Ezekiel 45-48

New American Standard Bible 1995

The Lord’s Portion of the Land

45 “And when you ^(A)divide by lot the land for inheritance, you shall offer ^[a]an ^(B)allotment to the Lord, a ^(C)holy portion of the land; the length shall be the length of 25,000 ^(D)cubits, and the width shall be ^[b]20,000. It shall be holy within all its boundary round about. ² Out of this there shall be for the holy place a square round about ^(E)five hundred by five hundred cubits, and fifty cubits for its ^[c](F)open space round about. ³ From this ^[d]area you shall measure a length of 25,000 cubits and a width of 10,000 cubits; and in it shall be the sanctuary, the most holy place. ⁴ It shall be the holy portion of the land; it shall be for the ^(G)priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who ^(H)come near to minister to the Lord, and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. ⁵ An area ^(I)25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in width shall be for the Levites, the ministers of the house, and for their possession ^[e]cities to dwell in.

⁶ “You shall give the ^(J)city possession of an area 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, alongside the ^[f]allotment of the holy portion; it shall be for the whole house of Israel.

Portion for the Prince

⁷ “The ^(K)prince shall have land on either side of the holy ^[g]allotment and the ^[h]property of the city, adjacent to the holy ^[i]allotment and the ^[j]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 ^(L)oppress My people, but they shall give the rest of the land to the house of Israel ^(M)according to their tribes.”

⁹ ‘Thus says the Lord ^[k]God, “^(N)Enough, you princes of Israel; put away ^(O)violence and destruction, and ^(P)practice justice and righteousness. Stop your ^(Q)expropriations from My people,” declares the Lord God.

¹⁰ “You shall have ^(R)just balances, a just ^(S)ephah and a just ^(T)bath. ¹¹ The ephah and the bath shall be ^[l]the same quantity, so that the bath will contain a tenth of a ^(U)homer and the ephah a tenth of a homer; ^[m]their standard shall be according to the homer. ¹² The ^(V)shekel shall be twenty ^(W)gerahs; twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, and fifteen shekels shall be your ^[n]maneh.

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 of a bath from each kor (which is ten baths or a homer, for ten baths are a homer); ¹⁵ and one sheep from each flock of two hundred from the watering places of Israel—for a ^(X)grain offering, for a burnt offering and for peace offerings, to ^(Y)make atonement for them,” declares the Lord God. ¹⁶ “^(Z)All the people of the land shall ^[o]give to this offering for the ^(AA)prince in Israel. ¹⁷ It shall be the ^(AB)prince’s part to provide the ^(AC)burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the drink offerings, at the ^(AD)feasts, on the ^(AE)new moons and on the sabbaths, at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel; he shall provide the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering and the ^(AF)peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel.”

¹⁸ ‘Thus says the Lord God, “In the ^(AG)first month, on the first of the month, you shall take a young bull ^(AH)without blemish and ^(AI)cleanse the sanctuary. ¹⁹ The priest shall take some of the blood from the sin offering and put it on the door posts of the house, on the ^(AJ)four corners of the ^(AK)ledge of the altar and on the posts of the gate of the inner court. ²⁰ Thus you shall do on the seventh day of the month for everyone who goes ^(AL)astray or is ^[p]naive; so you shall make ^(AM)atonement for the house.

²¹ “In the ^(AN)first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the ^(AO)Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. ²² On that day the prince shall provide for himself and all the people of the land a ^(AP)bull for a sin offering. ²³ During the ^(AQ)seven days of the feast he shall provide as a ^(AR)burnt offering to the Lord ^(AS)seven bulls and seven rams without blemish on every day of the seven days, and a male goat daily for a sin offering. ²⁴ He shall provide as a ^(AT)grain offering an ephah ^[q]with a bull, an ephah ^[r]with a ram and a hin of oil ^[s]with an ephah. ²⁵ In the ^(AU)seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, at the feast, he shall provide like this, seven days ^[t]for the sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering and the oil.”

The Prince’s Offerings

46 ‘Thus says the Lord ^[u]God, “The ^(AV)gate of the ^(AW)inner court facing east shall be ^(AX)shut the six ^(AY)working days; but it shall be opened on the ^(AZ)sabbath day and opened on the day of the ^(BA)new moon. ² The ^(BB)prince shall enter by way of the porch of the gate from outside and stand by the ^(BC)post of the gate. Then the priests shall provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate and then go out; but the gate shall not be ^(BD)shut until the evening. ³ The ^(BE)people of the land shall also worship at the doorway of that gate before the Lord on the sabbaths and on the ^(BF)new moons. ⁴ The ^(BG)burnt offering which the prince shall offer to the Lord on the sabbath day shall be ^(BH)six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish; ⁵ and the ^(BI)grain offering shall be an ephah ^[v]with the ram, and the grain offering ^[w]with the lambs ^[x]as much as he is ^(BJ)able to give, and a hin of oil ^[y]with an ephah. ⁶ On the day of the ^(BK)new moon he shall offer a young bull without blemish, also six lambs and a ram, which shall be without blemish. ⁷ And he shall provide a ^(BL)grain offering, an ephah ^[z]with the bull and an ephah ^[aa]with the ram, and ^[ab]with the lambs as ^[ac]much as he is ^(BM)able, and a hin of oil ^[ad]with an ephah. ⁸ When the ^(BN)prince enters, he shall go in by way of the porch of the gate and go out ^[ae]by the same way. ⁹ But when the people of the land come ^(BO)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. ^[af]No one shall return by way of the gate by which he entered but shall go straight out. ¹⁰ When they go in, the prince shall go in ^(BP)among them; and when they go out, ^[ag]he shall go out.

¹¹ “At the ^(BQ)festivals and the appointed feasts the ^(BR)grain offering shall be an ephah ^[ah]with a bull and an ephah ^[ai]with a ram, and ^[aj]with the lambs as ^[ak]much as one is able to give, and a hin of oil ^[al]with an ephah. ¹² When the prince provides a ^(BS)freewill offering, a burnt offering, or peace offerings as a freewill offering to the Lord, the gate facing east shall be ^(BT)opened for him. And he shall provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings as he does on the ^(BU)sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and the gate shall be shut after he goes out.

¹³ “And you shall provide a ^(BV)lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering to the Lord daily; ^(BW)morning by morning you shall provide it. ¹⁴ Also you shall provide a grain offering with it morning by morning, a ^(BX)sixth of an ephah and a third of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour, a grain offering to the Lord continually by a perpetual ^[am]ordinance. ¹⁵ Thus they shall provide the lamb, the grain offering and the oil, morning by morning, for a ^(BY)continual burnt offering.”

¹⁶ ‘Thus says the Lord God, “If the prince gives a ^(BZ)gift out 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 from his inheritance to one of his servants, it shall be his until the ^(CA)year of liberty; then it shall return to the prince. His inheritance shall be only his sons’; it shall belong to them. ¹⁸ The prince shall ^(CB)not take from the people’s inheritance, ^[an](CC)thrusting them out of their possession; he shall give his sons inheritance from his own possession so that My people will not be scattered, anyone from his possession.”’”

The Boiling Places

¹⁹ Then he brought me through the ^(CD)entrance, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers for the priests, which faced north; and behold, there was a place at the extreme rear toward the west. ²⁰ He said to me, “This is the place where the priests shall boil the ^(CE)guilt offering and the sin offering and where they shall ^(CF)bake the grain offering, in order that they may not bring them out into the outer court to transmit holiness to the people.”

²¹ Then he brought me out into the outer court and led me across to the four corners of the court; and behold, in every corner of the court there was a small court. ²² In the four corners of the court there were enclosed courts, forty cubits long and thirty wide; these four in the corners were ^[ao]the same size. ²³ There was a row of masonry round about in them, around the four of them, and boiling places were made under the rows round about. ²⁴ Then he said to me, “These are the boiling ^[ap]places where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifices of the people.”

Water from the Temple

47 Then he brought me back to the ^(CG)door of the house; and behold, ^(CH)water was flowing from under the threshold of the house toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar. ² He brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around ^[aq]on the outside to the outer gate by way of the gate that faces east. And behold, water was trickling from the south side.

³ When the man went out toward the east with a line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he led me through the water, water reaching the ankles. ⁴ Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the knees. Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the loins. ⁵ Again he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not ford, for the water had risen, enough water to swim in, a ^(CI)river that could not be forded. ⁶ He said to me, “Son of man, have you ^(CJ)seen this?” Then he brought me ^[ar]back to the bank of the river. ⁷ Now when I had returned, behold, on the bank of the river there were very many ^(CK)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 ^(CL)Arabah; then they go toward the sea, being made to flow into the ^(CM)sea, and the waters of the sea become ^[as]fresh. ⁹ It will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the ^[at]river goes, will live. And there will be very many fish, for these waters go there and the others ^[au]become fresh; so ^(CN)everything will live where the river goes. ¹⁰ And it will come about that ^(CO)fishermen will stand beside it; from ^(CP)Engedi to Eneglaim there will be a place for the ^(CQ)spreading of nets. Their fish will be according to their kinds, like the fish of the ^(CR)Great Sea, ^(CS)very many. ¹¹ But its swamps and marshes will not become ^[av]fresh; they will be ^[aw]left for ^(CT)salt. ^12 (CU)By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of ^(CV)trees for food. Their ^(CW)leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their ^(CX)leaves for healing.”

Boundaries and Division of the Land

¹³ Thus says the Lord ^[ax]God, “This shall be the ^(CY)boundary by which you shall divide the land for an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel; Joseph shall have two ^(CZ)portions. ¹⁴ You shall divide it for an inheritance, each one ^[ay]equally with the other; for I ^[az](DA)swore to give it to your forefathers, and this land shall fall to you ^[ba]as an inheritance.

¹⁵ “This shall be the boundary of the land: on the ^(DB)north side, from the Great Sea by the way of Hethlon, to the entrance of ^[bb](DC)Zedad; ^16 [bc](DD)Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of ^(DE)Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazer-hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran. ¹⁷ The boundary shall ^[bd]extend from the sea to ^(DF)Hazar-enan at the border of Damascus, and on the north toward the north is the border of Hamath. This is the north side.

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

¹⁹ “The ^(DJ)south side toward the south shall extend from ^(DK)Tamar as far as the waters of ^(DL)Meribath-kadesh, to the ^(DM)brook of Egypt and to the ^(DN)Great Sea. This is the south side toward the south.

²⁰ “The ^(DO)west side shall be the Great Sea, from the south border to a point opposite ^[be](DP)Lebo-hamath. 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 ^(DQ)lot for an inheritance among yourselves and among the ^(DR)aliens who stay in your midst, who bring forth sons in your midst. And they shall be to you as the native-born among the sons of Israel; they shall be allotted an ^(DS)inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. ²³ And in the tribe with which the alien stays, there you shall give him his inheritance,” declares the Lord God.

Division of the Land

48 “Now ^(DT)these are the names of the tribes: from the northern extremity, ^[bf]beside the way of Hethlon to ^[bg]Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan at the border of Damascus, toward the north ^[bh]beside Hamath, ^[bi]running from east to west, ^(DU)Dan, one portion. ² Beside the border of Dan, from the east side to the west side, ^(DV)Asher, one portion. ³ Beside the border of Asher, from the east side to the west side, ^(DW)Naphtali, one portion. ⁴ Beside the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west side, ^(DX)Manasseh, one portion. ⁵ Beside the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west side, ^(DY)Ephraim, one portion. ⁶ Beside the border of Ephraim, from the east side to the west side, ^(DZ)Reuben, one portion. ⁷ Beside the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west side, ^(EA)Judah, one portion.

⁸ “And beside the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side, shall be the ^[bj]allotment which you shall ^[bk]set apart, 25,000 ^[bl]cubits in width, and in length like one of the portions, from the east side to the west side; and the ^(EB)sanctuary shall be in the middle of it. ⁹ The allotment that you shall set apart 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 ^(EC)priests, toward the north 25,000 cubits in length, toward the west 10,000 in width, toward the east 10,000 in width, and toward the south 25,000 in length; and the sanctuary of the Lord shall be in its midst. ¹¹ It shall be for the priests who are sanctified of the ^(ED)sons of Zadok, who have kept My charge, who did not go astray when the sons of Israel went astray as the ^(EE)Levites went astray. ¹² It shall be an allotment to them from the allotment of the land, a most holy place, by the border of the Levites. ¹³ Alongside the border of the priests the 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 Moreover, they ^(EF)shall not sell or exchange any of it, or alienate this ^[bm]choice portion of land; for it is holy to the Lord.

¹⁵ “The remainder, 5,000 cubits in width and 25,000 ^[bn]in length, shall be for ^(EG)common use for the city, for dwellings and for ^[bo]open spaces; and the city shall be in its midst. ¹⁶ These shall be its measurements: the north side 4,500 cubits, the south side ^(EH)4,500 cubits, the east side 4,500 cubits, and the west side 4,500 cubits. ¹⁷ The city shall have ^[bp]open spaces: on the north 250 cubits, on the south 250 cubits, on the east 250 cubits, and on the west 250 cubits. ¹⁸ The remainder of the length alongside the holy allotment shall be 10,000 cubits toward the east and 10,000 toward the west; and it shall be ^[bq]alongside the holy allotment. And its produce shall be food for the workers of the city. ¹⁹ The workers of the city, out of all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it. ²⁰ The whole allotment shall be 25,000 by 25,000 cubits; you shall ^[br]set apart the holy allotment, a ^[bs]square, with the ^[bt]property of the city.

Portion for the Prince

²¹ “The ^(EI)remainder shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy allotment and of the ^[bu]property of the city; 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 portions, it shall be for the prince. And the holy allotment and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the middle of it. ²² Exclusive of the ^[bv]property of the Levites and the ^[bw]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, ^(EJ)Benjamin, one portion. ²⁴ Beside the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, ^(EK)Simeon, one portion. ²⁵ Beside the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, ^(EL)Issachar, one portion. ²⁶ Beside the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, ^(EM)Zebulun, one portion. ²⁷ Beside the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side, ^(EN)Gad, one portion. ²⁸ And beside the border of Gad, at the south side toward the south, the border shall be from ^(EO)Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the brook of Egypt, to the ^(EP)Great Sea. ²⁹ This is the ^(EQ)land which you shall divide by lot to the tribes of Israel for an inheritance, and these are their several portions,” declares the Lord ^[bx]God.

The City Gates

³⁰ “These are the exits of the city: on the ^(ER)north side, 4,500 cubits by measurement, ^31 [by]shall be the gates of the city, ^[bz](ES)named for the tribes of Israel, three gates toward the north: the gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; the gate of Levi, one. ³² On the east side, 4,500 cubits, ^[ca]shall be three gates: the gate of Joseph, one; the gate of Benjamin, one; the gate of Dan, one. ³³ On the south side, 4,500 cubits by measurement, ^[cb]shall be three gates: the gate of Simeon, one; the gate of Issachar, one; the gate of Zebulun, one. ³⁴ On the west side, 4,500 cubits, shall be three gates: the gate of Gad, one; the gate of Asher, one; the gate of Naphtali, one. ³⁵ The city shall be 18,000 cubits round about; and the ^(ET)name of the city from that day shall be, ‘^[cc]The ^(EU)Lord is there.’”