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.* ²The 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. ³The man walked east with a tape measure in his hand. He measured 1,000 cubits.* Then he told me to walk through the water at that place. The water was only ankle deep. ⁴The man measured another 1,000 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 1,000 cubits and told me to walk through the water at that place. There, the water was waist deep. ⁵The man measured another 1,000 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. ⁶Then the man said to me, “Son of Man,* did you pay close attention to the things you saw?” Then the man led me back along the side of the river. ⁷As I walked back along the side of the river, I saw very many trees on both sides of the water. ⁸The man said to me, “This water flows east, down to the Arabah Valley. ⁹This water flows into the Dead Sea so 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. ¹⁰You 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. ¹¹But the swamps and small areas of wet land will not become fresh. They will be left for salt. ¹²All 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. Why? 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 Family Groups

¹³The Lord my Master says these things, “These are the borders for dividing the land among the twelve family groups of Israel. Joseph will have two parts. ¹⁴You will divide the land equally. I promised to give this land to your ancestors.* So I am giving this land to you. ¹⁵“Here are the borders of the land: On the north side, it goes from the Mediterranean Sea by the way of Hethlon where the road turns toward Hamath, and on to Zedad, ¹⁶Berothah, Sibraim (which is on the border between Damascus and Hamath) and Hazer Hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran. ¹⁷So 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 family groups of Israel. ²²You 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 family groups of Israel. ²³The family group where that resident lives must give him some land.” The Lord my Master said these things!

altar(s) A stone table or raised area used for offering sacrifices. 1,000 cubits 1/3 mile or .525km. Son of Man This was usually just a way of saying “a person,” or “a human being.” But here this is a title for the man, Ezekiel. ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents, grandparents, and all the people they are descended from.

The Land for the Family Groups of Israel

48 ^1–7“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 family groups in this group will go from the east of these borders to the west. From north to south, the family groups in this area are: Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben, 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* long from north to south. And from east to west, it will be as wide as the land that belongs to the other family groups. The temple will be in the middle of this section of land. ⁹You will dedicate this land to the Lord. It will be 25,000 cubits long and 20,000 cubits* wide. ¹⁰This special area of land will be divided among the priest 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* 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. ¹¹This land is for Zadok’s descendants. These men were chosen to be my holy priests. Why? 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 family group of Levi. ¹²This special 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. ¹⁴The Levites will not sell or trade any of this land. They will not be able to sell any of this land. They must not cut up this part of the country! Why? 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 5,000 cubits* 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. ¹⁶These are the city’s measurements: The north side will be 4,500 cubits.* The south side will be 4,500 cubits. The east side will be 4,500 cubits. The west side will be 4,500 cubits. ¹⁷The city will have grasslands. These grasslands will be 250 cubits* on the north and 250 cubits on the south. They will be 250 cubits on the east and 250 cubits on the west. ¹⁸What 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. ¹⁹The city workers will till this land. The workers will be from all the family groups of Israel. 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 and 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 family groups that lived east of the Jordan River. Each family group will get a section of land that goes from the eastern border to the Mediterranean Sea. From north to south, these family groups are: Benjamin, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun, and Gad. ²⁸“The south border of Gad’s land will go from Tamar to the Oasis of Meribah-kadesh, then along the Brook of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. ²⁹And that is the land that you will divide among the family groups of Israel. That is what each group will get.” The Lord my Master said these things!

The Gates of the City

³⁰“These are the gates of the city. The gates will be named for the family groups of Israel. “The north side of the city will be 4,500 cubits* long. ³¹There will be three gates: Reuben’s Gate, Judah’s Gate, and Levi’s Gate. ³²“The east side of the city will be 4,500 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 4,500 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 4,500 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.* From now on, the name of the city will be: THE LORD IS THERE.*

25,000 cubits 8.12 miles or 13.125km. 20,000 cubits 6.52 miles or 10.5 km. Most Greek copies have 25,000 cubits and Hebrew has 10,000 cubits. But see Ez.45:1. 10,000 cubits 3.26 miles or 5.25km. 5,000 cubits 1.63 miles or 2.625km. 4,500 cubits 1.47 miles or 2.36km. 250 cubits 430’7 1/2” or 131.25m. 4,500 cubits 1.47 miles or 2.36km. 18,000 cubits 5.87 miles or 9.45km. THE LORD IS THERE In Hebrew this name sounds like Jerusalem.