Exodus Chapter 27 verse 5 Holy Bible
And thou shalt put it under the ledge round the altar beneath, that the net may reach halfway up the altar.
read chapter 27 in ASV
And put the network under the shelf round the altar so that the net comes half-way up the altar.
read chapter 27 in BBE
and thou shalt put it under the ledge of the altar beneath, and the net shall be to the very middle of the altar.
read chapter 27 in DARBY
And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar.
read chapter 27 in KJV
And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar.
read chapter 27 in WBT
You shall put it under the ledge around the altar beneath, that the net may reach halfway up the altar.
read chapter 27 in WEB
and hast put it under the compass of the altar beneath, and the net hath been unto the middle of the altar.
read chapter 27 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 5. - Thou shalt put it under the compass. The "compass" (karkob) is spoken of as if it were something well-known; yet it had not been previously mentioned. Etymologically the word should mean "a cincture" or "band" round the altar; and thus far critics are generally agreed. But its position, size, and object, are greatly disputed. Some hold that it was a broad bench, or step, on which the officiating priests stood at the time of a sacrifice, and that its position was about the middle of the altar. Others think that it was a mere border round the top, from which the net-work depended, and that the object of both was to catch anything that might fall from the altar. Others again, while placing it mid-way in the altar, regard it as a mere ornament, only projecting slightly, and forming a sort of finish to the net-work. This, which is the view of Knobel, seems to be, on the whole, the most probable one. That the net may be even to the midst of the altar. If the" compass" was at the top, the net must have extended thence to the middle. If it was mid-way in the altar, the net must have covered the lower half. To us this latter seems the more probable view. But the point is uncertain.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(5) Under the compass of the altar beneath.--The position of the network depends upon this expression. Was "the compass of the altar" its circumference at the top, or was it a belt or step encircling the altar half-way up? The low height of the altar--four feet six inches--would seem to make a "step" unnecessary; but the altar may undoubtedly have been surrounded by a "belt" for ornament.
