The Lords Portion of the Land

45 “Now when you (A)divide the land by lot for inheritance, you shall offer [a]an (B)allotment to the Lord, a (C)holy portion of the land; the length shall be a length of twenty-five thousand [b](D)cubits, and the width shall be [c]twenty thousand. It shall be holy within its entire surrounding boundary. Out of this there shall be for the sanctuary a square encompassing (E)five hundred by five hundred cubits, and fifty cubits for its [d](F)open space round about. From this [e]area you shall measure a length of twenty-five thousand cubits and a width of ten thousand cubits; and in it shall be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. 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 serve the Lord, and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. An area (I)twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width shall be for the Levites, the ministers of the house, and for their possession [f]cities in which to live.

“And you shall give the (J)city possession of an area five thousand cubits wide and twenty-five thousand cubits long, alongside the [g]allotment of the holy portion; it shall be for the entire house of Israel.

Portion for the Prince

“And the (K)prince shall have land on either side of the holy [h]allotment and the [i]property of the city, adjacent to the holy [j]allotment and the [k]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. This shall be his land as 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.”

‘This is what the Lord [l]God says: “(N)Enough, you princes of Israel; get rid of (O)violence and destruction, and (P)practice justice and righteousness. Revoke your (Q)evictions of My people,” declares the Lord God.

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

13 “This is the offering that you shall offer: a sixth of an ephah from each homer of wheat; a sixth of an ephah from each 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 [r]give to this offering for the (AA)prince in Israel. 17 And 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 ‘This is what the Lord God says: “In the (AG)first month, on the first of the month, you shall take a [s]bull (AH)without blemish and (AI)cleanse the sanctuary from sin. 19 And 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 courtyard. 20 And you shall do this on the seventh day of the month for everyone who does (AL)wrong inadvertently or is 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 as a sin offering. 23 And 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 as a sin offering. 24 And he shall provide as a (AT)grain offering an [t]ephah [u]with a bull, an [v]ephah [w]with a ram, and a [x]hin of oil [y]with an ephah. 25 In the (AU)seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, at the feast, he shall provide like these, seven days [z]for the sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the oil.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 45:1 Or a contribution
  2. Ezekiel 45:1 Each of these cubits equals about 21 in. or 53 cm
  3. Ezekiel 45:1 As in LXX; MT 10,000
  4. Ezekiel 45:2 Or pasture land
  5. Ezekiel 45:3 Lit measure
  6. Ezekiel 45:5 As in LXX; MT twenty chambers
  7. Ezekiel 45:6 Or contribution
  8. Ezekiel 45:7 Or contribution
  9. Ezekiel 45:7 Lit possession
  10. Ezekiel 45:7 Or contribution
  11. Ezekiel 45:7 Lit possession
  12. Ezekiel 45:9 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
  13. Ezekiel 45:10 I.e., a dry measure, about 1 cubic foot or 0.03 cubic meters
  14. Ezekiel 45:10 I.e., a liquid measure, about 6 gallons or 23 liters
  15. Ezekiel 45:11 Lit one
  16. Ezekiel 45:11 About 7.7 cubic feet or 0.22 cubic meters
  17. Ezekiel 45:11 Lit its measure
  18. Ezekiel 45:16 Lit be
  19. Ezekiel 45:18 Or young bull
  20. Ezekiel 45:24 About 1 cubic foot or 0.03 cubic meters
  21. Ezekiel 45:24 Lit for
  22. Ezekiel 45:24 About 1 cubic foot or 0.03 cubic meters
  23. Ezekiel 45:24 Lit for
  24. Ezekiel 45:24 About 1 gallon or 3.8 liters
  25. Ezekiel 45:24 Lit for
  26. Ezekiel 45:25 Lit according to

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.