And these shall be its dimensions …: Verses 16-17 describe how big the city will be.

The north side four thousand five hundred cubits, the south side four thousand five hundred, the east side four thousand five hundred, and the west side four thousand five hundred: God describes the city in the same long way that he described the priests’ allocation, noting the length of each of the four sides (see verse 10). The city itself will be four thousand five hundred cubits, that is, about 2,250 meters (2,500 yards), on each side.

And the city shall have open land: On each side of the city there will be open land, which renders the same Hebrew word translated “open country” in verse 15 (see the comments there).

On the north two hundred and fifty cubits, on the south two hundred and fifty, on the east two hundred and fifty, and on the west two hundred and fifty: The “open space” (Good News Translation) around the city will be two hundred and fifty cubits, that is, about 125 meters (140 yards), wide on each side. In all, the city and the surrounding open space will result in a square 2.5 kilometers by 2.5 kilometers. The city will cover the full width of the additional strip of land.

A model for verses 16-17 is:

• 16 The city will be 2,250 meters on each side, 17 with an open space 125 meters wide all the way around the outside.

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 .