Ezekiel 40 · WEB

The Vision of the New Temple: The Outer Court

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In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck, in the same day, Yahweh's hand was on me, and he brought me there.

²In the visions of God, he brought me into the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was something like the frame of a city to the south.

³He brought me there; and, behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze, with a line of flax in his hand and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.

⁴The man said to me, "Son of man, look with your eyes, hear with your ears, and set your heart on all that I will show you; for you have been brought here so that I might show them to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel."

⁵Behold, there was a wall on the outside of the house all around, and in the man's hand a measuring reed six cubits long, of a cubit and a handbreadth each. So he measured the thickness of the building: one reed; and the height: one reed.

⁶Then he came to the gate which looks toward the east, and went up its steps. He measured the threshold of the gate: one reed wide; and the other threshold: one reed wide.

⁷Every lodge was one reed long and one reed wide. Between the lodges was five cubits. The threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate toward the house was one reed.

⁸He measured also the porch of the gate toward the house, one reed.

⁹Then he measured the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and its posts, two cubits. The porch of the gate was toward the house.

¹⁰The lodges of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side. The three of them were of one measure. The posts had one measure on this side and on that side.

¹¹He measured the width of the opening of the gate: ten cubits; and the length of the gate: thirteen cubits.

¹²A border was before the lodges, one cubit on this side, and a border, one cubit on that side. The lodges were six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side.

¹³He measured the gate from the roof of the one lodge to the roof of the other: a width of twenty-five cubits, door against door.

¹⁴He also made the posts sixty cubits high — the court was around the gate, to the post.

¹⁵From the face of the gate of the entrance to the face of the porch of the inner gate were fifty cubits.

¹⁶There were closed windows to the lodges, and to their posts within the gate all around, and likewise to the arches. Windows were around on the inside. Palm trees were on each post.

¹⁷Then he brought me into the outer court. Behold, there were rooms and a pavement, made for the court all around. Thirty rooms were on the pavement.

¹⁸The pavement was by the side of the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates — the lower pavement.

¹⁹Then he measured the width from the front of the lower gate to the front of the inner court outside: one hundred cubits, both on the east and on the north.

²⁰He measured the gate of the outer court which faces toward the north — its length and its width.

²¹Its lodges were three on this side and three on that side. Its posts and its arches were the same measure as the first gate. Its length was fifty cubits, and the width twenty-five cubits.

²²Its windows, its arches, and its palm trees were the same measure as the gate that faces toward the east. They went up to it by seven steps; and its arches were before them.

²³There was a gate to the inner court opposite the gate on the north and on the east. He measured one hundred cubits from gate to gate.

²⁴He led me toward the south; and, behold, there was a gate toward the south. He measured its posts and its arches the same measure as these.

²⁵There were windows in it and in its arches all around, like those windows. The length was fifty cubits, and the width twenty-five cubits.

²⁶There were seven steps to go up to it, and its arches were before them. It had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, on its posts.

²⁷There was a gate to the inner court toward the south. He measured one hundred cubits from gate to gate toward the south.

²⁸Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate. He measured the south gate; it had the same dimensions as these.

²⁹Its lodges, its posts, and its arches had the same dimensions as these. There were windows in it and in its arches all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.

³⁰There were arches all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide.

³¹Its arches were toward the outer court. Palm trees were on its posts. The ascent to it had eight steps.

³²He brought me into the inner court toward the east. He measured the gate; it had the same dimensions as these.

³³Its lodges, its posts, and its arches had the same dimensions as these. There were windows in it and in its arches all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.

³⁴Its arches were toward the outer court. Palm trees were on its posts on this side and on that side. The ascent to it had eight steps.

³⁵He brought me to the north gate, and measured it. It had the same dimensions as these —

³⁶its lodges, its posts, and its arches. There were windows in it all around. The length was fifty cubits, and the width twenty-five cubits.

³⁷Its posts were toward the outer court. Palm trees were on its posts on this side and on that side. The ascent to it had eight steps.

³⁸A room with its door was by the posts at the gates. There they washed the burnt offering.

³⁹In the porch of the gate were two tables on this side and two tables on that side, on which to slaughter the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering.

⁴⁰On the one side outside, as one goes up to the entry of the gate toward the north, were two tables; and on the other side, which was at the porch of the gate, were two tables.

⁴¹Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate — eight tables, on which they slaughtered the sacrifices.

⁴²There were four tables for the burnt offering, of cut stone, a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high. On them they laid the instruments with which they slaughtered the burnt offering and the sacrifice.

⁴³The hooks, a handbreadth long, were fastened all around on the inside. The flesh of the offering was on the tables.

⁴⁴Outside of the inner gate were rooms for the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate. Their front was toward the south. One at the side of the east gate had its front toward the north.

⁴⁵He said to me, "This room, whose front is toward the south, is for the priests who are in charge of the house.

⁴⁶The room whose front is toward the north is for the priests who are in charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who from among the sons of Levi come near to Yahweh to minister to him."

⁴⁷He measured the court: one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide, square. The altar was before the house.

⁴⁸Then he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch: five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side. The width of the gate was three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side.

⁴⁹The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the width eleven cubits, even by the steps by which they went up to it. There were pillars by the posts, one on this side and another on that side.

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Summary

Ezekiel 40 begins the final and most elaborate vision of the book (chapters 40-48) — the vision of the new temple. In April 573 BC, fourteen years after Jerusalem's destruction, God transports Ezekiel in vision to a very high mountain in Israel, where he sees a man with a bronze appearance holding a measuring reed and a line of flax. This angelic guide tells Ezekiel to observe everything carefully and report it to Israel. The detailed tour begins with the outer court: three massive gate complexes (east, north, south), each identical in design — fifty cubits long, twenty-five wide, with three guard lodges on each side, palm tree decorations, and windows. The inner court is reached through three corresponding gates, each with eight steps (ascending toward holiness). Tables for sacrifice preparation and rooms for the Zadokite priests are described. The inner court is a perfect square of one hundred cubits. The vision communicates that God's presence will return — and the dwelling place will be perfectly ordered.

Themes

The new temple — God's future dwelling measured and described in precise detail
Perfect symmetry — identical gates, exact measurements, ordered space reflecting divine order
Ascending holiness — outer court to inner court to temple, each level higher and more restricted
The measuring man — an angelic guide ensuring precision in God's design

Key verses

Ezek 40:2 — “In the visions of God, he brought me into the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain.”
Ezek 40:4 — “Son of man, look with your eyes, hear with your ears, and set your heart on all that I will show you.”
Ezek 40:46 — “These are the sons of Zadok, who from among the sons of Levi come near to Yahweh to minister to him.”

Context & background

The date is April 573 BC (the twenty-fifth year of exile, the fourteenth year after Jerusalem's fall), which is also the beginning of the Jubilee year (the fiftieth year from Josiah's great reform in 622 BC) — a year of restoration and liberation, fitting for a vision of restoration. The "very high mountain" (v. 2) evokes Mount Zion/the Temple Mount, though the visionary geography is idealized rather than topographical (modern Temple Mount, Jerusalem, Israel). The bronze man with measuring instruments parallels Zechariah 2:1-2 and the angel in Revelation 11:1 and 21:15. The measurements use a "long cubit" (a standard cubit plus a handbreadth, approximately 20.5 inches/52 cm), making the measuring reed about 10.3 feet/3.1 meters. The temple plan draws on Solomon's temple but is significantly larger and more elaborate. The symmetry — three identical outer gates, three identical inner gates — reflects divine perfection and order. Palm tree decorations (v. 16) recall Solomon's temple (1 Kings 6:29, 32) and symbolize paradise/Eden. The Zadokite priests (v. 46) are specifically named because they remained faithful when other Levites went astray (44:15). This temple was never physically built — interpretations range from a literal future temple to a symbolic vision of God's restored presence.

Cross-references

1 Kings 6:1-38 — Solomon's temple construction, the historical model for Ezekiel's visionary temple
Exodus 25:8-9 — "Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you" — the original pattern-and-building commission
Ezekiel 43:1-5 — The glory of God returning to this temple through the east gate
Revelation 21:10-17 — John shown the new Jerusalem from a great high mountain, with an angel measuring — echoing Ezekiel 40
Zechariah 2:1-2 — A man with a measuring line measuring Jerusalem — a parallel measuring vision

The Vision of the New Temple: The Outer Court

Summary

Themes

Key verses

Context & background

Cross-references

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