The Inner Temple

41 Then he brought me to ^mthe nave and measured the ⁿjambs. On each side six cubits¹ was the breadth of the jambs.² 2 And the breadth of the entrance was ten cubits, and the sidewalls of the entrance were five cubits on either side. And he measured the length of the nave,^{3 o}forty cubits, and its breadth, ^ptwenty cubits. 3 Then he went ^qinto the inner room and measured the jambs of the entrance, two cubits; and the entrance, six cubits; and the sidewalls on either side⁴ of the entrance, seven cubits. 4 And he measured ^rthe length of the room, twenty cubits, and its breadth, twenty cubits, across ^sthe nave. And he said to me, “This is ^tthe Most Holy Place.”

5 Then he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits thick, and the breadth of ^uthe side chambers, four cubits, ^uall around the temple. 6 And the side chambers were in three stories, one over another, ^vthirty in each story. There were offsets⁵ all around the wall of the temple to serve as supports for the side chambers, ^wso that they should not be supported by the wall of the temple. 7 And it became broader as it wound upward to the side chambers, because the temple was enclosed upward all around the temple. Thus the temple had a broad area upward, and ^xso one went up from the lowest story to the top story through the middle story. 8 I saw also that the temple had a raised platform all around; the foundations of the side chambers measured a full reed of ^ysix long cubits. 9 The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits. ^zThe free space between the side chambers of the temple and the 10 ^aother chambers was a breadth of ^btwenty cubits all around the temple on every side. 11 And the doors of the ^cside chambers opened on ^dthe free space, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south. And the breadth of the free space was five cubits all around.

12 The building that was facing ^ethe separate yard on the west side was seventy cubits broad, and the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length ninety cubits.

13 Then he measured the temple, ^fa hundred cubits long; and the yard and the building with its walls, a hundred cubits long; 14 also the breadth of the east front of the temple and the yard, a hundred cubits.

15 Then he measured the length of ^gthe building facing the yard that was at the back and ^hits galleries⁶ on either side, a hundred cubits.

The inside of the nave and the vestibules of the court, 16 ⁱthe thresholds and ^jthe narrow windows and the galleries all around the three of them, opposite the threshold, were paneled with wood all around, from the floor up to the windows (now the windows were covered), 17 to the space above the door, even to the inner room, and on the outside. And on all the walls all around, inside and outside, was a measured pattern.⁷ 18 It was carved of ^kcherubim and ^lpalm trees, a palm tree between cherub and cherub. Every cherub had two faces: 19 ^ma human face toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side. They were carved on the whole temple all around. 20 From the floor to above the door, cherubim and palm trees were carved; similarly the wall of the nave.

21 The doorposts of ⁿthe nave were squared, and in front of ^othe Holy Place was something resembling 22 ^pan altar of wood, three cubits high, two cubits long, and two cubits broad.⁸ Its corners, its base,⁹ and its walls were of wood. He said to me, “This is ^qthe table that is before the Lord.” 23 The nave and the Holy Place had each ^ra double door. 24 The double doors had two leaves apiece, ^stwo swinging leaves for each door. 25 And on the doors of the nave were carved cherubim and palm trees, ^tsuch as were carved on the walls. And there was ^ua canopy¹⁰ of wood in front of ^vthe vestibule outside. 26 And there were ^jnarrow windows and palm trees on either side, on the sidewalls of the vestibule, ^wthe side chambers of the temple, and the ^ucanopies.

The Temple’s Chambers

42 Then he led me out into ^xthe outer court, ^ytoward the north, and he brought me to ^xthe chambers that were opposite ^zthe separate yard and opposite ^athe building on the north. 2 The length of the building whose door faced north was ^ba hundred cubits,¹ and ^cthe breadth fifty cubits. 3 Facing ^dthe twenty cubits that belonged to the inner court, and facing ^ethe pavement that belonged to the outer court, was ^fgallery² against gallery in three stories. 4 And ^gbefore the chambers was a passage inward, ten cubits wide and ^ha hundred cubits long,³ and ^gtheir doors were on the north. 5 Now the upper chambers were narrower, for the galleries took more away from them than from the lower and middle chambers of the building. 6 For they were in three stories, and they had no pillars like the pillars of the courts. Thus the upper chambers were set back from the ground more than the lower and the middle ones. 7 And ⁱthere was a wall outside parallel to the chambers, toward the outer court, opposite the chambers, ^jfifty cubits long. 8 For the chambers on the outer court were fifty cubits long, while those opposite ^kthe nave⁴ were ^la hundred cubits long. 9 Below these chambers was ^man entrance on the east side, as one enters them from the outer court.

10 In the thickness of ⁿthe wall of the court, on the south⁵ also, opposite ^othe yard and opposite ^othe building, there were ^pchambers 11 with ^qa passage in front of them. They were similar to the chambers on the north, of the same length and breadth, with the same exits⁶ and arrangements and ^qdoors, 12 as were the entrances of the chambers on the south. There was an entrance at the beginning of the passage, the passage before ⁿthe corresponding wall on the east as one enters them.⁷

13 Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers opposite ^othe yard are the holy chambers, ^rwhere the priests who approach the Lord ^sshall eat the ^tmost holy offerings. There they shall put the most holy offerings—^tthe grain offering, ^uthe sin offering, and ^uthe guilt offering—for the place is holy. 14 When the priests enter the Holy Place, they shall not go out of it into the outer court ^vwithout laying there the garments in which they minister, for these are holy. ^vThey shall put on other garments before they go near to that which is for the people.”

15 Now when he had finished measuring the interior of the temple area, he led me out by ^wthe gate that faced east, and measured the temple area all around. 16 He measured the east side with ^xthe measuring reed, 500 cubits by the measuring reed all around. 17 He measured the north side, 500 cubits by the measuring reed all around. 18 He measured the south side, 500 cubits by the measuring reed. 19 Then he turned to the west side and measured, 500 cubits by the measuring reed. 20 He measured it on the four sides. It had ^ya wall around it, ^z500 cubits long and ^z500 cubits broad, ^ato make a separation between the holy and the common.

The Glory of the Lord Fills the Temple

43 Then he led me to ^bthe gate, the gate facing east. 2 And behold, ^cthe glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And ^dthe sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and ^ethe earth shone with his glory. 3 And ^fthe vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen ^gwhen he¹ came to destroy the city, and just like ^hthe vision that I had seen ⁱby the Chebar canal. And ^jI fell on my face. 4 As ^cthe glory of the Lord ^kentered the temple by the gate facing east, 5 ^lthe Spirit lifted me up and brought me into ^mthe inner court; and behold, ⁿthe glory of the Lord filled the temple.

6 ^oWhile the man was standing beside me, ^pI heard one speaking to me out of the temple, 7 and he said to me, ^q“Son of man, this is ^rthe place of my throne and ^sthe place of the soles of my feet, ^twhere I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever. And the house of Israel shall no more ^udefile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoring and by the dead bodies² of their kings at their high places,³ 8 by setting their threshold by my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with ^vonly a wall between me and them. They have ^wdefiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed, so I have consumed them in my anger. 9 Now let them put away their whoring and the dead bodies of their kings far from me, ^tand I will dwell in their midst forever.

10 “As for you, ^qson of man, ^xdescribe to the house of Israel the temple, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and they shall measure the plan. 11 And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, ^xmake known to them the design of the temple, its arrangement, ^yits exits and its entrances, that is, its whole design; and make known to them as well all its statutes and its whole design and all its laws, and write it down ^zin their sight, so that they may observe all its laws and all its statutes and carry them out. 12 This is the law of the temple: the whole territory on the top of ^athe mountain ^ball around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.

The Altar

13 “These are the measurements of ^cthe altar by cubits (the cubit being ^da cubit and a handbreadth):⁴ its base shall be one cubit high⁵ and one cubit broad, with a rim of one span⁶ around its edge. And this shall be the height of the altar: 14 from the base on the ground to the lower ledge, two cubits, with a breadth of one cubit; and from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge, four cubits, with a breadth of one cubit; 15 and the altar hearth, four cubits; and from the altar hearth projecting upward, ^efour horns. 16 The altar hearth shall be ^fsquare, twelve cubits long by twelve broad. 17 The ledge also shall be square, fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad, with a rim around it half a cubit broad, and its base one cubit all around. ^gThe steps of the altar shall face east.”

18 And he said to me, ^h“Son of man, thus says the Lord God: These are the ordinances for the altar: On the day when it is erected for offering burnt offerings upon it and ⁱfor throwing blood against it, 19 you shall give to ^jthe Levitical priests ^kof the family of Zadok, who draw near to me to minister to me, declares the Lord God, ^la bull from the herd for a sin offering. 20 And ^myou shall take some of its blood and put it on ^ethe four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the ledge and upon ⁿthe rim all around. ^oThus you shall purify the altar and make atonement for it. 21 You shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and ^pit shall be burned in the appointed place belonging to the temple, outside the sacred area. 22 And on the second day you shall offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering; and the altar shall be purified, as it was purified with the bull. 23 When you have finished ^opurifying it, you shall offer a bull from the herd without blemish and ^qa ram from the flock without blemish. 24 You shall present them before the Lord, and the priests ^rshall sprinkle salt on them and offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord. 25 ^sFor seven days you shall provide daily a male goat for a sin offering; also, a bull from the herd and a ram from the flock, without blemish, shall be provided. 26 Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, and so consecrate it.⁷ 27 And when they have completed these days, then ^tfrom the eighth day onward the priests shall offer on the altar your burnt offerings and your ^upeace offerings, and ^vI will accept you, declares the Lord God.”

The Gate for the Prince

44 Then he brought me ^wback to the outer gate of the sanctuary, ^xwhich faces east. And it was shut. 2 And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for ^ythe Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it. Therefore it shall remain shut. 3 Only ^zthe prince may sit in it ^ato eat bread before the Lord. He ^bshall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go out by the same way.”

4 Then he brought me by way of ^cthe north gate to the front of the temple, and I looked, and behold, ^dthe glory of the Lord filled the temple of the Lord. And ^eI fell on my face. 5 And the Lord said to me, ^f“Son of man, mark well, ^gsee with your eyes, ^gand hear with your ears all that I shall tell you concerning ^hall the statutes of the temple of the Lord and all its laws. And mark well ^hthe entrance to the temple and all the exits from the sanctuary. 6 And say to ⁱthe rebellious house,¹ to the ^jhouse of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: O house of Israel, ^kenough of all your abominations, 7 in ^ladmitting foreigners, ^muncircumcised in heart and flesh, to be in my sanctuary, ⁿprofaning my temple, when you offer to me my food, the fat and the blood. You² have broken my covenant, in addition to all your abominations. 8 And ^oyou have not kept charge of my holy things, but you have set others to keep my charge for you in my sanctuary.

9 “Thus says the Lord God: ^pNo foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, shall enter my sanctuary. 10 But ^qthe Levites who went far from me, going astray from me after their idols ^rwhen Israel went astray, ^sshall bear their punishment.³ 11 They shall be ^tministers in my sanctuary, having oversight ^uat the gates of the temple and ministering in the temple. They shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and ^vthey shall stand before the people, to minister to them. 12 Because they ministered to them before their idols and became ^wa stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have ^xsworn concerning them, declares the Lord God, and they shall bear their punishment. 13 They ^yshall not come near to me, to serve me as priest, nor come near any of my holy things and the things that are most holy, but ^zthey shall bear their shame and the abominations that they have committed. 14 Yet I will appoint them to keep ^acharge of the temple, ^bto do all its service and all that is to be done in it.

Rules for Levitical Priests

15 “But ^cthe Levitical priests, ^cthe sons of Zadok, who kept ^athe charge of my sanctuary ^rwhen the people of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me ^dto minister to me. And they shall stand before me to offer me ^ethe fat and the blood, declares the Lord God. 16 They shall enter my sanctuary, and they shall approach ^fmy table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge. 17 When they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall wear ^glinen garments. They shall have nothing of wool on them, while they minister at the gates of the inner court, and within. 18 They shall have linen turbans on their heads, and linen undergarments around their waists. They shall not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat. 19 And when they go out into the outer court to the people, they shall put off the garments in which they have been ministering ^hand lay them in the holy chambers. And ⁱthey shall put on other garments, ^jlest they transmit holiness to the people with their garments. 20 ^kThey shall not shave their heads or ^llet their locks grow long; they shall surely trim the hair of their heads. 21 ^mNo priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court. 22 ⁿThey shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but only virgins of the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23 ^oThey shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and ^oshow them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. 24 ^pIn a dispute, they shall act as judges, and they shall judge it according to my judgments. They shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts, and ^qthey shall keep my Sabbaths holy. 25 ^rThey shall not defile themselves by going near to a dead person. However, for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister they may defile themselves. 26 ^sAfter he⁴ has become clean, they shall count seven days for him. 27 And on the day that he goes into the Holy Place, ^tinto the inner court, to minister in the Holy Place, ^uhe shall offer his sin offering, declares the Lord God.

28 ^v“This shall be their inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ^wyou shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession. 29 ^xThey shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, and ^yevery devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30 ^zAnd the first of all the firstfruits of all kinds, and every offering of all kinds from all your offerings, shall belong to the priests. ^aYou shall also give to the priests the first of your dough, ^bthat a blessing may rest on your house. 31 ^cThe priests shall not eat of ^danything, whether bird or beast, that has died of itself or is torn by wild animals.

The Holy District

45 “When ^eyou allot the land as an inheritance, ^fyou shall set apart for the Lord a portion of the land as a holy district, 25,000 cubits¹ long and 20,000² cubits broad. It shall be holy throughout its whole extent. 2 ^gOf this a square plot of 500 by 500 cubits shall be for the sanctuary, with fifty cubits for ^han open space around it. 3 And ⁱfrom this measured district you shall measure off a section 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 broad, ^jin which shall be the sanctuary, ^kthe Most Holy Place. 4 ^lIt shall be the holy portion of the land. It shall be for the priests, who minister in the sanctuary and approach the Lord to minister to him, and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. 5 ^mAnother section, 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits broad, shall be for the Levites who minister at the temple, as their possession for cities to live in.³

6 “Alongside the portion set apart as the holy district ⁿyou shall assign for the property of the city an area 5,000 cubits broad and 25,000 cubits long. ^oIt shall belong to the whole house of Israel.

The Portion for the Prince

7 ^p“And to ^qthe prince shall belong the land on both sides of the holy district and the property of the city, alongside the holy district and the property of the city, on the west and on the east, corresponding in length to one of the tribal portions, and extending from the western to the eastern boundary 8 of the land. It is to be his property in Israel. And ^rmy princes shall no more oppress my people, but ^sthey shall let the house of Israel have the land according to their tribes.

9 “Thus says the Lord God: ^tEnough, O princes of Israel! Put away violence and oppression, and execute justice and righteousness. Cease ^uyour evictions of my people, declares the Lord God.