Chambers for the Priests

1And he brought me out into the outer court, the way toward the north; and he brought me into the chamber that was opposite the separating courtyard, and that opposite the building toward the north. 2Toward the face of its length was a hundred cubits, with the door to the north, and the width was fifty cubits.† 3Opposite the twenty cubits† that were for the inner court, and opposite the pavement for the outer court, was a gallery to the face of a gallery in three parts.

4And before the face of the chambers was a walkway, ten cubits wide and a hundred cubits long;† and their doors were to the north.

5And the upper chambers were shorter, for the galleries took away from them, on the lower and middle of the building. 6For they were in three parts, and there was not unto them pillars like the pillars of the courts; upon thus it was shortened from the ground more than the lower and middle. 7And a wall that was on the outside was over against the chambers, toward the outer court, toward the face of the chambers; its length was fifty cubits. 8For the length of the chambers that were toward the outer court was fifty cubits, and, behold, upon those facing the temple was a hundred cubits. 9And below these chambers was the entry on the east, as one enters them from the outer court.

10Along the length of the wall of the court toward the south,† toward the face of the separating courtyard, and toward the face of the building, were chambers 11and a pathway before them, the appearance of the chambers that were toward the north, like their length so their width, and all their exits and according to their doors and according to their fashions, 12and according to their doors of the chambers that were toward the south. A door was at the head of the walkway, directly at the face of the wall toward the east in entering them.

13And he said to me: “The chambers to the north and the chambers to the south, which are toward the face of the separating courtyard, they are the holy chambers in which the priests, those who nearest to YHWH, will eat there the holy of holies;† they will lay the holy of holies there—the grain offering, and the sin offering, and the guilt offering—for the place is holy. 14With the entering of the priests, they will not go out the holy area into the outer court, and there they will leave their garments in which they minister—for they are holy—and they will put on other garments, they may come near to that which is for the people.”

The Outer Measurements

15And he had completed the measurements of the inner temple, and he brought me out through the gateway that has its face toward the east, and he measured it round about.

16He measured the side to the east with a measuring rod, five hundred cubits,† by the measuring rod, all around.

17He measured the side to the north, five hundred cubits, by the measuring rod, all around.

18The side to the south he measured, five hundred cubits, by the measuring rod.

19He came around to the side to the west; he measured five hundred cubits, by the measuring rod.

20At the four sides he measured it. A wall was unto it round about, a length of five hundred cubits, and a width of five hundred, to separate between the holy and the common.

Footnotes:

2 The building was approximately 175 feet long and 87.5 feet wide (53.3 meters long and 26.7 meters wide).
3 20 (long) cubits is approximately 35 feet or 10.7 meters.
4 LXX. The walkway was approximately 17.5 feet wide and 175 feet long (5.3 meters wide and 53.3 meters long). Hebrew ten cubits wide and a way of one cubit.
10 LXX; Hebrew east
13 Or the most holy; twice in this verse
16 See LXX; five hundred cubits from verse 17 LXX and implied in verses 16, 18, 19, and 20 is approximately 875 feet or 266.7 meters in length. Hebrew five hundred rods, that is approximately 5,250 feet or 1,600 meters; similarly in verses 17, 18, 19, and 20.