EZEKIEL XL-THE OUTER COURT MEASURED 1385 15 And from the face of the gate of the entrance unto the face of the porch of the inner gate were fifty cubits. 16 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. 17 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. 18 And the pavement by the side of the gates over against the length of the gates was the lower pavement. 19 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. 20 And the gate of the outward court that looked toward the north, he measured the length thereof, and the breadth thereof. 21 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. 22 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. 23 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. 24¶ 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. 25 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. 26 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. 27 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. 28 And he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures: 29 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. 30 And the arches round about were five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad. 1386 EZEKIEL XL THE INNER COURT 31 And the arches thereof were toward the outer court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof: and the going up to it had eight steps. 32¶And he brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures. 33 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. 34 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. 35 ¶ And he brought me to the north gate, and measured it according to these measures: 36 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. 37 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. 38 And the chambers and the entries thereof were by the posts of the gates, where they washed the burnt-offering. 39¶ 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. 40 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. 41 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. 42 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. 43 And within were hooks, an hand broad, fastened round about: and upon the tables was the flesh of the offering. 44 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. 45 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. 46 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. Obadiah Seized by the Edomites FROM THE SERIES OF THE PROPHETS BY MARILLIER. + "The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?"-Obadiah, 1, 3. Τ HE Book of Obadiah is the briefest in the Bible, con sisting of only a single chapter or prophecy. Neither do we know aught of its writer, except what we can gather from the book itself. It is a prophecy against Edom, the nation adjoining Judah on the southeast, beyond the Dead Sea. Edom, says Obadiah, had rejoiced over Jerusalem's downfall, and, attacking the fugitives who fled from the disaster, had plundered them and slain many in their helplessness. From this we judge that Obadiah was himself a Hebrew of the exiles, a lesser contemporary of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Perhaps he was one of those who escaped from the flaming ruins of Jerusalem, and found little shelter among her vindictive neighbors. Therefore he tells with bitterness of the punishment that is to fall upon Edom, his words having much in common with the similar prophecy by Jeremiah (chapter 49). Even the brief vision of Obadiah looks beyond the temporary disaster and is harmonized with the other prophets by predicting the restoration which is to follow. In his last verse he cries, “And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord's." |