The Holy District

45 “Moreover, when you (A)divide the land by lot into inheritance, you shall (B)set apart a district for the Lord, a holy section of the land; its length shall be twenty-five thousand cubits, and the width ten thousand. It shall be holy throughout its territory all around. Of this there shall be a square plot for the sanctuary, (C)five hundred by five hundred rods, with fifty cubits around it for an open space. So this is the district you shall measure: twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousand wide; (D)in it shall be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. It shall be (E)a holy section of the land, belonging to the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who come near to minister to the Lord; it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. (F)An area twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousand wide shall belong to the Levites, the ministers of the [a]temple; they shall have (G)twenty[b] chambers as a possession.

Properties of the City and the Prince

(H)“You shall appoint as the property of the city an area five thousand cubits wide and twenty-five thousand long, adjacent to the district of the holy section; it shall belong to the whole house of Israel.

(I)“The prince shall have a section on one side and the other of the holy district and the city’s property; and bordering on the holy district and the city’s property, extending westward on the west side and eastward on the east side, the length shall be side by side with one of the tribal portions, from the west border to the east border. The land shall be his possession in Israel; and (J)My princes shall no more oppress My people, but they shall give the rest of the land to the house of Israel, according to their tribes.”

Laws Governing the Prince

‘Thus says the Lord God: (K)“Enough, O princes of Israel! (L)Remove violence and plundering, execute justice and righteousness, and stop dispossessing My people,” says the Lord God. 10 “You shall have (M)honest scales, an honest ephah, and an honest bath. 11 The ephah and the bath shall be of the same measure, so that the bath contains one-tenth of a homer, and the ephah one-tenth of a homer; their measure shall be according to the homer. 12 The (N)shekel shall be twenty gerahs; twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, and fifteen shekels shall be your mina.

13 “This is the offering which you shall offer: you shall give one-sixth of an ephah from a homer of wheat, and one-sixth of an ephah from a homer of barley. 14 The ordinance concerning oil, the bath of oil, is one-tenth of a bath from a kor. A kor is a homer or ten baths, for ten baths are a homer. 15 And one lamb shall be given from a flock of two hundred, from the rich pastures of Israel. These shall be for grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings, (O)to make atonement for them,” says the Lord God. 16 “All the people of the land shall give this offering for the prince in Israel. 17 Then it shall be the (P)prince’s part to give burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings, at the feasts, the New Moons, the Sabbaths, and at all the appointed seasons of the house of Israel. He shall prepare the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings to make atonement for the house of Israel.”

Keeping the Feasts(Q)

18 ‘Thus says the Lord God: “In the first month, on the first day of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish and (R)cleanse the sanctuary. 19 (S)The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the [c]temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the gateposts of the gate of the inner court. 20 And so you shall do on the seventh day of the month (T)for everyone who has sinned unintentionally or in ignorance. Thus you shall make atonement for the temple.

21 (U)“In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall observe the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. 22 And on that day the prince shall prepare for himself and for all the people of the land (V)a bull for a sin offering. 23 On the (W)seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the Lord, seven bulls and seven rams without blemish, daily for seven days, (X)and a kid of the goats daily for a sin offering. 24 (Y)And he shall prepare a grain offering of one ephah for each bull and one ephah for each ram, together with a hin of oil for each ephah.

25 “In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, at the (Z)feast, he shall do likewise for seven days, according to the sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the oil.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 45:5 Lit. house
  2. Ezekiel 45:5 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX a possession, cities of dwelling
  3. Ezekiel 45:19 Lit. house

Israel Fully Restored

45 “‘When you allot the land as an inheritance,(A) you are to present to the Lord a portion of the land as a sacred district, 25,000 cubits[a] long and 20,000[b] cubits[c] wide; the entire area will be holy.(B) Of this, a section 500 cubits[d] square(C) is to be for the sanctuary, with 50 cubits[e] around it for open land. In the sacred district, measure off a section 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits[f] wide. In it will be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. It will be the sacred portion of the land for the priests,(D) who minister in the sanctuary and who draw near to minister before the Lord. It will be a place for their houses as well as a holy place for the sanctuary.(E) An area 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide will belong to the Levites, who serve in the temple, as their possession for towns to live in.[g](F)

“‘You are to give the city as its property an area 5,000 cubits[h] wide and 25,000 cubits long, adjoining the sacred portion; it will belong to all Israel.(G)

“‘The prince will have the land bordering each side of the area formed by the sacred district and the property of the city. It will extend westward from the west side and eastward from the east side, running lengthwise from the western to the eastern border parallel to one of the tribal portions.(H) This land will be his possession in Israel. And my princes will no longer oppress my people but will allow the people of Israel to possess the land according to their tribes.(I)

“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You have gone far enough, princes of Israel! Give up your violence and oppression(J) and do what is just and right.(K) Stop dispossessing my people, declares the Sovereign Lord. 10 You are to use accurate scales,(L) an accurate ephah[i](M) and an accurate bath.[j] 11 The ephah(N) and the bath are to be the same size, the bath containing a tenth of a homer and the ephah a tenth of a homer; the homer is to be the standard measure for both. 12 The shekel[k] is to consist of twenty gerahs.(O) Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels equal one mina.[l]

13 “‘This is the special gift you are to offer: a sixth of an ephah[m] from each homer of wheat and a sixth of an ephah[n] from each homer of barley. 14 The prescribed portion of olive oil, measured by the bath, is a tenth of a bath[o] from each cor (which consists of ten baths or one homer, for ten baths are equivalent to a homer). 15 Also one sheep is to be taken from every flock of two hundred from the well-watered pastures of Israel. These will be used for the grain offerings, burnt offerings(P) and fellowship offerings to make atonement(Q) for the people, declares the Sovereign Lord. 16 All the people of the land will be required to give this special offering to the prince in Israel. 17 It will be the duty of the prince to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings and drink offerings at the festivals, the New Moons(R) and the Sabbaths(S)—at all the appointed festivals of Israel. He will provide the sin offerings,[p] grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to make atonement for the Israelites.(T)

18 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In the first month(U) on the first day you are to take a young bull without defect(V) and purify the sanctuary.(W) 19 The priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the upper ledge(X) of the altar(Y) and on the gateposts of the inner court. 20 You are to do the same on the seventh day of the month for anyone who sins unintentionally(Z) or through ignorance; so you are to make atonement for the temple.

21 “‘In the first month on the fourteenth day you are to observe the Passover,(AA) a festival lasting seven days, during which you shall eat bread made without yeast. 22 On that day the prince is to provide a bull as a sin offering for himself and for all the people of the land.(AB) 23 Every day during the seven days of the festival he is to provide seven bulls and seven rams(AC) without defect as a burnt offering to the Lord, and a male goat for a sin offering.(AD) 24 He is to provide as a grain offering(AE) an ephah for each bull and an ephah for each ram, along with a hin[q] of olive oil for each ephah.(AF)

25 “‘During the seven days of the festival,(AG) which begins in the seventh month on the fifteenth day, he is to make the same provision for sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings and oil.(AH)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 45:1 That is, about 8 miles or about 13 kilometers; also in verses 3, 5 and 6
  2. Ezekiel 45:1 Septuagint (see also verses 3 and 5 and 48:9); Hebrew 10,000
  3. Ezekiel 45:1 That is, about 6 1/2 miles or about 11 kilometers
  4. Ezekiel 45:2 That is, about 875 feet or about 265 meters
  5. Ezekiel 45:2 That is, about 88 feet or about 27 meters
  6. Ezekiel 45:3 That is, about 3 1/3 miles or about 5.3 kilometers; also in verse 5
  7. Ezekiel 45:5 Septuagint; Hebrew temple; they will have as their possession 20 rooms
  8. Ezekiel 45:6 That is, about 1 2/3 miles or about 2.7 kilometers
  9. Ezekiel 45:10 An ephah was a dry measure having the capacity of about 3/5 bushel or about 22 liters.
  10. Ezekiel 45:10 A bath was a liquid measure equaling about 6 gallons or about 22 liters.
  11. Ezekiel 45:12 A shekel weighed about 2/5 ounce or about 12 grams.
  12. Ezekiel 45:12 That is, 60 shekels; the common mina was 50 shekels. Sixty shekels were about 1 1/2 pounds or about 690 grams.
  13. Ezekiel 45:13 That is, probably about 6 pounds or about 2.7 kilograms
  14. Ezekiel 45:13 That is, probably about 5 pounds or about 2.3 kilograms
  15. Ezekiel 45:14 That is, about 2 1/2 quarts or about 2.2 liters
  16. Ezekiel 45:17 Or purification offerings; also in verses 19, 22, 23 and 25
  17. Ezekiel 45:24 That is, about 1 gallon or about 3.8 liters

The Manner of Worship

46 ‘Thus says the Lord God: “The gateway of the inner court that faces toward the east shall be shut the six (A)working days; but on the Sabbath it shall be opened, and on the day of the New Moon it shall be opened. (B)The prince shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway from the outside, and stand by the gatepost. The priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings. He shall worship at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be shut until evening. Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the entrance to this gateway before the Lord on the Sabbaths and the New Moons. The burnt offering that (C)the prince offers to the Lord on the (D)Sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish; (E)and the grain offering shall be one ephah for a ram, and the grain offering for the lambs, [a]as much as he wants to give, as well as a hin of oil with every ephah. On the day of the New Moon it shall be a young bull without blemish, six lambs, and a ram; they shall be without blemish. He shall prepare a grain offering of an ephah for a bull, an ephah for a ram, [b]as much as he wants to give for the lambs, and a hin of oil with every ephah. (F)When the prince enters, he shall go in by way of the vestibule of the gateway, and go out the same way.

“But when the people of the land (G)come before the Lord on the appointed feast days, whoever enters by way of the north (H)gate to worship shall go out by way of the south gate; and whoever enters by way of the south gate shall go out by way of the north gate. He shall not return by way of the gate through which he came, but shall go out through the opposite gate. 10 The prince shall then be in their midst. When they go in, he shall go in; and when they go out, he shall go out. 11 At the festivals and the appointed feast days (I)the grain offering shall be an ephah for a bull, an ephah for a ram, as much as he wants to give for the lambs, and a hin of oil with every ephah.

12 “Now when the prince makes a voluntary burnt offering or voluntary peace offering to the Lord, the gate that faces toward the east (J)shall then be opened for him; and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings as he did on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he goes out the gate shall be shut.

13 (K)“You shall daily make a burnt offering to the Lord of a lamb of the first year without blemish; you shall prepare it [c]every morning. 14 And you shall prepare a grain offering with it every morning, a sixth of an ephah, and a third of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour. This grain offering is a perpetual ordinance, to be made regularly to the Lord. 15 Thus they shall prepare the lamb, the grain offering, and the oil, as a (L)regular burnt offering every morning.”

The Prince and Inheritance Laws

16 ‘Thus says the Lord God: “If the prince gives a gift of some of his inheritance to any of his sons, it shall belong to his sons; it is their possession by inheritance. 17 But if he gives a gift of some of his inheritance to one of his servants, it shall be his until (M)the year of liberty, after which it shall return to the prince. But his inheritance shall belong to his sons; it shall become theirs. 18 Moreover (N)the prince shall not take any of the people’s inheritance by evicting them from their property; he shall provide an inheritance for his sons from his own property, so that none of My people may be scattered from his property.” ’ ”

How the Offerings Were Prepared

19 Now he brought me through the entrance, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy (O)chambers of the priests which face toward the north; and there a place was situated at their extreme western end. 20 And he said to me, “This is the place where the priests shall (P)boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, and where they shall (Q)bake the grain offering, so that they do not bring them out into the outer court (R)to sanctify the people.”

21 Then he brought me out into the outer court and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and in fact, in every corner of the court there was another court. 22 In the four corners of the court were enclosed courts, forty cubits long and thirty wide; all four corners were the same size. 23 There was a row of building stones all around in them, all around the four of them; and [d]cooking hearths were made under the rows of stones all around. 24 And he said to me, “These are the [e]kitchens where the ministers of the [f]temple shall (S)boil the sacrifices of the people.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 46:5 Lit. the gift of his hand
  2. Ezekiel 46:7 Lit. as much as his hand can reach
  3. Ezekiel 46:13 Lit. morning by morning
  4. Ezekiel 46:23 Lit. boiling places
  5. Ezekiel 46:24 Lit. house of those who boil
  6. Ezekiel 46:24 Lit. house

46 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The gate of the inner court(A) facing east(B) is to be shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day and on the day of the New Moon(C) it is to be opened. The prince is to enter from the outside through the portico(D) of the gateway and stand by the gatepost. The priests are to sacrifice his burnt offering(E) and his fellowship offerings. He is to bow down in worship at the threshold of the gateway and then go out, but the gate will not be shut until evening.(F) On the Sabbaths(G) and New Moons the people of the land are to worship in the presence of the Lord at the entrance of that gateway.(H) The burnt offering the prince brings to the Lord on the Sabbath day is to be six male lambs and a ram, all without defect. The grain offering given with the ram is to be an ephah,[a] and the grain offering with the lambs is to be as much as he pleases, along with a hin[b] of olive oil for each ephah.(I) On the day of the New Moon(J) he is to offer a young bull, six lambs and a ram, all without defect.(K) He is to provide as a grain offering one ephah with the bull, one ephah with the ram, and with the lambs as much as he wants to give, along with a hin of oil for each ephah.(L) When the prince enters, he is to go in through the portico(M) of the gateway, and he is to come out the same way.(N)

“‘When the people of the land come before the Lord at the appointed festivals,(O) whoever enters by the north gate to worship is to go out the south gate; and whoever enters by the south gate is to go out the north gate. No one is to return through the gate by which they entered, but each is to go out the opposite gate. 10 The prince is to be among them, going in when they go in and going out when they go out.(P) 11 At the feasts and the appointed festivals, the grain offering is to be an ephah with a bull, an ephah with a ram, and with the lambs as much as he pleases, along with a hin of oil for each ephah.(Q)

12 “‘When the prince provides(R) a freewill offering(S) to the Lord—whether a burnt offering or fellowship offerings—the gate facing east is to be opened for him. He shall offer his burnt offering or his fellowship offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he has gone out, the gate will be shut.(T)

13 “‘Every day you are to provide a year-old lamb without defect for a burnt offering to the Lord; morning by morning(U) you shall provide it.(V) 14 You are also to provide with it morning by morning a grain offering, consisting of a sixth of an ephah[c] with a third of a hin[d] of oil(W) to moisten the flour. The presenting of this grain offering to the Lord is a lasting ordinance.(X) 15 So the lamb and the grain offering and the oil shall be provided morning by morning for a regular(Y) burnt offering.(Z)

16 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: If the prince makes a gift from his inheritance to one of his sons, it will also belong to his descendants; it is to be their property by inheritance.(AA) 17 If, however, he makes a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, the servant may keep it until the year of freedom;(AB) then it will revert to the prince. His inheritance belongs to his sons only; it is theirs. 18 The prince must not take(AC) any of the inheritance(AD) of the people, driving them off their property. He is to give his sons their inheritance out of his own property, so that not one of my people will be separated from their property.’”

19 Then the man brought me through the entrance(AE) at the side of the gate to the sacred rooms facing north,(AF) which belonged to the priests, and showed me a place at the western end. 20 He said to me, “This is the place where the priests are to cook the guilt offering and the sin offering[e] and bake the grain offering, to avoid bringing them into the outer court and consecrating(AG) the people.”(AH)

21 He then brought me to the outer court and led me around to its four corners, and I saw in each corner another court. 22 In the four corners of the outer court were enclosed[f] courts, forty cubits long and thirty cubits wide;[g] each of the courts in the four corners was the same size. 23 Around the inside of each of the four courts was a ledge of stone, with places for fire built all around under the ledge. 24 He said to me, “These are the kitchens where those who minister at the temple are to cook the sacrifices of the people.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 46:5 That is, probably about 35 pounds or about 16 kilograms; also in verses 7 and 11
  2. Ezekiel 46:5 That is, about 1 gallon or about 3.8 liters; also in verses 7 and 11
  3. Ezekiel 46:14 That is, probably about 6 pounds or about 2.7 kilograms
  4. Ezekiel 46:14 That is, about 1 1/2 quarts or about 1.3 liters
  5. Ezekiel 46:20 Or purification offering
  6. Ezekiel 46:22 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  7. Ezekiel 46:22 That is, about 70 feet long and 53 feet wide or about 21 meters long and 16 meters wide