In the twenty-fifth year after we were taken away into captivity, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, the Lord's power came on me. This was fourteen years after the Babylonians took Jerusalem. On that day, the Lord took me there in a vision.
In a vision, God carried me to the land of Israel. He put me down near a very high mountain. On the mountain in front of me was a building that looked like a city.
The Lord took me to that place. There was a man there who looked like polished bronze. He had a cloth tape measure and a measuring rod in his hand. He was standing by the gate.
The man said to me, "Son of man, use your eyes and ears. Look at these things and listen to me. Pay attention to everything that I show you, because you have been brought here so that I can show you these things. You must tell the family of Israel all that you see."
I saw a wall that went all the way around the outside of the Temple. In the man's hand there was a ruler for measuring things. It was 6 cubits long using the long measurement, so the man measured the thickness of the wall. It was one ruler thick. He measured the height of the wall. It was one ruler tall.
The guardrooms were one ruler long and one ruler wide. The walls between the rooms were 5 cubits thick. The opening by the porch at the end of the gateway that faced the Temple was also one ruler wide.
It was 8 cubits long. He measured the walls on either side of the gate. Each side wall was 2 cubits wide. The porch was at the end of the gateway that faced the Temple.
The man measured the gateway from the outside edge of the roof of one room to the outside edge of the roof of the opposite room. It was 25 cubits. Each door was directly opposite the other door.
There were small windows above all the guardrooms, the side walls, and the porch. The wide part of the windows faced into the gateway. There were carvings of palm trees on the walls that were on either side of the gateway.
Then the man led me into the outer courtyard. I saw thirty rooms and a pavement that went all the way around the courtyard. The rooms were along the wall and faced in toward the pavement.
The man measured the distance from the inside of the lower gateway to the outside of the {inner} courtyard. It was 100 cubits on the east side as well as on the north side.
Its windows, its porch, and its carvings of palm trees measured the same as the east gate. {On the outside,} there were seven steps leading up to the gate. Its porch was at the inside end of the gateway.
Across the courtyard from the north gate, there was a gate to the inner courtyard. It was like the gate on the east. The man measured from the gate {on the inner wall} to the gate {on the outer wall}. It was 100 cubits from gate to gate.
Then the man led me to the south wall. I saw a gate in the south wall. He measured its side walls and its porch. They measured the same as the other gates.
There were seven steps going up to this gate. Its porch was at the inside end of the gateway. It had carvings of palm trees on the walls that were on either side of the gateway.
A gate was on the south side of the inner courtyard. The man measured from the gate {on the inner wall} to the gate {on the outer wall}. It was 100 cubits from gate to gate.
Then the man led me through the south gate into the inner courtyard. He measured this gate. This gateway measured the same as the other gates to the inner courtyard.
Its rooms, side walls, and porch also measured the same as the other gates. There were windows all around the gateway and its porch. The gateway was 50 cubits long and 25 cubits wide.
And its porch was at the end of the gateway next to the outer courtyard. Carvings of palm trees were on the walls {on either side of the gateway}. There were eight steps leading up to the gate.
Its rooms, side walls, and porch also measured the same as the other gates. There were windows all around the gateway and its porch. The gateway was 50 cubits long and 25 cubits wide.
And its porch was at the end of the gateway next to the outer courtyard. Carvings of palm trees were on the walls on either side of the gateway. There were eight steps leading up to the gate.
Its rooms, side walls, and porch also measured the same as the other gates. There were windows all around the gateway and its porch. The gateway was 50 cubits long and 25 cubits wide.
And its porch was at the end of the gateway next to the outer courtyard. Carvings of palm trees were on the walls on either side of the gateway. There were eight steps leading up to the gate.
There were two tables on each side of the door of this porch. The animals for the burnt offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings were killed on these tables.
So there were four tables on the inside wall and four tables on the outside wall—eight tables that the priests used when they killed the animals for sacrifices.
There were also four tables made from cut stone for the burnt offerings. These tables were 1?cubits long, 1?cubits wide, and 1 cubit high. On these tables, the priests put their tools that they used to kill the animals for the burnt offerings and other sacrifices.
But the room that looks to the north is for the priests who are on duty and serving at the altar. The priests are from the tribe of Levi. But the priests in this second group are the descendants of Zadok. They are the only people who can carry the sacrifices to the altar to serve the Lord. "
The man measured the {inner} courtyard. The courtyard was a perfect square. It was 100 cubits long and 100 cubits wide. The altar was in front of the Temple.
Then the man led me to the porch of the Temple and measured the walls on either side of the porch. Each side wall was 5 cubits thick and 3 cubits wide. The opening between them was 14 cubits.
The porch was 20 cubits wide and 12 cubits long. Ten steps went up to the porch. There were two columns for the walls on either side of the porch—one at each wall.