EzekielChapter 47

Tap any verse to comment or suggest a better wording.

¹Then the man brought me back to the entrance of the temple. I saw water flowing out from under the doorway of the temple. It flowed toward the east, because the temple faced east. The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. ²Next he brought me out through the north gate. He led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east. There I saw the water trickling out from the south side. ³The man went east with a measuring line in his hand. He measured off about a third of a mile. Then he led me through water that came up to my ankles.a ⁴Then he measured off another third of a mile and led me through water up to my knees. He measured another third of a mile and led me through water up to my waist. ⁵He measured off one more third of a mile. Now it was a river that I could not cross. The water had risen and was deep enough to swim in. It was a river no one could cross on foot. ⁶He asked me, "Son of man, do you see this?" Then he led me back to the bank of the river. ⁷When I got there, I saw a great many trees on both banks of the river. ⁸He said to me, "This water flows out to the land in the east. It goes down into the Arabah. When it flows into the Dead Sea, the water there becomes fresh. ⁹Wherever the river flows, there will be swarms of living creatures. There will be a great many fish, because the river flows there and makes the water fresh. So everything will thrive wherever the river flows. ¹⁰Fishermen will stand on the shore. From En-gedi to En-eglaim they will spread out their nets. They will catch many kinds of fish, like the fish of the Great Sea.b ¹¹But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh. They will be left for salt. ¹²All kinds of fruit trees will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not dry up, and their fruit will not run out. They will bear fruit every month, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves will be for healing." ¹³This is what the Lord GOD says: "These are the borders for dividing the land as an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph will get two parts. ¹⁴You must divide it equally among them. I raised my hand and promised to give it to your ancestors. So this land will be yours as an inheritance. ¹⁵This will be the border of the land: On the north side it will run from the Great Sea by the Hethlon road, through Lebo-hamath to Zedad, ¹⁶to Berothah, and to Sibraim. (Sibraim is on the border between Damascus and Hamath.) It will go as far as Hazer-hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran. ¹⁷So the border will run from the Sea to Hazar-enan, along the northern border of Damascus. The land of Hamath will be to the north. This will be the northern border. ¹⁸On the east side the border will run between Hauran and Damascus. It will run along the Jordan River between Gilead and the land of Israel. It will go down to the Eastern Sea and as far as Tamar. This will be the eastern border.c ¹⁹On the south side it will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh. Then it will run along the Brook of Egypt to the Great Sea. This will be the southern border. ²⁰On the west side, the Great Sea will be the border. It will go up to a point across from Lebo-hamath. This will be the western border. ²¹You must divide this land among yourselves by the tribes of Israel. ²²You must give it out as an inheritance for yourselves. Also give it to the foreigners who live among you and have children. You must treat them like Israelites who were born here. Along with you, they must be given an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. ²³Whatever tribe a foreigner lives with, you must give him his inheritance there," declares the Lord GOD.