Ezekiel 48 - Modern English Version (MEV)

The Division of the Land

48 Now these are the names of the tribes: From the north end beside the way of Hethlon as one goes to Lebo Hamath, as far as Hazar Enan at the border of Damascus northward beside Hamath going from east to west, Dan, one portion;

² by the border of Dan from the east side to the west side, a portion for Asher;

³ by the border of Asher from the east side even to the west side, a portion for Naphtali;

⁴ by the border of Naphtali from the east side to the west side, a portion for Manasseh;

⁵ by the border of Manasseh from the east side to the west side, a portion for Ephraim;

⁶ by the border of Ephraim from the east side even to the west side, a portion for Reuben;

⁷ by the border of Reuben from the east side to the west side, a portion for Judah;

⁸ by the border of Judah from the east side to the west side shall be the allotment which you shall set apart, twenty-five thousand cubits^[a] in width and in length as one of the other parts, from the east side to the west side. And the sanctuary shall be in the middle of it.

⁹ The allotment that you shall set apart to the Lord shall be twenty-five thousand cubits in length, and ten thousand^[b] in width. ¹⁰ For them, even for the priests, shall be this holy allotment, toward the north twenty-five thousand cubits in length and toward the west ten thousand in width and toward the east ten thousand in width and toward the south twenty-five thousand cubits in length. And the sanctuary of the Lord shall be in its midst. ¹¹ It shall be for the priests who are sanctified of the sons of Zadok, who have kept My charge, who did not go astray when the sons of Israel went astray as the Levites went astray. ¹² It shall be an allotment to them, a thing most holy, the allotment of the land by the border of the Levites.

¹³ Opposite the border of the priests, the Levites shall have twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width. All the length shall be twenty-five thousand cubits, and the width ten thousand. ¹⁴ They shall not sell of it or exchange or alienate this choice portion of the land, for it is holy to the Lord.

¹⁵ The five thousand cubits^[c] in width that remain and the twenty-five thousand in length shall be for common use for the city, for dwellings and for suburbs. And the city shall be in the midst. ¹⁶ These shall be its measurements: the north side four thousand five hundred cubits;^[d] and the south side four thousand five hundred cubits; and on the east side four thousand five hundred cubits; and the west side four thousand five hundred cubits. ¹⁷ The suburbs of the city shall be: to the north, two hundred and fifty cubits;^[e] to the south, two hundred and fifty cubits; to the east, two hundred and fifty cubits; and to the west, two hundred and fifty cubits. ¹⁸ The rest in length alongside the holy portion shall be ten thousand cubits eastward and ten thousand westward. And it shall be alongside the holy portion. And its increase shall be for food to those who serve the city. ¹⁹ Those who serve the city, out of all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it. ²⁰ All the allotment shall be twenty-five thousand by twenty-five thousand cubits. You shall set apart the holy allotment foursquare, with the property of the city.

²¹ The rest shall belong to the prince, on both sides of the holy allotment and the city property, next to the twenty-five thousand cubits of the allotment toward the eastern border, and westward next to the twenty-five thousand toward the western border, next to the portions for the prince. And the holy allotment and the sanctuary of the temple shall be in its midst. ²² Moreover excluding the property of the Levites and the property of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince’s, everything between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin shall be for the prince.

²³ As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side to the west side, Benjamin shall have one portion.

²⁴ By the border of Benjamin from the east side to the west side, Simeon shall have one portion.

²⁵ By the border of Simeon from the east side to the west side, Issachar shall have one portion.

²⁶ By the border of Issachar from the east side to the west side, Zebulun shall have one portion.

²⁷ By the border of Zebulun from the east side to the west side, Gad shall have one portion.

²⁸ By the border of Gad at the south side southward the border shall be even from Tamar to the waters of Meribah Kadesh and to the brook of Egypt toward the Mediterranean Sea.

²⁹ This is the land which you shall divide by lot to the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions, says the Lord God.

The Gates of the New City

³⁰ These are the exits of the city on the north side, four thousand five hundred cubits by measurement. ³¹ The gates of the city shall be named after the tribes of Israel, three gates northward: one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi.

³² At the east side, four thousand five hundred cubits, shall be three gates: one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan.

³³ At the south side, four thousand five hundred cubits^[f] by measurement, shall be three gates: one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun.

³⁴ At the west side, four thousand five hundred cubits, shall be three gates: one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.

³⁵ The circumference shall be eighteen thousand cubits.^[g]

And the name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord Is There.

Footnotes

1. Ezekiel 48:8 About 8 miles, or 13 kilometers; and in vv. 9, 10, 13, 15, 20, and 21.
2. Ezekiel 48:9 About 3⅓ miles, or 5.3 kilometers; and in vv. 10, 13, and 18.
3. Ezekiel 48:15 About 1⅔ miles, or 2.7 kilometers.
4. Ezekiel 48:16 About 1½ miles, or 2.4 kilometers; and in vv. 30, 32, 33, and 34.
5. Ezekiel 48:17 About 440 feet, or 135 meters.
6. Ezekiel 48:33 About 1½ miles, or 2.4 kilometers.
7. Ezekiel 48:35 About 6 miles, or 9.5 kilometers.