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) 8⅓ miles[a] long and 6⅔ miles[b] wide. This entire region will be holy. In this area there will be a square section[c] for the sanctuary, 875 by 875 feet,[d](C) with 87½ feet[e] of open space all around it. From this holy portion,[f] you will measure off an area 8⅓ miles long and 3⅓ miles[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 8⅓ miles long and 3⅓ miles 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 1⅔ miles[j] wide and 8⅓ miles 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 5½ gallons[p] and the dry measure holding half a bushel.[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: Three quarts[t] from six bushels[u] of wheat and[v] three quarts from six bushels of barley. 14 The quota of oil in liquid measures[w] will be one percent 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 half a bushel[z] per bull and half a bushel per ram, along with a gallon[aa] of oil for every half bushel. 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

Division of the Land

45 “When you divide the land among the tribes of Israel, you must set aside a section for the Lord as his holy portion. This piece of land will be 8 1⁄3 miles long and 6 2⁄3 miles wide.[a] The entire area will be holy. A section of this land, measuring 875 feet by 875 feet,[b] will be set aside for the Temple. An additional strip of land 87 1⁄2 feet[c] wide is to be left empty all around it. Within the larger sacred area, measure out a portion of land 8 1⁄3 miles long and 3 1⁄3 miles wide.[d] Within it the sanctuary of the Most Holy Place will be located. This area will be holy, set aside for the priests who minister to the Lord in the sanctuary. They will use it for their homes, and my Temple will be located within it. The strip of sacred land next to it, also 8 1⁄3 miles long and 3 1⁄3 miles wide, will be a living area for the Levites who work at the Temple. It will be their possession and a place for their towns.[e]

“Adjacent to the larger sacred area will be a section of land 8 1⁄3 miles long and 1 2⁄3 miles wide.[f] This will be set aside for a city where anyone in Israel can live.

“Two special sections of land will be set apart for the prince. One section will share a border with the east side of the sacred lands and city, and the second section will share a border on the west side. Then the far eastern and western borders of the prince’s lands will line up with the eastern and western boundaries of the tribal areas. These sections of land will be the prince’s allotment. Then my princes will no longer oppress and rob my people; they will assign the rest of the land to the people, giving an allotment to each tribe.

Rules for the Princes

“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Enough, you princes of Israel! Stop your violence and oppression and do what is just and right. Quit robbing and cheating my people out of their land. Stop expelling them from their homes, says the Sovereign Lord. 10 Use only honest weights and scales and honest measures, both dry and liquid.[g] 11 The homer[h] will be your standard unit for measuring volume. The ephah and the bath[i] will each measure one-tenth of a homer. 12 The standard unit for weight will be the silver shekel.[j] One shekel will consist of twenty gerahs, and sixty shekels will be equal to one mina.[k]

Special Offerings and Celebrations

13 “You must give this tax to the prince: one bushel of wheat or barley for every 60[l] you harvest, 14 one percent of your olive oil,[m] 15 and one sheep or goat for every 200 in your flocks in Israel. These will be the grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings that will make atonement for the people who bring them, says the Sovereign Lord. 16 All the people of Israel must join in bringing these offerings to the prince. 17 The prince will be required to provide offerings that are given at the religious festivals, the new moon celebrations, the Sabbath days, and all other similar occasions. He will provide the sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, liquid offerings, and peace offerings to purify the people of Israel, making them right with the Lord.[n]

18 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In early spring, on the first day of each new year,[o] sacrifice a young bull with no defects to purify the Temple. 19 The priest will take blood from this sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the Temple, the four corners of the upper ledge of the altar, and the gateposts at the entrance to the inner courtyard. 20 Do this also on the seventh day of the new year for anyone who has sinned through error or ignorance. In this way, you will purify[p] the Temple.

21 “On the fourteenth day of the first month,[q] you must celebrate the Passover. This festival will last for seven days. The bread you eat during that time must be made without yeast. 22 On the day of Passover the prince will provide a young bull as a sin offering for himself and the people of Israel. 23 On each of the seven days of the feast he will prepare a burnt offering to the Lord, consisting of seven young bulls and seven rams without defects. A male goat will also be given each day for a sin offering. 24 The prince will provide a basket of flour as a grain offering and a gallon of olive oil[r] with each young bull and ram.

25 “During the seven days of the Festival of Shelters, which occurs every year in early autumn,[s] the prince will provide these same sacrifices for the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the grain offering, along with the required olive oil.

Footnotes

  1. 45:1 As in Greek version, which reads 25,000 [cubits] [13.3 kilometers] long and 20,000 [cubits] [10.6 kilometers] wide; Hebrew reads 25,000 [cubits] long and 10,000 [cubits] [3 1⁄3 miles or 5.3 kilometers] wide. Compare 45:3, 5; 48:9.
  2. 45:2a Hebrew 500 [cubits] [265 meters] by 500 [cubits], a square.
  3. 45:2b Hebrew 50 cubits [26.5 meters].
  4. 45:3 Hebrew 25,000 [cubits] [13.3 kilometers] long and 10,000 [cubits] [5.3 kilometers] wide; also in 45:5.
  5. 45:5 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads They will have as their possession 20 rooms.
  6. 45:6 Hebrew 25,000 [cubits] [13.3 kilometers] long and 5,000 [cubits] [2.65 kilometers] wide.
  7. 45:10 Hebrew Use honest scales, an honest ephah, and an honest bath.
  8. 45:11a The homer measures about 50 gallons or 220 liters.
  9. 45:11b The ephah is a dry measure; the bath is a liquid measure.
  10. 45:12a The shekel weighs about 0.4 ounces or 11 grams.
  11. 45:12b Elsewhere the mina is equated to 50 shekels.
  12. 45:13 Hebrew 1⁄6 of an ephah from each homer of wheat and 1⁄6 of an ephah from each homer of barley.
  13. 45:14 Hebrew the portion of oil, measured by the bath, is 1⁄10 of a bath from each cor, which consists of 10 baths or 1 homer, for 10 baths are equivalent to a homer.
  14. 45:17 Or to make atonement for the people of Israel.
  15. 45:18 Hebrew On the first day of the first month, of the Hebrew calendar. This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in March or April.
  16. 45:20 Or will make atonement for.
  17. 45:21 This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in late March, April, or early May.
  18. 45:24 Hebrew an ephah [20 quarts or 22 liters] of flour . . . and a hin [3.8 liters] of olive oil.
  19. 45:25 Hebrew the festival which begins on the fifteenth day of the seventh month (see Lev 23:34). This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in late September, October, or early November.