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)
Ezekiel 48
Evangelical Heritage Version
The New Holy Land
The Northern Tribes
48 These are the names of the tribes.
The northern border runs east to west along the road between Hethlon, Lebo Hamath, and Hazar Enon, which forms the northern border of the territory of Damascus with the territory of Hamath.[a] South of that line there will be one portion for Dan.
2 South of[b] the boundary of Dan, from the east side to the west side of the land, there is to be one portion for Asher.
3 South of the boundary of Asher, from the east side to the west side, there is to be one portion for Naphtali.
4 South of the boundary of Naphtali, from the east side to the west side, there is to be one portion for Manasseh.
5 South of the boundary of Manasseh, from the east side to the west side, there is to be one portion for Ephraim.
6 South of the boundary of Ephraim, from the east side to the west side, there is to be one portion for Reuben.
7 South of the boundary of Reuben, from the east side to the west side, there is to be one portion for Judah.
The Central Holy Area
8 South of the boundary of Judah, from the east side to the west side, will be the special contribution you are to devote to special use. Its north-to-south width is twenty-five thousand cubits,[c] and its east-to-west length is equal to one of the tribal portions from the eastern side of the land to the western side.[d] The sanctuary will be in the midst of it.[e]
The Place for the Temple
9 The contribution you are to devote to the Lord is to be twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousand cubits wide.[f] 10 The holy contribution for the priests will be this: a rectangular area measuring twenty-five thousand cubits long on the north side, ten thousand cubits wide on the west, ten thousand cubits wide on the east, and twenty-five thousand cubits long on the south. The sanctuary of the Lord will be in the middle. 11 It will be for the priests, whoever has been consecrated from the sons of Zadok, who guarded the ministry for me, and who did not go astray when the other sons of Israel went astray, as also the Levites went astray. 12 It will be a special offering for them from the holy contribution of the land, a most holy district, beside the territory of the Levites.
The Place for the Levites
13 The Levites are to have a rectangular allotment parallel to the territory of the priests. Twenty-five thousand cubits is its length, and its width is ten thousand cubits. Its whole length is twenty-five thousand cubits, and its width is ten thousand cubits. 14 They must not sell any part of it nor exchange any of it. No one can transfer these firstfruits of the land, because they are holy, belonging to the Lord.
The City
15 The area five thousand cubits[g] wide that remains along the south edge of the square of twenty-five thousand cubits is common land for the city, for living space and for open land. The city is to be in its center, between the two halves. 16 These are the city’s dimensions: a square measuring four thousand five hundred cubits on the north side, and four thousand five hundred cubits on the south side, and four thousand five hundred cubits on the east side, and four thousand five hundred cubits on the west side. 17 The open land belonging to the city will measure two hundred fifty cubits on the north side, and two hundred fifty cubits on the south, and two hundred fifty cubits on the east, and two hundred fifty cubits on the west.
18 The remaining area that runs lengthwise along the south side of the holy contribution will be ten thousand cubits east-to-west on the east side of the city, and ten thousand cubits east-to-west on the west side of the city. It shall be next to the holy contribution, and its produce shall be food for the workers of the city. 19 The workers of the city who cultivate it will be from all the tribes of Israel.
20 The entire holy contribution will be twenty-five thousand cubits by twenty-five thousand cubits, a square. Set apart this holy contribution, which includes the property of the city.
The Territory of the Prince
21 What remains of the holy contribution will belong to the prince. It lies on both sides of the holy contribution and the property of the city, extending from the eastern north-to-south boundary of the special contribution (which is twenty-five thousand cubits long) to the eastern border of the land, and on the west side, it will extend from the western north-to-south boundary of the special contribution (which is twenty-five thousand cubits long) to the western border of the land. The two portions belonging to the prince run parallel to the tribal portions. The holy contribution and the temple sanctuary will be between the two halves of the prince’s area. 22 The area consisting of the property of the Levites and the property of the city is between the two tracts that will belong to the prince. The area between the territory of Judah and the territory of Benjamin will belong to the prince.
The Southern Tribes
23 As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side of the land to the west side is one portion for Benjamin.
24 South of the boundary of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, is one portion for Simeon.
25 South of the boundary of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, is one portion for Issachar.
26 South of the boundary of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, is one portion for Zebulun.
27 South of the boundary of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side, is one portion for Gad.
28 South of the boundary of Gad on the southern side, the border will run from Tamar to the Waters of Meribah Kadesh, to the Stream of Egypt, and to the Great Sea.
29 This is the land that you are to allot as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, declares the Lord God.
The City Once More
30 These are the outside boundaries of the city.
The north side is four thousand five hundred cubits long. 31 The gates of the city are named after the tribes of Israel. Three gates are located on the north: one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, and one gate of Levi.
32 On the east side, which is four thousand five hundred cubits long, there are three gates: one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, and one gate of Dan.
33 On the south side, which is four thousand five hundred cubits long, there are three gates: one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, and one gate of Zebulun.
34 On the west side, which is four thousand five hundred cubits long, their gates are three: one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, and one gate of Naphtali.
35 The perimeter of the city is eighteen thousand cubits,[h] and the name of the city from that day on is “The Lord Is There.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 48:1 The geographic details of this border are uncertain. It seems to lie considerably farther north than the tribal boundaries in the book of Joshua.
- Ezekiel 48:2 Literally next to
- Ezekiel 48:8 A little more than 8 miles
- Ezekiel 48:8 In the center of the holy area is a square 25,000 cubits by 25,000 cubits. East and west of this square is land for the prince.
- Ezekiel 48:8 Most interpreters believe that the sanctuary is not in the middle of the whole square, but in the middle of the priests’ portion of the square. See verse 10.
- Ezekiel 48:9 A little more than 8 miles by 3 miles in size, this portion is located along the north edge of the square.
- Ezekiel 48:15 A little more than 1½ miles
- Ezekiel 48:35 About 6 miles
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.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.