Ezekiel 16:1

God’s Unfaithful Bride

16:1 The word of the Lord came to me:

Ezekiel 45:1-25

The Lord’s Portion of the Land

45:1 “‘When you allot the land as an inheritance, you will offer an allotment ¹  to the Lord, a holy portion from the land; the length will be eight and a quarter miles ²  and the width three and one-third miles. ³  This entire area will be holy. ⁴  45:2 Of this area a square 875 feet ⁵  by 875 feet will be designated for the sanctuary, with 87½ feet ⁶  set aside for its open space round about. 45:3 From this measured area you will measure a length of eight and a quarter miles ⁷  and a width of three and one-third miles; ⁸  in it will be the sanctuary, the most holy place. 45:4 It will be a holy portion of the land; it will be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary who approach the Lord to minister to him. It will be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. ⁹  45:5 An area eight and a quarter miles ¹⁰  in length and three and one-third miles ¹¹  in width will be for the Levites, who minister at the temple, as the place for the cities ¹²  in which they will live.

45:6 “‘Alongside the portion set apart as the holy allotment, you will allot for the city an area one and two-thirds miles ¹³  wide and eight and a quarter miles ¹⁴  long; it will be for the whole house of Israel.

45:7 “‘For the prince there will be land on both sides of the holy allotment and the allotted city, alongside the holy allotment and the allotted city, on the west side and on the east side; it will be comparable in length to one of the portions, from the west border to the east border 45:8 of the land. This will be his property in Israel. My princes will no longer oppress my people, but the land will be allotted to the house of Israel according to their tribes.

45:9 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Enough, you princes of Israel! Put away violence and destruction, and do what is just and right. Put an end to your evictions of my people, ¹⁵  declares the sovereign Lord. 45:10 You must use just balances, ¹⁶  a just dry measure (an ephah), ¹⁷  and a just liquid measure (a bath). ¹⁸  45:11 The dry and liquid measures will be the same, the bath will contain a tenth of a homer, ¹⁹  and the ephah a tenth of a homer; the homer will be the standard measure. 45:12 The shekel will be twenty gerahs. Sixty shekels ²⁰  will be a mina for you.

45:13 “‘This is the offering you must offer: a sixth of an ephah from a homer of wheat; a sixth of an ephah from a homer of barley, 45:14 and as the prescribed portion of olive oil, one tenth of a bath from each kor (which is ten baths or a homer, for ten baths make a homer); 45:15 and one sheep from each flock of two hundred, from the watered places of Israel, for a grain offering, burnt offering, and peace offering, to make atonement for them, declares the sovereign Lord. 45:16 All the people of the land will contribute ²¹  to this offering for the prince of Israel. 45:17 It will be the duty of the prince to provide the burnt offerings, the grain offering, and the drink offering at festivals, on the new moons and Sabbaths, at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel; he will provide the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings to make atonement for the house of Israel.

45:18 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: In the first month, on the first day of the month, you must take an unblemished young bull and purify the sanctuary. 45:19 The priest will take some of the blood of the sin offering and place it on the doorpost of the temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the doorpost of the gate of the inner court. 45:20 This is what you must do on the seventh day of the month for anyone who sins inadvertently or through ignorance; so you will make atonement for the temple.

45:21 “‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you will celebrate the Passover, and for seven days bread made without yeast will be eaten. 45:22 On that day the prince will provide for himself and for all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering. 45:23 And during the seven days of the feast he will provide as a burnt offering to the Lord seven bulls and seven rams, all without blemish, on each of the seven days, and a male goat daily for a sin offering. 45:24 He will provide as a grain offering an ephah for each bull, an ephah for each ram, and a gallon ²²  of olive oil for each ephah of grain. ²³  45:25 In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, at the feast, ²⁴  he will make the same provisions for the sin offering, burnt offering, and grain offering, and for the olive oil, for the seven days.

Ezekiel 47:1-23

Water from the Temple

47:1 Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple. I noticed ²⁵  that water was flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from under the right side of the temple, from south of the altar. 47:2 He led me out by way of the north gate and brought me around the outside of the outer gate that faces toward the east; I noticed ²⁶  that the water was trickling out from the south side.

47:3 When the man went out toward the east with a measuring line in his hand, he measured 1,750 feet, ²⁷  and then he led me through water, which was ankle deep. 47:4 Again he measured 1,750 feet and led me through the water, which was now knee deep. Once more he measured 1,750 feet and led me through the water, which was waist deep. 47:5 Again he measured 1,750 feet and it was a river I could not cross, for the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed. 47:6 He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?”

Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 47:7 When I had returned, I noticed ²⁸  a vast number of trees on the banks of the river, on both sides. 47:8 He said to me, “These waters go out toward the eastern region and flow down into the Arabah; when they enter the Dead Sea, ²⁹  where the sea is stagnant, ³⁰  the waters become fresh. ³¹  47:9 Every living creature which swarms where the river ³²  flows will live; there will be many fish, for these waters flow there. It will become fresh ³³  and everything will live where the river flows. 47:10 Fishermen will stand beside it; from Engedi to En-eglaim they will spread nets. They will catch many kinds of fish, like the fish of the Great Sea. ³⁴  47:11 But its swamps and its marshes will not become fresh; they will remain salty. 47:12 On both sides of the river’s banks, every kind of tree will grow for food. Their leaves will not wither nor will their fruit fail, but they will bear fruit every month, because their water source flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.” ³⁵ 

Boundaries for the Land

47:13 This is what the sovereign Lord says: “Here ³⁶  are the borders ³⁷  you will observe as you allot the land to the twelve tribes of Israel. (Joseph will have two portions.) ³⁸  47:14 You must divide it equally just as I vowed to give it to your forefathers; ³⁹  this land will be assigned as your inheritance. ⁴⁰ 

47:15 “This will be the border of the land: ⁴¹  On the north side, from the Great Sea by way of Hethlon to the entrance of Zedad; 47:16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath, as far as Hazer-hattikon, which is on the border of Hauran. 47:17 The border will run from the sea to Hazar-enan, at the border of Damascus, and on the north is the border of Hamath. This is the north side. 47:18 On the east side, between Hauran and Damascus, and between Gilead and the land of Israel, will be the Jordan. You will measure from the border to the eastern sea. This is the east side. 47:19 On the south side it will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath Kadesh, the river, ⁴²  to the Great Sea. This is the south side. 47:20 On the west side the Great Sea will be the boundary to a point opposite Lebo-hamath. This is the west side.

47:21 “This is how you will divide this land for yourselves among the tribes of Israel. 47:22 You must allot it as an inheritance among yourselves and for the foreigners who reside among you, who have fathered sons among you. You must treat them as native-born among the people of Israel; they will be allotted an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. ⁴³  47:23 In whatever tribe the foreigner resides, there you will give him his inheritance,” declares the sovereign Lord.

[45:1]  ¹ tn Heb “a contribution.”

[45:1]  ² tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers). The measuring units here are the Hebrew “long” cubit, consisting of a cubit (about 18 inches or 45 cm) and a handbreadth (about 3 inches or 7.5 cm), for a total of 21 inches (52.5 cm). Because modern readers are not familiar with the cubit as a unit of measurement, and due to the additional complication of the “long” cubit as opposed to the regular cubit, all measurements have been converted to American standard miles (one mile = 5,280 feet), with the Hebrew measurements and the metric equivalents given in the notes.

[45:1]  ³ tc The LXX reads “twenty thousand cubits.”

[45:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “holy it is in all its territory round about.”

[45:2]  ¹ tn Heb “five hundred cubits” (i.e., 262.5 meters); the phrase occurs twice in this verse.

[45:2]  ² tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).

[45:3]  ¹ tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).

[45:3]  ² tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).

[45:4]  ¹ tc The LXX apparently understood “open land” instead of “sanctuary.”

[45:5]  ¹ tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).

[45:5]  ² tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).

[45:5]  ³ tc The translation follows the LXX here. The MT reads “twenty.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:246.

[45:6]  ¹ tn Heb “five thousand cubits” (i.e., 2.625 kilometers).

[45:6]  ² tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).

[45:9]  ¹ sn Evictions of the less fortunate by the powerful are described in 1 Kgs 21:1-16; Jer 22:1-5, 13-17; Ezek 22:25.

[45:10]  ¹ sn Previous legislation regarding this practice may be found in Lev 19:35-36; Deut 25:13-16; Mic 6:10-12.

[45:10]  ² tn Heb “ephah,” which was 1/2 bushel.

[45:10]  ³ tn Heb “bath,” a liquid measure, was 5 1/2 gallons.

[45:11]  ¹ sn The homer was about 5 bushels as a dry measure and 55 gallons as a liquid measure.

[45:12]  ¹ tn Heb “twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, fifteen shekels.”

[45:16]  ¹ tn Heb “will be.”

[45:24]  ¹ tn Heb “a hin of oil.” A hin was about 1/16 of a bath. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:266, and O. R. Sellers, “Weights,” IDB 4:835 g.

[45:24]  ² tn Heb “ephah.” The words “of grain” are supplied in the translation as a clarification.

[45:25]  ¹ sn That is, the Feast of Temporary Shelters, traditionally known as the Feast of Tabernacles (Exod 23:16; 34:22; Deut 16:16).

[47:1]  ¹ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[47:2]  ¹ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[47:3]  ¹ tn Heb “one thousand cubits” (i.e., 525 meters); this phrase occurs three times in the next two verses.

[47:7]  ¹ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[47:8]  ¹ tn Heb “the sea,” referring to the Dead Sea. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[47:8]  ² tn Heb “to the sea, those which are brought out.” The reading makes no sense. The text is best emended to read “filthy” (i.e., stagnant). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:273.

[47:8]  ³ tn Heb “the waters become healed.”

[47:9]  ¹ tn Heb “two rivers,” perhaps under the influence of Zech 14:8. The translation follows the LXX and other ancient versions in reading the singular, which is demanded by the context (see vv. 5-7, 9b, 12).

[47:9]  ² tn Heb “will be healed.”

[47:10]  ¹ sn The Great Sea refers to the Mediterranean Sea (also in vv. 15, 19, 20).

[47:12]  ¹ sn See Rev 22:1-2.

[47:13]  ¹ tc This translation follows the reading זֶה (zeh) instead of גֵּה (geh), a nonexistent word, as supported by the LXX.

[47:13]  ² tn Or “territory”; see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:715.

[47:13]  ³ tc The grammar is awkward, though the presence of these words is supported by the versions. L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 2:274) suggests that it is an explanatory gloss.

[47:14]  ¹ sn Gen 15:9-21.

[47:14]  ² tn Heb “will fall to you as an inheritance.”

[47:15]  ¹ sn The measurements resemble those in Num 34:1-2.

[47:19]  ¹ tn Or “valley.” The syntax is difficult. Some translate “to the river,” others “from the river”; in either case the preposition is supplied for the sake of English.

[47:22]  ¹ sn A similar attitude toward non-Israelites is found in Isa 56:3-8.