Then he brought me to the sanctuary, and he measured the side pillars: six cubits wide on each side was the width of the side pillar.
Parallel translations
- WEB He brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits wide on the one side, and six cubits wide on the other side, which was the width of the tent.
- KJV Afterward he brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tabernacle.
- BSB Then the man brought me into the outer sanctuary and measured the side pillars to be six cubits wide on each side.
- NKJV Then he brought me into the sanctuary and measured the doorposts, six cubits wide on one side and six cubits wide on the other side—the width of the tabernacle.
- NLT After that, the man brought me into the sanctuary of the Temple. He measured the walls on either side of its doorway, and they were 10-1/2 feet thick.
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
The guide brings Ezekiel into the temple proper and measures its entrance posts. This begins the survey of the Holy Place, the inner sanctuary of God's house.
Overview
Ezekiel enters the nave of the temple, the Holy Place, as the guide measures its dimensions. The careful survey continues to convey order, holiness, and the certainty of God's restored presence. The temple's structure foreshadows Christ, who called his own body the true temple (John 2:19-21), the meeting place of God and humanity.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Ezek 40:17Then brought he me into the outer court; and behold, there were rooms and a pavement, made for the court all around: thirty rooms were on the pavement.
- Ezek 40:2–3In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, whereon was as it were the frame of a city on the south.
- Ezek 41:23The temple and the sanctuary had two doors.
- Ezek 41:3Then went he inward, and measured each post of the entrance, two cubits; and the entrance, six cubits; and the width of the entrance, seven cubits.
- Ezek 41:21As for the temple, the door posts were squared; and as for the face of the sanctuary, its appearance was as the appearance of the temple.
- Eph 2:20–22being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone;
- 1 Pet 2:5You also, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
- Rev 21:15He who spoke with me had for a measure a golden reed to measure the city, its gates, and its walls.
- Rev 11:1–2A reed like a rod was given to me. Someone said, “Rise, and measure God’s temple, and the altar, and those who worship in it.
- Rev 21:3I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
- 1 Kgs 6:2The house which king Solomon built for Yahweh had a length of sixty cubits, and its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits.
- Ezek 40:9Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and its posts, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was toward the house.
- Zech 6:12–13and speak to him, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies says, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: and he shall grow up out of his place; and he shall build Yahweh’s temple;
- Rev 3:12He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will go out from there no more. I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God, and my own new name.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 41:1 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.