The Inner Temple

1Then he brought me to the sanctuary, and he measured the side pillars: six [a]cubits wide on each side was the width of the [b]side pillar. 2The width of the entrance was ten cubits and the [c]sides of the entrance were five cubits on each side. He also measured [d]the length of the sanctuary, forty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits. 3Then he went [e]inside and measured each side pillar of the doorway, two cubits, and the doorway, six cubits high; and the width of the doorway, seven cubits. 4And he measured its length, twenty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits, before the sanctuary; and he said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.”

5Then he measured the wall of the [f]temple, six cubits; and the width of the side chambers, four cubits, all around the house on every side. 6The side chambers were in three stories, [g]one above another, and [h]thirty in each story; and [i]the side chambers extended to the wall which stood on [j]their inward side all around, so that they could be attached, but not be attached to the wall of the temple itself. 7And the side chambers surrounding the temple were wider at each successive story. Because the structure surrounding the temple went upward by stages on all sides of the temple, for that reason the width of the temple increased as it went higher; and so one went up from the lowest story to the highest by way of the [k]second story. 8I saw also that the house had a raised [l]platform all around; the foundations of the side chambers were a full [m]rod of six [n]long cubits in height. 9The [o]thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits. But the free space between the side chambers belonging to the temple 10and the outer chambers was twenty cubits in width around the temple on every side. 11The [p]doorways of the side [q]chambers toward the free space consisted of one doorway toward the north, and another doorway toward the south; and the width of the free space was five cubits all around.

12The building that was in front of the separate area at the side toward the west was seventy cubits wide; and the wall of the building was five cubits [r]thick all around, and its length was ninety cubits.

13Then he measured the temple, a hundred cubits long; the separate area with the building and its walls were also a hundred cubits long. 14Also the width of the front of the temple and that of the separate [s]areas along the east side totaled a hundred cubits.

15And he measured the length of the building [t]along the front of the separate area behind it, with a [u]gallery on each side, a hundred cubits; he also measured the inner sanctuary and the porches of the courtyard. 16The thresholds, the [v]latticed windows, and the [w]galleries all around their three stories, opposite the threshold, were paneled with wood all around, and from the ground to the windows (but the windows were covered), 17over the entrance, and to the inner house, and on the outside, and on all the wall all around inside and outside, by measurement. 18It was [x]carved with cherubim and palm trees; and a palm tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces: 19a human face toward the palm tree on one side and a young lion’s face toward the palm tree on the other side; they were [y]carved on all the house all around. 20From the ground to above the entrance cherubim and palm trees were [z]carved, as well as on the wall of the sanctuary.

21The doorposts of the sanctuary were square; as for the front of the inner [aa]sanctuary, the appearance of one doorpost was like that of the other. 22The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and its length two cubits; its corners, its [ab]base, and its [ac]sides were of wood. And he said to me, “This is the table that is before the LORD.” 23The sanctuary and the inner [ad]sanctuary each had a double door. 24Each of the doors had two leaves, two [ae]swinging leaves; two leaves for one door and two leaves for the other. 25Also there were [af]carved on them, on the doors of the main room, cherubim and palm trees like those [ag]carved on the walls; and there was a [ah]threshold of wood on the front of the porch outside. 26And there were [ai]latticed windows and palm trees on one side and on the other, on the sides of the porch; the same were on the side chambers of the house and the [aj]thresholds.

[a] 1 Each of these cubits equals about 21 in. or 53 cm
[b] 1 As in LXX; MT tent
[c] 2 Lit shoulders
[d] 2 Lit its length,
[e] 3 I.e., of the inner sanctuary
[f] 5 Lit house, and so throughout the ch
[g] 6 Lit chamber upon chamber
[h] 6 Lit thirty times
[i] 6 Lit they were coming
[j] 6 Lit the inside of the side chambers
[k] 7 Lit middle
[l] 8 Lit height
[m] 8 Lit reed
[n] 8 Or to the joint
[o] 9 Lit width
[p] 11 Lit doorway
[q] 11 Lit chamber
[r] 12 Lit wide
[s] 14 Lit area
[t] 15 Lit to
[u] 15 Or passageway
[v] 16 Or framed
[w] 16 Or passageways
[x] 18 Lit made
[y] 19 Lit made
[z] 20 Lit made
[aa] 21 Lit holy place
[ab] 22 Lit length
[ac] 22 Lit walls
[ad] 23 Lit holy place
[ae] 24 Or turning
[af] 25 Lit made
[ag] 25 Lit made
[ah] 25 Or canopy of wood over
[ai] 26 Or framed
[aj] 26 Or canopies