Ezekiel 48 - Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The New Holy Land
The Northern Tribes

48 These are the names of the tribes.

The northern border runs east to west along the road between Hethlon, Lebo Hamath, and Hazar Enon, which forms the northern border of the territory of Damascus with the territory of Hamath.^[a] South of that line there will be one portion for Dan.
² South of^[b] the boundary of Dan, from the east side to the west side of the land, there is to be one portion for Asher.
³ South of the boundary of Asher, from the east side to the west side, there is to be one portion for Naphtali.
⁴ South of the boundary of Naphtali, from the east side to the west side, there is to be one portion for Manasseh.
⁵ South of the boundary of Manasseh, from the east side to the west side, there is to be one portion for Ephraim.
⁶ South of the boundary of Ephraim, from the east side to the west side, there is to be one portion for Reuben.
⁷ South of the boundary of Reuben, from the east side to the west side, there is to be one portion for Judah.

The Central Holy Area

⁸ South of the boundary of Judah, from the east side to the west side, will be the special contribution you are to devote to special use. Its north-to-south width is twenty-five thousand cubits,^[c] and its east-to-west length is equal to one of the tribal portions from the eastern side of the land to the western side.^[d] The sanctuary will be in the midst of it.^[e]

The Place for the Temple

⁹ The contribution you are to devote to the Lord is to be twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousand cubits wide.^{[f] 10} The holy contribution for the priests will be this: a rectangular area measuring twenty-five thousand cubits long on the north side, ten thousand cubits wide on the west, ten thousand cubits wide on the east, and twenty-five thousand cubits long on the south. The sanctuary of the Lord will be in the middle. ¹¹ It will be for the priests, whoever has been consecrated from the sons of Zadok, who guarded the ministry for me, and who did not go astray when the other sons of Israel went astray, as also the Levites went astray. ¹² It will be a special offering for them from the holy contribution of the land, a most holy district, beside the territory of the Levites.

The Place for the Levites

¹³ The Levites are to have a rectangular allotment parallel to the territory of the priests. Twenty-five thousand cubits is its length, and its width is ten thousand cubits. Its whole length is twenty-five thousand cubits, and its width is ten thousand cubits. ¹⁴ They must not sell any part of it nor exchange any of it. No one can transfer these firstfruits of the land, because they are holy, belonging to the Lord.

The City

¹⁵ The area five thousand cubits^[g] wide that remains along the south edge of the square of twenty-five thousand cubits is common land for the city, for living space and for open land. The city is to be in its center, between the two halves. ¹⁶ These are the city’s dimensions: a square measuring four thousand five hundred cubits on the north side, and four thousand five hundred cubits on the south side, and four thousand five hundred cubits on the east side, and four thousand five hundred cubits on the west side. ¹⁷ The open land belonging to the city will measure two hundred fifty cubits on the north side, and two hundred fifty cubits on the south, and two hundred fifty cubits on the east, and two hundred fifty cubits on the west.

¹⁸ The remaining area that runs lengthwise along the south side of the holy contribution will be ten thousand cubits east-to-west on the east side of the city, and ten thousand cubits east-to-west on the west side of the city. It shall be next to the holy contribution, and its produce shall be food for the workers of the city. ¹⁹ The workers of the city who cultivate it will be from all the tribes of Israel.

²⁰ The entire holy contribution will be twenty-five thousand cubits by twenty-five thousand cubits, a square. Set apart this holy contribution, which includes the property of the city.

The Territory of the Prince

²¹ What remains of the holy contribution will belong to the prince. It lies on both sides of the holy contribution and the property of the city, extending from the eastern north-to-south boundary of the special contribution (which is twenty-five thousand cubits long) to the eastern border of the land, and on the west side, it will extend from the western north-to-south boundary of the special contribution (which is twenty-five thousand cubits long) to the western border of the land. The two portions belonging to the prince run parallel to the tribal portions. The holy contribution and the temple sanctuary will be between the two halves of the prince’s area. ²² The area consisting of the property of the Levites and the property of the city is between the two tracts that will belong to the prince. The area between the territory of Judah and the territory of Benjamin will belong to the prince.

The Southern Tribes

²³ As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side of the land to the west side is one portion for Benjamin.
²⁴ South of the boundary of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, is one portion for Simeon.
²⁵ South of the boundary of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, is one portion for Issachar.
²⁶ South of the boundary of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, is one portion for Zebulun.
²⁷ South of the boundary of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side, is one portion for Gad.
²⁸ South of the boundary of Gad on the southern side, the border will run from Tamar to the Waters of Meribah Kadesh, to the Stream of Egypt, and to the Great Sea.

²⁹ This is the land that you are to allot as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, declares the Lord God.

The City Once More

³⁰ These are the outside boundaries of the city.

The north side is four thousand five hundred cubits long. ³¹ The gates of the city are named after the tribes of Israel. Three gates are located on the north: one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, and one gate of Levi.

³² On the east side, which is four thousand five hundred cubits long, there are three gates: one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, and one gate of Dan.

³³ On the south side, which is four thousand five hundred cubits long, there are three gates: one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, and one gate of Zebulun.

³⁴ On the west side, which is four thousand five hundred cubits long, their gates are three: one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, and one gate of Naphtali.

³⁵ The perimeter of the city is eighteen thousand cubits,^[h] and the name of the city from that day on is “The Lord Is There.”

Footnotes

1. Ezekiel 48:1 The geographic details of this border are uncertain. It seems to lie considerably farther north than the tribal boundaries in the book of Joshua.
2. Ezekiel 48:2 Literally next to
3. Ezekiel 48:8 A little more than 8 miles
4. Ezekiel 48:8 In the center of the holy area is a square 25,000 cubits by 25,000 cubits. East and west of this square is land for the prince.
5. Ezekiel 48:8 Most interpreters believe that the sanctuary is not in the middle of the whole square, but in the middle of the priests’ portion of the square. See verse 10.
6. Ezekiel 48:9 A little more than 8 miles by 3 miles in size, this portion is located along the north edge of the square.
7. Ezekiel 48:15 A little more than 1½ miles
8. Ezekiel 48:35 About 6 miles