And in the vestibule of the gate were two tables on either side … And on the outside of the vestibule at the entrance of the north gate were two tables; and on the other side of the vestibule of the gate were two tables: Here Ezekiel refers to eight tables. There were four tables in the vestibule of the gate, that is, in the porch of the north gatehouse. Two tables on either side means there were two tables on the left and two tables on the right as Ezekiel entered the porch through the doorway from the outer courtyard. On the outside of the vestibule at the entrance … were two tables; and on the other side of the vestibule … were two tables means that outside the porch in the outer courtyard, there were two tables on either side of the doorway. Ezekiel does not say what these tables were made of. It is most likely that they were made of wood.
In verse 40 the first occurrence of the word vestibule is not in the Hebrew text (see Revised Standard Version footnote). Those translations that read vestibule or “porch” (New Century Version) have changed the Hebrew slightly to get that meaning. The Hebrew actually reads “to the one going up” or “as one goes up,” which reflects the way Ezekiel approached the gateway. The vestibule at the entrance of the north gate may be rendered “as one goes up to the entrance of the north gate” or “as I went up to the entrance of the north gate.” Some translations understand the Hebrew here to refer to the “steps” (Contemporary English Version, New International Version, New International Reader’s Version) or “stairs” (New Living Translation, Moffatt) that were mentioned in verse 37 and led from the outer courtyard up to the north gatehouse; for example, New International Version says “near the steps at the entrance to the north gateway.” This is an acceptable model.
In these verses Ezekiel focuses again on the north gate, even though, as we have suggested, all the inner gates were the same. Unless it is awkward in their language to do so, translators will probably find it easier to do the same. It may be necessary in some languages to include a phrase to make this clear, for example, “as I was looking at the north gateway.”
On which the burnt offering and the sin offering and the guilt offering were to be slaughtered is the purpose of the eight tables. They were the places where the priests prepared the animals that they were about to sacrifice to God on the altar. In verses 42-43 Ezekiel describes four stone tables, which were probably the tables on which the animals were actually killed (see the comments on those verses). What happened on the eight tables in verses 40-41 was still part of the slaughtering process, but since the actual killing of the animals took place on the stone tables, it is better to refer to what the priests did on these tables as “preparing” the sacrifices. Were to be slaughtered is a passive verb that in some languages will need to be active with an agent, as in “the tables where they [or, the priests] prepared the animals that they were sacrificing to God.”
Ezekiel mentions three types of sacrifice: burnt offering, sin offering, and guilt offering. For burnt offering, see verse 38. A sin offering was a sacrifice to cleanse people from unintentional sins, so that God would forgive them (see Lev 4.1–5.13). Translators may say “offering people made to God so he would forgive them for their sins.” A guilt offering was similar to a sin offering, but it involved an element of restitution, or repaying the debt a person had incurred (see Lev 5.14–6.7; 7.1-10). Guilt refers to a feeling or sense of responsibility or regret for having done something wrong. There are cultures where it is not known or where the concept of shame is more common. In these cultures translators may render guilt offering as “offering to show that people were sorry for what they had done.” Other possible renderings are “offering for the repayment of sins” and “offering to pay a penalty for sins.”
A model for the last half of verse 39 is:
• On these [tables] the priests prepared the animals that the people gave to God to be completely burnt on the altar, and those that they gave so that God would forgive their sins and take away their guilt [or, shame].
In those cultures where sacrifices are unknown, it may not be necessary to distinguish between these different types of offering. If so, translators may say simply “On these tables the priests prepared animal meat that the people were giving to God to honor him” or “On these tables the animals that were about to be sacrificed to God were made ready for the sacrifice.”
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 .