1The man took me out through the north gate to the outer courtyard into the rooms on the far side of the Temple courtyard by the northern external wall.

2The building with the north-facing door was a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide.

3It had three floors of open halls on both sides, one facing the twenty-cubit area of the inner courtyard and one facing the pavement of the outer courtyard.

4In front of the rooms was an inside walkway ten cubits wide and a hundred cubits long. Their doors opened to the north.

5The upper rooms were smaller because of the space taken up by the open halls on the lower and middle levels of the building.

6Since they didn't have pillars like the courtyards, the upper rooms were set farther back than the lower and middle levels.

7An external wall ran in front of the rooms for fifty cubits long parallel to the outer courtyard.

8The rooms on the outer courtyard extended for fifty cubits, but those that faced the Temple were a hundred cubits long.

9Below these rooms was an entrance on the east side coming from the outer courtyard.

10Along the wall on the south ⁸²side of the outer courtyard were rooms next to the courtyard and opposite the building.

11There was a walkway in front of them, just like the rooms on the north side. These rooms had the same length and width, the same doors, floor plan, and exits.

12Similarly there was an entrance under the rooms on the south side of the building, coming from the east side.

13The man told me, “The north and south rooms that face the Temple courtyard are holy rooms where the priests who go before the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. They will place the most holy offerings there because the place is holy, and include the grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings.

14Once the priests have entered these rooms, they are not to go to the outer courtyard before leaving their priestly clothes, because these are holy. They must change into other clothes before they go where the ordinary people are.”

15After the man finished measuring inside of the Temple area, he took me out through the east gate, and he measured the surrounding area as well.

16Using the measuring rod he measured the east side. It was five hundred cubits long.

17He measured the north side. It was five hundred cubits long.

18He measured the south side. It was five hundred cubits long.

19And he came around and measured the west side. It was five hundred cubits long.

20So he measured all four sides. There was a wall surrounding it, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, separating the holy from the common.