Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Ezekiel
Chapter 40: The Man With the Measuring Reed
The last nine chapters of Ezekiel form one great closing vision: a glorious new temple, the return of the glory of God, a river of life flowing from the sanctuary, and a land where the very city is named 'The LORD is there.' It opens here, fourteen years after Jerusalem fell, when the hand of the LORD carries Ezekiel to a high mountain and sets before him 'a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed.' Verse by verse the guide measures walls, gates, courts, chambers, and altars, God showing His people, in the depth of exile, that He has not abandoned the idea of dwelling among them. Every cubit says the same thing: God's house is measured, ordered, holy, and He intends to fill it with His presence again.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Ezekiel chapter 40, which begins the temple vision that runs to the end of the book (chapters 40-48). Much of this vision is detailed measurement, so our aim is to keep the KJV text before you, note the key words, and draw out the meaning rather than get lost in cubits. Godly readers have understood this temple in more than one way, as a literal future sanctuary, as a symbolic picture of God's ordered dwelling with a holy people, and as a prophetic type fulfilled in Christ and His church and consummated in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21-22 clearly draws on these chapters). We hold the details with humility and fix our eyes on the sure message: God returns to dwell with His people in holiness. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
A Man Like Brass
A shining guide with a line of flax and a measuring reed.
Declare All Thou Seest
Ezekiel is to watch, listen, and report the vision to Israel.
Holy and Common Divided
A wall around the house separates the sacred from the profane.
Everything Measured
Gates, courts, chambers, and altars, all precise, all ordered.
Declare All That Thou Seest (Ezekiel 40:1-4)
Fourteen years after Jerusalem's fall, God carries Ezekiel to a high mountain and shows him a man like brass with a measuring line and reed, charging the prophet to see, hear, and report everything to the house of Israel.
Behold With Thine Eyes, and Hear With Thine Ears
"In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and brought me thither. In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on the south. And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate. And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for to the intent that I might shew them unto thee art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel."
Word Study
"a line of flax... and a measuring reed." The guide carries two tools: a long flaxen cord for great distances and a rigid reed (about ten feet) for shorter spans. He has come to measure. Measurement in Scripture speaks of ownership and precision, what is measured is claimed and defined by the measurer. God is not showing Ezekiel a vague dream but an exact house. The same imagery returns in Revelation, where John is given "a reed like unto a rod" and told, "Rise, and measure the temple of God" (Revelation 11:1), and the New Jerusalem is measured with "a golden reed" (Revelation 21:15).
"whose appearance was like the appearance of brass." The guide gleams like burnished bronze, a heavenly figure of strength and glory. The description recalls the glorified Christ of Revelation, whose feet were "like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace" (Revelation 1:15). Whether angel or a manifestation of the LORD Himself, the shining guide underscores that this measured house is a heavenly, God-given design, not a human blueprint.
Explanation
The date is exact: "the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten." For fourteen years the exiles had lived without temple, altar, or ordered worship, their great grief. Now, "in the visions of God," Ezekiel is carried to "a very high mountain" in the land of Israel, and shown "the frame of a city." A shining man "like the appearance of brass" stands ready with line and reed to measure a temple.
Before a single stone is measured, the prophet is given his task: "behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee... declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel." Ezekiel is to be an attentive eyewitness and a faithful reporter. The vision is not for his private comfort but for a discouraged people who needed to know that God still planned to dwell among them. The very existence of this detailed temple was a message of hope: God has a house in mind, and He is measuring it out.
Gospel Focus
To a people who had lost the house of God, the Lord answers not with a sermon but with a vision of a new and greater house, measured by a heavenly hand. This is how God works: where sin has torn down, grace designs something better and shows it to His people to give them hope. And notice the charge, "declare all that thou seest." What God reveals He means to be told; the vision is given to be shared. Every believer who has been shown the grace of God is likewise sent to "declare" it. Above all, the measured temple points beyond itself. When men destroyed the house of God's presence, Jesus said, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up... he spake of the temple of his body" (John 2:19, 21). The true and final temple is Christ, and in Him God is building His people together, "an holy temple in the Lord" (Ephesians 2:21). The shining man measures, because God is precise about the house He intends to fill with His glory.
A Wall on the Outside of the House (Ezekiel 40:5-16)
The guide measures the surrounding wall and the great eastern gateway with its guard chambers, thresholds, porch, windows, and palm-tree carvings, an ordered, beautiful entrance into the courts of God.
Upon Each Post Were Palm Trees
"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. Then came he unto the gate which looketh toward the east, and went up the stairs thereof, and measured the threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad; and the other threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad. And every little chamber was one reed long, and one reed broad; and between the little chambers were five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate within was one reed. He measured also the porch of the gate within, one reed. Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was inward. And the little chambers of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side; they three were of one measure: and the posts had one measure on this side and on that side. And he measured the breadth of the entry of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits. The space also before the little chambers was one cubit on this side, and the space was one cubit on that side: and the little chambers were six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side. He measured then the gate from the roof of one little chamber to the roof of another: the breadth was five and twenty cubits, door against door. He made also posts of threescore cubits, even unto the post of the court round about the gate. And from the face of the gate of the entrance unto the face of the porch of the inner gate were fifty cubits. And there were narrow windows to the little chambers, and to their posts within the gate round about, and likewise to the arches: and windows were round about inward: and upon each post were palm trees."
Word Study
"a wall on the outside of the house round about." The first thing measured is the boundary. A wall encircles the whole complex, separating what is holy from what is common. Ezekiel is later told the wall's purpose plainly: "to make a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place" (Ezekiel 42:20). Holiness has edges. God's dwelling is not a free-for-all; it is set apart, and one enters it only by the appointed gates.
"upon each post were palm trees." Amid all the measuring, beauty appears: palm trees carved on the gateposts, as in Solomon's temple (1 Kings 6:29). The palm is a symbol of life, victory, and flourishing (Psalm 92:12, "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree"). God's house is not only holy and ordered but lovely, a place of life. The same palms reappear throughout the vision, a quiet reminder of Eden, where God first walked with man.
Explanation
The measuring begins at the outside "wall... round about," then moves to "the gate which looketh toward the east." The eastern gate is described in detail: the stairs up to it, the thresholds, the "little chambers" (guardrooms, three on each side), the posts, the porch, the windows, and the palm-tree carvings. It is a substantial, ordered gatehouse, an impressive, deliberate entrance.
Two things stand out through the architecture. First, everything is measured and matched, "they three were of one measure", speaking of perfect order and symmetry in God's house. Second, the way in is guarded and appointed: one climbs the stairs, passes the thresholds and guard chambers, and enters through a single defined gate. Access to God's dwelling is real, the gate is open, but it is ordered and holy, not casual. And all along the way, the carved "palm trees" declare that this holy, guarded place is also a place of beauty and life.
Gospel Focus
The wall and the gate teach a truth the modern mind resists: God's presence is holy, and there is a right way in. The wall makes "a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place"; the gate provides the one appointed entrance. This is not cold exclusion but ordered welcome, the door is real and open, but it is a door, not a broken-down fence. Jesus said, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved" (John 10:9), and "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). There is a gate into the presence of God, and His name is Jesus. And the palm trees remind us what waits inside: not a bare fortress but life and flourishing, the same palms the redeemed will one day wave before the throne (Revelation 7:9). God's house is holy, ordered, guarded, and beautiful, and Christ is the way in.
From Gate to Gate an Hundred Cubits (Ezekiel 40:17-27)
Inside the wall lies the outer court with its pavement and chambers, and the guide measures the matching north and south gates, each with the same chambers, windows, palm trees, and steps, and the same hundred-cubit spacing.
After the Measure of the First Gate
"Then brought he me into the outward court, and, lo, there were chambers, and a pavement made for the court round about: thirty chambers were upon the pavement. And the pavement by the side of the gates over against the length of the gates was the lower pavement. Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate unto the forefront of the inner court without, an hundred cubits eastward and northward. And the gate of the outward court that looked toward the north, he measured the length thereof, and the breadth thereof. And the little chambers thereof were three on this side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first gate: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. And their windows, and their arches, and their palm trees, were after the measure of the gate that looketh toward the east; and they went up unto it by seven steps; and the arches thereof were before them. And the gate of the inner court was over against the gate toward the north, and toward the east; and he measured from gate to gate an hundred cubits. After that he brought me toward the south, and behold a gate toward the south: and he measured the posts thereof and the arches thereof according to these measures. And there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. And there were seven steps to go up to it, and the arches thereof were before them: and it had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, upon the posts thereof. And there was a gate in the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south an hundred cubits."
Word Study
"after the measure of the first gate." The north and south gates are built exactly like the east gate: same chambers, same windows, same palm trees, same dimensions. The repeated phrase, "according to these measures," "after the measure of the gate that looketh toward the east," stresses a deliberate uniformity. God's house has no favoured or inferior entrances; from every side one comes in the same appointed way. There is one pattern of access into the presence of God.
"they went up unto it by seven steps." The outer gates are reached by seven steps, and the inner gates later by eight (verses 31, 34, 37). One literally rises as one moves toward the sanctuary. The house is designed so that drawing nearer to God means going up. Worship in Scripture is always an ascent, "Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart" (Psalm 24:3-4).
Explanation
Passing through the east gate, the guide brings Ezekiel "into the outward court," a large paved area with "thirty chambers" around it, rooms that would serve the worshippers and their gatherings. Then he measures the two other outer gates, north and south. Each is identical to the first, "after the measure of the first gate," with the same guard chambers, windows, palm trees, and "seven steps." And each inner gate stands directly opposite its outer gate, "an hundred cubits" apart, a perfectly balanced, symmetrical layout.
The repetition is the point. God's house is orderly and consistent on every side. Whether one enters from the east, the north, or the south, the pattern is the same, the same steps up, the same guarded gate, the same beauty. There is nothing chaotic or arbitrary about the dwelling of God. It is measured, matched, and rising toward the center where His glory will dwell.
Gospel Focus
The identical gates on every side preach that there is one way of approach to God for all people. Jew or Gentile, near or far, all come by the same appointed pattern, up the same steps, through the same kind of gate. This is the gospel truth that "there is no difference: for all have sinned" and equally "there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him" (Romans 3:22-23; 10:12). And the steps upward remind us that to draw near to God is to ascend, to rise out of the profane toward the holy. We cannot make that climb by our own worthiness; but God has provided the way, and in Christ we "have access by one Spirit unto the Father" (Ephesians 2:18). The ordered, rising, identical gates say: come, from wherever you are, but come God's way, and come up.
Whereupon They Slew Their Sacrifices (Ezekiel 40:28-49)
The guide measures the inner-court gates, the tables where the offerings are slain, the chambers of the singers and the priests, the sons of Zadok who draw near to minister, the foursquare court, and at last the porch of the house itself.
Which Come Near to the LORD to Minister Unto Him
"And he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures; And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad. And the arches round about were five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad. And the arches thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof: and the going up to it had eight steps. And he brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures. And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, were according to these measures: and there were windows therein and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad. And the arches thereof were toward the outward court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps. And he brought me to the north gate, and measured it according to these measures; The little chambers thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, and the windows to it round about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. And the posts thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps. And the chambers and the entries thereof were by the posts of the gates, where they washed the burnt offering. And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to slay thereon the burnt offering and the sin offering and the trespass offering. And at the side without, as one goeth up to the entry of the north gate, were two tables; and on the other side, which was at the porch of the gate, were two tables. Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, whereupon they slew their sacrifices. And the four tables were of hewn stone for the burnt offering, of a cubit and an half long, and a cubit and an half broad, and one cubit high: whereupon also they laid the instruments wherewith they slew the burnt offering and the sacrifice. And within were hooks, an hand broad, fastened round about: and upon the tables was the flesh of the offering. And without the inner gate were the chambers of the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward the south: one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north. And he said unto me, This chamber, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house. And the chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok among the sons of Levi, which come near to the LORD to minister unto him. So he measured the court, an hundred cubits long, and an hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar that was before the house. And he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate was three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side. The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits; and he brought me by the steps whereby they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side."
Word Study
"whereupon they slew their sacrifices." At the heart of the temple stand the tables where the offerings are killed, "the burnt offering and the sin offering and the trespass offering." Even in this glorious vision, the way into God's presence passes the place of sacrifice. There is no drawing near without atonement. This points to the cross, where the true "burnt offering... sin offering and... trespass offering" were fulfilled in Christ, "who needeth not daily... to offer up sacrifice... for this he did once, when he offered up himself" (Hebrews 7:27).
"the sons of Zadok... which come near to the LORD to minister unto him." Only a faithful priesthood, "the keepers of the charge," may serve at the altar and "come near to the LORD." Zadok's line had stayed loyal when others went astray (1 Kings 2:35; Ezekiel 44:15). Nearness to God is entrusted to the faithful. Under the new covenant this priesthood is opened to all the redeemed, for Christ "hath made us kings and priests unto God" (Revelation 1:6), a whole people who "come near" to minister.
Explanation
The guide now measures the three inner-court gates, matching the outer ones but reached by "eight steps", one step higher, nearer to God. In the porches of these gates stand "eight tables, whereupon they slew their sacrifices," with the instruments and the hooks for the offerings. Nearby are "the chambers of the singers" and the chambers of the priests, "the keepers of the charge of the house" and "of the altar", identified as "the sons of Zadok... which come near to the LORD to minister unto him." The inner court is measured "an hundred cubits... foursquare," with "the altar that was before the house" at its center. Finally Ezekiel is brought to "the porch of the house" itself, the entrance to the sanctuary, with its posts and pillars.
Notice the movement of the whole chapter: from the outer wall, up through the gates, into the outer court, up again into the inner court, past the altar and the tables of sacrifice, to the very porch of God's house. Everything rises and converges toward the place of His presence, and everything centers on the altar. To come near to God, even in this vision of restoration, one comes by way of sacrifice, served by a faithful, consecrated priesthood.
Gospel Focus
This closing section quietly preaches the gospel through its layout. The path to the house of God leads past the altar and the tables "whereupon they slew their sacrifices." However glorious the temple, there is no entering God's presence except through atoning blood. All those offerings, "the burnt offering and the sin offering and the trespass offering," pointed to the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who "offered up himself" once for all (Hebrews 7:27) and by "one offering... hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14). And the priesthood that draws near, "the sons of Zadok... which come near to the LORD to minister unto him", foreshadows the astonishing privilege of the new covenant: through Christ, all His people are made "kings and priests unto God" (Revelation 1:6), given "boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus" (Hebrews 10:19). The measured temple, rising step by step toward the presence of God, finds its fulfillment in Christ, who by His own blood opened the way and brings us near. The whole design says: God will dwell with a holy people, and the way in is the altar.
Chapter 40 in Review
Ezekiel 40 opens the great closing vision of the book. Fourteen years after Jerusalem fell, God carries Ezekiel to a high mountain and sets before him a shining "man... like the appearance of brass" with "a line of flax... and a measuring reed," who methodically measures a new temple, the outer wall, the eastern gate with its chambers and palm trees, the outer court, the matching north and south gates, the inner-court gates reached by eight steps, the tables of sacrifice, the chambers of the singers and the faithful priests "which come near to the LORD to minister unto him," and at last the porch of the house itself. The prophet's charge is to "declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel."
For the Apostolic reader the details matter less than the message they carry. God is a God of order, holiness, and beauty in His dwelling; He measures His house exactly, walls it off from the profane, and provides one appointed, rising way in on every side, past the altar of sacrifice, served by a consecrated priesthood. To a people who had lost the temple, this vision declared that God still intended to dwell among them. And it points beyond itself to Christ, the true temple raised in three days, to the church "fitly framed together" into "an holy temple in the Lord," and to the New Jerusalem that John saw measured with a golden reed. The way into that holy, beautiful, ordered presence has always been the altar, and the altar has always pointed to the cross. God is measuring a house to fill with His glory, and in Christ He is building us into it.
- God measures His house exactly; His dwelling is ordered and precise, not haphazard (40:3, 5; Revelation 11:1; 21:15).
- What God shows, He means to be told: "declare all that thou seest" (40:4).
- The wall separates holy from common; holiness has edges (40:5; Ezekiel 42:20).
- Identical gates on every side: one appointed, rising way of approach for all (40:21-27; Romans 10:12; Ephesians 2:18).
- The way into God's presence passes the altar of sacrifice, fulfilled at the cross (40:39-43; Hebrews 7:27; 10:14).
- A faithful priesthood "come near to the LORD," fulfilled in Christ's people made kings and priests (40:46; Revelation 1:6; Hebrews 10:19).
Questions for Reflection
- God measures His dwelling with care. What does that say about how He regards the details of the people He is building into His temple?
- The house had one appointed way in on every side. How does that shape the way you think about coming to God?
- Every path to the house passed the place of sacrifice. Why is there no drawing near to God apart from the cross?
- The faithful priests "come near to the LORD to minister." As one of Christ's priests, how are you drawing near to minister to Him?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Chapters 40-48 form one temple vision; godly interpreters read it as a literal future sanctuary, as a symbol of God's ordered dwelling with a holy people, and/or as a type fulfilled in Christ and the church and consummated in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21-22 draws heavily on it). We hold the details with humility. The measuring reed and line: compare Revelation 11:1; 21:15; Zechariah 2:1-2. The shining guide "like... brass": Revelation 1:15. The wall's purpose "to make a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place": Ezekiel 42:20. Palm trees in the temple: 1 Kings 6:29; the palm as flourishing: Psalm 92:12; Revelation 7:9. Ascending to worship: Psalm 24:3-4. The tables of sacrifice fulfilled in Christ's one offering: Hebrews 7:27; 10:14, 19. The sons of Zadok: 1 Kings 2:35; Ezekiel 44:15; the priesthood of all believers: Revelation 1:6; 1 Peter 2:5, 9. Christ the true temple: John 2:19-21; the church as God's temple: 1 Corinthians 3:16; Ephesians 2:18-22. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- The vision opens; the man with the measuring reed; the charge to declare it: Ezekiel 40:1-4; John 2:19-21; Ephesians 2:21.
- The wall and the east gate, holy separation and beauty: Ezekiel 40:5-16; Ezekiel 42:20; John 10:9; 14:6.
- The outer court and the matching gates, one rising way of approach for all: Ezekiel 40:17-27; Romans 10:12; Ephesians 2:18.
- The inner court, the tables of sacrifice, and the faithful priesthood: Ezekiel 40:28-49; Hebrews 7:27; 10:14-19; Revelation 1:6.