The Prophet Ezekiel

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- Chapter 48 -

“And these are the names of the tribes, from the parts of the north, beside the way of Hethlon, continuing on to Hamath, at the entrance of Enon, to the border of Damascus toward the north, beside the way of Hamath. And from the region of the east to the sea, there will be one portion for Dan.

And beyond the border of Dan, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be one portion for Asher.

And beyond the border of Asher, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be one portion for Naphtali.

And beyond the border of Naphtali, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be one portion for Manasseh.

And beyond the border of Manasseh, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be one portion for Ephraim.

And beyond the border of Ephraim, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be one portion for Reuben.

And beyond the border of Reuben, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be one portion for Judah.

The Portions for the Priests and Levites

And beyond the border of Judah, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be the first-fruits, which you shall separate, twenty-five thousand in width, and in length, the same as each one of the portions from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea. And the sanctuary shall be in its midst.

The first-fruits, which you shall separate to the Lord, shall be, in length, twenty-five thousand, and in width, ten thousand.

And these shall be the first-fruits for the sanctuary of the priests: toward the north, in length, twenty-five thousand, and toward the sea, in width, ten thousand, but also, toward the east, in width, ten thousand, and toward the south, in length, twenty-five thousand. And the sanctuary of the Lord shall be in its midst.

The sanctuary shall be for the priests from the sons of Zadok, who observed my ceremonies and did not go astray, when the sons of Israel went astray, just as the Levites also went astray.(a)

And so the foremost of the first-fruits of the land, the Holy of Holies, beside the border of the Levites, shall be for them.

But also the Levites, similarly, shall have, beside the borders of the priests, twenty-five thousand in length, and ten thousand in width. The entire length shall be twenty-five thousand, and the width shall be ten thousand.

And they shall not sell from it, nor exchange, and the first-fruits of the land shall not be transferred. For these have been sanctified to the Lord.

The Common Portion

But the five thousand that is left over, out of the twenty-five thousand in width, will be a profane place of the city for dwelling and for the suburbs. And the city shall be in the center.

And these shall be its measurements: on the northern side, four thousand and five hundred; and on the southern side, four thousand and five hundred; and on the eastern side, four thousand and five hundred; and on the western side, four thousand and five hundred.

But the suburbs of the city shall be: to the north, two hundred and fifty; and to the south, two hundred and fifty; and to the east, two hundred and fifty; and to the sea, two hundred and fifty.

Now what will remain of the length, in accord with the first-fruits of the sanctuary, ten thousand in the east, and ten thousand in the west, shall be as the first-fruits of the sanctuary. And its produce will be for the bread of those who serve the city.

And those who serve the city will be taken from all the tribes of Israel.

All the first-fruits, of the twenty-five thousand by twenty-five thousand square, shall be separated as the first-fruits of the sanctuary and as the possession of the city.

The Portion for the Prince

And what will remain shall be for the prince out of every portion of the first-fruits of the sanctuary and of the possession of the city, from the region of the twenty-five thousand of the first-fruits, even to the eastern border. But also to the sea from the region of the twenty-five thousand, even to the border of the sea, similarly shall be the portion of the prince. And the first-fruits of the sanctuary, and the sanctuary of the temple, shall be in its center.

Now from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, which are in the midst of the prince’s portions, whatever is between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall also belong to the prince.

The Portions for the Remaining Tribes

And for the remainder of the tribes, from the eastern region, even to the western region, there shall be one portion for Benjamin.

And opposite the border of Benjamin, from the eastern region, even to the western region, there shall be one portion for Simeon.

And beyond the border of Simeon, from the eastern region, even to the western region, there shall be one portion for Issachar.

And beyond the border of Issachar, from the eastern region, even to the western region, there shall be one portion for Zebulun.

And beyond the border of Zebulun, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be one portion for Gad.

And beyond the border of Gad, toward the southern region, in the meridian, the last part shall be from Tamar, even to the Waters of Contradiction at Kadesh, as the inheritance opposite the great sea.

This is the land that you shall distribute by lot to the tribes of Israel, and these shall be their portions, says the Lord God.

The City Gates and Dimensions

And these shall be the exits of the city: from the northern region, you shall measure four thousand and five hundred.

And the gates of the city shall be according to the names of the tribes of Israel. There shall be three gates from the north: the gate of Reuben one, the gate of Judah one, the gate of Levi one.

And to the eastern region, there shall be four thousand and five hundred. And there shall be three gates: the gate of Joseph one, the gate of Benjamin one, the gate of Dan one.

And to the southern region, you shall measure four thousand and five hundred. And there shall be three gates: the gate of Simeon one, the gate of Issachar one, the gate of Zebulun one.

And to the western region, there shall be four thousand and five hundred, and their three gates: the gate of Gad one, the gate of Asher one, the gate of Naphtali one.

Along the circumference, there shall be eighteen thousand. And the name of the city, from that day, shall be: ‘The Lord is in that very place.’ ”(b)

Footnotes

(a)48:11 The sons of Zadok are not literally the descendents of Zadok, but rather all those priests and Levites who remained faithful to the ordinances of the Lord when so many others went astray. The name Zadok means ‘righteous.’ A number of different persons are called Zadok in Scripture. These individual were perhaps given the name ‘Zadok’ by Scripture because their behavior was righteous; they were not necessarily given the name Zadok from childhood.(Conte)

(b)48:35 The Lord is there:This name is here given to the city, that is, to the church of Christ: because the Lord is always with her till the end of the world. Matt. 28:20.(Challoner)

“Now these are the names of the tribes: From the north end, beside the way of Hethlon to the entrance of Hamath, Hazar Enan at the border of Damascus, northward beside Hamath (and they shall have their sides east and west), Dan, one portion.

“By the border of Dan, from the east side to the west side, Asher, one portion.

“By the border of Asher, from the east side even to the west side, Naphtali, one portion.

“By the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west side, Manasseh, one portion.

“By the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west side, Ephraim, one portion.

“By the border of Ephraim, from the east side even to the west side, Reuben, one portion.

“By the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west side, Judah, one portion.

The Portions for the Priests and Levites

“By the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side, shall be the offering which you shall offer, twenty-five thousand reeds in width, and in length as one of the portions, from the east side to the west side; and the sanctuary shall be in the middle of it.

“The offering that you shall offer to the LORD shall be twenty-five thousand reeds in length, and ten thousand in width.

For these, even for the priests, shall be the holy offering: toward the north twenty-five thousand 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 in length; and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the middle of it.

It shall be for the priests who are sanctified of the sons of Zadok, who have kept my instruction, who didn’t go astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.

It shall be to them an offering from the offering of the land, a most holy thing, by the border of the Levites.

“Alongside 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, and the width ten thousand.

They shall sell none of it, nor exchange it, nor shall the first fruits of the land be alienated, for it is holy to the LORD.

The Common Portion

“The five thousand cubits that are left in the width, in front of the twenty-five thousand, shall be for common use, for the city, for dwelling and for pasture lands; and the city shall be in the middle of it.

These shall be its measurements: the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred.

The city shall have pasture lands: toward the north two hundred fifty, and toward the south two hundred fifty, and toward the east two hundred fifty, and toward the west two hundred fifty.

The remainder of the length, alongside the holy offering, shall be ten thousand eastward and ten thousand westward; and it shall be alongside the holy offering. Its increase shall be for food to those who labor in the city.

Those who labor in the city, out of all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it.

All the offering shall be a square of twenty-five thousand by twenty-five thousand. You shall offer it as a holy offering, with the possession of the city.

The Portion for the Prince

“The remainder shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy offering and of the possession of the city; in front of the twenty-five thousand of the offering toward the east border, and westward in front of the twenty-five thousand toward the west border, alongside the portions, it shall be for the prince. The holy offering and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the middle of it.

Moreover, from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the middle of that which is the prince’s, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince.

The Portions for the Remaining Tribes

“As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west side, Benjamin, one portion.

“By the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, Simeon, one portion.

“By the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, Issachar, one portion.

“By the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, Zebulun, one portion.

“By the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side, Gad, one portion.

“By the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar to the waters of Meribath Kadesh, to the brook, to the great sea.

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

The City Gates and Dimensions

“These are the exits of the city: On the north side four thousand five hundred reeds by measure;

and the gates of the city shall be named after the tribes of Israel, three gates northward: the gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; the gate of Levi, one.

“At the east side four thousand five hundred reeds, and three gates: even the gate of Joseph, one; the gate of Benjamin, one; the gate of Dan, one.

“At the south side four thousand five hundred reeds by measure, and three gates: the gate of Simeon, one; the gate of Issachar, one; the gate of Zebulun, one.

“At the west side four thousand five hundred reeds, with their three gates: the gate of Gad, one; the gate of Asher, one; the gate of Naphtali, one.

“It shall be eighteen thousand reeds in circumference; and the name of the city from that day shall be, ‘The LORD is there.’