Chambers of the Temple

1Then he (the angel) brought me out into the outer courtyard, toward the north; and he led me to the [attached] chamber which was opposite the separate area and opposite the building to the north. 2Along the length, one hundred cubits, was the north door; and the width was fifty cubits. 3Opposite the twenty cubits which belonged to the inner courtyard, and opposite the pavement which belonged to the outer courtyard, was gallery (balcony) corresponding to gallery in three stories. 4In front of the [attached] chambers was an inner walkway ten cubits wide [a]and one hundred cubits long; and their entrances were on the north. 5Now the upper chambers were smaller because the galleries took away more space from them than from the chambers on the lower and middle stories of the building; 6for they were in three stories and did not have pillars like the pillars of the [outer] courtyards; therefore the upper chambers were [b]set back from the ground more than the lower and the middle ones. 7And the outer wall, by the side of the chambers, toward the outer courtyard facing the chambers, was fifty cubits long. 8For the length of the chambers which were in the outer courtyard was fifty cubits, [c]while the length of those facing the temple was a hundred cubits. 9Below these chambers was the entrance on the east side, as one enters them from the outer courtyard.

10In the width of the wall of the courtyard toward the east, facing the separate area and facing the building, were chambers; 11and a passage in front of them was like the appearance of the [attached] chambers on the north, and they had the same length and width, and all their exits were like both their [d]arrangements and their entrances. 12And like the entrances of the chambers that were toward the south there was an entrance at the head of the walkway, the walkway in front of the [e]dividing wall toward the east, as one enters them.

13Then he (the angel) said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers, which are opposite the separate area, are the holy chambers where the priests who are close to the LORD shall eat the most holy offerings. There they shall place the most holy things--the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering--for the place is holy. 14When the priests enter [the Holy Place], they shall not go out from the sanctuary into the outer court [f]unless they lay there their garments in which they minister, for these are holy (set apart). They shall put on other garments before they approach that which is for the people.”

15Now when he had finished measuring the inner temple, he brought me out toward the gate which faced east and measured the outer area all around. 16He measured the east side with the measuring [g]rod, five hundred rods by the measuring rod. 17He measured the north side, five hundred rods by the measuring rod. 18He measured the south side, five hundred rods by the measuring rod. 19He turned about to the west side and measured five hundred rods by the measuring rod. 20He measured it on the four sides; it had a wall all around, the length five hundred and the width five hundred, to make a separation between that which was holy [the temple proper] and that which was common [the outer area].