Ezekiel 47-48

Easy-to-Read Version

The Water Flowing From the Temple

47 The man led me back to the entrance of the Temple. I saw water coming out from under the east gate of the Temple. (The front of the Temple is on the east side.) The water flowed down from under the south end of the Temple and ran south of the altar. ² The man led me out through the north gate and then around the outside to the outer gate on the east side. The water was flowing out on the south side of the gate.

³ The man walked east with a tape measure in his hand. He measured 1000 cubits.^[a] Then he told me to walk through the water at that place. The water was only ankle deep. ⁴ He measured another 1000 cubits. Then he told me to walk through the water at that place. There the water came up to my knees. Then he measured another 1000 cubits and told me to walk through the water at that place. There the water was waist deep. ⁵ He measured another 1000 cubits, but there the water was too deep to cross. It had become a river. The water was deep enough to swim in. It was a river that was too deep to cross. ⁶ Then the man said to me, “Son of man,^[b] did you pay close attention to the things you saw?”

Then the man led me back along the side of the river. ⁷ As I walked back along the side of the river, I saw many trees on both sides of the water. ⁸ He said to me, “This water flows east, down to the Arabah Valley. ⁹ This water flows into the Dead Sea so that the water in that sea becomes fresh and clean. There are many fish in this water, and all kinds of animals live where this river goes. ¹⁰ You can see fishermen standing by the river all the way from En Gedi to En Eglaim. You can see them throwing their fishing nets and catching many kinds of fish. There are as many kinds of fish in the Dead Sea as there are in the Mediterranean Sea. ¹¹ But the swamps and small marshes will not become fresh. They will be left for salt. ¹² All kinds of fruit trees will grow on both sides of the river. Their leaves never will become dry and fall. The fruit will never stop growing on those trees. The trees will produce fruit every month, because the water for the trees comes from the Temple. The fruit from the trees will be for food, and their leaves will be for healing.”

Division of the Land for the Tribes

¹³ This is what the Lord God says: “These are the borders for dividing the land among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph will have two parts. ¹⁴ You will divide the land equally. I promised to give this land to your ancestors, so I am giving this land to you.

¹⁵ “These are the borders of the land: On the north side, it goes from the Mediterranean Sea by way of Hethlon where the road turns toward Hamath and on to Zedad, ¹⁶ Berothah, Sibraim (which is on the border between Damascus and Hamath) and Hazer Hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran. ¹⁷ So the border will go from the sea to Hazar Enan on the northern border of Damascus and Hamath. This will be on the north side.

¹⁸ “On the east side, the border will go from Hazar Enan between Hauran and Damascus and continue along the Jordan River between Gilead and the land of Israel, to the eastern sea and all the way to Tamar. This will be the eastern border.

¹⁹ “On the south side, the border will go from Tamar all the way to the oasis at Meribah-kadesh. Then it will go along the Brook of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. This will be the southern border.

²⁰ “On the west side, the Mediterranean Sea will be the border all the way to the area in front of Lebo Hamath. This will be your western border.

²¹ “So you will divide this land among you for the tribes of Israel. ²² You will divide it as a property for yourselves and for the foreigners who live among you and who have had children among you. These foreigners will be residents—they will be like natural born Israelites. You will divide some land for them among the tribes of Israel. ²³ The tribe where that resident lives must give him some land.” This is what the Lord God said!

The Land for the Tribes of Israel

48 “The northern border goes east from the Mediterranean Sea to Hethlon to Hamath Pass and then all the way to Hazar Enan. This is on the border between Damascus and Hamath. The land for the tribes in this group will go from the east of these borders to the west. From north to south, the tribes in this area are Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben, and Judah.

The Special Section of Land

⁸ “The next area of land will be for a special use. This land is south of Judah’s land. This area is 25,000 cubits^[c] long from north to south. From east to west, it will be as wide as the land that belongs to the other tribes. The Temple will be in the middle of this section of land. ⁹ You will dedicate this land to the Lord. It will be 25,000 cubits long and 20,000 cubits^[d] wide. ¹⁰ This special area of land will be divided among the priests and Levites.

“The priests will get one part of this area. The land will be 25,000 cubits long on the north side, 10,000 cubits^[e] wide on the west side, 10,000 cubits wide on the east side, and 25,000 cubits long on the south side. The Lord’s Temple will be in the middle of this area of land. ¹¹ This land is for Zadok’s descendants. These men were chosen to be my holy priests, because they continued to serve me when the other people of Israel left me. Zadok’s family did not leave me like the other people from the tribe of Levi. ¹² This share from this holy part of the land will be especially for these priests. It will be next to the land of the Levites.

¹³ “Next to the land for the priests, the Levites will have a share of the land. It will be 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide. They will get the full length and width of this land—25,000 cubits long and 20,000 cubits wide. ¹⁴ The Levites will not sell or trade any of this land. They will not be able to sell any of it. They must not cut up this part of the country, because this land belongs to the Lord—it is very special. It is the best part of the land.

The Shares for the City Property

¹⁵ “There will be an area of land 5000 cubits^[f] wide by 25,000 cubits long that is left over from the land given to the priests and Levites. This land can be for the city, for grasslands for animals, and for building houses. The common people may use this land. The city will be in the middle of it. ¹⁶ These are the city’s measurements: The north side will be 4500 cubits.^[g] The south side will be 4500 cubits. The east side will be 4500 cubits. The west side will be 4500 cubits. ¹⁷ The city will have grasslands. These grasslands will be 250 cubits^[h] on the north and 250 cubits on the south. They will be 250 cubits on the east and 250 cubits on the west. ¹⁸ What is left of the length along the side of the holy area will be 10,000 cubits on the east and 10,000 cubits on the west. This land will be along the side of the holy area. This land will grow food for the city workers. ¹⁹ The city workers from all the tribes of Israel will farm this land.

²⁰ “This special area of land will be square. It will be 25,000 cubits long by 25,000 cubits wide. You must set apart this area for its special purposes. One part is for the priests, one part is for the Levites, and one part is for the city.

^21-22 “Part of that special land will be for the ruler of the country. That special area of land is square. It is 25,000 cubits long by 25,000 cubits wide. Part of this special land is for the priests, part of it is for the Levites, and part of it is for the Temple. The Temple is in the middle of this area of land. The rest of the land belongs to the ruler of the country. The ruler will get the area between the land of Benjamin and the land of Judah.

^23-27 “South of this special area will be the land for the tribes that lived east of the Jordan River. Each tribe will get a section of land that goes from the eastern border to the Mediterranean Sea. From north to south, these tribes are Benjamin, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun, and Gad.

²⁸ “The southern border of Gad’s land will go from Tamar to the oasis at Meribah-kadesh, then along the Brook of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. ²⁹ This is the land that you will divide among the tribes of Israel. This is what each group will get.” This is what the Lord God said!

The Gates of the City

³⁰ “These are the gates of the city. The gates will be named for the tribes of Israel.

“The north side of the city will be 4500 cubits long. ³¹ There will be three gates: Reuben’s Gate, Judah’s Gate, and Levi’s Gate.

³² “The east side of the city will be 4500 cubits long. There will be three gates: Joseph’s Gate, Benjamin’s Gate, and Dan’s Gate.

³³ “The south side of the city will be 4500 cubits long. There will be three gates: Simeon’s Gate, Issachar’s Gate, and Zebulun’s Gate.

³⁴ “The west side of the city will be 4500 cubits long. There will be three gates: Gad’s Gate, Asher’s Gate, and Naphtali’s Gate.

³⁵ “The distance around the city will be 18,000 cubits.^[i] From now on, the name of the city will be the lord is there.^[j]”