Ê-xê-chi-ên 47

The river flowing from the temple

¹The man led me back to the temple’s entrance. Water was coming out from beneath the threshold of the temple and flowing east, since the temple faced east. It ran down from beneath the south side of the temple, south of the altar. ²Then he took me out by the north gate and brought me around outside to the outer east gate. There the water was trickling out on the south side. ³As the man went out toward the east with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off about 1,750 feet and led me through the water. It came up to my ankles. ⁴He measured off another about 1,750 feet and led me through the water, and it came up to my knees. He measured off another about 1,750 feet and led me through, and the water came up to my waist. ⁵Again he measured off about 1,750 feet, and now it was a river too deep for me to cross, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river no one could cross. ⁶He said to me, “Son of man, do you see this?” Then he led me back to the bank of the river. ⁷As I came back, I saw a great many trees on both banks of the river. ⁸He said to me, “This water goes out toward the eastern region and down into the Arabah, and it goes into the sea. When it flows into the Dead Sea, its salt water will be made fresh.^{a 9}Wherever the river flows, every kind of living creature that swarms will live. There will be a great many fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh. Wherever the river goes, everything will live.^{b 10}Fishermen will stand along its shore from En-gedi to En-eglaim, and it will be a place for spreading out nets. Its fish will be of as many kinds as the fish of the Great Sea, and very many. ¹¹But its swamps and marshes will not be made fresh; they will be kept for salt. ¹²On both banks of the river every kind of tree that bears food will grow. Their leaves will never wither, and their fruit will never fail. They will bear fresh fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.”

The borders of the land

¹³the Lord GOD says this: This is the boundary by which you will divide the land among the twelve tribes of Israel as their inheritance, with two portions for Joseph. ¹⁴You are to divide it equally among you, since I raised my hand in an oath to give it to your ancestors. This land will fall to you as your inheritance. ¹⁵This is to be the border of the land: On the north side it will run from the Great Sea by the Hethlon road to Lebo, to Zedad,^{c 16}Hamath, Berothah and Sibraim, which lie between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath, as far as Hazer-hattikon, on the border of Hauran. ¹⁷So the border is to run from the sea to Hazar-enan, on the Damascus border, with Hamath’s territory lying to the north. This is the northern side. ¹⁸On the east side, the border is to pass between Hauran and Damascus, and along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel. You are to measure it from the northern border to the eastern sea. This is the eastern side.^{d 19}On the south side, the border will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, along the Wadi of Egypt to the Great Sea. This is the southern side. ²⁰On the west side, the Great Sea will be the border, up to a point opposite Lebo-hamath. This is the western side. ²¹You are to divide this land among yourselves by the tribes of Israel. ²²You are to allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the outsiders living among you who have had children among you. You are to treat them as native-born Israelites; they are to receive an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. ²³In whatever tribe an outsider lives, there you are to give him his inheritance, declares the Lord GOD.