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The Sacred Portion of the Land

45 ‘When you divide the land by lot as an inheritance,(A) set aside a donation to the Lord, a holy portion of the land,(B) 13.25 kilometres[a] long and 10.6 kilometres[b] wide. This entire region will be holy. In this area there will be a square section[c] for the sanctuary, 265 by 265 metres,[d](C) with 26.5 metres[e] of open space all round it. From this holy portion,[f] you will measure off an area 13.25 kilometres long and 5.3 kilometres[g] wide, in which the sanctuary, the most holy place,(D) will stand.[h] It will be a holy area of the land to be used by the priests who minister in the sanctuary, who approach to serve the Lord.(E) It will be a place for their houses, as well as a holy area for the sanctuary. There will be another area 13.25 kilometres long and 5.3 kilometres wide for the Levites who minister in the temple;(F) it will be their possession for towns to live in.[i]

‘As the property of the city, set aside an area 2.65 kilometres[j] wide and 13.25 kilometres long, adjacent to the holy donation of land.(G) It will be for the whole house of Israel. And the prince will have the area on each side of the holy donation of land and the city’s property, adjacent to the holy donation and the city’s property, stretching to the west on the west side and to the east on the east side.(H) Its length will correspond to one of the tribal portions from the western boundary to the eastern boundary. This will be his land as a possession in Israel. My princes will no longer oppress my people(I) but give the rest of the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.

‘This is what the Lord God says: You have gone too far,[k](J) princes of Israel! Put away violence and oppression and do what is just and right.(K) Put an end to your evictions of my people.’ This is the declaration of the Lord God. 10 ‘You are to have honest scales, an honest dry measure,[l] and an honest liquid measure.[m](L) 11 The dry measure[n] and the liquid measure[o] will be uniform, with the liquid measure containing twenty-two litres[p] and the dry measure holding twenty-two litres.[q] Their measurement will be a tenth of the standard larger capacity measure.[r] 12 The shekel[s] will weigh twenty gerahs.(M) Your mina will equal sixty shekels.

The People’s Contribution to the Sacrifices

13 ‘This is the contribution you are to offer: 3 litres[t] from 220 litres[u] of wheat and[v] 3 litres from 220 litres of barley. 14 The quota of oil in liquid measures[w] will be one per cent of every[x] cor. The cor equals ten liquid measures or one standard larger capacity measure,[y] since ten liquid measures equal one standard larger capacity measure. 15 And the quota from the flock is one animal out of every two hundred from the well-watered pastures of Israel. These are for the grain offerings, burnt offerings, and fellowship offerings, to make atonement for the people.’(N) This is the declaration of the Lord God. 16 ‘All the people of the land must take part in this contribution for the prince in Israel. 17 Then the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings for the festivals, New Moons, and Sabbaths – for all the appointed times of the house of Israel – will be the prince’s responsibility. He will provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and fellowship offerings to make atonement on behalf of the house of Israel.

18 ‘This is what the Lord God says: In the first month, on the first day of the month, you are to take a young, unblemished bull and purify the sanctuary. 19 The priest is to take some of the blood from the sin offering and apply it to the temple doorposts, the four corners of the altar’s ledge, and the doorposts of the gate of the inner court.(O) 20 You are to do the same thing on the seventh day of the month for everyone who sins unintentionally or through ignorance.(P) In this way you will make atonement for the temple.

21 ‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you are to celebrate the Passover, a festival of seven days during which unleavened bread will be eaten.(Q) 22 On that day the prince will provide a bull as a sin offering on behalf of himself and all the people of the land. 23 During the seven days of the festival, he will provide seven bulls and seven rams without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord on each of the seven days, along with a male goat each day for a sin offering. 24 He will also provide a grain offering of twenty-two litres[z] per bull and twenty-two litres per ram, along with four litres[aa] of oil for every twenty-two litres of grain. 25 At the festival that begins on the fifteenth day of the seventh month,[ab](R) he will provide the same things for seven days – the same sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, and oil.

Footnotes

  1. 45:1 Lit 25,000 cubits, also in vv. 3,5,6
  2. 45:1 LXX reads 20,000 cubits; MT reads 10,000 cubits
  3. 45:2 Lit square all around
  4. 45:2 Lit 500 by 500 cubits
  5. 45:2 Lit 50 cubits
  6. 45:3 Lit this measured portion
  7. 45:3 Lit 10,000 cubits, also in v. 5
  8. 45:3 Lit be
  9. 45:5 LXX; MT, Syr, Tg, Vg read possession – 20 chambers
  10. 45:6 Lit 5,000 cubits
  11. 45:9 Lit Enough of you
  12. 45:10 Lit an honest ephah
  13. 45:10 Lit and an honest bath
  14. 45:11 Lit The ephah
  15. 45:11 Lit the bath
  16. 45:11 Lit one-tenth of a homer
  17. 45:11 Lit one-tenth of a homer
  18. 45:11 Lit be based on the homer
  19. 45:12 A shekel is about two-fifths of an ounce of silver
  20. 45:13 Lit One-sixth of an ephah
  21. 45:13 Lit a homer
  22. 45:13 LXX, Vg; MT reads and you are to give
  23. 45:14 Lit oil, the bath, the oil
  24. 45:14 Lit be a tenth of the bath from the
  25. 45:14 Lit 10 baths, a homer
  26. 45:24 Lit an ephah
  27. 45:24 Lit a hin
  28. 45:25 = the Festival of Shelters

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

The Holy District

45 “When (A)you allot the land as an inheritance, (B)you shall set apart for the Lord a portion of the land as a holy district, 25,000 cubits[a] long and 20,000[b] cubits broad. It shall be holy throughout its whole extent. (C)Of this a square plot of 500 by 500 cubits shall be for the sanctuary, with fifty cubits for (D)an open space around it. And (E)from this measured district you shall measure off a section 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 broad, (F)in which shall be the sanctuary, (G)the Most Holy Place. (H)It shall be the holy portion of the land. It shall be for the priests, who minister in the sanctuary and approach the Lord to minister to him, and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. (I)Another section, 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits broad, shall be for the Levites who minister at the temple, as their possession for cities to live in.[c]

“Alongside the portion set apart as the holy district (J)you shall assign for the property of the city an area 5,000 cubits broad and 25,000 cubits long. (K)It shall belong to the whole house of Israel.

The Portion for the Prince

(L)“And to (M)the prince shall belong the land on both sides of the holy district and the property of the city, alongside the holy district and the property of the city, on the west and on the east, corresponding in length to one of the tribal portions, and extending from the western to the eastern boundary of the land. It is to be his property in Israel. And (N)my princes shall no more oppress my people, but (O)they shall let the house of Israel have the land according to their tribes.

“Thus says the Lord God: (P)Enough, O princes of Israel! Put away violence and oppression, and execute justice and righteousness. Cease (Q)your evictions of my people, declares the Lord God.

10 (R)“You shall have just balances, a just ephah, and a just bath.[d] 11 The ephah and the bath shall be (S)of the same measure, (T)the bath containing one tenth of a homer,[e] and the ephah one tenth of a homer; the homer shall be the standard measure. 12 (U)The shekel shall be twenty gerahs;[f] twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels shall be your mina.[g]

13 (V)“This is the offering that you shall make: one sixth of an ephah from each homer of wheat, and one sixth of an ephah from each homer of barley, 14 and as the fixed portion of oil, measured in baths, one tenth of a bath from each cor[h] (the cor, like the homer, contains (W)ten baths).[i] 15 And one sheep from every flock of two hundred, from the watering places of Israel for grain offering, burnt offering, and peace offerings, (X)to make atonement for them, declares the Lord God. 16 All the people of the land shall be obliged to give this offering to the prince in Israel. 17 (Y)It shall be the prince's duty to furnish the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings, at the feasts, the new moons, and the Sabbaths, all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel: he shall provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings, to make atonement on behalf of the house of Israel.

18 “Thus says the Lord God: In the first month, (Z)on the first day of the month, you shall take a bull from the herd without blemish, and (AA)purify the sanctuary. 19 (AB)The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it (AC)on the doorposts of the temple, the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and the posts of the gate of the inner court. 20 You shall do the same on the seventh day of the month for anyone who has sinned through error or ignorance; so you shall make atonement for the temple.

21 (AD)“In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall celebrate the Feast of the Passover, and for seven days unleavened bread shall be eaten. 22 On that day the prince (AE)shall provide for himself and all the people of the land a young bull for a sin offering. 23 And on (AF)the seven days of the festival he shall provide as a burnt offering to the Lord seven young bulls and seven rams without blemish, on each of the seven days; and (AG)a male goat daily for a sin offering. 24 And (AH)he shall provide as (AI)a grain offering an ephah for each bull, an ephah for each ram, and a hin[j] of oil to each ephah. 25 (AJ)In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month and for the seven days of the feast, (AK)he shall make the same provision for sin offerings, burnt offerings, and grain offerings, and for the oil.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 45:1 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters; a long cubit (see 40:5) was about 21 inches or 53 centimeters
  2. Ezekiel 45:1 Septuagint; Hebrew 10,000
  3. Ezekiel 45:5 Septuagint; Hebrew as their possession, twenty chambers
  4. Ezekiel 45:10 An ephah was about 3/5 of a bushel or 22 liters; a bath was about 6 gallons or 22 liters
  5. Ezekiel 45:11 A homer was about 6 bushels or 220 liters
  6. Ezekiel 45:12 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams; a gerah was about 1/50 ounce or 0.6 gram
  7. Ezekiel 45:12 A mina was about 1 1/4 pounds or 0.6 kilogram
  8. Ezekiel 45:14 A cor was about 6 bushels or 220 liters
  9. Ezekiel 45:14 See Vulgate; Hebrew (ten baths are a homer, for ten baths are a homer)
  10. Ezekiel 45:24 A hin was about 4 quarts or 3.5 liters