Ezekiel 40:28-47

28The man took me through the south gate into the inside yard. He measured the gate. It was the same size as the gates in the outside wall.

29The rooms for the guards, the walls between them and theentrance room were the same size as the ones at the other gates. There were windows along its walls and in the entrance room. As at the other gates, the whole entrance was 25 metres long and 12½ metres wide.

30The entrance rooms around the inside yard were 12½ metres wide and 2½ metres long.

31The entrance room of this gate opened towards the outside yard. There were pictures of palm trees on the walls of the passage. Eight steps went up to this gate.

32The man took me to the east side the inside yard. He measured the gate. It was the same size as the other gates.

33The rooms for the guards, the walls between them and theentrance room were the same size as the ones at the other gates. There were windows along its walls and in the entrance room. The whole entrance was 25 metres long and 12½ metres wide.

34The entrance room of this gate opened towards the outside yard. There were pictures of palm trees on the walls of the passage. Eight steps went up to this gate.

35Then the man took me to the north gate. He measured it. It was the same size as the other gates,

36with rooms for the guards, their walls and an entrance room with windows. The whole entrance was 25 metres long and 12½ metres wide.

37The door of the entrance room opened towards the outside yard. There were pictures of palm trees on the walls of the passage, on both sides. Eight steps went up to this gate.

38There was a small building joined to the entrance room of the north gate. There was a door between this building and the entrance room. In that building, the priests washed the dead bodies of animals for burnt offerings.

39In the entrance room there were four tables, two on each side of the room. They killed the animals for sacrifices on these tables. They were animals for burnt offerings and also for sin offerings and for guilt offerings.

40There were four more tables outside the entrance room of the north gate. Two tables were on each side of the steps at the entrance.

41So there were eight tables on which they killed animals for sacrifices. Four tables were in the yard outside the entrance. Four tables were inside the entrance room.

42They had used stone to make four tables for the burnt offerings. These tables were 50 centimetres high. Their tops were 75 centimetres square. They put the knives and the other tools that they used to kill the animals on these tables.

43They put the meat for the offerings on the stone tables. There were hooks all around the inside walls of the room. Each hook was 7½ centimetres long.

44There were two rooms for singers that had doors to the inside yard. One was beside the north gate and its door opened towards the south. The other room was beside the south gate and its door opened towards the north.

45The man said to me, ‘The room beside the north gate is for the priests who take care of the temple.

46The room beside the south gate is for the priests who serve God at the altar. These priests are descendants of Zadok. They are the only descendants of Levi who may come near to the Lord to serve him.’

47The man measured the inside yard. It was square, 50 metres long and 50 metres wide. There was an altar in front of the temple.