Ezekiel 47
New American Standard Bible
Water from the Temple
47 Then he brought me back to the (A)door of the house; and behold, (B)water was flowing from under the threshold of the house toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar. 2 And he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around [a]on the outside to the outer gate, by the way facing east. And behold, water was spurting out from the south side.
3 When the man went out toward the east with a line in his hand, he measured a thousand [b]cubits, and he led me through the water, water reaching the ankles. 4 Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the knees. Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the [c]hips. 5 Again he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not [d]wade across, because the water had risen, enough water to swim in, a (C)river that could not be crossed by wading. 6 And he said to me, “Son of man, have you (D)seen this?” Then he brought me [e]back to the bank of the river. 7 Now when I had returned, behold, on the bank of the river there were very many (E)trees on the one side and on the other. 8 Then he said to me, “These waters go out toward the eastern region and go down into the (F)Arabah; then they go toward the [f]sea, being made to flow into the (G)sea, and the waters of the sea become [g]fresh. 9 And it will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the [h]river goes, will live. And there will be very many fish, for these waters go there and the others [i]become fresh; so (H)everything will live where the river goes. 10 And it will come about that (I)fishermen will stand beside it; from (J)Engedi to Eneglaim there will be a place for the (K)spreading of nets. Their fish will be according to their kinds, like the fish of the (L)Great Sea, (M)very many. 11 But its swamps and marshes will not become [j]fresh; they will be [k]left for (N)salt. 12 And (O)by the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of (P)trees for food. Their (Q)leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their (R)leaves for healing.”
Boundaries and Division of the Land
13 This is what the Lord [l]God says: “This shall be the (S)boundary by which you shall divide the land for an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel; Joseph shall have two (T)portions. 14 And you shall divide it for an inheritance, each one [m]equally with the other; for I [n](U)swore to give it to your forefathers, and this land shall fall to you [o]as an inheritance.
15 “And this shall be the boundary of the land: on the (V)north side, from the Great Sea by the way of Hethlon, to the entrance of [p](W)Zedad; 16 [q](X)Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of (Y)Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazer-hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran. 17 The boundary shall [r]extend from the sea to (Z)Hazar-enan at the border of Damascus, and on the north toward the north is the border of Hamath. This is the north side.
18 “The (AA)east side, from between Hauran, Damascus, (AB)Gilead, and the land of Israel, shall be the (AC)Jordan; from the north border to the eastern sea you shall measure. This is the east side.
19 “The (AD)south side toward the south shall extend from (AE)Tamar as far as the waters of (AF)Meribath-kadesh, to the (AG)brook of Egypt and to the (AH)Great Sea. This is the south side toward the south.
20 “And the (AI)west side shall be the Great Sea, from the south border to a point opposite [s](AJ)Lebo-hamath. This is the west side.
21 “So you shall divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. 22 You shall divide it by (AK)lot for an inheritance among yourselves and among the (AL)strangers who stay in your midst, who bring forth sons in your midst. And they shall be to you as the native-born among the sons of Israel; they shall be allotted an (AM)inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. 23 And in the tribe with which the stranger resides, there you shall give him his inheritance,” declares the Lord God.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 47:2 Lit by way of
- Ezekiel 47:3 Each of these cubits equals about 21 in. or 53 cm
- Ezekiel 47:4 Lit loins
- Ezekiel 47:5 Lit cross
- Ezekiel 47:6 Lit and caused me to return
- Ezekiel 47:8 I.e., Dead Sea
- Ezekiel 47:8 Lit healed
- Ezekiel 47:9 Lit two rivers
- Ezekiel 47:9 Lit are healed
- Ezekiel 47:11 Lit healed
- Ezekiel 47:11 Lit given
- Ezekiel 47:13 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
- Ezekiel 47:14 Lit like his brother
- Ezekiel 47:14 Lit lifted up My hand
- Ezekiel 47:14 Lit in
- Ezekiel 47:15 As in MT; LXX Hamath, Zedad; cf. 48:1
- Ezekiel 47:16 Or LXX Berothah
- Ezekiel 47:17 Lit be
- Ezekiel 47:20 Or the entrance of Hamath
Ezekiel 47
New Living Translation
The River of Healing
47 In my vision, the man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple. There I saw a stream flowing east from beneath the door of the Temple and passing to the right of the altar on its south side. 2 The man brought me outside the wall through the north gateway and led me around to the eastern entrance. There I could see the water flowing out through the south side of the east gateway.
3 Measuring as he went, he took me along the stream for 1,750 feet[a] and then led me across. The water was up to my ankles. 4 He measured off another 1,750 feet and led me across again. This time the water was up to my knees. After another 1,750 feet, it was up to my waist. 5 Then he measured another 1,750 feet, and the river was too deep to walk across. It was deep enough to swim in, but too deep to walk through.
6 He asked me, “Have you been watching, son of man?” Then he led me back along the riverbank. 7 When I returned, I was surprised by the sight of many trees growing on both sides of the river. 8 Then he said to me, “This river flows east through the desert into the valley of the Dead Sea.[b] The waters of this stream will make the salty waters of the Dead Sea fresh and pure. 9 There will be swarms of living things wherever the water of this river flows.[c] Fish will abound in the Dead Sea, for its waters will become fresh. Life will flourish wherever this water flows. 10 Fishermen will stand along the shores of the Dead Sea. All the way from En-gedi to En-eglaim, the shores will be covered with nets drying in the sun. Fish of every kind will fill the Dead Sea, just as they fill the Mediterranean.[d] 11 But the marshes and swamps will not be purified; they will still be salty. 12 Fruit trees of all kinds will grow along both sides of the river. The leaves of these trees will never turn brown and fall, and there will always be fruit on their branches. There will be a new crop every month, for they are watered by the river flowing from the Temple. The fruit will be for food and the leaves for healing.”
Boundaries for the Land
13 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Divide the land in this way for the twelve tribes of Israel: The descendants of Joseph will be given two shares of land.[e] 14 Otherwise each tribe will receive an equal share. I took a solemn oath and swore that I would give this land to your ancestors, and it will now come to you as your possession.
15 “These are the boundaries of the land: The northern border will run from the Mediterranean toward Hethlon, then on through Lebo-hamath to Zedad; 16 then it will run to Berothah and Sibraim,[f] which are on the border between Damascus and Hamath, and finally to Hazer-hatticon, on the border of Hauran. 17 So the northern border will run from the Mediterranean to Hazar-enan, on the border between Hamath to the north and Damascus to the south.
18 “The eastern border starts at a point between Hauran and Damascus and runs south along the Jordan River between Israel and Gilead, past the Dead Sea[g] and as far south as Tamar.[h] This will be the eastern border.
19 “The southern border will go west from Tamar to the waters of Meribah at Kadesh[i] and then follow the course of the Brook of Egypt to the Mediterranean. This will be the southern border.
20 “On the west side, the Mediterranean itself will be your border from the southern border to the point where the northern border begins, opposite Lebo-hamath.
21 “Divide the land within these boundaries among the tribes of Israel. 22 Distribute the land as an allotment for yourselves and for the foreigners who have joined you and are raising their families among you. They will be like native-born Israelites to you and will receive an allotment among the tribes. 23 These foreigners are to be given land within the territory of the tribe with whom they now live. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!
Footnotes
- 47:3 Hebrew 1,000 cubits [530 meters]; also in 47:4, 5.
- 47:8 Hebrew the sea.
- 47:9 As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads of these two rivers flow.
- 47:10 Hebrew the Great Sea; also in 47:15, 17, 19, 20.
- 47:13 It was important to retain twelve portions of land. Since Levi had no portion, the descendants of Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, received land as two tribes.
- 47:15-16 As in Greek version; Masoretic Text reads then on through Lebo to Zedad; 16 then it will run to Hamath, Berothah, and Sibraim.
- 47:18a Hebrew the eastern sea.
- 47:18b As in Greek version; Hebrew reads you will measure.
- 47:19 Hebrew waters of Meribath-kadesh.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
