Ezekiel 48 - International Children’s Bible (ICB)

Dividing the Land

48 “These are the names of the tribes. Dan will have one share. It will begin at the northern border. It will go from the sea and over the Hethlon Road. It will follow the road to Lebo Hamath. It will go all the way to Hazar Enan. This is on the northern border of Damascus. It will stop there next to Hamath. This will be Dan’s northern border from the east side to the Mediterranean Sea on the west side.

² “South of Dan’s border, Asher will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.

³ “South of Asher’s border, Naphtali will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.

⁴ “South of Naphtali’s border, Manasseh will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.

⁵ “South of Manasseh’s border, Ephraim will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.

⁶ “South of Ephraim’s border, Reuben will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.

⁷ “South of Reuben’s border, Judah will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.

⁸ “South of Judah’s border will be the holy area which you are to give. It will be about 7 miles wide. It will be as long and wide as one of the tribes’ shares. It will run from the east side to the west side. The Temple will be in the middle of this area.

⁹ “The share which you will give the Lord will be about 7 miles long and 3 miles wide. ¹⁰ The holy area will be divided among these people. For the priests on the north side, the land will measure about 7 miles. It will be 3 miles wide on the west side and 3 miles wide on the east side. It will be about 7 miles on the south side. The Temple of the Lord will be in the middle of it. ¹¹ This land is for the priests who are given to serve the Lord. They are the descendants of Zadok who did my work. They did not leave me. The other Levites left me when Israel did. ¹² This share from the holy portion of the land will be a gift for these priests. It will be next to the land of the Levites.

¹³ “Alongside the land for the priests, the Levites will have a share. It will be about 7 miles long and 3 miles wide. Its full length will be about 7 miles. And its full width will be about 3 miles. ¹⁴ The Levites are not to sell or trade any of this land. They will not sell any of this best part of the land. It belongs to the Lord.

City Property

¹⁵ “The rest of the land will be an area about 1½ miles wide and 7 miles long. It will be for the other people’s use. It will be for the city, for homes and for pastures. The city will be in the middle of it. ¹⁶ These are the city’s measurements: the north side will be about a mile. The south side will be about a mile. The east side will be about a mile. And the west side will be about a mile. ¹⁷ The city’s land for pastures will be about 437 feet on the north, 437 feet on the south, 437 feet on the east and 437 feet on the west. ¹⁸ Alongside the length of the holy area there will be left 3 miles on the east and 3 miles on the west. It will be used to grow food for the city workers. ¹⁹ The city workers will plow this land. The workers will be from all the tribes of Israel. ²⁰ This whole area will be square, 7 miles by 7 miles. You shall give to the Lord the holy share along with the city property.

²¹ “Land that is left over on both sides of the holy area and city property will belong to the ruler. That land will extend east of the holy area to the eastern border. And it will extend west of it to the Mediterranean Sea. Both of these areas run the length of the lands of the tribes. They belong to the ruler. The holy area with the Holy Place of the Temple will be in the middle. ²² The Levites’ land and the city property will be between the lands belonging to the ruler. The ruler’s land will be between Judah’s border and Benjamin’s border.

The Other Tribes’ Land

²³ “Here is what the rest of the tribes will receive: Benjamin will have one share. It will go from the east side to the Mediterranean Sea on the west side.

²⁴ “South of Benjamin’s land, Simeon will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.

²⁵ “South of Simeon’s land, Issachar will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.

²⁶ “South of Issachar’s land, Zebulun will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.

²⁷ “South of Zebulun’s land, Gad will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.

²⁸ “The southern border of Gad’s land will go east from Tamar on the Dead Sea to the waters of Meribah Kadesh. Then it will run along the brook of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea.

²⁹ “This is the land you will divide among the tribes of Israel. These are to be their shares,” says the Lord God.

The Gates of the City

³⁰ “These will be the outside borders of the city: The north side will measure more than a mile. ³¹ There will be three gates facing north. They are Reuben’s Gate, Judah’s Gate and Levi’s Gate. The city’s gates will be named for the tribes of Israel.

³² “The east side will measure more than a mile. There will be three gates facing east. They are Joseph’s Gate, Benjamin’s Gate and Dan’s Gate.

³³ “The south side will measure more than a mile. There will be three gates facing south. They are Simeon’s Gate, Issachar’s Gate and Zebulun’s Gate.

³⁴ “The west side will measure more than a mile. There will be three gates facing west. They are Gad’s Gate, Asher’s Gate and Naphtali’s Gate.

³⁵ “The city will measure about six miles around. From then on the name of the city will be The Lord God Is There.”