Old/New Testament
47 The man whose appearance was like bronze led me back to the temple’s entryway. There I observed a stream of water bubbling up from beneath the temple threshold, flowing eastward in the same direction the temple faced. The water was running parallel to the temple’s wall south of the altar.
This flowing, running, living water cleanses, heals, and restores everything in its path.
2 My guide led me through the north gate and took me around the outside wall to the east gate. I looked and could see the water trickling out from the south end of the east gate.
3 The man walked toward the east with a measuring line in his hand and measured off 1,750 feet or about ⅓ mile. Then we walked together through the ankle-deep water. 4 He measured off another 1,750 feet, and we walked together now through water that was knee-deep. He measured as we walked another 1,750 feet, and we waded together through water that was waist-deep. 5 Then he measured off another 1,750 feet, but this time I couldn’t wade any farther because the water was too deep. Now the stream of water had become a river, deep enough for swimming.
The Man: 6 Son of man, have you seen anything like this?
Then my guide brought me back to the river’s edge. 7 When we got back there, I looked and saw orchards along both sides of the river.
The Man: 8-9 This river flows eastward and runs down into the Jordan Valley to the place where it flows into the Dead Sea. The moment it meets the sea, the salty water becomes fresh. Swarms of creatures will flourish wherever this river flows. Schools of fish will swim through currents of fresh water, for wherever this water flows everything will come alive! 10 From Engedi to Eneglaim, fishermen will stand upon the shore and spread out their nets! They will come there because the waters contain many fish of various kinds, just as the Mediterranean Sea[a] does. 11 However, the swamps and marshes won’t become fresh; these will continue to provide salt. 12 All kinds of trees will flourish along both sides of the river. Their leaves won’t wither, and their fruit won’t fail. Every month they will bear a fresh crop of fruit because they are nourished from the water that flows from the temple sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves will be for healing.
The Eternal Lord has this to say regarding the land:
Eternal One: 13 Here’s how I want you to divide up the land for the inheritance of the twelve tribes of Israel (Joseph’s descendants are to be given two portions of land). 14 I want you to divide it up equally. I made an oath to your ancestors that this land would be your inheritance, and I am keeping My promise.
The distribution of land to resident aliens is a marked change in Israelite custom. Prior to the exile, foreigners and outsiders had a special status among the Israelites. They were considered members of the community, participating in civic (though not governmental) activities, allowed to worship at the temple in a restricted capacity, and protected under God’s law. Leviticus 19 explains that Israelites were to love their foreign neighbors, treating them with special care because they were disadvantaged—as widows and orphans were—because they were not allowed to own land in Israel and therefore often couldn’t provide for themselves.
But God’s new law changes this. For the first time, resident aliens who adopt the worship of Israel’s God may legally join with the tribes and enjoy all of God’s blessings in Israel. This only makes sense for the exiles who return to the land from all over the world and have difficulty proving their Israelite heritage. As generous as this law may seem, it is not the first instance of God’s grace to those outside Israel; His kindness is demonstrated over and over again in the pages of Scripture. The very monarchy of Israel is descended from a resident alien, Ruth, the grandmother of King David. Certainly God loves equally all who know and worship Him.
15-16 Here are the boundaries of the land: The northern boundary will run east from the Mediterranean Sea through Hethlon and along to Lebo-hamath and then Zedad. From there it will go through Berothah and Sibraim (which lie on the border between Damascus and Hamath), all the way to Hazer-hatticon (near the border of Hauran). 17 This northern boundary will stretch from the Mediterranean Sea to Hazar-enan (on the northern border of Damascus) and the border of Hamath on the far north. 18 The eastern boundary will run south between Hauran and Damascus along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel to the Dead Sea, all the way to Tamar. 19 The southern boundary will run west from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, then along the brook of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. 20 The western boundary will run along the coast of the Mediterranean from south to north, opposite Lebo-hamath.
21 I want you to divide up this land among the tribes of Israel. 22 Allocate it to yourselves and to the foreigners who have chosen to live among you and raise their children. Consider them native Israelites. They are to be given a portion of the land as their inheritance no different than the tribes of Israel. 23 They are to receive land in the area of the tribe with whom they immigrate.
So says the Eternal Lord.
48 Eternal One: Here are the tribes and their allocated regions from north to south: Dan will have the land in the far north. It will run west to east along the road from Hethlon to Lebo-hamath to Hazer-enan (on the border of Damascus and next to Hamath). 2 Asher will get the territory south of Dan’s border from east to west. 3 Naphtali will be allotted the region immediately south of Asher’s border from east to west. 4 Manasseh will have the land south of Naphtali’s border from east to west. 5 Ephraim will get the territory that borders Manasseh on the south from east to west. 6 Reuben will be allotted the region immediately south of Ephraim from east to west. 7 Judah will have the land south of Reuben’s border from east to west.
8 The land adjoining Judah’s southern border from east to west is to be set aside as sacred ground. It will be 8⅓ miles wide and as long as the other tribal regions from east to west. The temple complex will sit at the center, 9 in an area dedicated to the Eternal One that is 8⅓ miles long and 3⅓ miles wide. 10-11 The priests will be allotted an area that is 8⅓ miles wide along its northern border, 3⅓ miles wide along its eastern and western borders, and 8⅓ miles wide along its southern border. The temple of the Eternal will sit at the center of the sacred ground. It will be set aside specifically for the priests who descended from Zadok, the only people who remained faithful to Me when all of Israel, including the Levites, abandoned Me. 12-13 This sacred ground will be allotted to them when the rest of the land is distributed to the other tribes. To its north will be the Levites’ sector. It will be the same size and shape as the land given to the priests: 8⅓ miles long and 3⅓ miles wide. 14 Neither the priests nor the Levites may sell or trade any of this land. No one is to put it to any other use, for this land is holy to the Eternal One.
15 Another strip of land will be available to the rest of Israel for building houses and pasturing their animals. It will be 8⅓ miles long and 1⅔ miles wide. A city will be built in the heart of this land. 16 It is to be arranged as a square, measuring 1½ miles on each side: north, south, east, and west. 17 Around the perimeter of the city will be an open area extending 150 yards to the north, south, east, and west. 18 The rest of the land running south of the priests’ allotment will be used to grow food for those who work in the city. It will stretch 3⅓ miles to the east and 3⅓ miles to the west of the city. 19 Anyone who works in the city—regardless of his tribal affiliation—will be allowed to farm the land. 20 The entire area will be a square that measures 8⅓ miles on every side; you are to set aside this ground as holy for the priests and Levites, for the temple, and for the city as I’ve directed.
21 The land located on both sides—east and west—of the sacred ground and the city is to be given to the prince. It will stretch 8⅓ miles to the east and 8⅓ miles to the west of the Levites’, priests’, and the city’s squares of land. So the prince will have two areas of land adjoining the sacred ground containing the temple complex at its center. 22 The prince gets one share (in two sections adjacent to the sacred ground) between Judah’s southern border and Benjamin’s northern border.
23 Here are the remaining tribes and their allocated regions: Benjamin will have the territory directly south of the prince’s and the city’s lands from the east to the west. 24 Simeon will get the land that borders Benjamin’s southern border from east to west. 25 Issachar will be allotted the region south of the border of Simeon from east to west. 26 Zebulun will have the land adjoining Issachar’s southern border from east to west. 27 Gad will get the territory south of Zebulun’s border from east to west. 28 The southern border of Gad will run from Tamar in the east to the waters of Meribath-kadesh and along the brook of Egypt all the way to the Mediterranean Sea.[b] 29 This is how I want you to divide the land between the tribes of Israel. Their portions will be their inheritances.
30-31 As for the exits from the city—the city gates—they are to be named after the tribes of Israel. On the north wall, which is 1½ miles long, the three gates are to be named after Reuben, Judah, and Levi. 32 On the east wall, which is 1½ miles long, the three gates are to be named after Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan. 33 On the south wall, which is 1½ miles long, the three gates are to be named after Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun. 34 On the west wall, which is 1½ miles long, the three gates are to be named after Gad, Asher, and Naphtali. 35 The total distance around the city will be 6 miles. From that day forward, the name of the city will be The Eternal One Lives There.
3 Consider the kind of extravagant love the Father has lavished on us—He calls us children of God! It’s true; we are His beloved children. And in the same way the world didn’t recognize Him, the world does not recognize us either.
When we feel like we are not good enough to be loved by God, we should remember that God’s love is greater than our doubts. We must silence the sounds of condemnation so we can hear the voice of God’s loving assurance and remember that He has selected us to be part of His family.
2 My loved ones, we have been adopted into God’s family; and we are officially His children now. The full picture of our destiny is not yet clear, but we know this much: when Jesus appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him just as He is. 3 All those who focus their hopes on Him and His coming seek to purify themselves just as He is pure.
4 Everyone who lives a life of habitual sin is living in moral anarchy. That’s what sin is. 5 You realize that He came to eradicate sins, that there is not the slightest bit of sin in Him. 6 The ones who live in an intimate relationship with Him do not persist in sin, but anyone who persists in sin has not seen and does not know the real Jesus.
7 Children, don’t let anyone pull one over on you. The one doing the right thing is just imitating Jesus, the Righteous One.
If you are wondering if your faith is authentic, take a look at your life. Are you doing what is right?
8 The one persisting in sin belongs to the diabolical one, who has been all about sin from the beginning. That is why the Son of God came into our world: to destroy the plague of destruction inflicted on the world by the diabolical one.
9 Everyone who has been born into God’s family avoids sin as a lifestyle because the genes of God’s children come from God Himself. Therefore, a child of God can’t live a life of persistent sin. 10 So it is not hard to figure out who are the children of God and who are the children of the diabolical one: those who lack right standing and those who don’t show love for one another do not belong to God.
11 The central truth—the one you have heard since the beginning of your faith—is that we must love one another. 12 Please do not act like Cain, who was of the evil one. He brutally murdered his own brother.[a] Why would he do something so despicable? Because his life was devoted to evil and selfishness, and his brother chose to do what is right.
13 Brothers and sisters, don’t be shocked if the corrupt world despises you. 14 We know that we have crossed over from death to real life because we are devoted to true love for our brothers and sisters. Anyone who does not love lives among corpses.
Do you ever wonder if you are just silently sleeping through days, months, and years? There is one indicator of real life: true love for others.
15 Everyone who hates other members of God’s family is a murderer. Does a murderer possess the beautiful life that never ends? No. 16 We know what true love looks like because of Jesus. He gave His life for us, and He calls us to give our lives for our brothers and sisters.
17 If a person owns the kinds of things we need to make it in the world but refuses to share with those in need, is it even possible that God’s love lives in him? 18 My little children, don’t just talk about love as an idea or a theory. Make it your true way of life, and live in the pattern of gracious love.
19-20 There is a sure way for us to know that we belong to the truth. Even though our inner thoughts may condemn us with storms of guilt and constant reminders of our failures, we can know in our hearts that in His presence God Himself is greater than any accusation. He knows all things. 21 My loved ones, if our hearts cannot condemn us, then we can stand with confidence before God. 22 Whatever we may ask, we receive it from Him because we follow His commands and take the path that pleases Him. 23 His command is clear: believe in the name of His Son, Jesus the Anointed, and love one another as He commanded. 24 The one who follows His teaching and walks this path lives in an intimate relationship with God. How do we know that He lives in us? By the gift of His Spirit.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.