The division of the land

1 ‘These are the tribes, listed by name: at the northern frontier, Dan will have one portion; it will follow the Hethlon road to Lebo Hamath; Hazar Enan and the northern border of Damascus next to Hamath will be part of its border from the east side to the west side.

2 ‘Asher will have one portion; it will border the territory of Dan from east to west.

3 ‘Naphtali will have one portion; it will border the territory of Asher from east to west.

4 ‘Manasseh will have one portion; it will border the territory of Naphtali from east to west.

5 ‘Ephraim will have one portion; it will border the territory of Manasseh from east to west.

6 ‘Reuben will have one portion; it will border the territory of Ephraim from east to west.

7 ‘Judah will have one portion; it will border the territory of Reuben from east to west.

8 ‘Bordering the territory of Judah from east to west will be the portion you are to present as a special gift. It will be 25,000 cubitswide, and its length from east to west will equal one of the tribal portions; the sanctuary will be in the centre of it.

9 ‘The special portion you are to offer to the Lordwill be 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubitswide.

10 This will be the sacred portion for the priests. It will be 25,000 cubits long on the north side, 10,000 cubits wide on the west side, 10,000 cubits wide on the east side and 25,000 cubits long on the south side. In the centre of it will be the sanctuary of the Lord.

11 This will be for the consecrated priests, the Zadokites, who were faithful in serving me and did not go astray as the Levites did when the Israelites went astray.

12 It will be a special gift to them from the sacred portion of the land, a most holy portion, bordering the territory of the Levites.

13 ‘Alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites will be allotted a portion of land 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide. Its total length will be 25,000 cubits and its width 10,000 cubits.

14 They must not sell or exchange any of it. This is the best of the land and must not pass into other hands, because it is holy to the Lord.

15 ‘The remaining area, 5,000 cubitswide and 25,000 cubits long, will be for the common use of the city, for houses and for pasture-land. The city will be in the centre of it

16 and will have these measurements: the north side 4,500 cubits,the south side 4,500 cubits, the east side 4,500 cubits, and the west side 4,500 cubits.

17 The pasture-land for the city will be 250 cubitson the north, 250 cubits on the south, 250 cubits on the east, and 250 cubits on the west.

18 What remains of the area, bordering on the sacred portion and running the length of it, will be 10,000 cubits on the east side and 10,000 cubits on the west side. Its produce will supply food for the workers of the city.

19 The workers from the city who farm it will come from all the tribes of Israel.

20 The entire portion will be a square, 25,000 cubits on each side. As a special gift you will set aside the sacred portion, along with the property of the city.

21 ‘What remains on both sides of the area formed by the sacred portion and the property of the city will belong to the prince. It will extend eastward from the 25,000 cubits of the sacred portion to the eastern border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the western border. Both these areas running the length of the tribal portions will belong to the prince, and the sacred portion with the temple sanctuary will be in the centre of them.

22 So the property of the Levites and the property of the city will lie in the centre of the area that belongs to the prince. The area belonging to the prince will lie between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin.

23 ‘As for the rest of the tribes: Benjamin will have one portion; it will extend from the east side to the west side.

24 ‘Simeon will have one portion; it will border the territory of Benjamin from east to west.

25 ‘Issachar will have one portion; it will border the territory of Simeon from east to west.

26 ‘Zebulun will have one portion; it will border the territory of Issachar from east to west.

27 ‘Gad will have one portion; it will border the territory of Zebulun from east to west.

28 ‘The southern boundary of Gad will run south from Tamar to the waters of Meribah Kadesh, then along the Wadi of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea.

29 ‘This is the land you are to allot as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel, and these will be their portions,’ declares the Sovereign Lord.

The gates of the new city

30 ‘These will be the exits of the city: beginning on the north side, which is 4,500 cubits long,

31 the gates of the city will be named after the tribes of Israel. The three gates on the north side will be the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah and the gate of Levi.

32 ‘On the east side, which is 4,500 cubits long, will be three gates: the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin and the gate of Dan.

33 ‘On the south side, which measures 4,500 cubits, will be three gates: the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar and the gate of Zebulun.

34 ‘On the west side, which is 4,500 cubits long, will be three gates: the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher and the gate of Naphtali.

35 ‘The distance all around will be 18,000 cubits.

‘And the name of the city from that time on will be:

THE LordIS THERE.’

Footnotes for the Book of Ezekiel

a1The Hebrew phraseben adammeanshuman being. The phraseson of manis retained as a form of address here and throughout Ezekiel because of its possible association with ‘Son of Man’ in the New Testament.

a4Orupon your side

b10That is, about 230 grams

c11That is, about 0.6 litre

d17Oraway in

a14Most Hebrew manuscripts; a few Hebrew manuscriptsRiblah

a2Orsaw a fiery figure

a24OrChaldea

a14OrDanel, a man of renown in ancient literature; also in verse 20

a10Orthings to a brother

a29Bamahmeanshigh place.

b40Orand the gifts of your firstfruits

c49In Hebrew texts 20:45-49 is numbered 21:1-5.

a16OrWhen I have allotted you your inheritance

b25Septuagint;Hebrew prophets

a23Oraway in

a5That is, Mount Hermon

b6Targum; the Masoretic Text has a different division of the consonants.

c15Septuagint; HebrewDedan

d16Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and SyriacEdom

e17The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

a7Syriac (see also Septuagint and Vulgate); Hebrewand you caused their backs to stand

b10That is, the upper Nile region

c21Hornhere symbolises strength.

a9Hebrew; Septuagintbring you into captivity among the nations, / to

b27Septuagint; Hebrewwarriors who were uncircumcised

c27Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Textpunishment

a26OrI will cause them and the places surrounding my hill to be named in blessings(see Gen. 48:20); orI will cause them and the places surrounding my hill to be seen as blessed

a2Orthe prince of Rosh,

b3OrGog, prince of Rosh,

c5That is, the upper Nile region

d12The Hebrew for this phrase meansthe navel of the earth.

e13Orher strong lions

a5That is, about 3.2 metres; also in verse 12. The long cubit of about 53 centimetres is the basic unit of measurement of length throughout chapters 40 – 48.

b7That is, about 2.7 metres; also in verse 48

c8,9Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscriptsgateway facing the temple; it was one rod deep. 9Then he measured the portico of the gateway; it

d9That is, about 4.2 metres

e9That is, about about 1 metre

f11That is, about 5.3 metres wide and 6.9 metres long

g13That is, about 13 metres; also in verses 21, 25, 29, 30, 33 and 36

h14That is, about 32 metres

i14Septuagint; Hebrewprojecting wall

j14The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.

k15That is, about 27 metres; also in verses 21, 25, 29, 33 and 36

l19That is, about 53 metres; also in verses 23, 27 and 47

m37Septuagint (see also verses 31 and 34); Hebrewjambs

n39Orpurification offerings

o42That is, about 80 centimetres long and wide and 53 centimetres high

p43That is, about 9 centimetres

q44Septuagint; Hebrewwere rooms for singers, which were

r44Septuagint; Hebreweast

s48That is, about 7.4 metres

t48Septuagint; Hebrewentrance was

u48That is, about 1.6 metres

v49That is, about 11 metres

w49Septuagint; Hebreweleven

x49That is, about 6.4 metres

y49Hebrew; SeptuagintTen steps led up to it

a2That is, about 53 metres long and 27 metres wide

b3That is, about 11 metres

c4Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrewand one cubit

d4That is, about 5.3 metres wide and 53 metres long

e10Septuagint; HebrewEastward

f13Orpurification offerings

g16See Septuagint of verse 17; Hebrewrods; also in verses 18 and 19.

h16Five hundred cubits equal about 265 metres; also in verses 17, 18 and 19.

i17Septuagint; Hebrewrods

a27Orpurification offering; also in verse 29

b29The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord.

a5That is, probably about 16 kilograms; also in verses 7 and 11

b5That is, about 3.8 litres; also in verses 7 and 11

c14That is, probably about 2.7 kilograms

d14That is, about 1.3 litres

e20Orpurification offering

f22The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

g22That is, about 21 metres long and 16 metres wide

a8That is, about 8 miles or about 13 kilometres; also in verses 9, 10, 13, 15, 20 and 21

b9That is, about 3 1/3 miles or about 5.3 kilometres; also in verses 10, 13 and 18

c15That is, about 1 2/3 miles or about 2.7 kilometres

d16That is, about 1 1/2 miles or about 2.4 kilometres; also in verses 30, 32, 33 and 34

e17That is, about 135 metres

f35That is, about 6 miles or about 9.5 kilometres

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/72/32k/EZK/48-6985d070c9bbebe197ca16a963f3f40e.mp3?version_id=113—