Ezekiel 47–48

Water Flowing from the Temple

⁴⁷Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there water was flowing from below the entryway of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east), and the water was flowing down from below the south side of the temple, south of the altar.^{* 2}Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east,^z and the water was trickling out on the south side.^*

³Going on eastward with a cord in his hand, the man measured one thousand cubits and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep.^{* 4}Again he measured one thousand and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured one thousand and led me through the water, and it was up to the waist. ⁵Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross, for the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed. ⁶He said to me, “Mortal, have you seen this?”

Then he led me back along the bank of the river.^{* 7}As I came back, I saw on the bank of the river a great many trees on the one side and on the other.^{* 8}He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and when it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water will become fresh.^{* 9}Wherever the river goes,^a every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish once these waters reach there. It will become fresh, and everything will live where the river goes. ¹⁰People will stand fishing beside the sea^b from En-gedi to En-eglaim; it will be a place for the spreading of nets; its fish will be of a great many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.^{* 11}But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. ¹²On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.”^*

The New Boundaries of the Land

¹³Thus says the Lord God: These are the boundaries by which you shall divide the land for inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions.^{* 14}You shall divide it equally; I swore to give it to your ancestors, and this land shall fall to you as your inheritance.^*

¹⁵This shall be the boundary of the land: On the north side, from the Great Sea by way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath and on to Zedad,^{c* 16}Berothah, Sibraim (which lies between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath), as far as Hazer-hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran.^{* 17}So the boundary shall run from the sea to Hazar-enon, which is north of the border of Damascus, with the border of Hamath to the north.^d This shall be the north side.^*

¹⁸On the east side, between Hauran and Damascus; along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel; to the eastern sea and as far as Tamar.^e This shall be the east side.^*

¹⁹On the south side, it shall run from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribath-kadesh, from there along the Wadi of Egypt^f to the Great Sea. This shall be the south side.^*

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

²¹So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. ²²You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens who reside among you and have fathered children among you. They shall be to you as native-born of Israel; with you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.^{* 23}In whatever tribe aliens reside, there you shall assign them their inheritance, says the Lord God.

The Tribal Portions

⁴⁸These are the names of the tribes: Beginning at the northern border, on the Hethlon road,^g to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enon (which is on the border of Damascus, with Hamath to the north), and^h extending from the east side to the west,ⁱ Dan, one portion.^{* 2}Adjoining the territory of Dan, from the east side to the west, Asher, one portion.^{* 3}Adjoining the territory of Asher, from the east side to the west, Naphtali, one portion. ⁴Adjoining the territory of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, Manasseh, one portion.^{* 5}Adjoining the territory of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, Ephraim, one portion.^{* 6}Adjoining the territory of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, Reuben, one portion.^{* 7}Adjoining the territory of Reuben, from the east side to the west, Judah, one portion.^*

⁸Adjoining the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be the portion that you shall set apart, twenty-five thousand cubits in width, and in length equal to one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west, with the sanctuary in the middle of it.^{* 9}The portion that you shall set apart for the Lord shall be twenty-five thousand cubits in length and twenty^j thousand in width. ¹⁰These shall be the allotments of the holy portion: the priests shall have an allotment measuring twenty-five thousand cubits on the northern side, ten thousand cubits in width on the western side, ten thousand in width on the eastern side, and twenty-five thousand in length on the southern side, with the sanctuary of the Lord in the middle of it.^{* 11}As for the consecrated priests, the descendants^k of Zadok who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, as the Levites did,^{* 12}they shall have a special portion from the holy portion of the land, a most holy place, adjoining the territory of the Levites.^{* 13}Alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an allotment twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width. The whole length shall be twenty-five thousand cubits and the width twenty^l thousand.^{* 14}They shall not sell or exchange any of it; they shall not transfer this choice portion of the land, for it is holy to the Lord.^*

¹⁵The remainder, five thousand cubits in width and twenty-five thousand in length, shall be for ordinary use for the city, for dwellings and for pasturelands. In the middle of it shall be the city,^{* 16}and these shall be its dimensions: 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.^{* 17}The city shall have pasturelands: on the north two hundred fifty cubits, on the south two hundred fifty, on the east two hundred fifty, on the west two hundred fifty.^{* 18}The remainder of the length alongside the holy portion shall be ten thousand cubits to the east and ten thousand to the west, and it shall be alongside the holy portion. Its produce shall be food for the workers of the city.^{* 19}The workers of the city, from all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it.^{* 20}The whole portion that you shall set apart shall be twenty-five thousand cubits square, that is, the holy portion together with the property of the city.^*

²¹What remains on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city shall belong to the prince. Extending from the twenty-five thousand cubits of the holy portion to the east border and westward from the twenty-five thousand cubits to the west border, parallel to the tribal portions, it shall belong to the prince. The holy portion with the sanctuary of the temple in the middle of it,^{* 22}and the property of the Levites and of the city, shall be in the middle of that which belongs to the prince. The portion of the prince shall lie between the territory of Judah and the territory of Benjamin.

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

³⁰These shall be the exits of the city: On the north side, which is to be four thousand five hundred cubits by measure,^{* 31}three gates: the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi, the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel.^{* 32}On the east side, which is to be four thousand five hundred cubits, three gates: the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan. ³³On the south side, which is to be four thousand five hundred 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 four thousand five hundred cubits, three gates:ⁿ the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali. ³⁵The circumference of the city shall be eighteen thousand cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The Lord Is There.^*