Ezekiel 42

1 Then the man led me out [into the outer area, away from the inner sanctuary] northward into the outer [external, outside] court, and he brought me to the group of chambers [rooms, cells] opposite [facing, in front of] the temple courtyard [the area surrounding the temple] and the outer [outermost, external] wall on the north [northern, Zaphon] side. word study 2 The building [structure, edifice] with the door [entrance] facing [toward, to] north [Zaphon, the northern direction] was a hundred [one hundred, numerous] cubits [units of measurement, about the length of a forearm] long [in length, extended] and fifty [a multitude of, numerous] cubits wide [broad, having a certain breadth]. word study 3 Gallery [a ledge or porch, a raised platform] faced gallery [in a parallel or corresponding position] in three levels [stories or tiers, one above the other] opposite [facing, before, or in front of] the twenty [a numerical value, a specific quantity] cubits [a unit of measurement, approximately 18 inches] that belonged to the inner [interior, internal, or inward] court [a courtyard or open space, an area enclosed by walls] and opposite [facing, before, or in front of] the pavement [a decorative floor, a stone or tile surface] that belonged to the outer [external, exterior, or outward] court [a courtyard or open space, an area enclosed by walls]. word study 4 In front [before, towards the presence] of the chambers [rooms, inner spaces] was an inner [interior, internal] walkway [path, passage] ten [a decade, a unit of ten] cubits [a measurement of length, about the length of a forearm] wide and a hundred [a large quantity, numerous] cubits long [extending, stretching]. Their doors [entrances, openings] were on the north [Zaphon, the northern direction, towards the unknown]. word study 5 Now the upper [higher, loftier] chambers [rooms, storage areas] were smaller [shorter, more narrow] because the galleries [ledges, porches, atriums] took more space from the chambers on the lower [bottommost, nethermost] and middle [central, midst] floors of the building [edifice, structure]. word study 6 For [because of this reason] they were arranged in three stories [in threefold layers, tripled], and unlike the courts [outer squares, village areas], they had no pillars [columns, supports]. So the upper chambers [highest rooms, topmost floors] were set back [reserved, kept back] further than the lower [nethermost, bottom] and middle [central, midst] floors [levels, stories]. word study 7 An outer [external, secular] wall [barrier, enclosure] in front of the chambers [rooms, storage areas] was fifty [a quantity of, a measurement of] cubits [the length of a forearm, a unit of measurement] long and ran parallel [in the same direction, side by side] to the chambers [rooms, storage areas] and the outer [outside, external] court [a village, a small settlement]. word study 8 For the chambers [rooms, inner spaces] on the outer [external, secular] court were fifty [a specific quantity, a numerical value] cubits [a unit of measurement, about the length of a forearm] long, while those facing [in front of, before] the temple [a large public building, a place of worship] were a hundred [a large quantity, a multitude] cubits long. word study 9 And below [underneath, from under] these chambers [rooms, storage areas] was the entrance [entry point, gateway] on the east [direction of sunrise] side as one enters [goes into, approaches] them from the outer [external, outside] court [open area, courtyard]. word study 10 On the south [toward the east, facing the rising sun] side along the length of the wall [barrier, enclosure] of the outer court [open space, courtyard] were chambers [rooms, separate places] adjoining [next to, adjacent to] the courtyard [open area, court] and opposite [facing, across from] the building [structure, edifice, the separate place], word study 11 with a passageway [a walkway, road] in front of them, just like the chambers [rooms, storage rooms] that were on the north [the direction of Zaphon]. They had the same length and width, with similar exits and dimensions. word study 12 And corresponding to the doors [entrances, gateways] of the chambers [rooms, inner sanctums] that were facing south [the southern direction, toward the south wind], there was a door [entrance] in front of the walkway [path, way of approach] that was parallel to the wall [barrier, enclosure] extending eastward [toward the rising sun, in the eastern direction]. word study 13 Then the man said to me, “The north [Zaphon, the northern direction] and south [the southern direction, towards the Negev] chambers facing [in front of, opposite] the temple courtyard [the area surrounding the temple] are the holy [set apart, sacred] chambers where the priests [those who serve God, the spiritual leaders] who approach [draw near, come close to] the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] will eat [consume, partake of] the most holy [extremely sacred, consecrated] offerings. There [in that place, at that location] they will place [lay, set down] the most holy [extremely sacred, consecrated] offerings—the grain offerings [gifts of thanksgiving, tribute], the sin [purification, atonement] offerings, and the guilt [reparation, restitution] offerings—for the place [location, area] is holy [set apart, sacred]. word study 14 Once the priests [the spiritual leaders, ministers of God] have entered the holy area [the sacred, set-apart place], they must not go out into the outer court [the external, more public area] until they have left behind the garments [clothing, robes] in which they minister [serve, attend to their duties], for these are holy [set apart, consecrated]. They are to put on other clothes [different, ordinary attire] before they approach [come near, draw close to] the places that are for the people [the areas accessible to the general population, the common gathering spaces].” word study 15 Now when the man had finished [completed, come to the end of] measuring [to stretch or extend, taking the dimensions of] the interior [inner, internal] of the temple area [the house of God, a place of worship], he led me out [to go out, to come forth] by the gate [the entrance, a doorway] that faced [looking toward, having its prospect] east [the direction of the rising sun], and he measured [to take the dimensions of, to survey] the area [the surrounding region, the environment] all around [encompassing, surrounding on every side]: word study 16 With a measuring rod [the measuring reed, a branch used for measurement] he measured the east side [toward the east, in the eastern direction] to be five hundred [five times one hundred] cubits [a unit of measurement, about the length of a forearm] long [extending a great distance, with the measuring reed round about]. word study 17 He measured [with the measuring reed round about] the north [Zaphon, direction or location] side to be five [a quantity of] hundred [a unit of one hundred] cubits [reeds, a unit of measurement] long [in extent or distance]. word study 18 He measured [with the measuring reed, carefully] the south [direction, towards the south wind] side [border, boundary] to be five [a quantity of] hundred [a multitude of] cubits [reeds, measuring rods] long [in length, extended]. word study 19 And he came around [to turn, surround] and measured [to stretch or extend] the west [toward the sea, the western direction] side [region, area] to be five [a quantity of five, a specific number] hundred [a unit of one hundred] cubits [a unit of measurement, a reed] long [in length, extended]. word study 20 So he measured [to stretch or extend] the area on all four sides. It had a wall [of protection] all around [encompassing], five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to separate [divide, set apart] the holy [set-apart] from the common [unholy, profane]. word study