Water Flowing from the Temple

47 Then the man took me back to the door of the temple. I saw water flowing from under the entrance of the temple toward the east. (The temple faced east.) The water was flowing under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. ² Then he led me through the north gate and around to the outer east gate. The water was flowing down the south side of the gate.

³ With a measuring line in his hand, the man went eastward. He measured off 1,500 feet and led me through the water. The water came up to my ankles. ⁴ Then he measured off another 1,500 feet and led me through the water. The water came up to my knees. He measured off another 1,500 feet and led me through the water. The water came up to my waist. ⁵ Then he measured another 1,500 feet. But the water had risen so much that it became a river which I couldn’t cross. The river was too deep to cross except by swimming. ⁶ Then he asked me, “Son of man, do you see this?”

⁷ Then the man led me back along the bank of the river. As I went back, I saw many trees on both sides of the river. ⁸ Then the man said to me, “This water flows through the land to the east, down into the Jordan Valley, and into the Dead Sea. When the water flows into the Dead Sea, it will replace the salt water there with fresh water. ⁹ Wherever the river flows, there will be many fish and animals. The river will make the water in the Dead Sea fresh. Wherever the river flows, it will bring life. ¹⁰ From En Gedi to En Eglaim people will be standing on the shore of the sea with their fishing nets spread out. As many kinds of fish will be there as there are in the Mediterranean Sea. ¹¹ But the water in the swamps and marshes won’t become fresh. It will remain salty. ¹² All kinds of fruit trees will grow on both sides of the river. Their leaves won’t wither, and they won’t fail to produce fruit. Each month they will produce fresh fruit because this water flows from the holy place. The fruit will be good food, and the leaves will be used for healing.”

Dividing the Land for the Lord’s People

¹³ This is what the Almighty Lord says: These are the borders of the land that is to be divided among the 12 tribes of Israel. Joseph gets two parts. ¹⁴ Divide the land equally. I raised my hand and swore that I would give the land to your ancestors. So this land will be your inheritance.

²¹ Divide this land among yourselves for each of the tribes of Israel. ²² Divide it by drawing lots. This land will be for you. It will also be for the foreign residents who live among you and have given birth to children while they lived with you. Think of them as Israelites. They will draw lots with you for their inheritance among the tribes of Israel. ²³ Foreign residents will receive their share of the inheritance with the people of the tribe among whom they are living, declares the Almighty Lord.

¹⁹ You may ask me, “Why does God still find fault with anyone? Who can resist whatever God wants to do?”

²⁰ Who do you think you are to talk back to God like that? Can an object that was made say to its maker, “Why did you make me like this?” ²¹ A potter has the right to do whatever he wants with his clay. He can make something for a special occasion or something for everyday use from the same lump of clay.

²² If God wants to demonstrate his anger and reveal his power, he can do it. But can’t he be extremely patient with people who are objects of his anger because they are headed for destruction? ²³ Can’t God also reveal the riches of his glory to people who are objects of his mercy and who he had already prepared for glory? ²⁴ This is what God did for us whom he called—whether we are Jews or not.

God Chose People Who Are Not Jewish

²⁵ As God says in Hosea:

²⁷ Isaiah also says about Israel:

²⁹ This is what Isaiah predicted:

³⁰ So what can we say? We can say that non-Jewish people who were not trying to gain God’s approval won his approval, an approval based on faith. ³¹ The people of Israel tried to gain God’s approval by obeying the laws in Moses’ Teachings, but they did not reach their goal. ³² Why? They didn’t rely on faith to gain God’s approval, but they relied on their own efforts. They stumbled over the rock that trips people. ³³ As Scripture says,