Ezekiel 47–48

Water Flowing from the Temple

47Then he brought me back to ^xthe door of the temple, and behold, ^ywater was issuing from below ^zthe threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of ^athe altar. ²Then he brought me out by way of ^bthe north gate and led me around on the outside to ^cthe outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side.

³Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, ^dthe man measured a thousand cubits,¹ and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. ⁴Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. ⁵Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. ⁶And he said to me, ^e“Son of man, ^fhave you seen this?”

Then he led me back to the bank of the river. ⁷As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river ^gvery many trees on the one side and on the other. ⁸And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into ^hthe Arabah, and enters the sea;² when the water flows into ⁱthe sea, the water will become fresh.^{3 9}And wherever the river goes,⁴ every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea⁵ may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. ¹⁰Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From ^jEngedi to ^kEneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of ^lthe Great Sea.^{6 11}But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. ¹²And on the banks, ^mon both sides of the river, there will grow ⁿall kinds of trees for food. ^oTheir leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, ^pbut they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and ^ptheir leaves for healing.”

Division of the Land

¹³Thus says the Lord God: “This is the boundary⁷ by which ^qyou shall divide the land for inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. ^rJoseph shall have two portions. ¹⁴And you shall divide equally what ^sI swore ^tto give to your fathers. ^uThis land shall fall to you as your inheritance.

¹⁵“This shall be the boundary of the land: On the north side, from ^lthe Great Sea ^vby way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, and on to ^wZedad,^{8 16x}Berothah, Sibraim (which lies on the border between ^yDamascus and ^vHamath), as far as Hazer-hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran. ¹⁷So the boundary shall run from the sea to ^zHazar-enan, which is on the northern border of Damascus, with the border of Hamath to the north.⁹ This shall be the north side.¹⁰

¹⁸“On the east side, the boundary shall run between Hauran and Damascus; along the Jordan between ^aGilead and the land of Israel; to ^bthe eastern sea and as far as Tamar.¹¹ This shall be the east side.

¹⁹“On the south side, it shall run from ^cTamar as far as ^dthe waters of Meribah-kadesh, from there along ^ethe Brook of Egypt¹² to ^fthe Great Sea. This shall be the south side.

²⁰“On the west side, the Great Sea shall be the boundary to a point ^vopposite Lebo-hamath. This shall be the west side.

^21g“So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. ^22hYou shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and ⁱfor the sojourners who reside among you and have had children among you. ^jThey shall be to you as native-born children of Israel. With you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. ²³In whatever tribe the sojourner resides, there you shall assign him his inheritance, declares the Lord God.

48“These are the names of the tribes: Beginning at the northern extreme, beside ^kthe way of Hethlon ^lto Lebo-hamath, as far as ^mHazar-enan (which is on the northern border of ⁿDamascus over against Hamath), and extending¹ from the east side to the west,^{2 o}Dan, one portion. ²Adjoining the territory of Dan, from the east side to the west, ^oAsher, one portion. ³Adjoining the territory of Asher, from the east side to the west, ^oNaphtali, one portion. ⁴Adjoining the territory of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, Manasseh, one portion. ⁵Adjoining the territory of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, Ephraim, one portion. ⁶Adjoining the territory of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, Reuben, one portion. ⁷Adjoining the territory of Reuben, from the east side to the west, Judah, one portion.

⁸“Adjoining the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be ^pthe portion which you shall set apart, 25,000 cubits³ in breadth, and in length equal to one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west, with ^qthe sanctuary in the midst of it. ⁹The portion that you shall set apart for the Lord shall be 25,000 cubits in length, and 20,000⁴ in breadth. ^10rThese shall be the allotments of the holy portion: the priests shall have an allotment measuring 25,000 cubits on the northern side, 10,000 cubits in breadth on the western side, 10,000 in breadth on the eastern side, and 25,000 in length on the southern side, with the sanctuary of the Lord in the midst of it. ¹¹This shall be for ^sthe consecrated priests, ^tthe sons of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, ^uas the Levites did. ¹²And it shall belong to them as a special portion from the holy portion of the land, a most holy place, adjoining the territory of the Levites. ^13vAnd alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an allotment 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in breadth. The whole length shall be 25,000 cubits and the breadth 20,000.^{5 14}They ^wshall not sell or exchange any of it. They shall not alienate ^xthis choice portion of the land, for it is holy to the Lord.

^15y“The remainder, 5,000 cubits in breadth and 25,000 in length, shall be ^zfor common use for the city, for dwellings and for ^aopen country. In the midst of it shall be the city, ¹⁶and these shall be its measurements: ^bthe north side 4,500 cubits, the south side 4,500, the east side 4,500, and the west side 4,500. ¹⁷And the city shall have open land: on the north 250 cubits, on the south 250, on the east 250, and on the west 250. ¹⁸The remainder of the length alongside the holy portion shall be 10,000 cubits to the east, and 10,000 to the west, and it shall be alongside the holy portion. ^cIts produce shall be food for the workers of the city. ¹⁹And the workers of the city, from all the tribes of Israel, shall till it. ²⁰The whole portion that ^dyou shall set apart shall be 25,000 cubits square, that is, the holy portion together with the property of the city.

^21e“What remains on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city shall belong to the prince. Extending from the 25,000 cubits of the holy portion to the east border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the west border, parallel to the tribal portions, it shall belong to the prince. ^fThe holy portion with the sanctuary of the temple shall be in its midst. ²²It shall be separate from the property of the Levites and the property of the city, which are in the midst of that which belongs to the prince. The portion of the prince shall lie between the territory of Judah and the territory of Benjamin.

²³“As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west, Benjamin, one portion. ²⁴Adjoining the territory of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, Simeon, one portion. ²⁵Adjoining the territory of Simeon, from the east side to the west, Issachar, one portion. ²⁶Adjoining the territory of Issachar, from the east side to the west, Zebulun, one portion. ²⁷Adjoining the territory of Zebulun, from the east side to the west, Gad, one portion. ²⁸And adjoining the territory of Gad to the south, the boundary shall run ^gfrom Tamar to the waters of ^gMeribah-kadesh, from there along the Brook of Egypt⁶ to ^hthe Great Sea.^{7 29}This is the land that ⁱyou shall allot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, declares the Lord God.

The Gates of the City

³⁰“These shall be ^jthe exits of the city: On the north side, which is to be ^k4,500 cubits by measure, ^31lthree gates, the gate of ^mReuben, the gate of ^mJudah, and the gate of ^mLevi, the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel. ³²On the east side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan. ³³On the south side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, three gates, the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun. ³⁴On the west side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates,⁸ the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali. ³⁵The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits. And ⁿthe name of the city from that time on shall be, ^oThe Lord Is There.”