Whatever it was that Ezekiel told the people about the new Temple in verse 10, it was apparently not a complete description. The conditional clause And if they are ashamed of all that they have done indicates that there were other things that God wanted him to tell the people. Apparently God would only do so if they responded appropriately to Ezekiel’s first description. This clause may be rendered “Then if they are truly sorry for their sins” (similarly Contemporary English Version). See verse 10.

Portray the temple, its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, and its whole form; and make known to them all its ordinances and all its laws: If the people repent, God tells Ezekiel to “make known to them the design of the temple and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, its entire design and all its ordinances, all its forms and all its laws” (New King James Version ; similarly King James Version, New American Standard Bible, English Standard Version, Complete Jewish Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Revised Standard Version follows the Septuagint by changing the first Hebrew word in this clause from a noun (literally “design”) into a verb (portray). This is unnecessary. New King James Version follows the Hebrew text better here, so we will use it as the base for our comments on this clause. The list in New King James Version is cumbersome, but it makes good sense if the first item, “the design of the temple,” is general and the later items are subsidiary points under the general heading (see Good News Translation and the suggested model below). If this approach is correct, God tells Ezekiel to “make known” or “explain” (Good News Translation) the following:

1. “The design of the temple” probably refers to its basic plan (so Good News Translation with “the plan of the Temple”). The components of this basic plan are:
a. “Its arrangement” may be rendered “its shape” (similarly Contemporary English Version), “how it is laid out” (New International Reader’s Version), or “how it is built” (New Century Version).
b. “Its exits and its entrances” refers to the doors through which people go in and out.
c. “Its entire design”: “Design” renders the same Hebrew word as earlier in this verse, but here it is plural. Here it may refer to the carvings of the cherubim and palm trees on the walls. Good models for this phrase are “all its designs” (New Century Version), “all its details and decorations” (Complete Jewish Bible), and “what it will look like” (New International Reader’s Version).
d. “All its ordinances” refers to the all the rules and regulations set down for the priests and the people for the rituals of the Temple.
e. “All its forms”: “Forms” renders the same Hebrew word translated “design” two times earlier in this verse. This repetition is very awkward and its meaning here is quite uncertain. It may refer to some architectural or design element in the building, except that it appears between “ordinances” and “laws,” which are not physical objects. Most translations omit it (so Good News Translation).
f. “All its laws” may refer to the “instructions” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) God gave about the Temple itself or, more likely, the instructions and rules he gave for the operation of the Temple.

Write it down in their sight, so that they may observe and perform all its laws and all its ordinances: Ezekiel must write down the whole plan of the Temple, so the people can see it. However, it may be better to render write as “draw” (New English Bible) or “Sketch” (Complete Jewish Bible; similarly Revised English Bible), since the main thing that Ezekiel is to record is the plan of the physical dimensions of the Temple. This is implied in the last clause of the verse, which in Hebrew reads literally “so that they may observe and follow the entire plan and all its ordinances” (New Revised Standard Version). This clause suggests that the details of the Temple’s plan itself were very important. Perhaps these details contained some spiritual truths for the people to learn, because they were told to observe and perform them. Revised Standard Version follows the Septuagint here by changing “the entire plan” to all its laws (so also English Standard Version, New American Bible; similarly New Century Version). This change makes very good sense since the people are to observe and perform all its laws and all its ordinances. The Hebrew word for “plan” is the same one translated “design” and “forms” above. The words for “plan” and laws look very similar in Hebrew and a person copying the text could easily make a mistake. It is better to retain the Hebrew text here (so Hebrew Old Testament Text Project) and follow the more difficult reading. For ordinances see the comments above.

A model for this verse is:

• Then, if they are truly sorry for their sins, explain to them the plan of the Temple. Tell them about how it is built, about its doors and how people may go in and out, and about all its carvings and decorations. Tell them all its regulations and rules. Draw it all where they can see it, so that they can understand the plan [or, see how everything is arranged] and follow all its rules.

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 .