Ezekiel 45:1-9
New English Translation
The Lord’s Portion of the Land
45 “‘When you allot the land as an inheritance, you will offer an allotment[a] to the Lord, a holy portion from the land; the length will be 8¼ miles[b] and the width 3⅓ miles.[c] This entire area will be holy.[d] 2 Of this area a square 875 feet[e] by 875 feet will be designated for the sanctuary, with 87½ feet[f] set aside for its open space round about. 3 From this measured area you will measure a length of 8¼ miles[g] and a width of 3⅓ miles;[h] in it will be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. 4 It will be a holy portion of the land; it will be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary who approach the Lord to minister to him. It will be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary.[i] 5 An area 8¼ miles[j] in length and 3⅓ miles[k] in width will be for the Levites, who minister at the temple, as the place for the cities[l] in which they will live.
6 “‘Alongside the portion set apart as the holy allotment, you will allot for the city an area 1⅔ miles[m] wide and 8¼ miles[n] long; it will be for the whole house of Israel.
7 “‘For the prince there will be land on both sides of the holy allotment and the allotted city, on the west side and on the east side; it will be comparable in length to one of the portions, from the west border to the east border 8 of the land. This will be his property in Israel. My princes will no longer oppress my people, but the land will be allotted to the house of Israel according to their tribes.
9 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Enough, you princes of Israel! Put away violence and destruction and do what is just and right. Put an end to your evictions of my people,[o] declares the Sovereign Lord.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ezekiel 45:1 tn Heb “a contribution.”
- Ezekiel 45:1 tn Heb “25,000 cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers). The measuring units here are the Hebrew “long” cubit, consisting of a cubit (about 18 inches or 45 cm) and a handbreadth (about 3 inches or 7.5 cm), for a total of 21 inches (52.5 cm). Because modern readers are not familiar with the cubit as a unit of measurement, and due to the additional complication of the “long” cubit as opposed to the regular cubit, all measurements have been converted to American standard miles (one mile = 5,280 feet), with the Hebrew measurements and the metric equivalents given in the notes.
- Ezekiel 45:1 tc The LXX reads “20,000 cubits.”tn Heb “10,000 cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).
- Ezekiel 45:1 tn Heb “holy it is in all its territory round about.”
- Ezekiel 45:2 tn Heb “500 cubits” (i.e., 262.5 meters); the phrase occurs twice in this verse.
- Ezekiel 45:2 tn Heb “50 cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).
- Ezekiel 45:3 tn Heb “25,000 cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
- Ezekiel 45:3 tn Heb “10,000 cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).
- Ezekiel 45:4 tc The LXX apparently understood “open land” instead of “sanctuary.”
- Ezekiel 45:5 tn Heb “25,000 cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
- Ezekiel 45:5 tn Heb “10,000 cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).
- Ezekiel 45:5 tc The translation follows the LXX here. The MT reads “twenty.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:246.
- Ezekiel 45:6 tn Heb “5,000 cubits” (i.e., 2.625 kilometers).
- Ezekiel 45:6 tn Heb “25,000 cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
- Ezekiel 45:9 sn Evictions of the less fortunate by the powerful are described in 1 Kgs 21:1-16; Jer 22:1-5, 13-17; Ezek 22:25.
Ezekiel 45:1-9
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Holy District
45 “When you allot the land as an inheritance, you shall set aside for the Lord a portion of the land as a holy district, twenty-five thousand cubits long and twenty[a] thousand cubits wide; it shall be holy throughout its entire extent. 2 Of this, a square plot of five hundred by five hundred cubits shall be for the sanctuary, with fifty cubits for an open space around it. 3 In the holy district you shall measure off a section twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousand wide, in which shall be the sanctuary, the most holy place. 4 It shall be a holy portion of the land; it shall be for the priests who minister in the sanctuary and approach the Lord to minister to him, and it shall be both a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary.(A) 5 Another section, twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousand cubits wide, shall be for the Levites who minister at the temple, as their holding for cities to live in.[b](B)
6 “Alongside the portion set apart as the holy district you shall assign as a holding for the city an area five thousand cubits wide and twenty-five thousand cubits long; it shall belong to the whole house of Israel.(C)
7 “And to the prince shall belong the land on both sides of the holy district and the holding of the city, alongside the holy district and the holding of the city, on the west and on the east, corresponding in length to one of the tribal portions and extending from the western to the eastern boundary(D) 8 of the land. It is to be his property in Israel. And my princes shall no longer oppress my people, but they shall let the house of Israel have the land according to their tribes.(E)
9 “Thus says the Lord God: Enough, O princes of Israel! Put away violence and oppression, and do what is just and right. Cease your evictions of my people, says the Lord God.(F)
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