Ezekiel 48

1 “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.

“Here is a list of the tribes of Israel [and the territory that each tribe is to receive]: [The tribe of] Dan will be allotted land at the northern boundary [of Israel]: It will extend east from the Mediterranean Sea east to Hethlon [city], then from there to Hamath Pass, and on to [the town of] Hazar-Enan south of Damascus, between Damascus and Hamath. The tribe of Dan will receive land on the northern border [of Israel] from the eastern end [of the country] west to the [Mediterranean] Sea.

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

South of their land will be the territory [for the tribe] of Asher.

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

South of their land will be the territory [for the tribe] of Naphtali.

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

South of their land will be the territory [for the tribe] of Manasseh.

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

South of their land will be the territory [for the tribe] of Ephraim.

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

South of their land will be the territory [for the tribe] of Reuben.

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

South of their land will be the territory [for the tribe] of Judah.

8 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.

South of their land will be an area set apart for special use. The temple will be in the center of that area.

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

It must be (8.3 miles/13.3 km.) long and (6.7 miles/10.6 km.) wide.

10 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.

For the priests, there must be a strip of land (8.3 miles/13.3 km.) long and (3.3 miles/5.3 km.) wide. The temple will be in the center of that area.

11 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.

That area is for the priests who are descendants of Zadok. They are ones who served me faithfully and did not turn away from me, like most of the descendants of Levi and the other Israeli people did.

12 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.

When the land is distributed, that area must be given to the priests; it is land that is very sacred. It will be next to the land that will be given to the other descendants of Levi.

13 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.

The land that will be allotted to the [other] descendants of Levi will be the same size as the land allotted to the priests. So together, those two portions of land will be (8.3 miles/13.3 km.) long and (6.6 miles/10.6 km.) wide.

14 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.

None of this special land will ever be permitted to be sold or traded or used by other people, because it belongs to me, Yahweh. It is set apart for me.

15 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.

The rest [of that sacred area, a strip of land] (8.3 miles/13.3 km.) long and (1.7 miles/2.65 km.) wide will be allotted for other people to use. It will be land where they will be permitted to build homes and have pasturelands. There will be a city at the center.

16 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.

The city will be square, (1.5 miles/2.4 km.) on each side.

17 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.

Around the city there will be an area for farming, that will be (150 yards/135 meters) in each direction.

18 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.

Outside the city, to the east and to the west, there will be a farming area. It will extend (3 miles/4.8 km.) to the east and (3 miles/4.8 km.) to the west. [Men who work there] will produce food for the people who work in the city.

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

[Some of] those who come from the various Israeli tribes to work in the city may also work on the farmland.

20 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.

That entire special area, including the sacred lands and the city, will be a square that is (8.3 miles/13.3 km.) on each side.

21 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.

The areas to the east and to the west of the sacred area and the city will belong to the king. One area will extend east to the eastern boundary of Israel and the other will extend west to the Mediterranean Sea. The sacred area in which the temple is located will be in the middle.

22 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 area that belongs to the king will be between the land [of the tribe] of [to the north] and the land [of the tribe] of Benjamin [to the south].

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

South of that special area, each of the other tribes must be allotted one portion of land that extends from the eastern [boundary of Israel] west [to the Mediterranean Sea]. [Beginning at the north] will be land for [the tribe of] Benjamin.

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

South of their land will be the territory for [the tribe of] Simeon.

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

South of their land will be the territory for [the tribe of] Issachar.

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

South of their land will be the territory for [the tribe of] Zebulun.

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

South of their land will be the territory for [the tribe of] Gad.

28 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.

The southern boundary of [the tribe of] Gad will extend south from Tamar to the springs at Meribah-Kadesh, and from there [to the west] along the dry riverbed at the border of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea.

29 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.

That is the land that you must allot to the tribes of Israel, to belong to them permanently. [That is what I], Yahweh the Lord, declare.”

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

These will be the exits from the city: On the north side, which will be (1.5 miles/2.4 km.) long,

31 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.

there must be three gates; each one will have the name of one of the tribes of Israel. The first one will be named for Reuben, the next for Judah, the next for Levi.

32 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.

On the east side, [also] (1.5 miles/2.4 km.) long, will be gates named for Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan.

33 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.

On the south side, [also] (1.5 miles/2.4 km.) long, will be gates named for Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun.

34 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.

On the west side, [also] (1.5 miles/2.4 km.) long, will be gates named for Gad, Asher, and Naphtali.

35 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.’”

[So] the distance around the city will thus be (6 miles/9.6 km.). And from that time on, the name of the city will be ‘Yahweh Is There’.’