Ezekiel 48
New Living Translation
Division of the Land
48 “Here is the list of the tribes of Israel and the territory each is to receive. The territory of Dan is in the extreme north. Its boundary line follows the Hethlon road to Lebo-hamath and then runs on to Hazar-enan on the border of Damascus, with Hamath to the north. Dan’s territory extends all the way across the land of Israel from east to west.
2 “Asher’s territory lies south of Dan’s and also extends from east to west. 3 Naphtali’s land lies south of Asher’s, also extending from east to west. 4 Then comes Manasseh south of Naphtali, and its territory also extends from east to west. 5 South of Manasseh is Ephraim, 6 and then Reuben, 7 and then Judah, all of whose boundaries extend from east to west.
8 “South of Judah is the land set aside for a special purpose. It will be 8 1⁄3 miles[a] wide and will extend as far east and west as the tribal territories, with the Temple at the center.
9 “The area set aside for the Lord’s Temple will be 8 1⁄3 miles long and 6 2⁄3 miles wide.[b] 10 For the priests there will be a strip of land measuring 8 1⁄3 miles long by 3 1⁄3 miles wide,[c] with the Lord’s Temple at the center. 11 This area is set aside for the ordained priests, the descendants of Zadok who served me faithfully and did not go astray with the people of Israel and the rest of the Levites. 12 It will be their special portion when the land is distributed, the most sacred land of all. Next to the priests’ territory will lie the land where the other Levites will live.
13 “The land allotted to the Levites will be the same size and shape as that belonging to the priests—8 1⁄3 miles long and 3 1⁄3 miles wide. Together these portions of land will measure 8 1⁄3 miles long by 6 2⁄3 miles wide.[d] 14 None of this special land may ever be sold or traded or used by others, for it belongs to the Lord; it is set apart as holy.
15 “An additional strip of land 8 1⁄3 miles long by 1 2⁄3 miles wide,[e] south of the sacred Temple area, will be allotted for public use—homes, pasturelands, and common lands, with a city at the center. 16 The city will measure 1 1⁄2 miles[f] on each side—north, south, east, and west. 17 Open lands will surround the city for 150 yards[g] in every direction. 18 Outside the city there will be a farming area that stretches 3 1⁄3 miles to the east and 3 1⁄3 miles to the west[h] along the border of the sacred area. This farmland will produce food for the people working in the city. 19 Those who come from the various tribes to work in the city may farm it. 20 This entire area—including the sacred lands and the city—is a square that measures 8 1⁄3 miles[i] on each side.
21 “The areas that remain, to the east and to the west of the sacred lands and the city, will belong to the prince. Each of these areas will be 8 1⁄3 miles wide, extending in opposite directions to the eastern and western borders of Israel, with the sacred lands and the sanctuary of the Temple in the center. 22 So the prince’s land will include everything between the territories allotted to Judah and Benjamin, except for the areas set aside for the sacred lands and the city.
23 “These are the territories allotted to the rest of the tribes. Benjamin’s territory lies just south of the prince’s lands, and it extends across the entire land of Israel from east to west. 24 South of Benjamin’s territory lies that of Simeon, also extending across the land from east to west. 25 Next is the territory of Issachar with the same eastern and western boundaries.
26 “Then comes the territory of Zebulun, which also extends across the land from east to west. 27 The territory of Gad is just south of Zebulun with the same borders to the east and west. 28 The southern border of Gad runs from Tamar to the waters of Meribah at Kadesh[j] and then follows the Brook of Egypt to the Mediterranean.[k]
29 “These are the allotments that will be set aside for each tribe’s exclusive possession. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!
The Gates of the City
30 “These will be the exits to the city: On the north wall, which is 1 1⁄2 miles long, 31 there will be three gates, each one named after a tribe of Israel. The first will be named for Reuben, the second for Judah, and the third for Levi. 32 On the east wall, also 1 1⁄2 miles long, the gates will be named for Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan. 33 The south wall, also 1 1⁄2 miles long, will have gates named for Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun. 34 And on the west wall, also 1 1⁄2 miles long, the gates will be named for Gad, Asher, and Naphtali.
35 “The distance around the entire city will be 6 miles.[l] And from that day the name of the city will be ‘The Lord Is There.’[m]”
Footnotes
- 48:8 Hebrew 25,000 [cubits] [13.3 kilometers].
- 48:9 As in one Greek manuscript and the Greek reading in 45:1: 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. Similarly in 48:13b. Compare 45:1-5; 48:10-13.
- 48:10 Hebrew 25,000 [cubits] [13.3 kilometers] long by 10,000 [cubits] [5.3 kilometers] wide; also in 48:13a.
- 48:13 See note on 48:9.
- 48:15 Hebrew 25,000 [cubits] [13.3 kilometers] long by 5,000 [cubits] [2.65 kilometers] wide.
- 48:16 Hebrew 4,500 [cubits] [2.4 kilometers]; also in 48:30, 32, 33, 34.
- 48:17 Hebrew 250 [cubits] [133 meters].
- 48:18 Hebrew 10,000 [cubits] [5.3 kilometers] to the east and 10,000 [cubits] to the west.
- 48:20 Hebrew 25,000 [cubits] [13.3 kilometers]; also in 48:21.
- 48:28a Hebrew waters of Meribath-kadesh.
- 48:28b Hebrew the Great Sea.
- 48:35a Hebrew 18,000 [cubits] [9.6 kilometers].
- 48:35b Hebrew Yahweh Shammah.
Ezekiel 48
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Tribal Portions
48 These are the names of the tribes: Beginning at the northern border, on the Hethlon road,[a] to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enon (which is on the border of Damascus, with Hamath to the north), and[b] extending from the east side to the west,[c] Dan, one portion.(A) 2 Adjoining the territory of Dan, from the east side to the west, Asher, one portion.(B) 3 Adjoining the territory of Asher, from the east side to the west, Naphtali, one portion. 4 Adjoining the territory of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, Manasseh, one portion.(C) 5 Adjoining the territory of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, Ephraim, one portion.(D) 6 Adjoining the territory of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, Reuben, one portion.(E) 7 Adjoining the territory of Reuben, from the east side to the west, Judah, one portion.(F)
8 Adjoining the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be the portion that you shall set apart, twenty-five thousand cubits in width, and in length equal to one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west, with the sanctuary in the middle of it.(G) 9 The portion that you shall set apart for the Lord shall be twenty-five thousand cubits in length and twenty[d] thousand in width. 10 These shall be the allotments of the holy portion: the priests shall have an allotment measuring twenty-five thousand cubits on the northern side, ten thousand cubits in width on the western side, ten thousand in width on the eastern side, and twenty-five thousand in length on the southern side, with the sanctuary of the Lord in the middle of it.(H) 11 As for the consecrated priests, the descendants[e] of Zadok who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, as the Levites did,(I) 12 they shall have a special portion from the holy portion of the land, a most holy place, adjoining the territory of the Levites.(J) 13 Alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an allotment twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width. The whole length shall be twenty-five thousand cubits and the width twenty[f] thousand.(K) 14 They shall not sell or exchange any of it; they shall not transfer this choice portion of the land, for it is holy to the Lord.(L)
15 The remainder, five thousand cubits in width and twenty-five thousand in length, shall be for ordinary use for the city, for dwellings and for pasturelands. In the middle of it shall be the city,(M) 16 and these shall be its dimensions: the north side four thousand five hundred cubits, the south side four thousand five hundred, the east side four thousand five hundred, and the west side four thousand five hundred.(N) 17 The city shall have pasturelands: on the north two hundred fifty cubits, on the south two hundred fifty, on the east two hundred fifty, on the west two hundred fifty.(O) 18 The remainder of the length alongside the holy portion shall be ten thousand cubits to the east and ten thousand to the west, and it shall be alongside the holy portion. Its produce shall be food for the workers of the city.(P) 19 The workers of the city, from all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it.(Q) 20 The whole portion that you shall set apart shall be twenty-five thousand cubits square, that is, the holy portion together with the property of the city.(R)
21 What remains on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city shall belong to the prince. Extending from the twenty-five thousand cubits of the holy portion to the east border and westward from the twenty-five thousand cubits to the west border, parallel to the tribal portions, it shall belong to the prince. The holy portion with the sanctuary of the temple in the middle of it,(S) 22 and the property of the Levites and of the city, shall be in the middle of that which belongs to the prince. The portion of the prince shall lie between the territory of Judah and the territory of Benjamin.
23 As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west, Benjamin, one portion.(T) 24 Adjoining the territory of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, Simeon, one portion.(U) 25 Adjoining the territory of Simeon, from the east side to the west, Issachar, one portion.(V) 26 Adjoining the territory of Issachar, from the east side to the west, Zebulun, one portion.(W) 27 Adjoining the territory of Zebulun, from the east side to the west, Gad, one portion.(X) 28 And adjoining the territory of Gad to the south, the boundary shall run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, from there along the Wadi of Egypt[g] to the Great Sea.(Y) 29 This is the land that you shall allot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, says the Lord God.(Z)
30 These shall be the exits of the city: On the north side, which is to be four thousand five hundred cubits by measure,(AA) 31 three gates: the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi, the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel.(AB) 32 On the east side, which is to be four thousand five hundred cubits, three gates: the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan. 33 On the south side, which is to be four thousand five hundred cubits by measure, three gates: the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun. 34 On the west side, which is to be four thousand five hundred cubits, three gates:[h] the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali. 35 The circumference of the city shall be eighteen thousand cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The Lord Is There.(AC)
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.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.