Ezekiel 40:3-5
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
3 He brought me there, and there standing in the gateway was a man whose appearance was like bronze! He held in his hand a linen cord and a measuring rod.(A) 4 The man said to me, “Son of man, look carefully and listen intently. Pay strict attention to everything I show you, for you have been brought here so that I might show it to you. Then you must tell the house of Israel everything you see.” 5 There an outer wall completely surrounded the temple. The measuring rod in the man’s hand was six cubits long, each cubit being a cubit plus a handbreadth;[a] he measured the width of the structure, one rod, and its height, one rod.
The East Gate.[b]
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- 40:5 A cubit plus a handbreadth: a great cubit. The ordinary cubit consisted of six handbreadths; the great cubit, of seven. In measuring the Temple, a rod six great cubits long was used. The ordinary cubit was about one and a half feet, or, more exactly, 17.5 inches; the large cubit, 20.4 inches.
- 40:6–16 The gate facing east, leading into the outer court of the Temple, is described more fully than the north and south gates, which, however, have the same dimensions. On the west side of the outer court there is a large building instead of a gate (cf. 41:12).
Zechariah 2:5-9
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Third Vision: The Man with the Measuring Cord. 5 I raised my eyes and looked, and there was a man with a measuring cord[a] in his hand.(A) 6 I asked, “Where are you going?” And he said, “To measure Jerusalem—to see how great its width is and how great its length.”
7 Then the angel who spoke with me advanced as another angel came out to meet him 8 and he said to the latter, “Run, speak to that official:[b] Jerusalem will be unwalled, because of the abundance of people and beasts in its midst.(B) 9 I will be an encircling wall of fire[c] for it—oracle of the Lord—and I will be the glory in its midst.”(C)
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- 2:5 Measuring cord: a string for measuring, as opposed to a builder’s string, 1:16.
- 2:8 That official: probably the man with the measuring cord of v. 5.
- 2:9 Encircling wall of fire: divine protection for an unwalled Jerusalem. Urban centers were generally walled, and Jerusalem’s walls were eventually rebuilt in the late fifth century B.C. (Neh 2:17–20).
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