Chapter Text
The Temple's Interior
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.
2And the breadth of the door was ten cubits; and the sides of the door were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side: and he measured the length thereof, forty cubits: and the breadth, twenty cubits.
3Then went he inward, and measured the post of the door, two cubits; and the door, six cubits; and the breadth of the door, seven cubits.
4So he measured the length thereof, twenty cubits; and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple: and he said unto me, This is the most holy place.
5After he measured the wall of the house, six cubits; and the breadth of every side chamber, four cubits, round about the house on every side.
6And the side chambers were three, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which was of the house for the side chambers round about, that they might have hold, but they had not hold in the wall of the house.
7And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still upward to the side chambers: for the winding about of the house went still upward round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house was still upward, and so increased from the lowest chamber to the highest by the midst.
8I saw also the height of the house round about: the foundations of the side chambers were a full reed of six great cubits.
9The thickness of the wall, which was for the side chamber without, was five cubits: and that which was left was the place of the side chambers that were within.
10And between the chambers was the wideness of twenty cubits round about the house on every side.
11And the doors of the side chambers were toward the place that was left, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south: and the breadth of the place that was left was five cubits round about.
12Now the building that was before the separate place at the end toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick round about, and the length thereof ninety cubits.
13So he measured the house, an hundred cubits long; and the separate place, and the building, with the walls thereof, an hundred cubits long;
14Also the breadth of the face of the house, and of the separate place toward the east, an hundred cubits.
15And he measured the length of the building over against the separate place which was behind it, and the galleries thereof on the one side and on the other side, an hundred cubits, with the inner temple, and the porches of the court;
16The door posts, and the narrow windows, and the galleries round about on their three stories, over against the door, cieled with wood round about, and from the ground up to the windows, and the windows were covered;
17To that above the door, even unto the inner house, and without, and by all the wall round about within and without, by measure.
18And it was made with cherubims and palm trees, so that a palm tree was between a cherub and a cherub; and every cherub had two faces;
19So that the face of a man was toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side: it was made through all the house round about.
20From the ground unto above the door were cherubims and palm trees made, and on the wall of the temple.
21The posts of the temple were squared, and the face of the sanctuary; the appearance of the one as the appearance of the other.
22The altar of wood was three cubits high, and the length thereof two cubits; and the corners thereof, and the length thereof, and the walls thereof, were of wood: and he said unto me, This is the table that is before the LORD.
23And the temple and the sanctuary had two doors.
24And the doors had two leaves apiece, two turning leaves; two leaves for the one door, and two leaves for the other door.
25And there were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubims and palm trees, like as were made upon the walls; and there were thick planks upon the face of the porch without.
26And there were narrow windows and palm trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch, and upon the side chambers of the house, and thick planks.
Summary
God continues His declaration against Gog. He will rain fire and brimstone upon Gog and his armies. God will be magnified and sanctified in the sight of many nations. Israel will go out and burn the weapons for seven years and will bury the dead in the Valley of Hamon-gog for seven months to cleanse the land. God calls the birds and beasts to a great sacrificial feast upon the fallen armies. Through this great deliverance, the nations shall know the Lord, and Israel shall know Him from that day forward.
Meaning
The seven years of burning weapons and seven months of burial emphasize the completeness and finality of God's victory over the forces of evil. Nothing of the enemy's arsenal remains; everything is consumed or buried.
The great feast for birds and beasts inverts the normal sacrificial system: instead of animals offered to God, the enemies of God become the offering. This terrible feast declares that those who set themselves against the Lord ultimately become a spectacle of His justice. The chapter closes with the assurance that Israel will never again doubt God's presence or power.
Background
The feast imagery is echoed in Revelation 19:17-18, where an angel calls the birds to the great supper of God before the final battle. This literary connection reinforces the eschatological nature of the Gog prophecy.
The extensive purification process of burying the dead reflects the Levitical concern with corpse contamination. The cleansing of the land after the battle restores the holiness necessary for God's continued dwelling among His people.
Chapter Outline
- vv. 1-4Measuring the nave and most holy place
- vv. 5-11The side chambers around the house
- vv. 12-15The separate place and outer building
- vv. 15-20Interior wood paneling and carvings
- vv. 21-22The wooden altar before the LORD
- vv. 23-26Doors, windows, and porch ornamentation
Key Verses
“So he measured the length thereof, twenty cubits; and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple: and he said unto me, This is the most holy place.”— 41:4
The angelic guide identifies the inner sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, the dwelling place of God's presence at the heart of the visionary temple.
“And it was made with cherubims and palm trees, so that a palm tree was between a cherub and a cherub; and every cherub had two faces;”— 41:18
The carved cherubim and palms recall both Eden and Solomon's temple, signaling that this sanctuary restores paradise and continuity with Israel's worship heritage.
“The altar of wood was three cubits high, and the length thereof two cubits; and the corners thereof, and the length thereof, and the walls thereof, were of wood: and he said unto me, This is the table that is before the LORD.”— 41:22
The wooden altar is uniquely called a table set before the LORD, fusing sacrifice and fellowship and anticipating communion with God in His restored house.
People & Places
Places
- The Temple — The visionary sanctuary Ezekiel is shown, measured in detail by his angelic guide.
- The Most Holy Place — The innermost twenty-cubit square chamber identified as the dwelling of God's presence.
- The Separate Place — An enclosed area west of the temple, walled off and measured as part of the sacred precinct.
Prophecy & Fulfillment
Ezekiel 41 belongs to the great visionary temple of chapters 40–48, a prophecy of restored worship after exile that no historical temple has ever literally fulfilled. The cherubim and palm trees of verses 18–20 echo Eden and Solomon's sanctuary, while the wooden altar called a table before the LORD (v. 22) anticipates a renewed communion between God and His people. The New Testament gathers these threads in Christ, the true temple (John 2:19–21), and ultimately in the New Jerusalem where God dwells with humanity (Revelation 21:3, 22).
Devotional
Ezekiel's careful measurements can feel tedious, yet every cubit testifies that God cares about order, beauty, and holiness. Nothing in His house is accidental.
Notice the carvings: cherubim beside palm trees, faces of a man and a lion. This is Eden remembered, paradise woven into the walls. God has not forgotten what was lost, and He is building toward its restoration.
Your life, too, is being measured and shaped by a patient hand. Trust the Architect who turns even an altar of wood into a table where He meets with you.
Literary Style
Visionary architectural prose within Ezekiel's temple vision (chapters 40–48). The chapter reads as a guided survey filled with precise measurements, technical building vocabulary, and brief interpretive asides from the angelic guide, punctuated by symbolic ornamental description.