Ezekiel 47

Then the man brought me back to the door of the temple. I saw water coming out from under the doorway and flowing east, because the front of the temple faced east. The water came down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar.

1Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.

Note"The man" is the guide who has been leading Ezekiel since chapter 40, a figure with the appearance of bronze, carrying a measuring cord and rod. Chapters 40–48 are one continuous vision in which this guide walks Ezekiel through a temple and measures it. The altar stood in the open courtyard in front of the temple building; the threshold is the raised stone sill of the doorway.

2Then he took me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate that faces east. There I saw water trickling out on the south side.

2Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.

NoteHe has to go the long way round because in this vision the outer east gate had been shut permanently (44:1–2), so it could not be used as a way out. The temple complex is a set of walled courts, each with gates on the north, east and south.

3The man had a measuring line in his hand. He went east, measured off a thousand cubits, and led me through the water. It came up to my ankles.

3And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.

NoteA cubit was the length of a forearm, roughly eighteen inches; the temple vision uses a longer cubit of about twenty-one inches (40:5). A thousand cubits is therefore something over a quarter of a mile, and the four measurements together cover roughly a mile.

4He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through the water. It came up to my knees. He measured another thousand and led me through. The water came up to my waist.

4Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.

5Then he measured off another thousand, and now it was a river I could not cross. The water had risen and was deep enough to swim in. It was a river no one could walk across.

5Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.

6He said to me, "Son of man, do you see this?" Then he led me back to the bank of the river.

6And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.

Note"Son of man" translates a Hebrew phrase meaning simply "human being" or "mortal." It is how the voice addresses Ezekiel throughout the book, a form of address, not a title.

7When I came back, I saw a great many trees growing on both banks of the river.

7Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.

8Then he said to me, "This water flows out toward the eastern region and runs down into the desert valley and into the sea. When it empties into the sea, the water there becomes fresh.

8Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.

NoteThe "eastern region" and "desert valley" are the Arabah, the deep rift valley running south from the Sea of Galilee down past the Dead Sea. "The sea" is the Dead Sea, which lies below sea level with no outlet; its water is so salt-heavy that no fish live in it. The King James "the waters shall be healed" means made fresh, drinkable rather than briny.

9Everywhere the river goes, every living creature that moves will live. There will be huge numbers of fish, because this water reaches there and makes the water fresh. Everywhere the river goes, everything will live.

9And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.

10Fishermen will stand along the shore. From Engedi to Eneglaim there will be places to spread out nets. The fish will be of many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea, and there will be very many of them.

10And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.

NoteEngedi is a freshwater spring and oasis on the western shore of the Dead Sea, about halfway down. Eneglaim's location is uncertain, but it is assumed to be elsewhere on the same shore, so the two names mark the stretch of coast between them. The "Great Sea" is the Mediterranean, which does teem with fish, the point of the comparison.

11But the muddy places and the marshes will not become fresh. They will be left for salt.

11But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.

NoteThe Dead Sea's shallow margins were worked as evaporation pans for salt, a valuable commodity used for preserving food and required with grain offerings. Saying the marshes are "left for salt" means that trade continues there.

12All kinds of fruit trees will grow along both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not run out. Every month they will bear fresh fruit, because the water that reaches them flows out from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing."

12And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.

13This is what the Lord GOD says: These are the boundaries by which you will divide the land as an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph will get two portions.

13Thus saith the Lord GOD; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.

Note"Inheritance" here means a permanent allotted holding of land, passed down within a family, not property received when someone dies. Joseph gets two portions because he had no tribe under his own name: his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh each headed a tribe. The total still comes to twelve because Levi, the priestly tribe, receives no share of land.

14You will each inherit an equal share of it. I swore with a raised hand to give this land to your fathers, so it will fall to you as your inheritance.

14And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance.

Note"I swore with a raised hand" is literal: lifting the hand was the physical gesture that accompanied an oath, the way a raised right hand does in a courtroom today.

15This will be the boundary of the land on the north side: from the Great Sea by way of Hethlon, along the road that goes to Zedad,

15And this shall be the border of the land toward the north side, from the great sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad;

NoteThese northern places lie in what is now Lebanon and Syria, well beyond the territory Israel normally held. Hethlon and Zedad cannot now be located with confidence; most of the names in verses 15–17 are known only from boundary lists like this one.

16then to Hamath, Berothah, and Sibraim, which lies between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath, and on to Hazarhatticon, which is on the border of Hauran.

16Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazarhatticon, which is by the coast of Hauran.

Note"Hamath" here probably renders Lebo-hamath, the pass or approach to Hamath, a city-kingdom on the Orontes river in Syria; it served as a standard label for the far northern limit. Damascus is the Syrian city; Hauran is the fertile plateau east of the Sea of Galilee.

17So the border will run from the sea to Hazarenan, with the border of Damascus, and north of that the border of Hamath. This is the north side.

17And the border from the sea shall be Hazarenan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border of Hamath. And this is the north side.

18You will measure the east side from between Hauran and Damascus, and along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel, from that border down to the eastern sea. This is the east side.

18And the east side ye shall measure from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And this is the east side.

NoteThe "eastern sea" is the Dead Sea. Gilead is the highland region east of the Jordan river. The Hebrew of this verse is difficult, and translations differ over exactly where the line runs and whether Tamar belongs at its southern end.

19The south side will run from Tamar to the waters of strife at Kadesh, and then along the brook to the Great Sea. This is the south side.

19And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the south side southward.

Note"The waters of strife at Kadesh" is Meribath-kadesh; Meribah means "quarrelling," and the name comes from a dispute over water at that desert oasis south of Judah (Numbers 20). "The brook" is the Brook of Egypt, the seasonal watercourse now called Wadi el-Arish, the traditional south-western limit of the land.

20The west side will be the Great Sea, running from the border up to a point across from Hamath. This is the west side.

20The west side also shall be the great sea from the border, till a man come over against Hamath. This is the west side.

21So you will divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel.

21So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel.

22You will divide it by lot as an inheritance for yourselves and for the foreigners who live among you and have children among you. Treat them as if they had been born in the country, as Israelites. They will receive an inheritance along with you among the tribes of Israel.

22And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.

NoteDividing land "by lot" means assigning shares by a drawing of lots, comparable to drawing straws, rather than by negotiation. The "foreigners" are resident aliens, long-term settlers living permanently among Israelites, not visitors. Under earlier practice such settlers had legal protections but no tribal landholding, since land was allotted by descent.

23In whatever tribe a foreigner is living, that is where you will give him his inheritance, says the Lord GOD.

23And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD.