Beginning
Regulations for the Inner Court
46 “This is what the Lord God says: ‘The inner, east-facing courtyard is to remain shut during the six working days of the week,[a] but on the Sabbath day it is to be opened, as well as on the day of the New Moon. 2 The Regent Prince is to enter through the portico of the gate from outside and is to stand at the doorframe of the gate where the priests are to present the Regent Prince’s[b] burnt offerings and peace[c] offerings. Then the Regent Prince[d] is to worship at the threshold of the gate and go out. The gate is not to be closed until evening. 3 The people who live[e] in the land are to worship at the doorway of the gate on the Sabbaths and New Moons in the Lord’s presence.’”
Sabbath Offerings by the Regent Prince
4 “‘The burnt offering that the Regent Prince is to present to the Lord on the Sabbath day is to consist of six lambs without defect, a ram without defect, 5 a grain offering with the ram consisting of an ephah, a grain offering with the lambs consisting of whatever amount he brings with him, and a hin of oil with each ephah of grain.[f] 6 Furthermore, each New Moon there is to be a young bull presented without defect, six male lambs, and a ram without defect. 7 The Regent Prince[g] is to present an ephah[h] of grain[i] along with the bull, an ephah[j] of grain[k] along with the ram, a grain offering—consisting of as much[l] as he is able to give—and a hin[m] of olive oil with each ephah[n] of grain.[o]
8 “‘The Regent Prince is to enter through the portico of the gate and is to leave the same way he came in. 9 When the people who live[p] in the land come into the Lord’s presence during the festivals, whoever enters through the northern gate is to leave through the southern gate, and whoever enters through the southern gate is to leave through the northern gate. No one is to leave by the same route that he enters, but instead is to go straight out. 10 The Regent Prince is to enter when they are coming in, and he is to leave when they go out.’”
Daily Offerings by the Regent Prince
11 “‘The grain offering for the festivals and appointed festivals is to include an ephah[q] with a bull, an ephah[r] with a ram, and as much grain with the lambs as the Regent Prince[s] brings with him, along with a hin[t] of oil with each ephah. 12 Whenever the Regent Prince presents a voluntary offering, burnt offering, or peace offering, he is to present it voluntarily to the Lord, and the east-facing gate is to be opened for him. He is to provide his burnt offering and peace offering as he does on the Sabbath. When he leaves, the gate is to be shut behind him. 13 He is to present a one year old lamb without defect for a burnt offering to the Lord in the morning every day. 14 In addition, he is to present a grain offering with it every morning, consisting of a sixth of an ephah[u] mixed with one third of a hin[v] of oil. This grain offering is to be offered to the Lord as a permanent ordinance. 15 They are to present the lamb offering, the grain offering, and the oil every morning as an ongoing[w] burnt offering.’”
Gifts by the Regent Prince
16 “This is what the Lord God says: ‘If the Regent Prince gives a gift to someone,[x] it is to remain with the man’s descendants as their own inheritance. 17 But if he gives a gift to any of his servants, it is to belong to the servant[y] until the Year of Release, at which time it is to be returned to the Regent Prince. His inheritance is to belong only to his sons. 18 The Regent Prince is not to appropriate the nation’s inheritance nor take advantage of them by taking their property from them. Instead, he is to provide an inheritance for his sons from his own possessions so that my people will not be separated from their possessions.’”
The Place Where Offerings are Boiled
19 Then the angel[z] brought me in through an entrance beside the gate into the north-facing chambers dedicated to the priests. As I looked toward the rear[aa] of the far western end, I saw a place 20 about which he said, “This is where the priests will be boiling the guilt and sin offerings and baking the grain offerings so they don’t bring them through the outer courtyard, thus diminishing the people’s holiness.”[ab] 21 Then he brought me out to the exterior courtyard and led me across to each of the four corners of the courtyard. There in each corner was an enclosed area set aside, 22 all of them the same size; that is, each was 40 cubits[ac] long and 30 cubits[ad] wide. 23 A low wall[ae] built of masonry surrounded each courtyard, with boiling places set in rows in the wall. 24 He told me, “This is where[af] the ministers of the Temple will be preparing[ag] the sacrifices that will be presented by the people.
The Vision of the Temple River
47 After this, he brought me back to the doorway to the Temple. To my amazement, there was water flowing out toward the east from beneath the threshold of the Temple! (The Temple faced eastward.) The water flowed down from beneath the right side of the Temple,[ah] that is, from the south-facing side where the altar was located. 2 Then he brought me out through the north gateway and around to the one outside that faces toward the east. To my amazement, water was trickling out from that part of[ai] the south side, too!
3 As the man went out toward the east, he carried a measuring line in his hand. He measured out 1,000 cubits[aj] as he led me through water that was ankle-deep. 4 Then he measured out another 1,000 cubits,[ak] where he led me through water that was knee-deep. And then he measured out another 1,000 cubits,[al] where the water was waist-deep. 5 When he had measured out another 1,000 cubits,[am] the water had become deep enough that I wasn’t able to ford it. Instead, I would have had to swim through it.
6 Then, as he was bringing me back along the river bank, he asked me, “Son of Man, did you see all of this?” 7 As we were coming back, I was amazed to see that there were many, many trees lining both banks of the river. 8 He told me, “This river flows toward the eastern territories all the way down into the Arabah,[an] and from there its water flows toward the Dead[ao] Sea, where the sea water turns fresh. 9 It will support all kinds of living creatures that will thrive abundantly wherever the river flows. There will be a great many fish, because this water will flow there and turn the salt water fresh. As a result, everything will live wherever the river flows. 10 A day will come when fishermen will line its banks—from En-gedi to En-eglaim[ap] there will be plenty of room to spread out nets. There will be all sorts of species of fish, as abundant as the fish that live in the Mediterranean[aq] Sea. There will be lots of them!
11 “The river delta[ar] will consist of swamps and marshes that will remain a salt water wetland preserve. 12 Lining each side of the river banks, all sorts of species of fruit trees will be growing. Their leaves will never wither and their fruit will never fail. They will bear fruit every month, because the water that nourishes them will be flowing from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves will contain substances that promote healing.”
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[as] 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[at] border for the land: on the north side, from the Mediterranean[au] 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[av] 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[aw] Damascus, then between Gilead, and then through the land of Israel—the Jordan River.[ax] You are to measure from the northern border to the Dead[ay] 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,[az] and then to the Mediterranean[ba] Sea. This is to be the southern[bb] perimeter.
20 “The western[bc] perimeter is to be the Mediterranean[bd] Sea, from the southernmost border to a location opposite the entrance to Hamath. This is to be the western[be] 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,[bf] 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.
Regulations for Israel’s Northern Land Divisions
48 “These are the names of the tribes from the northernmost extremity westward[bg] along the road from Hethlon to the entrance of Hamath,[bh] Hazar-enan (a border of Damascus) northward to the coast[bi] of Hamath. The perimeter is to run[bj] east-to-west;[bk] the tribe of[bl] Dan with one portion;[bm] 2 running along the border of the tribe of Dan from the eastern perimeter to the western perimeter, the tribe of Asher with one portion; 3 running along the border of the tribe of Asher from the eastern perimeter to the western perimeter, the tribe of Naphtali with one portion; 4 running along the border of the tribe of Naphtali from the eastern perimeter to the western perimeter, the tribe of Manasseh with one portion; 5 running along the border of the tribe of Manasseh from the eastern perimeter to the western perimeter, the tribe of Ephraim with one portion; 6 running along the border of the tribe of Ephraim from the eastern perimeter to the western perimeter, the tribe of Reuben with one portion; 7 and running along the border of the tribe of Reuben from the eastern perimeter to the western perimeter, the tribe of Judah with one portion.”
Israel’s National Temple Allotment
8 “Running along the border of the tribe of Judah from the eastern perimeter to the western perimeter you are to set apart the Terumah,[bn] 25,000 units[bo] wide, with its east-west length equal to one of the other apportionments, from the eastern perimeter to the western perimeter, with the Temple in the middle of it. 9 The Terumah that you are to give to the Lord is to be 25,000 units wide.”[bp]
Allotments for the Priests
10 “The holy Terumah is to be reserved for these, the priests: Toward the north, 25,000 units in length;[bq] toward the west, 10,000 units in width; toward the east, 10,000 units in width; and toward the south, 25,000 units in length. The Lord’s sanctuary is to be in its midst. 11 It is to be for use by[br] priests from the descendants of Zadok, who have observed the things with which I charged them and who did not wander astray when the Israelis went astray, just as the descendants of Levi wandered astray. 12 It is to be a Terumah for them from the allotment of the land, a Most Holy Place, adjoining the border of the descendants of Levi.”
13 “Alongside the border of the priests, the descendants of Levi are to be allotted 25,000 units in length and 10,000 units in width. The entire length is to be 25,000 units and its width 10,000 units. 14 Furthermore, they are not to sell or exchange any part of it, nor transfer these first fruits[bs] of the land, because it is holy to the Lord.
15 “The rest, 5,000 units wide and 25,000 units along its front, will serve as a common portion for use by the city for housing and open spaces, since the city is to be in its midst. 16 These are to be its dimensions: the north side, 4,500 units; the south side, 4,500 units; the east side, 4,500 units; and the west side 4,500 units. 17 The city is to have urban areas set aside: on the north 250 units; on the south, 250 units, on the east, 250 units; and on the west, 250 units.
18 “The remainder of the length that borders the holy Terumah is to be 10,000 units long eastward and 10,000 units westward. It is to lie adjacent to the holy Terumah. Its harvest will produce food for those who work in the city. 19 The city workers who cultivate it are to come from all the tribes of Israel. 20 The entire Terumah is to be[bt] 25,000 units by 25,000 units—you are to reserve it as a holy Terumah in the form of a square within the city limits.”
The Allotment for the Regent Prince
21 “Now the remainder of the allotment[bu] on either side of the holy Terumah is to be for the Regent Prince and for city property[bv]—adjoining the 25,000 units along the eastern border and adjoining the 25,000 units along the western border, and parallel to the allotments. These are to be for the Regent Prince. The holy Terumah and the sanctuary of the Temple is to stand in the middle of it. 22 Except for what belongs to the descendants of Levi and the city property, which will stand in the middle of what belongs to the Regent Prince, whatever is between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin is to belong to the Regent Prince.”
The Allotment for the Tribes
23 “Now as to the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west side, Benjamin is to retain one portion.[bw] 24 Adjacent to the border of Benjamin running from east to west, Simeon is to retain one portion. 25 Adjacent to the border of Simeon running from east to west, Issachar is to retain one portion. 26 Adjacent to the border of Issachar running from east to west, Zebulun is to retain one portion. 27 Adjacent to the border of Zebulun running from east to west, Gad is to retain one portion. 28 Adjacent to the border of Gad to the south and extending toward the south, the border is to proceed from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, then to the Wadi[bx] of Egypt,[by] and from there to the Mediterranean[bz] Sea. 29 This is the land that you are to allocate by lottery to the tribes of Israel as their inheritance, and these are their respective divisions,” declares the Lord God.
The Gates of the City
30 “These are the exits from the city: On the north side, 4,500 units by measurement, 31 are to be the gates of the city. Named after the tribes of Israel, three gates are to serve the north site: one named the Reuben Gate, one named the Judah Gate, and one named the Levi Gate. 32 On the east side, 4,500 units by measurement,[ca] there are to be three gates: one named the Joseph Gate, one named the Benjamin Gate, and one named the Dan Gate. 33 On the south side, 4,500 units by measurement, there are to be three gates: one named the Simeon Gate, one named the Issachar Gate, and one named the Zebulun Gate. 34 On the west side, 4,500 units by measurement,[cb] there are to be three gates: one named the Gad Gate, one named the Asher Gate, and one named the Naphtali Gate. 35 A perimeter is to measure 18,000 units, and the name of the city from that time on is to be:
‘The Lord is There.’”
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