< Ezekiel 45 >
1 And when you shall begin to divide the land by lot, separate ye firstfruits to the Lord, a portion of the land to be holy, in length twenty-five thousand and in breadth ten thousand: it shall be holy in all the borders thereof round about.
When you allocate the land ownership by lot, you are to make a provision for the Lord, a holy allocation of the land that measures 25,000 cubits long and 20,000 cubits wide. This whole area is holy.
2 And there shall be for the sanctuary on every side five hundred by five hundred, foursquare round about: and fifty cubits for the suburbs thereof round about.
Inside this there is the section for the sanctuary that measures 500 cubits square, with an open area around it 50 cubits wide.
3 And with this measure thou shalt measure the length of five and twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand, and in it shall be the temple and the holy of holies.
From this holy allocation, measure out a section that is 25,000 cubits by 10,000 cubits. This will contain the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.
4 The holy portion of the land shall be for the priests the ministers of the sanctuary, who come near to the ministry of the Lord: and it shall be a place for their houses, and for the holy place of the sanctuary.
This area is a holy allocation of the land which will be used by the priests who serve in the sanctuary, who come before the Lord to minister. It will be where they can live, and a holy place for the sanctuary.
5 And five and twenty thousand of length, and ten thousand of breadth shall be for the Levites, that minister in the house: they shall possess twenty store chambers.
The other section measuring 25,000 cubits by 10,000 cubits will be assigned the Levites who work in the Temple where they can live.
6 And you shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and five and twenty thousand long, according to the separation of the sanctuary, for the whole house of Israel.
Allocate to the city an area 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long beside the sanctuary section. It is for the all the people of Israel.
7 For the prince also on the one side and on the other side, according to the separation of the sanctuary, and according to the possession of the city, over against the separation of the sanctuary, and over against the possession of the city: from the side of the sea even to the sea, and from the side of the east; even to the east. And the length according to every part from the west border to the east border.
The prince will be assigned the territory on both sides of the area that includes the holy section and that of the city. It will extend to the western border of the country from the west side and to the eastern border from the east side, in the same way as the allocation to the tribes.
8 He shall have a portion of the lead in Israel: and the princes shall no more rob my people: but they shall give the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes:
This territory will be his to own in the country of Israel. My princes won't exploit my people anymore, and will make sure the people of Israel occupy the country according to their tribal allocations.
9 Thus saith the Lord God: Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: cease from iniquity and robberies, and execute judgment and justice, separate your confines from my people, saith the Lord God.
This is what the Lord God says: You've done enough damage, princes of Israel! Stop using violence and mistreating people! Do what is good and right. Stop evicting people and stealing their property, declares the Lord God.
10 You shall have just balances, and a just ephi, and a just bate.
You must use correct methods of measurement—whether it's weights on scales, or ephah for measuring solids, and a bath for measuring liquids.
11 The ephi and the bate shall be equal, and of one measure: that the bate may contain the tenth part of a core, and the ephi the tenth part of a core: their weight shall be equal according to the measure of a core.
The ephah and the bath shall be the same quantity of volume. The bath will be equivalent to a tenth of a homer, and the ephah will also be equivalent to a tenth of a homer. The homer is to be the fundamental measurement.
12 And the sicle hath twenty obols. Now twenty sides, and five and twenty sides, and fifteen sides make a mna.
Twenty gerahs make one shekel. Sixty shekels make one mina.
13 And these are the firstfruits, which you shall take: the sixth part of an ephi of a core of wheat, and the sixth part of an ephi of a core of barley.
These are the taxes you are to contribute: one sixth of an ephah from every homer of wheat or barley.
14 The measure of oil also, a bate of oil is the tenth part of a core: and ten bates make a core: for ten bates fill a core.
In the case of olive oil, one tenth of a bath from every cor. (The measurement is based on baths, and a cor consists of ten baths or one homer, since ten baths equal one homer.)
15 And one ram out of a flock of two hundred, of those that Israel feedeth for sacrifice, and for holocausts, and for peace offerings, to make atonement for them, saith the Lord God.
In addition one sheep is to be supplied from every flock of two hundred from the green pastures of Israel. These are to provide for the grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings, to set the people right, declares the Lord God.
16 All the people of the land shall be bound to these firstfruits for the prince in Israel.
Everyone in the country has to make these contributions to the prince in Israel.
17 And the prince shall give the holocaust, and the sacrifice, and the libations on the feasts, and on the new moons, and on the sabbaths, and on all the solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall offer the sacrifice for sin, and the holocaust, and the peace offerings to make expiation for the house of Israel.
The prince's role is to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings for the religious festivals, New Moons, and Sabbaths—in fact for all the regular religious festivals of the people of Israel. He is to provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings to set the people of Israel right.
18 Thus saith the Lord God: In the first month, the first of the month, thou shalt take a calf of the herd without blemish, and thou shalt expiate the sanctuary.
This is what the Lord God says: On the first day of the first month you are to sacrifice a young bull that has no defects to purify the sanctuary.
19 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering: and he shall put it on the posts of the house, and on the four corners of the brim of the altar, and on the posts of the gate of the inner court.
The priest shall take some of the blood from the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the Temple, on the four corners of the upper ledge of the altar, and on the gateposts of the inner courtyard.
20 And so shalt thou do in the seventh day of the month, for every one that hath been ignorant, and hath been deceived by error, and thou shalt make expiation for the house.
You are also to do this on the seventh day of the month on behalf of anyone who does wrong unintentionally or in ignorance. By doing this you purify the Temple.
21 In the first month, the fourteenth day of the month, you shall observe the solemnity of the pasch: seven days unleavened bread shall be eaten.
You are to keep the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. This is a religious festival that lasts seven days, during which time bread made without yeast is to be eaten.
22 And the prince on that day shall offer for himself, and for all the people of the land, a calf for sin.
On that day the prince will provide a bull as a sin offering for himself and for everyone on the country.
23 And in the solemnity of the seven days he shall offer for a holocaust to the Lord, seven calves, and seven rams without blemish daily for seven days: and for sin a he goat daily.
Every day for the seven days of the festival, he will provide seven bulls and seven rams without defects as a burnt offering to the Lord, together with a male goat for a sin offering.
24 And he shall offer the sacrifice of an ephi for every calf, and an ephi for every ram: and a hin of oil for every ephi.
He will also provide an ephah of grain and a hin of olive oil as an offering to accompany each bull and each ram.
25 In the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, in the solemn feast, he shall do the like for the seven days: as well in regard to the sin offering, as to the holocaust, and. the sacrifice, and the oil.
For the seven days of the festival that begins on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, he is to provide the same number of sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, and olive oil.