In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, fourteen years after the city was struck down, the hand of the Lord is on Ezekiel. In visions of God he brings him to the land of Israel and sets him on a very high mountain, on whose south side is something like the structure of a city. There he is met by a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a cord of flax and a measuring reed in his hand. He tells Ezekiel to look, listen and set his heart on all he will see, because he has been brought there to be shown it and to tell it to the house of Israel.
The man first measures the wall around the temple and then the east gate, going up its steps, with guard rooms, thresholds, a vestibule and windows. They then enter the outer court, with chambers and a pavement around it. The north and south gates, which follow the same plan as the east, are measured, and the gates of the inner court, with tables for preparing the sacrifices and chambers for the singers and for the priests. The inner court is a square of one hundred cubits, and the altar stands in front of the temple.
The chapter ends at the vestibule of the temple, with its pillars and measurements. The emphasis is on symmetry and order: everything is arranged so that God's presence can draw near without being profaned.
