The Prophet Ezekiel

⭑ Douay-Rheims :: 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, the tenth day of the month, the fourteenth year after the city was destroyed: in the selfsame day the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me thither.

In the visions of God he brought me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain: upon which there was as the building of a city, bending towards the south.

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

And this man said to me: Son of man, see with thy eyes, and hear with thy ears, and set thy heart upon all that I shall shew thee: for thou art brought hither that they may be shewn to thee: declare all that thou seest, to the house of Israel.

The East Gate

And behold there was a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man’s hand a measuring reed of six cubits and a handbreadth: and he measured the breadth of the building one reed, and the height one reed.

And he came to the gate that looked toward the east, and he went up the steps thereof: and he measured the breadth of the threshold of the gate one reed, that is, one threshold was one reed broad:

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.

And he measured the porch of the gate eight cubits, and the front thereof two cubits: and the porch of the gate was inward.

And the little chambers of the gate that looked eastward were three on this side, and three on that side: all three were of one measure, and the fronts of one measure, on both parts.

And he measured the breadth of the threshold of the gate ten cubits: and the length of the gate thirteen cubits:

And the border before the little chambers one cubit: and one cubit was the border on both sides: and the little chambers were six cubits on this side and that side.

And he measured the gate from the roof of one little chamber to the roof of another, in breadth five and twenty cubits: door against door.

He made also fronts of sixty cubits: and to the front the court of the gate on every side round about.

And before the face of the gate which reached even to the face of the porch of the inner gate, fifty cubits.

And slanting windows in the little chambers, and in their fronts, which were within the gate on every side round about: and in like, manner there wore also in the porches windows round about within, and before the fronts the representation of palm trees.

The Outer Court

And he brought me into the outward court, and behold there were chambers, and a pavement of stone in the court round about: thirty chambers encompassed the pavement.

And the pavement in the front of the gates according to the length of the gates was lower.

And he measured the breadth from the face of the lower gate to the front of the inner court without, a hundred cubits to the east, and to the north.

The North Gate

He measured also both the length and the breadth of the gate of the outward court, which looked northward.

And the little chambers thereof three on this side, and three on that side: and the front thereof, and the porch thereof according to the measure of the former gate, fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.

And the windows thereof, and the porch, and the gravings according to the measure of the gate that looked to the east, and they went up to it by seven steps, and a porch was before it.

And the gate of the inner court was over against the gate of the north, and that of the ease: and he measured from gate to gate a hundred cubits.

The South Gate

And he brought me out to the way of the south, and behold the gate that looked to the south: and he measured the front thereof, and the porch thereof according to the former measures.

And the windows thereof, and the porches round about, as the other windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.

And there were seven steps to go up to it: and a porch before the doors thereof: and there were graven palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side in the front thereof.

And there was a gate of the inner court towards the south: and he measured from gate to gate towards the south, a hundred cubits.

The Gates of the Inner Court

And he brought me into the inner court at the south gate: and he measured the gate according to the former measures.

The little chamber thereof, and the front thereof, and the porch thereof with the same measures: and the windows thereof, and the porch thereof round about it was fifty cubits in length, and five and twenty cubits in breadth.

And the porch round about was five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad.

And the porch thereof to the outward court, and the palm trees thereof in the front: and there were eight steps to go up to It.

And he brought me into the inner court by the way of the east: and he measured the gate according to the former measures.

The little chamber thereof, and the front thereof, and the porch thereof as before: and the windows thereof, and the porches thereof round about it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.

And the porch thereof, that is, of the outward court: and the graven palm trees in the front thereof on this side and on that side: and the going up thereof was by eight steps.

And he brought me into the gate that looked to the north: and he measured according to the former measures.

The little chamber thereof, and the front thereof, and the porch thereof, and the windows thereof round about it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.

And the porch thereof looked to the outward court: and the graving of palm trees in the front thereof was on this side and on that side: and the going up to it was by eight steps.

Eight Tables for Sacrifices

And at every chamber was a door in the forefronts of the gates: there they washed the holocaust.

And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side: that the holocaust, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering might be slain thereon.

And on the outward side, which goeth up to the entry of the gate that looketh toward the north, were two tables. and at the other side before the porch of the gate were two tables.

Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side: at the sides of the gate were eight tables, upon which they slew the victims.

And the four tables for the holocausts were made of square stones: one cubit and a half long, and one cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high: to lay the vessels upon, in which the holocaust and the victim is slain.

And the borders of them were of one handbreadth, turned inwards round about: and upon the tables was the flesh of the offering.

Chambers for Ministry

And without the inner gate were the chambers of the singing men in the inner court, which was on the side of the gate that looketh to the north: and their prospect was towards the south, one at the side of the east gate, which looketh toward the north.

And he said to me: This chamber, which looketh toward the south shall be for the priests that watch in the wards of the temple.

But the chamber that looketh towards the north shall be for the priests that watch over the ministry of the altar. These are the sons of Sadoc, who among the sons of Levi, come near to the Lord, to minister to him.

The Inner Court

And he measured the court a hundred cubits long, and a hundred cubits broad foursquare: and the altar that was before the face of the temple.

And he brought me into the porch of the temple: and he measured the porch five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side.

And the length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits, and there were eight, steps to go up to it. And there were pillars in the fronts: one on this side, and another on that side.

(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.