Ezekiel 43:17

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The ledge is 24½ feet long by 24½ feet wide, with four equal sides. The rim all around it is 10½ inches, and its gutter is 21 inches all around it. The altar’s steps face east.”

Hebrew Names Version
The ledge shall be fourteen [cubits] long by fourteen broad in the four sides of it; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom of it shall be a cubit round about; and the steps of it shall look toward the east.

King James Version
And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and his stairs shall look toward the east.

English Standard Version
The ledge also shall be square, fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad, with a rim around it half a cubit broad, and its base one cubit all around. The steps of the altar shall face east."

New American Standard Bible
"And the ledge shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen wide in its four sides, the border around it shall be half a cubit, and its base shall be a cubit all around; and its steps shall face east."

New Century Version
The upper ledge is also square, twenty-four and one-half feet long and twenty-four and one-half feet wide. The rim around the altar is ten and one-half inches wide, and its gutter is twenty-one inches wide all around. Its steps are on the east side."

Amplified Bible
"The ledge shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen wide on its four sides, and the border around it shall be half a cubit; and its base shall be a cubit all around, and its steps shall face the east."

Geneva Bible (1587)
And ye frame shalbe foureteene cubites log, and fourteene broade in the fouresquare corners thereof, & the border about it shalbe halfe a cubite, & the bottome therof shalbe a cubite about, & the steps thereof shalbe turned towarde ye East.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"The ledge shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen wide in its four sides, the border around it shall be half a cubit and its base shall be a cubit round about; and its steps shall face the east."

Legacy Standard Bible
The ledge shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen wide in its four sides; the border around it shall be half a cubit, and its base shall be a cubit round about; and its steps shall face the east."

Berean Standard Bible
The ledge shall also be square, fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide, with a rim of half a cubit and a gutter of a cubit all around it. The steps of the altar shall face east."

Complete Jewish Bible
The ledge measures a square twenty-four-and-a-half feet on each of its four sides; the molding around it ten-and-a-half inches [across]; and its base twenty-one inches [larger than the rest, all the way] around. Its steps face east.

Darby Translation
And the settle was fourteen [cubits] long by fourteen broad in the four sides thereof; and the border about it, half a cubit; and the bottom thereof a cubit round about: and its steps looked toward the east.

Easy-to-Read Version
The ledge was also square, 14 cubits long by 14 cubits wide. The border around it was 1/2 cubit wide. (The gutter around the base was 1 cubit wide.) The steps going up to the altar were on the east side."

George Lamsa Translation
And the seat shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in its four squares: and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the base of it shall be a cubit round about; and its steps shall look toward the east.

Good News Translation
The middle section was also a square, 24 feet on each side, with a rim at the outside edge 10 inches high. (The gutter was 20 inches wide.) The steps going up the altar were on the east side.

Lexham English Bible
And the ledge was fourteen cubits in length with fourteen cubits its width to all four of its sides, and a rim was all around it of one-half cubit. And the gutter for it was a cubit all around, and its steps were facing east."

Literal Translation
And the ledge shall be fourteen long, fourteen wide, in its four sides. And the border around it shall be a half cubit, and the base for it a cubit all around. And its steps shall face the east.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
the coueringe of the aulter was xiiij cubites longe and brode vpon the foure corners, and the ledge that wente rounde aboute, had half a cubite: and the botome therof rounde aboute one cubite: his steppes stode towarde the easte.

American Standard Version
And the ledge shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad in the four sides thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit round about; and the steps thereof shall look toward the east.

Bible in Basic English
And the shelf is fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide, on its four sides; the edge round it is half a cubit; the base of it is a cubit all round, and its steps are facing the east.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad in the four sides thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and the steps thereof shall look toward the east.'

King James Version (1611)
And the settle shall bee fourteene cubites long, and fourteene broad in the foure squares thereof, and the border about it shalbe halfe a cubite, and the bottome thereof shall be a cubite about, and his staires shall looke toward the East.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
The frame of the aulter [shalbe] fourteene cubites long, and fourteene broade in the foure square corners thereof, and the border about it shalbe halfe a cubite, and the bottome thereof [shalbe] a cubite about, and the steps thereof [shalbe] turned toward the east.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the mercy-seat shall be fourteen cubits in length, by fourteen cubits in breadth on its four sides; and there shall be a border to it carried round about it of half a cubit; and the rim of it shall be a cubit round about; and the steps thereof looking eastward.

English Revised Version
And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad in the four sides thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and the steps thereof shall look toward the east.

World English Bible
The ledge shall be fourteen [cubits] long by fourteen broad in the four sides of it; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom of it shall be a cubit round about; and the steps of it shall look toward the east.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the heiythe of fourtene cubitis of lengthe was bi fourtene cubitis of breede, in foure corneris therof. And a coroun of half a cubit was in the cumpas therof, and the bosum therof was of o cubit bi cumpas; forsothe the degrees therof weren turned to the eest.

Update Bible Version
And the ledge shall be fourteen [cubits] long by fourteen broad in the four sides thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit round about; and the steps thereof shall look toward the east.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the settle [shall be] fourteen [cubits] long and fourteen broad in its four squares; and the border about it [shall be] half a cubit; and the bottom of it [shall be] a cubit about; and its stairs shall look towards the east.

New English Translation
The ledge is 24½ feet long and 24½ feet wide on four sides; the border around it is 10½ inches, and its surrounding base 1¾ feet. Its steps face east."

New King James Version
the ledge, fourteen cubits long and fourteen wide on its four sides, with a rim of half a cubit around it; its base, one cubit all around; and its steps face toward the east."

New Living Translation
The upper ledge also forms a square, measuring 24 1⁄2 feet by 24 1⁄2 feet, with a 21-inch gutter and a 10 1⁄2-inch curb all around the edge. There are steps going up the east side of the altar."

New Life Bible
The side of it will be fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide, the same on each of the four sides. And a side piece half a cubit will be around that. Its base will be a cubit wide all around, and its steps will be on the east side."

New Revised Standard
The ledge also shall be square, fourteen cubits long by fourteen wide, with a rim around it half a cubit wide, and its surrounding base, one cubit. Its steps shall face east.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And the ledge shall he fourteen in length, by fourteen in breadth, unto the four sides thereof, - and the boundary round about it shall be half a cubit and the hollow thereof a cubit round about, with the steps thereof looking toward the east. I

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the brim was fourteen cubits long, and fourteen cubits broad in the four corners thereof: and the crown round about it was half a cubit, and the bottom of it one cubit round about: and its steps turned toward the east.

Revised Standard Version
The ledge also shall be square, fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad, with a rim around it half a cubit broad, and its base one cubit round about. The steps of the altar shall face east."

Young's Literal Translation
And the border [is] fourteen long by fourteen broad, at its four squares, and the border round about it [is] half a cubit, and the centre to it [is] a cubit round about, and its steps are looking eastward.'

Contextual Overview

¹³"These are the dimensions of the altar, using the long (twenty-one-inch) ruler. The gutter at its base is twenty-one inches deep and twenty-one inches wide, with a four-inch lip around its edge. "The height of the altar is three and a half feet from the base to the first ledge and twenty inches wide. From the first ledge to the second ledge it is seven feet high and twenty-one inches wide. The altar hearth is another seven feet high. Four horns stick upward from the hearth twenty-one inches high. "The top of the altar, the hearth, is square, twenty-one by twenty-one feet. The upper ledge is also square, twenty-four and a half feet on each side, with a ten-and-a-half-inch lip and a twenty-one-inch-wide gutter all the way around. "The steps of the altar ascend from the east." Then the man said to me, "Son of man, God , the Master, says: ‘These are the ordinances for conduct at the altar when it is built, for sacrificing burnt offerings and sprinkling blood on it. "‘For a sin offering, give a bull to the priests, the Levitical priests who are from the family of Zadok who come into my presence to serve me. Take some of its blood and smear it on the four horns of the altar that project from the four corners of the top ledge and all around the lip. That's to purify the altar and make it fit for the sacrifice. Then take the bull for the sin offerings and burn it in the place set aside for this in the courtyard outside the Sanctuary. "‘On the second day, offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering. Purify the altar the same as you purified it for the bull. Then, when you have purified it, offer a bull without blemish and a ram without blemish from the flock. Present them before God . Sprinkle salt on them and offer them as a burnt offering to God . "‘For seven days, prepare a goat for a sin offering daily, and also a bull and a ram from the flock, animals without blemish. For seven days the priests are to get the altar ready for its work, purifying it. This is how you dedicate it. "‘After these seven days of dedication, from the eighth day on, the priests will present your burnt offerings and your peace offerings. And I'll accept you with pleasure, with delight! Decree of God , the Master.'" ¹⁵The Meaning of the Temple The man brought me to the east gate. Oh! The bright Glory of the God of Israel rivered out of the east sounding like the roar of floodwaters, and the earth itself glowed with the bright Glory. It looked just like what I had seen when he came to destroy the city, exactly like what I had seen earlier at the Kebar River. And again I fell, face to the ground. The bright Glory of God poured into the Temple through the east gate. The Spirit put me on my feet and led me to the inside courtyard and—oh! the bright Glory of God filled the Temple! I heard someone speaking to me from inside the Temple while the man stood beside me. He said, "Son of man, this is the place for my throne, the place I'll plant my feet. This is the place where I'll live with the Israelites forever. Neither the people of Israel nor their kings will ever again drag my holy name through the mud with their whoring and the no-god idols their kings set up at all the wayside shrines. When they set up their worship shrines right alongside mine with only a thin wall between them, they dragged my holy name through the mud with their obscene and vile worship. Is it any wonder that I destroyed them in anger? So let them get rid of their whoring ways and the stinking no-god idols introduced by their kings and I'll move in and live with them forever. "Son of man, tell the people of Israel all about the Temple so they'll be dismayed by their wayward lives. Get them to go over the layout. That will bring them up short. Show them the whole plan of the Temple, its ins and outs, the proportions, the regulations, and the laws. Draw a picture so they can see the design and meaning and live by its design and intent. "This is the law of the Temple: As it radiates from the top of the mountain, everything around it becomes holy ground. Yes, this is law, the meaning, of the Temple. "These are the dimensions of the altar, using the long (twenty-one-inch) ruler. The gutter at its base is twenty-one inches deep and twenty-one inches wide, with a four-inch lip around its edge. "The height of the altar is three and a half feet from the base to the first ledge and twenty inches wide. From the first ledge to the second ledge it is seven feet high and twenty-one inches wide. The altar hearth is another seven feet high. Four horns stick upward from the hearth twenty-one inches high. ¹⁶"The top of the altar, the hearth, is square, twenty-one by twenty-one feet. The upper ledge is also square, twenty-four and a half feet on each side, with a ten-and-a-half-inch lip and a twenty-one-inch-wide gutter all the way around. "The steps of the altar ascend from the east." ¹⁸ Then the man said to me, "Son of man, God , the Master, says: ‘These are the ordinances for conduct at the altar when it is built, for sacrificing burnt offerings and sprinkling blood on it. ¹⁹"‘For a sin offering, give a bull to the priests, the Levitical priests who are from the family of Zadok who come into my presence to serve me. Take some of its blood and smear it on the four horns of the altar that project from the four corners of the top ledge and all around the lip. That's to purify the altar and make it fit for the sacrifice. Then take the bull for the sin offerings and burn it in the place set aside for this in the courtyard outside the Sanctuary. ²²"‘On the second day, offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering. Purify the altar the same as you purified it for the bull. Then, when you have purified it, offer a bull without blemish and a ram without blemish from the flock. Present them before God . Sprinkle salt on them and offer them as a burnt offering to God . ²⁵"‘For seven days, prepare a goat for a sin offering daily, and also a bull and a ram from the flock, animals without blemish. For seven days the priests are to get the altar ready for its work, purifying it. This is how you dedicate it. ²⁷ "‘After these seven days of dedication, from the eighth day on, the priests will present your burnt offerings and your peace offerings. And I'll accept you with pleasure, with delight! Decree of God , the Master.'"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

and the border: Exodus 25:25, Exodus 30:3, 1 Kings 18:32

his stairs: Rather, "its ascents," maalothehoo probably an inclined plane; for the law ordained that the priest should not ascend by stairs. Exodus 20:26

look toward: Ezekiel 8:16, Ezekiel 40:6, 1 Kings 6:8, Nehemiah 9:4

Reciprocal: Ezekiel 43:14 - the lower settle Ezekiel 43:20 - and on the four

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof,.... Here Kimchi confesses his ignorance. Jarchi interprets it, the top of the altar, with the place of the horns, and of the feet of the priests, and was twenty eight cubits by twenty eight, the fourteen mentioned being to be measured from the middle z; and he seems to be right in making it to be the upper part of the altar, and not the lower settle, as some; the focus or hearth where the wood was laid, and the sacrifice burnt; and which had a projection of a cubit on each side, and so made the twelve cubits, the length and breadth of the altar, fourteen:

and the border about it shall be half a cubit; or the enclosure, as the Targum; the ledge about it, which went round the altar, to keep the fire or sacrifice from falling, or that the feet of the priests might not slip: the Jews expound it of the horns:

and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; or the foundation, as the Targum; which was between the altar, and the border on which the priests walked, when they went round it, to do the business of it: here Kimchi owns his ignorance again;

and his stairs shall look towards the east; steps to the altar were forbidden by the law of Moses, Exodus 20:26 wherefore, as the height of the altar of Solomon, and so of the second temple, required some way and method of ascent to the top of it, to do the business upon it; the Jews had what they call "kibbesh", a way made of earth thrown up, which rose gradually, and led to the top of it, and was about two and thirty cubits long, and sixteen broad a; but here steps or stairs are expressly mentioned, which show that this refers to times when the Mosaic and ceremonial laws should be abolished. These stairs were placed eastward, so that those that went up them looked toward the west, toward the temple and house of God, where he dwelt; and turned their backs to the east, or rising sun, in direct opposition to the worshippers of the sun, whose faces were to the east. How many steps or stairs there were to the altar is not said; Starckius conjectures there might be twelve or fourteen of them, and allows for each step half a cubit; but as the altar was ten, or, as others, eleven cubits high, there should be twenty steps or more, of such a measure. These may signify the several ways and means of coming to, and increasing in, the knowledge of the doctrine of the altar, or of Christ's satisfaction for sin; as hearing, reading, prayer, meditation, &c.

z So Lipman. Tzurath Beth Hamikdash, sect. 40. Vid. Misn. Middot, c. 3. sect. 1. a So Lipman. Tzurath Beth Hamikdash, sect. 43.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The settle - The “lower settle” (L), projecting beyond the “upper settle” (M) one cubit on every side.

His stairs - Jewish tradition says that the approach to the altar was by an inclined plane, because to go up “by steps” was forbidden Exodus 20:26.

The number “twelve” was symbolic of the twelve tribes, “four,” of the earth; “sixteen” is the square of “four,” and “fourteen” the double of “seven,” the number of the covenant, as being composed of “three,” the number of God, and of “four,” the number of the world. Thus we have in the altar a special instance of Hebrew symbolism.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ezekiel 43:17. And the settle — The ledge on which the priests walked round the altar, see Ezekiel 43:14. By these settles or ledges the altar was narrowed towards the top. "The ascent shall look toward the east;" this ascent was an inclined plane. But these settles, or more properly ledges, as Bp. Newcome translates, may be thus computed. The altar itself was ten feet high and twenty broad; the same as that of Solomon, 2 Chronicles 4:1.

	Cubits
For the base, Ezekiel 43:13, is in height . . .	1
From the surface of the base to the first ledge, Ezekiel 43:14, is . . .	1
From the lower ledge to the upper, Ezekiel 43:14, are . . . .	4
From the upper ledge to the ariel or hearth, Ezekiel 43:15, are . . .	4
___ In all . . . .	10
And as to the breadth, the upper ledge, Ezekiel 43:17, was. . . .	14
Add a cubit on each side for the higher ledge, Ezekiel 43:14, latter part . .	2
Add a cubit on each side for the lower ledge, Ezekiel 43:14, former part . .	2
Add a cubit on each side for the base, Ezekiel 43:13, . . .	2
___ In all . . . .	20

The altar of burnt-offerings, described Exodus 27:1; Exodus 38:1, was smaller than this, because it was to be removed from place to place with the tabernacle. This was designed for a permanent temple. See Bp. Newcome on this chapter.