He measured it on the four sides: it had a wall around it, the length five hundred, and the width five hundred, to make a separation between that which was holy and that which was common.
Parallel translations
- KJV He measured it by the four sides: it had a wall round about, five hundred reeds long, and five hundred broad, to make a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place.
- BSB So 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.
- NKJV He measured it on the four sides; it had a wall all around, five hundred cubits long and five hundred wide, to separate the holy areas from the common.
- NASB He measured it on the four sides; it had a wall all around, the length five hundred rods and the width five hundred, to divide between the holy and the common.
- NLT So the area was 875 feet on each side with a wall all around it to separate what was holy from what was common.
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 surrounded the whole area to separate the holy from the common. The boundary's purpose is to guard God's holiness.
Overview
The guide states the purpose of the encompassing wall: to make a separation between the holy and the common. This summarizes a central theme of the vision, the careful guarding of God's holiness. The wall that once divided is answered in Christ, who reconciles the holy God and sinful people, making his people themselves a holy dwelling for God (Ephesians 2:14-22).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Ezek 45:2Of this there shall be a five hundred by five hundred square for the holy place; and fifty cubits for its suburbs all around.
- Ezek 40:5Behold, 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.
- Ezek 22:26Her priests have done violence to my law, and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they caused men to discern between the unclean and the clean, and have hidden their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
- Ezek 44:23They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
- Ezek 48:15The five thousand that are left in the width, in front of the twenty-five thousand, shall be for common use, for the city, for dwelling and for suburbs; and the city shall be in the middle of it.
- Zech 2:5For I,’ says Yahweh, ‘will be to her a wall of fire around it, and I will be the glory in the middle of her.
- Isa 60:18Violence shall no more be heard in your land, nor desolation or destruction within your borders; but you will call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.
- Song 2:9My beloved is like a roe or a young deer. Behold, he stands behind our wall! He looks in at the windows. He glances through the lattice.
- Isa 25:1Yahweh, you are my God. I will exalt you! I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago, in complete faithfulness and truth.
- Mic 7:11A day to build your walls — In that day, he will extend your boundary.
- 2 Cor 6:17Therefore “‘Come out from among them, and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing. I will receive you.
- Rev 21:10–27He carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
- Ezek 48:20All the offering shall be a square of twenty-five thousand by twenty-five thousand: you shall offer it as a holy offering, with the possession of the city.
- Luke 16:26Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that those who want to pass from here to you are not able, and that no one may cross over from there to us.’
- Lev 10:10You are to make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean.
- Isa 26:1In that day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city. God appoints salvation for walls and bulwarks.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 42:20 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.