Add parallel Print Page Options

47 He brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, waters flowed out from under the threshold of the house eastward, for the front of the house faced toward the east. The waters came down from underneath, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar. Then he brought me out by the way of the gate northward, and led me around by the way outside to the outer gate, by the way of the gate that looks toward the east. Behold, waters ran out on the right side.

When the man went out eastward with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits,[a] and he caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the ankles. Again he measured one thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the knees. Again he measured one thousand, and caused me to pass through waters that were to the waist. Afterward he measured one thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass through; for the waters had risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be walked through.

He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen?”

Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the bank of the river. Now when I had returned, behold, on the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. Then he said to me, “These waters flow out toward the eastern region, and will go down into the Arabah. Then they will go toward the sea; and flow into the sea which will be made to flow out; and the waters will be healed. It will happen, that every living creature which swarms, in every place where the rivers come, will live. Then there will be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters have come there, and the waters of the sea will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river comes. 10 It will happen, that fishermen will stand by it. From En Gedi even to En Eglaim will be a place for the spreading of nets. Their fish will be after their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceedingly many. 11 But the miry places of it, and its marshes, will not be healed. They will be given up to salt. 12 By the river on its bank, on this side and on that side, will grow every tree for food, whose leaf won’t wither, neither will its fruit fail. It will produce new fruit every month, because its waters issue out of the sanctuary. Its fruit will be for food, and its leaf for healing.”

13 The Lord Yahweh says: “This shall be the border, by which you shall divide the land for inheritance according to the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions. 14 You shall inherit it, one as well as another; for I swore to give it to your fathers. This land will fall to you for inheritance.

15 “This shall be the border of the land:

“On the north side, from the great sea, by the way of Hethlon, to the entrance of Zedad; 16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazer Hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran. 17 The border from the sea, shall be Hazar Enon at the border of Damascus; and on the north northward is the border of Hamath. This is the north side.

18 “The east side, between Hauran and Damascus and Gilead, and the land of Israel, shall be the Jordan; from the north border to the east sea you shall measure. This is the east side.

19 “The south side southward shall be from Tamar as far as the waters of Meriboth Kadesh, to the brook, to the great sea. This is the south side southward.

20 “The west side shall be the great sea, from the south border as far as opposite the entrance of Hamath. This is the west side.

21 “So you shall divide this land to yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. 22 It will happen, that you shall divide it by lot for an inheritance to you and to the aliens who live among you, who will father children among you. Then they shall be to you as the native-born among the children of Israel. They shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. 23 It shall happen, that in whatever tribe the stranger lives, there you shall give him his inheritance,” says the Lord Yahweh.

Footnotes

  1. 47:3 A cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimeters.

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. 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.

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. 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. 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.

He asked me, “Have you been watching, son of man?” Then he led me back along the riverbank. When I returned, I was surprised by the sight of many trees growing on both sides of the river. 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. 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

  1. 47:3 Hebrew 1,000 cubits [530 meters]; also in 47:4, 5.
  2. 47:8 Hebrew the sea.
  3. 47:9 As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads of these two rivers flow.
  4. 47:10 Hebrew the Great Sea; also in 47:15, 17, 19, 20.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 47:18a Hebrew the eastern sea.
  8. 47:18b As in Greek version; Hebrew reads you will measure.
  9. 47:19 Hebrew waters of Meribath-kadesh.

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) 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.

As the man went eastward with a measuring line(D) in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits[a] and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river(E) that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross.(F) He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this?”

Then he led me back to the bank of the river. When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river.(G) He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah,[b](H) where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh.(I) 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.(J) 10 Fishermen(K) will stand along the shore; from En Gedi(L) to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets.(M) The fish will be of many kinds(N)—like the fish of the Mediterranean Sea.(O) 11 But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt.(P) 12 Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river.(Q) Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit(R) fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary(S) flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.(T)

The Boundaries of the Land

13 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “These are the boundaries(U) of the land that you will divide among the twelve tribes of Israel as their inheritance, with two portions for Joseph.(V) 14 You are to divide it equally among them. Because I swore with uplifted hand to give it to your ancestors, this land will become your inheritance.(W)

15 “This is to be the boundary of the land:(X)

“On the north side it will run from the Mediterranean Sea(Y) by the Hethlon road(Z) past Lebo Hamath to Zedad, 16 Berothah[c](AA) and Sibraim (which lies on the border between Damascus and Hamath),(AB) as far as Hazer Hattikon, which is on the border of Hauran. 17 The boundary will extend from the sea to Hazar Enan,[d] along the northern border of Damascus, with the border of Hamath to the north. This will be the northern boundary.(AC)

18 “On the east side the boundary will run between Hauran and Damascus, along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel, to the Dead Sea and as far as Tamar.[e] This will be the eastern boundary.(AD)

19 “On the south side it will run from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribah Kadesh,(AE) then along the Wadi of Egypt(AF) to the Mediterranean Sea.(AG) This will be the southern boundary.

20 “On the west side, the Mediterranean Sea will be the boundary to a point opposite Lebo Hamath.(AH) This will be the western boundary.(AI)

21 “You are to distribute this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. 22 You are to allot it as an inheritance(AJ) for yourselves and for the foreigners(AK) residing among you and who have children. You are to consider them as native-born Israelites; along with you they are to be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.(AL) 23 In whatever tribe a foreigner resides, there you are to give them their inheritance,” declares the Sovereign Lord.(AM)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 47:3 That is, about 1,700 feet or about 530 meters
  2. Ezekiel 47:8 Or the Jordan Valley
  3. Ezekiel 47:16 See Septuagint and 48:1; Hebrew road to go into Zedad, 16 Hamath, Berothah.
  4. Ezekiel 47:17 Hebrew Enon, a variant of Enan
  5. Ezekiel 47:18 See Syriac; Hebrew Israel. You will measure to the Dead Sea.