Ezekiel Chapter 40 verse 6 Holy Bible
Then came he unto the gate which looketh toward the east, and went up the steps thereof: and he measured the threshold of the gate, one reed broad; and the other threshold, one reed broad.
read chapter 40 in ASV
Then he came to the doorway looking to the east, and went up by its steps; and he took the measure of the doorstep, one rod wide.
read chapter 40 in BBE
And he came to the gate which looked toward the east, and went up its steps; and he measured the threshold of the gate, one reed broad; and the other threshold one reed broad.
read chapter 40 in DARBY
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.
read chapter 40 in KJV
read chapter 40 in WBT
Then came he to the gate which looks toward the east, and went up the steps of it: and he measured the threshold of the gate, one reed broad; and the other threshold, one reed broad.
read chapter 40 in WEB
And he cometh in unto the gate whose front `is' eastward, and he goeth up by its steps, and he measureth the threshold of the gate one reed broad, even the one threshold one reed broad,
read chapter 40 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 6. - The east gate. The gate which looketh toward the east; literally, whose face was toward the east. That this was not the gate in which the angel had been first observed standing seems implied in the statement that he came to it. That he began with it is satisfactorily accounted for by remembering that the east gate was the principal entrance, and stood directly in front of the porch of the temple proper. The same reasons will explain the fullness of description accorded to it rather than to the others. It was ascended by stairs, or steps, of which the number seven is omitted, though it is mentioned in connection with the north (ver. 22) and south (ver. 26) gates. "The significance was obvious," writes Plumptre. "Men must ascend in heart and mind as they enter the sanctuary, and the seven steps represented the completeness at last of that ascension." The steps lay outside the wall, and at their head had a threshold (סַפ, properly an "expansion," or "spreading out") one reed broad, i.e. measuring inwards from east to west, the thickness of the wall. Its extension from south to north, afterwards stated, was ten cubits, or fifteen feet (ver. 11). The last clause, improperly rendered, and the other threshold (Authorized and Revised Versions), or "the back threshold" (Ewald), of the gate which was one reed, should be translated, even one threshold (Revised Version margin), or the first threshold, as distinguished from the second, to be afterwards specified (ver. 7); comp. Genesis h 5, "the first (one) day."
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English ReadersEzekiel 40:6-16 contain a description of the eastern gate, or rather, gate-building of the Temple, by which one entered from the precincts into the outer court. The other gates were like it, but this is described first, because it had the pre-eminence. It looked straight to the door of the Temple itself; it was by this that the glory of the Lord was afterwards seen to enter His house (Ezekiel 43:1); and in consequence this gate was to be kept shut, except for the prince (Ezekiel 44:2-3). The accompanying plan may be a help in understanding the description. Notwithstanding the minuteness of detail in the text, a few points remain undetermined; but the plan represents the main features correctly, and gives the most probable view of the parts that are not entirely settled.(6) The stairs.--These steps to the porch were seven in number (Ezekiel 40:22; Ezekiel 40:26) for the north and south gates, and therefore probably also for this. They were entirely outside of the threshold, and hence are not reckoned in the dimensions of the gate-building. (See plan, A.)One reed broad.--That is, from east to west (see plan, T). This was just the thickness of the enclosing wall, w (Ezekiel 40:5). The text of this verse becomes clearer by omitting the words in italics which are not in the original; also throughout the description it is better to omit the inserted words was and were, since the various things mentioned are all dependent upon measured. . . .
