Scripture · Old Testament
Ezekiel 40:5
Ezekiel 40:5 is verse 5 of Ezekiel chapter 40, shown here in the Berean Standard Bible.
Berean Standard Bible
And I saw a wall surrounding the temple area. Now the length of the measuring rod in the man’s hand was six long cubits (each measuring a cubit and a handbreadth), and he measured the wall to be one rod thick and one rod high.
6 long cubits, the length of the reed used for measuring, is approximately 10.5 feet or 3.2 meters; similarly in verses 6, 7, and 12. The long cubit of about 21 inches or 53.3 centimeters is the basic unit of length throughout Ezekiel 40 to 48.
King James Version
And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man’s hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and an hand breadth: so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.
World English Bible
Behold, there was 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.
A normal cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimeters. A handbreadth is about 4.3 inches or 11 centimeters, so the long cubit described here would be about 22.3 inches or 57 centimeters long. Thus, a 6 long cubit measuring reed would have been about 3 yards 26.6 inches or about 3.42 meters long.
Read in context
Ezekiel 40:3–7 · Berean Standard Bible
3 So He took me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze. He was standing in the gateway with a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand.
4 “Son of man,” he said to me, “look with your eyes, hear with your ears, and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for that is why you have been brought here. Report to the house of Israel everything you see.”
5 And I saw a wall surrounding the temple area. Now the length of the measuring rod in the man’s hand was six long cubits (each measuring a cubit and a handbreadth), and he measured the wall to be one rod thick and one rod high.
6 Then he came to the gate facing east and climbed its steps. He measured the threshold of the gate to be one rod deep.
7 Each gate chamber was one rod long and one rod wide, and there were five cubits between the gate chambers. The inner threshold of the gate by the portico facing inward was one rod deep.
Read all of Ezekiel 40Hebrew words
Data created by STEPBible.org based on work at Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Study Ezekiel 40:5
Cross-references
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge lists these related verses. Scripture text comes from the Berean Standard Bible.
Ezekiel 42:20So 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.
Psalms 125:2As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people, both now and forevermore.
Isaiah 26:1In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation is established as its walls and ramparts.
Isaiah 60:18No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders. But you will name your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.
Zechariah 2:5For I will be a wall of fire around it, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory within it.’”
Revelation 21:12The city had a great and high wall with twelve gates inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, and twelve angels at the gates.
Deuteronomy 3:11(For only Og king of Bashan had remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bed of iron, nine cubits long and four cubits wide, is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)