The Lord’s Portion of the Land

45 “Moreover, when you divide the land by lot for inheritance, you shall [set apart and] offer an allotment (contribution) to the Lord, a holy portion of the land [to be used for sacred purposes]. The length shall be 25,000 cubits, and the width shall be 20,000 cubits. It shall be holy (set apart for sacred use) within its every area.^{(A) 2} Of this there shall be a square plot five hundred by five hundred cubits in perimeter for the holy place, and fifty cubits for the open space around it. ³ And in this area you shall measure off a portion 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 cubits in width. And in it shall be the sanctuary which is most holy. ⁴ It shall be the holy portion of the land; it shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who come near to minister to the Lord, and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. ⁵ And another portion of land 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide shall be for the Levites, the ministers of the temple (house), and they shall possess it as a place in which to live.

⁶ “You shall give the city possession of an area 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, alongside the portion set aside as a holy section. It shall belong to the whole house of Israel.

Portion for the Prince

⁷ “The prince shall have land on either side of the portion set aside as a holy section and the property of the city, adjacent to the holy section and the property of the city, on the west side toward the west and on the east side toward the east, and in length comparable to one of the portions, from the west border to the east border. ⁸ This shall be his land for a possession in Israel; so My princes shall no longer oppress My people, but they shall give the rest of the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.”

⁹ ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Enough, O princes of Israel! Put away violence and destruction, and practice justice and righteousness. Stop your ^[a]forceful seizure of property from My people,” says the Lord God.

¹⁰ “You shall have just balances and weights [on your scales and just measures], a just ephah [dry volume measure] and a just bath [liquid measure]. ¹¹ The ephah and the bath [measures] shall be the same quantity, the bath containing one tenth of a homer and the ephah one tenth of a homer; their standard [measure] shall be according to the homer. ¹² The shekel shall be twenty gerahs; twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, and fifteen shekels [added together, a total of sixty] shall be your maneh (mina).

¹³ “This is the offering that you shall offer: a sixth of an ephah from a homer of wheat; a sixth of an ephah from a homer of barley; ¹⁴ and the prescribed portion of oil, (namely, the bath of oil), a tenth part of a bath [of oil] from each kor (which is ten baths or a homer, for ten baths make a homer); ¹⁵ and [you shall offer] one sheep out of every flock of two hundred from the watering places of Israel—for a grain offering, for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings to make atonement for [those who brought] them,” says the Lord God. ¹⁶ “All the people of the land shall give to this offering for the prince in Israel. ¹⁷ It shall be the prince’s responsibility to provide the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the drink offerings at the feasts, on the New Moons and on the Sabbaths, at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel. He shall prepare and provide the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering and the peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel.”

¹⁸ ‘Thus says the Lord God, “In the first month, on the first of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish and cleanse the sanctuary (from sin). ¹⁹ The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the door posts of the temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the posts of the gate of the inner courtyard. ²⁰ You shall do this on the seventh [day] of the month for everyone who goes astray [and sins through error or ignorance] and for him who is naive; so shall you make atonement for the temple (house).

²¹ “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. ²² On that day the prince shall provide for himself and for all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering. ²³ And for the seven days of the feast he shall provide as a burnt offering to the Lord seven bulls and seven rams without blemish on every day for the seven days, and a male goat daily for a sin offering. ²⁴ He shall provide as a grain offering [to be offered] with each bull an ephah [of grain], an ephah with each ram, and a hin of oil with each ephah [of grain]. ²⁵ In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month at the feast, he shall provide [offerings] like these for the seven days, as the sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the oil.”

The Prince’s Offerings

46 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “The gate of the inner courtyard that faces east shall be shut during the six working days, but it shall be opened on the Sabbath day and opened on the day of the New Moon. ² The prince shall enter by the porch (portico) of the gate from outside and stand by the post of the gate. The priests shall prepare and provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship ^[b]at the threshold of the gate and then go out; but the gate shall not be shut until evening. ³ The people of the land shall also worship at the entrance of that gate before the Lord on the Sabbaths and on the New Moons. ⁴ The burnt offering which the prince shall offer to the Lord on the Sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish. ⁵ The grain offering shall be an ephah with the ram, and the grain offering with the lambs as much as he is able to give, and a hin of oil with an ephah. ⁶ On the day of the New Moon he shall offer a young bull without blemish, also six lambs and a ram, without blemish. ⁷ And he shall provide a grain offering, an ephah with the bull and an ephah with the ram, and with the lambs as much as he is able, and a hin of oil with an ephah. ⁸ When the prince enters, he shall enter by way of the porch of the gate and go out by the same way. ⁹ But when the people of the land come before the Lord at the appointed feasts, he who enters by way of the north gate to worship shall go out by way of the south gate. And he who enters by way of the south gate shall go out by way of the north gate. No one shall return by way of the gate through which he entered, but shall go out straight ahead [through the opposite gate].^{(B) 10} When they go in, the prince shall go in among them; and when they go out, he shall go out.

¹¹ “At the feasts and the appointed festivals the grain offering shall be an ephah with a bull and an ephah with a ram, and with the lambs ^[c]as much as one is able to give, and a hin of oil with an ephah. ¹² When the prince provides a freewill offering, a burnt offering, or peace offerings voluntarily to the Lord, the gate that faces east shall be opened for him, and he shall provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he goes out the gate shall be shut.

¹³ “And you [priests] shall provide a lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord each day; morning by morning you shall provide it. ¹⁴ Also you shall provide a grain offering with it morning by morning, one-sixth of an ephah with one-third of a hin of oil to sprinkle on the finely-milled flour. This is a perpetual ordinance for a continual grain offering to the Lord. ¹⁵ Thus they shall provide the lamb, the grain offering and the oil every morning as a continual burnt offering.”

¹⁶ ‘Thus says the Lord God, “If the prince gives a gift to any of his sons from his inheritance, it shall belong to his sons [permanently]; it is their possession by inheritance. ¹⁷ But if he gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall be his until the year of liberty [the Year of Jubilee]; after that it shall be returned to the prince. His inheritance shall be only his sons’ [permanently]; it shall belong to them. ¹⁸ Moreover, the prince shall not take from the people’s inheritance by oppression and by evicting them from their property; he shall give his sons an inheritance from his own possession, so that My people will not be scattered, anyone from his possession.”’”

The Boiling Places

¹⁹ Then he [my guide] brought me through the entrance, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers for the priests, which faced the north; and behold, a place was there at their extreme westward end. ²⁰ He said to me, “This is the place where the priests shall boil (cook) the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the grain offering, so that they do not bring them out into the outer courtyard to transmit holiness to the people.”

²¹ Then he brought me out into the outer courtyard and led me across to the four corners of the courtyard; and behold, in every corner of the courtyard there was a small courtyard. ²² In the four corners of the courtyard there were enclosed courtyards, forty cubits long and thirty wide; these four in the corners were the same size. ²³ There was a row of masonry all around inside them, around [each of] the four courtyards, and it was made with cooking hearths under the rows all around. ²⁴ Then he said to me, “These are the ^[d]kitchens of the cooks, where the ministers (Levites) of the temple shall boil (cook) the sacrifices of the people.”

Water from the Temple

47 Then he [my guide] brought me back to the door of the house [the temple of the Lord]; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house (temple) toward the east, for the front of the temple was facing east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from 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 by the way of the gate that faces east. And behold, water was spurting out from the south side [of the gate].^(C)

³ When the man went out toward the east with a measuring line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he led me through the water, water that was ankle-deep. ⁴ Again he measured a thousand [cubits] and led me through the water, water that was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand [cubits] and led me through the water, water reaching the hips. ⁵ Again he measured a thousand [cubits]; and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen, enough water to swim in, a river that could not be crossed [by wading]. ⁶ And he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he brought me back to the bank of the river. ⁷ Now when I had returned, behold, on the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. ⁸ Then he said to me, “These waters go out toward the eastern region and go down into the Arabah (the Jordan Valley); then they go toward the sea, being made to flow into the sea, and the waters of the Dead Sea shall be healed and become fresh. ⁹ It will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes, will live. And there will be a very great number of fish, because these waters go there so that the waters of the sea are healed and become fresh; so everything will live wherever the river goes. ¹⁰ And it will come about that fishermen will stand beside it [at the banks of the Dead Sea]; from Engedi to Eneglaim there will be dry places to spread nets. Their fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great [Mediterranean] Sea. ¹¹ But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh [and wholesome for animal life]; they will [as the river subsides] be left encrusted with salt. ¹² By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They shall bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.”^(D)

Boundaries and Division of the Land

¹³ Thus says the Lord God, “This shall be the boundary by which you shall divide the land as an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel; Joseph shall have two portions. ¹⁴ You shall divide it as an inheritance, each one equally with the other. I lifted up My hand and swore to give it to your fathers, and this land shall fall to you as an inheritance.

¹⁵ “And this shall be the boundary of the land on the north side: from the Great [Mediterranean] Sea by way of Hethlon to the entrance of Zedad, ¹⁶ Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is 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 will extend from the [Mediterranean] Sea to Hazar-enan at the border of Damascus, and on the north, northward, is the border of Hamath. This is the north side.

¹⁸ “The east side, from between Hauran, Damascus, Gilead, and the land of Israel, shall be the Jordan; from the north border to the eastern sea you shall measure. This is the east side.

¹⁹ “The south side, southward, from Tamar [near the Dead Sea] shall extend as far as the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the Brook of Egypt and to the Great [Mediterranean] Sea. This is the south side toward the south.

²⁰ “The west side shall be the Great [Mediterranean] Sea, from the south border to a point opposite Lebo-hamath [north of Mount Hermon]. This is the west side.

²¹ “So you shall divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. ²² You shall divide it by lot as an inheritance among yourselves and among the foreigners who stay among you, who give birth to sons among you. They shall be to you as the native-born [in the country] among the children (descendants) of Israel; they shall be allotted an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. ²³ In whatever tribe the foreigner resides, there shall you give him his inheritance,” says the Lord God.

Division of the Land

48 “Now these are the names of the tribes: from the north end, beside the way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan, which is on the northern border of Damascus, beside Hamath, and running from the east to the west, Dan, one portion. ² Beside the border of Dan, from the east side to the west side, Asher, one portion. ³ Beside the border of Asher, from the east side to the west side, Naphtali, one portion. ⁴ Beside the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west side, Manasseh, one portion. ⁵ Beside the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west side, Ephraim, one portion. ⁶ Beside the border of Ephraim, from the east side to the west side, Reuben, one portion. ⁷ Beside the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west side, Judah, one portion.

⁸ “And beside the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side, shall be the allotment and contribution of land which you shall set apart and offer, 25,000 cubits in width, and in length like one of the [tribal] portions, from the east side to the west side; and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it. ⁹ The allotment [of land] that you shall set apart and offer to the Lord shall be 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in width.

Portion for the Priests

¹⁰ The holy allotment shall be for these, namely for the priests, toward the north 25,000 cubits in length, and toward the west 10,000 in width, and toward the east 10,000 in width, and toward the south 25,000 in length; and the sanctuary of the Lord shall be in the midst of it. ¹¹ It shall be for the priests who are sanctified of the sons of Zadok, who have kept My charge, and who did not go astray when the children (descendants) of Israel went astray as the [other] Levites did. ¹² And this [land offering] shall be an allotment to them from the allotment of the land, a most holy portion beside the border of the [other] Levites. ¹³ Alongside the border of the priests, the [other] Levites shall have 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in width. The whole length shall be 25,000 cubits and the width 10,000. ¹⁴ And they shall not sell any of it or exchange it, or allow this choice portion of land to pass to others; for it is holy to the Lord.

¹⁵ “The remaining [strip of] 5,000 cubits in width and 25,000 in length shall be for the city’s common (secular) use, for a place in which to live and for open country. The city shall be in the midst of it. ¹⁶ These shall be the measurements of it: the north side 4,500 cubits, the south side 4,500, the east side 4,500, and the west side 4,500.^{(E) 17} The city shall have open country: toward the north 250 cubits, and toward the south 250, toward the east 250, and toward the west 250. ¹⁸ The remainder of the length alongside the holy allotment shall be 10,000 cubits to the east and 10,000 to the west; and it shall be beside the holy allotment. The produce from it 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 allotment shall be 25,000 by 25,000 cubits; you shall set apart the holy allotment, a square, with the property of the city.

Portion for the Prince

²¹ “The remainder, on both sides of the holy allotment and of the property possessed by the city, shall belong to the prince. In front of the 25,000 cubits of the allotment toward the east border and westward in front of the 25,000 toward the west border, alongside the [tribal] portions, it shall be for the prince. The holy allotment with the sanctuary of the temple shall be in the midst of it. ²² Exclusive of the property of the Levites and of the property of the city, which are in the middle of that which belongs to the prince, everything between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin shall be for the prince.

Portion for Other Tribes

²³ “As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west side, Benjamin, one portion. ²⁴ Beside the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, Simeon, one portion. ²⁵ Beside the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, Issachar, one portion. ²⁶ Beside the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, Zebulun, one portion. ²⁷ Beside the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side, Gad, one portion. ²⁸ And beside the border of Gad, at the south side, southward, the border shall extend from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the Brook [of Egypt], to the Great [Mediterranean] Sea. ²⁹ This is the land which you shall divide by lot among the tribes of Israel as their inheritance, and these are their several portions,” says the Lord God.

The City Gates

³⁰ “These are the exits of the city: on the north side, [which is to extend] 4,500 cubits by measurement, ³¹ there shall also be gates of the city, named after the names of the tribes of Israel, three gates toward the north: one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi. ³² On the east side, 4,500 cubits, also three gates: one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan. ³³ On the south side, 4,500 cubits, by measurement, also three gates: one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun. ³⁴ On the west side, 4,500 cubits, three gates: one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali. ³⁵ The distance around the city shall be 18,000 (4 x 4,500) cubits; and the name of the city from that day [and ever after] shall be, ‘The Lord is There.’”^(F)