pillars Jachin and Boaz in the porch of Solomon's temple.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Paul declaring the whole counsel of God parallels Ezekiel's command to declare all he sees.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The washing of sacrifices points to believers having hearts sprinkled and bodies washed clean.
Supported by JFB
Ezekiel's chambers for singers echo David's ordering of temple singers and musicians.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Moses commands Israel to set their hearts to all words, just as Ezekiel is commanded.
Supported by Matthew Poole
David gave Solomon the pattern of the porch and chambers, indicating divine blueprint designs.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The sacrificial tables are spiritually associated with the table/altar of the Lord.
Supported by Matthew Poole