Old/New Testament
The River from the Temple
47 The man led me back to the door of the Temple. I saw water coming out from under the doorway that faces east. (The Temple faced east.) The water flowed down from the south end of the Temple. It was south of the altar. 2 The man brought me out through the outer north gate. And he led me around outside to the outer east gate. The water was coming out on the south side of the gate.
3 The man went toward the east with a line in his hand. He measured about a third of a mile. Then he led me through water that came up to my ankles. 4 The man measured about a third of a mile again. Then he led me through water that came up to my knees. Then he measured about a third of a mile again. And he led me through water up to my waist. 5 The man measured about a third of a mile again. But it was now a river that I could not cross. The water had risen too high. It was deep enough for swimming. It was a river that no one could cross. 6 The man asked me, “Human being, do you see this?”
Then the man led me back along the bank of the river. 7 As I went back, I saw many trees on both sides of the water. 8 The man said to me, “This water will flow toward the eastern areas. It will go down into the Jordan Valley. When the water enters the Dead Sea, it will become fresh. 9 And everywhere the river goes, there will be many animals and fish. Wherever this water goes the Dead Sea will become fresh. So where the river goes there will be many living things. 10 Fishermen will stand by the sea. From En Gedi all the way to En Eglaim will become a place to spread fishing nets. There will be many kinds of fish in the Dead Sea. There will be as many kinds of fish as there are in the Mediterranean Sea. 11 But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh. They will be left for salt. 12 All kinds of fruit trees will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not dry and die. The trees will have fruit every month because the water for them comes from the Temple. The fruit from the trees will be for food. And their leaves will be for medicine.”
Borders of the Land
13 This is what the Lord God says: “These are the borders to divide the land among the 12 tribes of Israel. Joseph will have two parts of land. 14 You will divide the land equally. I promised to give it to your ancestors. So this land will belong to you from your family.
15 “This will be the border line of the land.
“On the north side it will start at the Mediterranean Sea. It will go by the Hethlon Road. This is where the road turns toward Lebo Hamath. And it will go to the cities of Zedad, 16 Berothah and Sibraim. Sibraim is on the border between Damascus and Hamath. And it will go on to the city of Hazer Hatticon on the border of the country of Hauran. 17 So the border line will go from the Mediterranean Sea east to the city of Hazar Enan. This is on the northern border of Damascus. And the country of Hamath will be on the north side of the border.
18 “On the east side the border runs south from a point between Hauran and Damascus. It will go along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel. It will continue to the city of Tamar on the Dead Sea. This will be the east side of the land.
19 “On the south side the border line will go west from Tamar. It will go all the way to the waters of Meribah Kadesh. Then it will run along the brook of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. This will be the south side of the land.
20 “On the west side the Mediterranean Sea will be the border line. It will go to a place across from Lebo Hamath. This will be the west side of your land.
21 “So you will divide this land among the tribes of Israel. 22 You will divide it as a property for yourselves. And it will be for you and for the foreigners who live and have children among you. These foreigners will be like people born in Israel. You will divide some land for them among the tribes of Israel. 23 In whatever tribe the foreigner lives, you will give him some land,” says the Lord God.
Dividing the Land
48 “These are the names of the tribes. Dan will have one share. It will begin at the northern border. It will go from the sea and over the Hethlon Road. It will follow the road to Lebo Hamath. It will go all the way to Hazar Enan. This is on the northern border of Damascus. It will stop there next to Hamath. This will be Dan’s northern border from the east side to the Mediterranean Sea on the west side.
2 “South of Dan’s border, Asher will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
3 “South of Asher’s border, Naphtali will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
4 “South of Naphtali’s border, Manasseh will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
5 “South of Manasseh’s border, Ephraim will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
6 “South of Ephraim’s border, Reuben will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
7 “South of Reuben’s border, Judah will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
8 “South of Judah’s border will be the holy area which you are to give. It will be about 7 miles wide. It will be as long and wide as one of the tribes’ shares. It will run from the east side to the west side. The Temple will be in the middle of this area.
9 “The share which you will give the Lord will be about 7 miles long and 3 miles wide. 10 The holy area will be divided among these people. For the priests on the north side, the land will measure about 7 miles. It will be 3 miles wide on the west side and 3 miles wide on the east side. It will be about 7 miles on the south side. The Temple of the Lord will be in the middle of it. 11 This land is for the priests who are given to serve the Lord. They are the descendants of Zadok who did my work. They did not leave me. The other Levites left me when Israel did. 12 This share from the holy portion of the land will be a gift for these priests. It will be next to the land of the Levites.
13 “Alongside the land for the priests, the Levites will have a share. It will be about 7 miles long and 3 miles wide. Its full length will be about 7 miles. And its full width will be about 3 miles. 14 The Levites are not to sell or trade any of this land. They will not sell any of this best part of the land. It belongs to the Lord.
City Property
15 “The rest of the land will be an area about 1½ miles wide and 7 miles long. It will be for the other people’s use. It will be for the city, for homes and for pastures. The city will be in the middle of it. 16 These are the city’s measurements: the north side will be about a mile. The south side will be about a mile. The east side will be about a mile. And the west side will be about a mile. 17 The city’s land for pastures will be about 437 feet on the north, 437 feet on the south, 437 feet on the east and 437 feet on the west. 18 Alongside the length of the holy area there will be left 3 miles on the east and 3 miles on the west. It will be used to grow food for the city workers. 19 The city workers will plow this land. The workers will be from all the tribes of Israel. 20 This whole area will be square, 7 miles by 7 miles. You shall give to the Lord the holy share along with the city property.
21 “Land that is left over on both sides of the holy area and city property will belong to the ruler. That land will extend east of the holy area to the eastern border. And it will extend west of it to the Mediterranean Sea. Both of these areas run the length of the lands of the tribes. They belong to the ruler. The holy area with the Holy Place of the Temple will be in the middle. 22 The Levites’ land and the city property will be between the lands belonging to the ruler. The ruler’s land will be between Judah’s border and Benjamin’s border.
The Other Tribes’ Land
23 “Here is what the rest of the tribes will receive: Benjamin will have one share. It will go from the east side to the Mediterranean Sea on the west side.
24 “South of Benjamin’s land, Simeon will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
25 “South of Simeon’s land, Issachar will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
26 “South of Issachar’s land, Zebulun will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
27 “South of Zebulun’s land, Gad will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
28 “The southern border of Gad’s land will go east from Tamar on the Dead Sea to the waters of Meribah Kadesh. Then it will run along the brook of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea.
29 “This is the land you will divide among the tribes of Israel. These are to be their shares,” says the Lord God.
The Gates of the City
30 “These will be the outside borders of the city: The north side will measure more than a mile. 31 There will be three gates facing north. They are Reuben’s Gate, Judah’s Gate and Levi’s Gate. The city’s gates will be named for the tribes of Israel.
32 “The east side will measure more than a mile. There will be three gates facing east. They are Joseph’s Gate, Benjamin’s Gate and Dan’s Gate.
33 “The south side will measure more than a mile. There will be three gates facing south. They are Simeon’s Gate, Issachar’s Gate and Zebulun’s Gate.
34 “The west side will measure more than a mile. There will be three gates facing west. They are Gad’s Gate, Asher’s Gate and Naphtali’s Gate.
35 “The city will measure about six miles around. From then on the name of the city will be The Lord God Is There.”
We Are God’s Children
3 The Father has loved us so much! He loved us so much that we are called children of God. And we really are his children. But the people in the world do not understand that we are God’s children, because they have not known him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God. We have not yet been shown what we will be in the future. But we know that when Christ comes again, we will be like him. We will see him as he really is. 3 Christ is pure. And every person who has this hope in Christ keeps himself pure like Christ.
4 When a person sins, he breaks God’s law. Yes, sinning is the same as living against God’s law. 5 You know that Christ came to take away sins. There is no sin in Christ. 6 So the person who lives in Christ does not go on sinning. If he goes on sinning, he has never really understood Christ and has never known him.
7 Dear children, do not let any person lead you the wrong way. Christ is righteous. To be like Christ, a person must do what is right. 8 The devil has been sinning since the beginning. Anyone who continues to sin belongs to the devil. The Son of God came for this purpose: to destroy the devil’s work.
9 When God makes someone his child, that person does not go on sinning. The new life God gave that person stays in him. So he is not able to go on sinning, because he has become a child of God. 10 So we can see who God’s children are and who the devil’s children are. Those who do not do what is right are not children of God. And anyone who does not love his brother is not a child of God.
We Must Love Each Other
11 This is the teaching you have heard from the beginning: We must love each other. 12 Do not be like Cain who belonged to the Evil One. Cain killed his brother. He killed his brother because the things Cain did were evil, and the things his brother did were good.
13 Brothers, do not be surprised when the people of this world hate you. 14 We know that we have left death and have come into life. We know this because we love our brothers in Christ. Whoever does not love is still in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer.[a] And you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. 16 This is how we know what real love is: Jesus gave his life for us. So we should give our lives for our brothers. 17 Suppose a believer is rich enough to have all that he needs. He sees his brother in Christ who is poor and does not have what he needs. What if the believer does not help the poor brother? Then the believer does not have God’s love in his heart. 18 My children, our love should not be only words and talk. Our love must be true love. And we should show that love by what we do.
19-20 This is the way we know that we belong to the way of truth. When our hearts make us feel guilty, we can still have peace before God. God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
21 My dear friends, if we do not feel that we are doing wrong, we can be without fear when we come to God. 22 And God gives us the things we ask for. We receive these things because we obey God’s commands, and we do what pleases him. 23 This is what God commands: that we believe in his Son, Jesus Christ, and that we love each other, just as he commanded. 24 The person who obeys God’s commands lives in God. And God lives in him. How do we know that God lives in us? We know because of the Spirit whom God gave us.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.