Division of the Land

13 Thus says the Lord God: “This is the boundary[a] by which (A)you shall divide the land for inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. (B)Joseph shall have two portions. 14 And you shall divide equally what (C)I swore (D)to give to your fathers. (E)This land shall fall to you as your inheritance.

15 “This shall be the boundary of the land: On the north side, from (F)the Great Sea (G)by way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, and on to (H)Zedad,[b] 16 (I)Berothah, Sibraim (which lies on the border between (J)Damascus and (K)Hamath), as far as Hazer-hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran. 17 So the boundary shall run from the sea to (L)Hazar-enan, which is on the northern border of Damascus, with the border of Hamath to the north.[c] This shall be the north side.[d]

18 “On the east side, the boundary shall run between Hauran and Damascus; along the Jordan between (M)Gilead and the land of Israel; to (N)the eastern sea and as far as Tamar.[e] This shall be the east side.

19 “On the south side, it shall run from (O)Tamar as far as (P)the waters of Meribah-kadesh, from there along (Q)the Brook of Egypt[f] to (R)the Great Sea. This shall be the south side.

20 “On the west side, the Great Sea shall be the boundary to a point (S)opposite Lebo-hamath. This shall be the west side.

21 (T)“So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. 22 (U)You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and (V)for the sojourners who reside among you and have had children among you. (W)They shall be to you as native-born children of Israel. With you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 23 In whatever tribe the sojourner resides, there you shall assign him his inheritance, declares the Lord God.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 47:13 Probable reading; Hebrew The valley of the boundary
  2. Ezekiel 47:15 Septuagint; Hebrew the entrance of Zedad, Hamath
  3. Ezekiel 47:17 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
  4. Ezekiel 47:17 Probable reading; Hebrew and as for the north side
  5. Ezekiel 47:18 Compare Syriac; Hebrew to the eastern sea you shall measure
  6. Ezekiel 47:19 Hebrew lacks of Egypt

Israel’s Future Borders Delineated

13 This is what the Lord God says: “This is to be the territorial border by which you apportion the land for an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel, with Joseph double-portioned. 14 Apportion it for their inheritances, distributing everything equally as if you were distributing things to your own[a] brother, which is how I promised to give it to your ancestors. This way, the land will fall to you as an inheritance.

15 “This is to be the[b] border for the land: on the north side, from the Mediterranean[c] Sea by the Hethlon Road to the entrance of Zedad, 16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim (which lies between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath), and Hazer-hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran. 17 The border is to proceed from the Mediterranean[d] Sea to Hazer-enan (a border of Damascus), and on the north facing north is to be the border of Hamath. This is to be the north side.

18 “The eastern extremity is to proceed from between Hauran and[e] Damascus, then between Gilead, and then through the land of Israel—the Jordan River.[f] You are to measure from the northern border to the Dead[g] Sea. This is to be the eastern perimeter.

19 “You are to determine the southern extremity running from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribath-kadesh, then from there proceeding to the Wadi,[h] and then to the Mediterranean[i] Sea. This is to be the southern[j] perimeter.

20 “The western[k] perimeter is to be the Mediterranean[l] Sea, from the southernmost border to a location opposite the entrance to Hamath. This is to be the western[m] perimeter.

21 “You are to apportion this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel, 22 dividing it by lottery among yourselves and among the foreigners who live among you and bear children among you. You are to treat them like native-born Israelis. Among you they,[n] too, are to be allotted an inheritance with the tribes of Israel. 23 Furthermore, you are to provide the foreigner’s inheritance there in the tribe within which he remains,” declares the Lord God.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 47:14 The Heb. lacks own
  2. Ezekiel 47:15 The Heb. lacks is to be the
  3. Ezekiel 47:15 Lit. Great
  4. Ezekiel 47:17 The Heb. lacks Mediterranean
  5. Ezekiel 47:18 Lit. Hauran and then between
  6. Ezekiel 47:18 The Heb. lacks River
  7. Ezekiel 47:18 Lit. Eastern
  8. Ezekiel 47:19 I.e. the Wadi of Egypt, a seasonal stream or river that channels water during rain seasons but is dry at other times; ancient Israel’s southwestern-most border
  9. Ezekiel 47:19 Lit. Great
  10. Ezekiel 47:19 Or Negev
  11. Ezekiel 47:20 Lit. sea; i.e. the border running along the Mediterranean Sea
  12. Ezekiel 47:20 Lit. Great
  13. Ezekiel 47:20 Lit. sea; i.e. the border running along the Mediterranean Sea
  14. Ezekiel 47:22 Or Israelis among you. They