It was the 14th year after Jerusalem had been captured. It was the tenth day of a month near the beginning of the 25th year since we had been brought to Babylonia as prisoners. On that very day the Lord put his strong hand on me. He took me back to my land.
In visions God gave me, he brought me to the land of Israel. He set me on a very high mountain. Some buildings were on the south side of it. They looked like a city.
He took me there. I saw a man who appeared to be made out of bronze. He was standing at the gate of the outer courtyard. He was holding a linen measuring tape and a measuring rod.
The man said to me, "Son of man, look with your eyes. Listen with your ears. Pay attention to everything I show you. That is why the Lord brought you here. Tell the people of Israel everything you see."
I saw a wall that completely surrounded the temple area. The measuring rod in the man's hand was ten and a half feet long. He measured the wall with it. The wall was as thick and as high as one measuring rod.
The rooms where the guards stood were one rod long and one rod wide. The walls between the rooms were almost nine feet thick. The gateway next to the porch was one rod wide. The porch faced the front of the temple.
Then he measured the gateway from the back wall of one room to the back wall of the room across from it. It was almost 44 feet from the top of one wall to the top of the other.
He measured along the front of the side walls that were all around the inside of the gateway. The total was 105 feet. That didn't include the porch that faced the courtyard.
The rooms and their side walls inside the gateway had narrow openings on top of them. So did the porch. All of the openings faced the inside. The front of each side wall was decorated with a palm tree.
Then the man brought me into the outer courtyard. There I saw some rooms and a sidewalk. They had been built all around the courtyard. Along the sidewalk were 30 rooms.
It had three rooms on each side. Their side walls and porch measured the same as the ones at the first gateway. They measured 87 and a half feet long and almost 44 feet wide.
Its openings, porch and palm tree decorations measured the same as the ones at the east gate. Seven steps led up to the north gate. Its porch was across from them.
The inner courtyard had a gate. It faced the gate on the north. It was just like the east gate. He measured from one gate to the one across from it. The total was 175 feet.
Then the man led me to the south side of the courtyard. There I saw a gate that faced south. He measured its doorposts and porch. They measured the same as the others.
The gateway and its porch had narrow openings all around. The openings were the same as the others had. The side walls and porch measured 87 and a half feet long and almost 44 feet wide.
Its rooms, side walls and porch measured the same as the ones at the other gateways. The gateway and its porch had openings all around. The side walls and porch measured 87 and a half feet long and almost 44 feet wide.
Its rooms, side walls and porch measured the same as the ones at the other gateways. The gateway and its porch had openings all around. The side walls and porch measured 87 and a half feet long and almost 44 feet wide.
Its rooms, side walls and porch measured the same as the ones at the other gateways. It had openings all around. The side walls and the porch measured 87 and a half feet long and almost 44 feet wide.
Two more tables were by the outer wall of the gateway porch. They were near the steps at the entrance of the north gateway. Two more tables were on the other side of the steps.
There were also four other tables for the burnt offerings. They were made out of blocks of stone. Each table was two and a half feet long and two and a half feet wide. And each was almost two feet high. The tools for killing the burnt offerings and other sacrifices were placed on them.
Near the inner gates were two rooms. They were in the inner courtyard. One room was next to the north gate. It faced south. The other one was next to the south gate. It faced north.
The one that faces north is for the priests who are in charge of the altar. All of those priests are the sons of Zadok. They are the only Levites who can approach the Lord to serve him."
The man brought me to the porch of the temple. He measured the doorposts of the porch. Each of them was almost nine feet wide. The entrance was 24 and a half feet wide. Each of the side walls was a little over five feet wide.