But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
This verse comes from John's apocalyptic vision in Revelation, where he is instructed to measure the temple of God — an act symbolizing divine protection and ownership — but told to leave the outer court unmeasured. In the ancient Jerusalem temple, the outer court (sometimes called the Court of the Gentiles) was the area where non-Jewish people, or Gentiles, were permitted to come. By excluding it from measurement, God is indicating it will be left exposed. The city that follows — the holy city — refers to Jerusalem, a place of deep spiritual significance. The period of trampling described signals a time of occupation, suffering, and desecration that God sees but permits for a season.
Lord, there are parts of my life that feel exposed and I don't understand why the boundary didn't hold. Help me trust that what You have measured, You hold — even when I can't see the lines. Give me faith for the waiting. Amen.
There is something unsettling about a God who says, "Measure this — but not that." John is given divine authority to mark off sacred space, and then explicitly told: leave part of it out. It will be trampled. That word — trampled — is not gentle. It is boots on holy ground. And God knows it is coming. Most of us have a part of our lives that feels like an unmeasured outer court right now — a relationship that didn't get the protection we prayed for, a dream that got overrun, a season where the boundary we expected simply did not hold. The tension here is real and it deserves honesty: God does not always shield what we assumed was under His care. What this verse quietly insists, though, is that the trampling is not random and it is not the whole story. What God has measured, He holds. What has been marked as His does not go unnoticed. If you are in a season of being trampled, you are not outside His sight — you may simply be in the outer court, and the measuring is not yet finished.
Why do you think God tells John to measure some parts of the temple but explicitly exclude the outer court — what does that distinction suggest about how divine protection works?
Is there an area of your life right now that feels exposed or trampled — somewhere you expected God's protection and didn't find it in the way you hoped?
Does the idea that God sometimes permits suffering in specific areas, while protecting others, challenge or complicate how you think about prayer and faith? Why or why not?
How do you show up for someone in your life who is living in their own 'outer court' season — where things they trusted in have been overrun?
What is one expectation of protection you've been holding tightly that you might need to release and trust to God in a different way this week?
And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
Revelation 12:6
And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time , and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
Revelation 12:14
And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Luke 21:24
And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days ; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
Daniel 8:14
And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
Daniel 12:11
Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
Matthew 4:5
And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
Daniel 7:25
And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
Revelation 11:3
But leave out the court [of the Gentiles] which is outside the temple and do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles (the nations); and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months (three and one-half years).
AMP
but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.
ESV
'Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.
NASB
But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 4 months.
NIV
But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.
NKJV
But do not measure the outer courtyard, for it has been turned over to the nations. They will trample the holy city for 4 months.
NLT
Exclude the outside court; don't measure it. It's been handed over to non-Jewish outsiders. They'll desecrate the Holy City for forty-two months.
MSG