Ezekiel 42

1 Then he took me forth unto the outer court, the way toward the north, —and brought me unto the chamber which was over against the secluded place and which was over against the enclosing-wall, towards the north.

[in the vision] the man led me out of the inner courtyard, through [the entrance on] the north side. We entered the outer courtyard and came to a building that was built against the north [of the inner courtyard].

2 Facing the length of the hundred cubits, was the entrance of the north, —and the breadth was fifty cubits:

That building was (175 feet/53 meters) long and (87-1/2 feet/26.5 meters) wide. Its doorway faced north.

3 over against the twenty which pertained to the inner court, and over against the pavement which pertained to the outer court, was gallery facing gallery, by the thirties;

In that building were two rows of rooms, built on three levels, that faced each other. One row of rooms was built against the wall of the inner courtyard, and the other row was built against the wall facing the outer courtyard. The building was 34 feet from the temple.

4 and before the chambers, was a walk ten cubits in breadth inward, a way of one cubit, —and their entrances were to the north.

Between the [two] rows of rooms there was a walkway that was (17-1/2 feet/5.3 meters) wide and (175 feet/53 meters) long. All its doors were on the north side.

5 Now, the highest chambers, were shortened, —because the galleries took away therefrom more than from the lowest or from the middle in structure.

Each of the upper rows of rooms was narrower than the row of rooms below them, [because the upper rows needed to have a walkway in front of them].

6 For three stories, they were; and had not pillars like the pillars of the courts; for this cause, it differed from the lowest and from the middle, from the ground.

The rooms on the upper levels had no pillars to support them like the ones in the courtyard. Instead, each of those row of rooms were supported by the walls of the row of rooms on the level below.

7 And as for the wall that was without. answering to the chambers, toward the outer court facing the chambers, the length thereof was fifty cubits.

The wall of the building extended (87-1/2 feet/26.5 meters) past the set of rooms built along the outer courtyard, separating all the rooms from the outer courtyard.

8 For the length of the chambers which pertained to the outer court was fifty cubits, —and lo! in front of the temple a hundred cubits,

The row of rooms that were along the outer courtyard was (87-1/2 feet/26.5 meters) long, and the set of rooms that faced the temple was (175 feet/53 meters) long.

9 And from under these chambers, was the entry from the east when one goeth in by them from the outer court.

The lowest row of rooms had an entrance from the outer courtyard, on the east side.

10 In the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east facing the secluded place and facing the enclosing wall, were chambers.

On the south [side], along the wall of the outer courtyard, next to the temple courtyard, was a [a building with two] rows of rooms,

11 And the way before them was like the appearance of the chambers which were toward the north, as was their length, so, was their breadth, —and all their exits were both according to their regulations, and according to their entrances.

with a walkway between them. Those rooms were like the rooms on the north [side]: they were the same length and width, and had the same kind of entrances.

12 And according to the entrances of the chambers which were toward the south, was the entrance at the head of the way—the way in the face of the covered wall, the way toward the east in entering them.

The doorways on the south side were similar to the doorways on the north side. There was an entrance in the wall that faced the doors of the set of rooms, and there was an entrance on the east side, at the end of the inside walkway.

13 Then said he unto me, The chambers of the north the chambers of the south which face the secluded place, they are the holy chambers where the priests who draw near to Yahweh shall eat the most holy things; there, shall they lay the most holy things, and the meal offering and the sin-bearer and the guilt bearer, for the place is holy!

Then the man said to me, “These rooms that overlook the temple on the north and south sides are holy. Here the priests who offer sacrifices to Yahweh will [their portions of] the sacred offerings. Because these rooms are holy, they will be used to store the sacred offerings: [the grain for] the grain offerings, the offerings for the sins that people have committed, and offerings in order that people will no longer be guilty for having sinned.

14 When the priests enter them, then shall they not go forth out of the holy place into the outer court, but there, shall they lay their garments wherein they minister for holy they are, and shall put on other garments, and so draw near unto that which pertaineth to the people.

When the priests leave the temple, they will not be allowed to [immediately] enter the outer courtyard. First, they must remove the clothes that they had been wearing inside the temple, because those clothes are holy. They must put on other clothes before they enter the parts [of the temple area] where the [other] people [gather].”

15 And when he had ended the measurings of the inner house, then he brought me forth by way of the gate which looked toward the east, — and measured it round about on every side.

When the man had finished measuring the inside of the temple area, he led me out through the east entrance [of the outer courtyard] and measured all the way around the temple area.

16 He measured the east side with the measuring reed, —five hundred reeds by the measuring reed round about,

He measured the four sides of the area. There was a wall around the area that was (875 feet/265 meters) long on each side.

17 He measured the north side, five hundred reeds, by the measuring reed round about.

18 The south side, measured he, —five hundred reeds, by the measuring reed.

19 He turned about to the west side, —he measured five hundred reeds, by the measuring reed.

20 Toward the four winds, measured he it a wall, had it round about on every side, in length, five hundred, and in breadth five hundred, —to make a separation, between the holy and the common.

That wall separated the [area which was] sacred/holy from the [areas that were] not sacred.