Ezekiel 42
1 And he brought me forth into the outer court, the way toward the north; and he brought me to the cells that were over against the separate place and which were over against the building, toward the north,
The man took me out through the north gate to the outer courtyard into the rooms on the far side of the Temple courtyard by the northern external wall.
2 before the length of the hundred cubits: the entry was on the north, and the breadth was fifty cubits,
The building with the north-facing door was a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide.
3 over against the twenty [cubits] that pertained to the inner court, and over against the pavement that pertained to the outer court; there was gallery against gallery in the third [story];
It had three floors of open halls on both sides, one facing the twenty-cubit area of the inner courtyard and one facing the pavement of the outer courtyard.
4 and before the cells was a walk of ten cubits in breadth, [and] a way of a hundred cubits inward; and their entries were toward the north.
In front of the rooms was an inside walkway ten cubits wide and a hundred cubits long. Their doors opened to the north.
5 And the upper cells, because the galleries encroached on them, were shorter than the lower, and than the middle-most of the building.
The upper rooms were smaller because of the space taken up by the open halls on the lower and middle levels of the building.
6 For they were in three [stories], but had not pillars as the pillars of the courts; therefore [the third story] was straitened more than the lowest and the middle-most from the ground.
Since they didn't have pillars like the courtyards, the upper rooms were set farther back than the lower and middle levels.
7 And the wall that was without, answering to the cells, toward the outer court in the front of the cells, its length was fifty cubits:
An external wall ran in front of the rooms for fifty cubits long parallel to the outer courtyard.
8 for the length of the cells that were against the outer court was fifty cubits; but behold, before the temple it was a hundred cubits.
The rooms on the outer courtyard extended for fifty cubits, but those that faced the Temple were a hundred cubits long.
9 And under these cells was the entry from the east, as one goeth into them from the outer court.
Below these rooms was an entrance on the east side coming from the outer courtyard.
10 In the breadth of the wall of the court toward the south, before the separate place, and before the building, were cells;
Along the wall on the south side of the outer courtyard were rooms next to the courtyard and opposite the building.
11 and a passage before them, like the appearance of the cells that were toward the north, according to their length, according to their breadth and all their goings out, and according to their fashions, and according to their doors.
There was a walkway in front of them, just like the rooms on the north side. These rooms had the same length and width, the same doors, floor plan, and exits.
12 And according to the doors of the cells that were toward the south there was a door at the head of the way, the way directly before the corresponding wall toward the east as one entereth into them.
Similarly there was an entrance under the rooms on the south side of the building, coming from the east side.
13 And he said unto me, The north cells [and] the south cells, which are before the separate place, they are holy cells, where the priests that come near unto Jehovah shall eat the most holy things; there shall they lay the most holy things, both the oblation and the sin-offering and the trespass-offering: for the place is holy.
The man told me, “The north and south rooms that face the Temple courtyard are holy rooms where the priests who go before the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. They will place the most holy offerings there because the place is holy, and include the grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings.
14 When the priests enter in, they shall not go forth from the sanctuary into the outer court, but there they shall lay their garments wherein they minister, for they are holy; and they shall put on other garments, and shall approach to that which is for the people.
Once the priests have entered these rooms, they are not to go to the outer courtyard before leaving their priestly clothes, because these are holy. They must change into other clothes before go where the ordinary people are.”
15 And when he had made an end of measuring the inner house, he brought me forth toward the gate whose front was toward the east, and measured [the enclosure] round about.
After the man finished measuring inside of the Temple area, he took me out through the east gate, and he measured the surrounding area as well.
16 He measured the east side with the measuring-reed, five hundred reeds, with the measuring-reed round about.
Using the measuring rod he measured the east side. It was five hundred cubits long.
17 He measured the north side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring-reed round about.
He measured the north side. It was five hundred cubits long.
18 He measured the south side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring-reed.
He measured the south side. It was five hundred cubits long.
19 He turned about to the west side, [and] measured five hundred reeds with the measuring-reed.
And he came around and measured the west side. It was five hundred cubits long.
20 He measured it on the four sides; it had a wall round about, five hundred long, and five hundred broad, to make a separation between that which was holy and that which was common.
So he measured all four sides. There was a wall surrounding it, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, separating the holy from the common.
