The River From the Temple

47 The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I saw water^(A) coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar.^{(B) 2} He then brought me out through the north gate^(C) and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was trickling from the south side.

⁸ He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah,^[a](A) where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh.^{(B) 9} Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live.^(C)

¹² Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river.^(A) Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit^(B) fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary^(C) flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.^(D)”

⁹ For we are co-workers in God’s service;^(A) you are God’s field,^(B) God’s building.^(C)

¹⁰ By the grace God has given me,^(D) I laid a foundation^(E) as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. ¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.^(F)

¹⁶ Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple^(A) and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?^{(B) 17} If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

Jesus Clears the Temple Courts^(A)

¹³ When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover,^(B) Jesus went up to Jerusalem.^{(C) 14} In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves,^(D) and others sitting at tables exchanging money.^{(E) 15} So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶ To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house^(F) into a market!” ¹⁷ His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”^[a](G)

¹⁸ The Jews^(H) then responded to him, “What sign^(I) can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”^(J)

¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”^(K)

²⁰ They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” ²¹ But the temple he had spoken of was his body.^{(L) 22} After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said.^(M) Then they believed the scripture^(N) and the words that Jesus had spoken.