Old/New Testament

A River Will Flow From the Temple

47 The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple. I saw water flowing east from under a temple gateway. The temple faced east. The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple. It was flowing south of the altar. ² Then he brought me out through the north gate of the outer courtyard. He led me around the outside to the outer gate that faced east. The water was flowing from the south side of the east gate.

³ Then the man went toward the east. He had a measuring line in his hand. He measured off 1,700 feet. He led me through water that was up to my ankles. ⁴ Then he measured off another 1,700 feet. He led me through water that was up to my knees. Then he measured off another 1,700 feet. He led me through water that was up to my waist. ⁵ Then he measured off another 1,700 feet. But now it was a river that I could not go across. The water had risen so high that it was deep enough to swim in. ⁶ He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this?”

Then he led me back to the bank of the river. ⁷ When I arrived there, I saw many trees. They were on both sides of the river. ⁸ The man said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern territory. It goes down into the Arabah Valley. There it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into it, the salt water there becomes fresh. ⁹ Many creatures will live where the river flows. It will have many schools of fish. This water flows there and makes the salt water fresh. So where the river flows everything will live. ¹⁰ People will stand along the shore to fish. From En Gedi all the way to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading fishnets. The Dead Sea will have many kinds of fish. They will be like the fish in the Mediterranean Sea. ¹¹ But none of the swamps will have fresh water in them. They will stay salty. ¹² Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not dry up. The trees will always have fruit on them. Every month they will bear fruit. The water from the temple will flow to them. Their fruit will be used for food. And their leaves will be used for healing.”

The Borders of the Land

¹³ Here is what the Lord and King says. “People of Israel, here are the borders of the land that you will divide up. You will divide up the land among the 12 tribes of Israel. Each tribe will receive a share. But the family of Joseph will have two shares. ¹⁴ Divide the land into equal parts. Long ago I raised my hand and made a promise. I promised to give the land to your people of long ago. So all of it will belong to you.

¹⁵ “Here are the borders of the land.

²¹ “You must divide up this land among yourselves. Do this based on the number of men in your tribes. ²² Each of the tribes must receive a share of the land. You must also give some land to the outsiders who live among you and who have children. Treat them as if they had been born in Israel. Let them have some land among your tribes. ²³ Outsiders can live in the land of any tribe. There you must give them their share,” announces the Lord and King.

The Land Will Be Divided Up

48 “Here are the tribes. They are listed by their names.

⁸ “You must give one share as a special gift to me. It will border the territory of Judah from east to west. It will be eight miles wide. It will be as long as the border of each of the territories of the tribes. Its border will run from east to west. The temple will be in the center of that strip of land.

⁹ “Give that special share of land to me. It will be eight miles long and three and a third miles wide. ¹⁰ It will be the sacred share of land for the priests. It will be eight miles long on the north side. It will be three and a third miles wide on the west side. It will be three and a third miles wide on the east side. And it will be eight miles long on the south side. My temple will be in the center of it. ¹¹ This share of land will be for the priests who are set apart to me. They will come from the family line of Zadok. The members of that family served me faithfully. They did not go astray as the Levites and other Israelites did. ¹² Their share of land will be a special gift to them. It will be part of the sacred share of the land. It will be very holy. Its border will run along the territory of the Levites.

¹³ “The Levites will receive a share. It will be next to the territory of the priests. The Levites’ share will be eight miles long and three and a third miles wide. ¹⁴ They must not sell or trade any of it. It is the best part of the land. It must not be handed over to anyone else. It is set apart to me.

¹⁵ “The area that remains is one and two-thirds miles wide. It is eight miles long. It will not be holy. The people in Jerusalem can build houses there. They can use some of it as grasslands. The city will be in the center of it. ¹⁶ Each of the four sides of the city will be one and a half miles long. ¹⁷ Each of the four sides of the city’s grasslands will be 440 feet long. ¹⁸ What remains of the area will be three and a third miles long on the east and west sides. Its border will run along the border of the sacred share. Its crops will supply food for the city workers. ¹⁹ They will farm the area. They will come from all the tribes of Israel. ²⁰ The entire area will be a square. Each of its four sides will be eight miles long. Set the sacred share apart as a special gift to me. Do the same thing with the property of the city.

²¹ “The area that remains on both sides will belong to the prince. So his land does not include the sacred share and the property of the city. The eastern part of his land will reach from the sacred share all the way to the eastern border. The western part will reach from the sacred share to the western border. The sacred share itself is eight miles long on its east and west sides. Both of those areas will be right next to the borders of the two tribes on the north and south sides. They will belong to the prince. The sacred share will be in the center of them. It will have the temple in it. ²² The property of the Levites will lie in the center of the prince’s share. So will the property of the city. The prince’s land will lie between the borders of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.

²³ “Here is the land for the rest of the tribes.

²⁹ “This is the land you must divide among the tribes of Israel. And these will be the shares they will receive,” announces the Lord and King.

The Gates of the New City

³⁰ “Here is a list of the gates of the city.

³⁵ “The city will be six miles around.

“From that time on, its name will be ‘The Lord Is There.’ ”

3 See what amazing love the Father has given us! Because of it, we are called children of God. And that’s what we really are! The world doesn’t know us because it didn’t know him. ² Dear friends, now we are children of God. He still hasn’t let us know what we will be. But we know that when Christ appears, we will be like him. That’s because we will see him as he really is. ³ Christ is pure. All who hope to be like him make themselves pure.

⁴ Everyone who sins breaks the law. In fact, breaking the law is sin. ⁵ But you know that Christ came to take our sins away. And there is no sin in him. ⁶ No one who remains joined to him keeps on sinning. No one who keeps on sinning has seen him or known him.

⁷ Dear children, don’t let anyone lead you astray. The person who does what is right is holy, just as Christ is holy. ⁸ The person who does what is sinful belongs to the devil. That’s because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the devil’s work. ⁹ Those who are God’s children will not keep on sinning. God’s very nature remains in them. They can’t go on sinning. That’s because they are God’s children. ¹⁰ Here is how you can tell the difference between God’s children and the devil’s children. Anyone who doesn’t do what is right isn’t God’s child. And anyone who doesn’t love their brother or sister isn’t God’s child either.

More Instructions About Loving and Hating One Another

¹¹ From the beginning we have heard that we should love one another. ¹² Don’t be like Cain. He belonged to the evil one. He murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because the things Cain had done were wrong. But the things his brother had done were right. ¹³ My brothers and sisters, don’t be surprised if the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have left our old dead way of life. And we have entered into new life. We know this because we love one another. Anyone who doesn’t love still lives in their old condition. ¹⁵ Anyone who hates their brother or sister is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life.

¹⁶ We know what love is because Jesus Christ gave his life for us. So we should give our lives for our brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ Suppose someone sees a brother or sister in need and is able to help them. And suppose that person doesn’t take pity on these needy people. Then how can the love of God be in that person? ¹⁸ Dear children, don’t just talk about love. Put your love into action. Then it will truly be love.

¹⁹ Here’s how we know that we hold to the truth. And here’s how we put our hearts at rest, knowing that God is watching. ²⁰ If our hearts judge us, we know that God is greater than our hearts. And he knows everything. ²¹ Dear friends, if our hearts do not judge us, we can be bold with God. ²² And he will give us anything we ask. That’s because we obey his commands. We do what pleases him. ²³ God has commanded us to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ. He has also commanded us to love one another. ²⁴ The one who obeys God’s commands remains joined to him. And he remains joined to them. Here is how we know that God lives in us. We know it because of the Holy Spirit he gave us.