Prepared To Go

42 Then he brought me out into the outer courtyard, the way toward the north; and he brought me to the chamber which wasopposite the separate area and opposite the building toward the north. ² Along the length, which was a hundred cubits, was the north door; the width was fifty cubits. ³ Opposite the twenty cubits which belonged to the inner courtyard, and opposite the stone pavement which belonged to the outer courtyard, wasgallery corresponding to gallery in three stories. ⁴ In front of the chambers was an inner passage ten cubits wide, a way of one hundred cubits; and their openings were on the north. ⁵ Now the upper chambers were smaller because the galleries took more space away from them than from the lower and middle ones in the building. ⁶ For they were in three stories and had no pillars like the pillars of the courtyards; for that reason the upper chambers were set back from the ground upward, more than the lower and middle ones. ⁷ As for the outer wall by the side of the chambers, toward the outer courtyard facing the chambers, its length was fifty cubits. ⁸ For the length of the chambers which were in the outer courtyard was fifty cubits; and behold, the length of those facing the main room was a hundred cubits. ⁹ And below these chambers was the entrance on the east side, as one enters them from the outer courtyard.

¹⁰ In the thickness of the wall of the courtyard toward the east, facing the separate area and facing the building, there werechambers. ¹¹ And the way in front of them was like the appearance of the chambers which were on the north; according to their length, so was their width, and all their exits were according to their building plans and openings. ¹² Corresponding to the openings of the chambers which were toward the south was an opening at the head of the way, the way in front of the wall toward the east, as one enters them.

¹³ Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers, which are opposite the separate area, they are the holy chambers where the priests who are near to the Lord shall eat the most holy things. There they shall set the most holy things, the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; for the place is holy. ¹⁴ When the priests enter, they shall not go out into the outer courtyard from the sanctuary without laying their garments there in which they minister, for they are holy. They shall put on other garments; then they shall approach that which is for the people.”

¹⁵ Now when he had finished measuring the inner house, he brought me out by way of the gate which faced east, and measured it all around. ¹⁶ He measured on the east side with the measuring rod: five hundred rods by the measuring rod. ¹⁷ He measured on the north side: five hundred rods by the measuring rod. ¹⁸ On the south side he measured five hundred rods with the measuring rod. ¹⁹ He turned to the west side and measured five hundred rods with the measuring rod. ²⁰ He measured it on the four sides; it had a wall all around, the length five hundred rodsand the width five hundred, to divide between the holy and the common.

Vision of the Glory of God Filling the Temple

43 Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east; ² and behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the east. And His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone from His glory. ³ And it was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, like the vision which I saw when He came to destroy the city. And the visions were like the vision which I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face. ⁴ And the glory of the Lord entered the house by way of the gate facing east. ⁵ And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner courtyard; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house.

⁶ Then I heard Him speaking to me from the house, while a man was standing beside me. ⁷ And He said to me, “Son of man, this isthe place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the sons of Israel forever. And the house of Israel will not again defile My holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their prostitution and by the corpses of their kings when they die, ⁸ by putting their threshold by My threshold, and their door post beside My door post, with only the wall between Me and them. And they have defiled My holy name by their abominations which they have committed. So I have consumed them in My anger. ⁹ Now let them remove their prostitution and the corpses of their kings far from Me, and I will dwell among them forever.

¹⁰ “As for you, son of man, inform the house of Israel of the temple, so that they will be ashamed of their wrongdoings; and have them measure the plan. ¹¹ And if they are ashamed of everything that they have done, make known to them the plan of the house, its layout, its exits, its entrances, all its plans, all its statutes, and all its laws. And write it in their sight, so that they may observe its entire plan and all its statutes and execute them.¹² This is the law of the house: its entire area on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.