Ezekiel 43:17

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."

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 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 measurements of the altar in cubits (the cubit is one cubit and a handbreadth): the base one cubit high and one cubit wide, with a rim all around its edge of one span. This is the height of the altar: ¹⁴ from the base on the ground to the lower ledge, two cubits; the width of the ledge, one cubit; from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge, four cubits; and the width of the ledge, one cubit. ¹⁵ The altar hearth is four cubits high, with four horns extending upward from the hearth. ¹⁶ The altar hearth is twelve cubits long, twelve wide, square at its four corners; ¹⁷ 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." ¹⁸ And He said to me, "Son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: "These are the ordinances for the altar on the day when it is made, for sacrificing burnt offerings on it, and for sprinkling blood on it. ¹⁹ You shall give a young bull for a sin offering to the priests, the Levites, who are of the seed of Zadok, who approach Me to minister to Me,' says the Lord GOD. ²⁰ You shall take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar, on the four corners of the ledge, and on the rim around it; thus you shall cleanse it and make atonement for it. ²¹ Then you shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and burn it in the appointed place of the temple, outside the sanctuary. ²² On the second day you shall offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they cleansed it with the bull.

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.