And the doors of the side chambers opened on the part of the platform that was left free, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south: The side rooms that were built next to the north, west and south walls of the Temple apparently had only two doors, one door on the north side, and another door on the south side. Ezekiel does not say whether these doors were toward the front of the building, in the center, or toward the back. The doors opened on to the part of the platform that was left free (see the comments of verses 9-10), that is, “the terrace” (Good News Translation) that was in front of the side rooms of the Temple.

And the breadth of the part that was left free was five cubits round about: See the comments on verses 9-10. If the width of this terrace has already been noted in verse 9, it is not necessary to repeat it here.

A model for this verse is:

• The side rooms had two doors that opened out onto [or, faced] the terrace [or, open area]. One was on the north side and the other on the south side. The terrace [or, open area] was about two and a half meters wide all around.

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 .