And I saw a wall surrounding the temple area. Now the length of the measuring rod in the man’s hand was six long cubits (each measuring a cubit and a handbreadth), and he measured the wall to be one rod thick and one rod high.
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, 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 hand width each: so he measured the thickness of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.
- KJV And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man’s hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and an hand breadth: so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.
- NKJV Now there was a wall all around the outside of the temple. In the man’s hand was a measuring rod six cubits long, each being a cubit and a handbreadth; and he measured the width of the wall structure, one rod; and the height, one rod.
- NASB And behold, there was a wall on the outside of the temple all around, and in the man’s hand was a measuring rod of six cubits, each of which was a cubit and a hand width. So he measured the thickness of the wall, one rod; and the height, one rod.
- NLT I could see a wall completely surrounding the Temple area. The man took a measuring rod that was 10-1/2 feet long and measured the wall, and the wall was 10-1/2 feet thick and 10-1/2 feet high.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A wall surrounds the temple, measured by a six-cubit reed. The boundary marks the separation between holy and common.
Overview
The guide begins measuring with a reed of six long cubits, recording the wall around the temple as one reed thick and one reed high. The encircling wall sets apart the sacred precinct from the common land, expressing the holiness of God's dwelling. This concern to mark and guard what is holy runs throughout Scripture and is ultimately answered in Christ, through whom believers are made a holy temple for God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Ezek 42:20So he measured the area on all four sides. It had a wall all around, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to separate the holy from the common.
- Isa 26:1In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation is established as its walls and ramparts.
- Ps 125:2As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people, both now and forevermore.
- Rev 21:12The city had a great and high wall with twelve gates inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, and twelve angels at the gates.
- Isa 60:18No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders. But you will name your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.
- Zech 2:5For I will be a wall of fire around it, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory within it.’”
- Deut 3:11(For only Og king of Bashan had remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bed of iron, nine cubits long and four cubits wide, is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)
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Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 40:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.