Ezekiel does not mention moving out of the Temple, but the next measurements focus on buildings outside the Temple, so it is reasonable to assume that Ezekiel and his guide came out of the Temple before these measurements were taken. Translators may include an indication of this movement if it is necessary for the flow of the narrative in their language; for example, they may begin this verse with “Then he led me outside the Temple.”

Then he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits thick: Next the man measured the wall of the temple (literally “the wall of the house”). It was six cubits, that is, 3 meters (10 feet), thick.

And the breadth of the side chambers, four cubits, round about the temple: Next the man measured the side chambers. Ezekiel does not say what these “side rooms” (New International Reader’s Version, New Living Translation, New Century Version) were used for, but Contemporary English Version calls them “storage rooms.” They were round about the temple, that is, on the north, west and south sides of the Temple, but not on the east side, that is, across the front. Their width was four cubits, that is, 2 meters (7 feet). We have not heard of these side chambers before, and they are introduced so abruptly that translators in most languages will do well to mention that they were there before giving the measurements; for example, the last half of this verse may be rendered “There were side rooms all around the Temple. They were 2 meters wide.”

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .