Ezekiel 47

1 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house [stood toward] the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south [side] of the altar.

Then, [in the vision], the man brought me back to the entrance of the temple. There I saw water flowing out from under the entrance, flowing toward the east. The water was flowing from under the south side of the entrance, south of the altar.

2 Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.

Then the man brought me out of the inner courtyard through the north entryway, and then he led me around to the outer entryway on the east side [of the inner courtyard].

3 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters [were] to the ankles.

As the man continued walking toward the east, he had a measuring line in his hand. He measured off (1,750 feet/530 meters), and then led me through water that covered my ankles.

4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters [were] to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters [were] to the loins.

Then he measured off another (1,750 feet/530 meters) and led me through water that was up to my knees. Then he measured off another (1,750 feet/530 meters) and led me through water that was up to my waist.

5 Afterward he measured a thousand; [and it was] a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.

Then he measured off another (1,750 feet/530 meters) and led me through water that had become a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen [very high, with the result that] it would be necessary to swim across it. It was a river that no one could cross [by walking across it].

6 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen [this]? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.

Then he said to me, “You human, think carefully about what you have seen.”

7 Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river [were] very many trees on the one side and on the other.

Then he led me to the bank of that river. There I saw many trees growing on each side of the river.

8 Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: [which being] brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.

He said to me, “This water flows east and down into the [Dead] Sea. And when it flows into the [Dead] Sea, its salty water becomes fresh.

9 And it shall come to pass, [that] every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.

Wherever the river flows, there will be lots of animals and fish. And there will be lots of fish in the [Dead] Sea, because the water that flows into it will cause the salt water to become (fresh water/water that people can drink). Wherever the river flows, everything [alongside it] will flourish.

10 And it shall come to pass, [that] the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; they shall be a [place] to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.

Fishermen will stand along the bank [of the Dead Sea to catch fish]. From En-Gedi [on the western side] to En-Eglaim [on the eastern side] there will be places [for fishermen] to spread their fishing nets. There will be many kinds of fish, like there are in the Mediterranean Sea.

11 But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.

But the swamps and marshes [along the shore] will not become fresh; they will be left to the people to use make salt.

12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.

Many kinds of fruit trees will grow on both sides of the river. Their leaves will not wither, and they will always have fruit. They will bear fruit every month, because [they will continually get water from] the water [that comes] from the temple. Their fruit will be good to eat and their leaves will be [good] for healing.”

13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; This [shall be] the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph [shall have two] portions.

[In the vision], Yahweh [also] said this to me: “Here is a list of the twelve tribes of Israel and the territory that each tribe must receive. [The descendants of] Joseph will receive two portions; [the tribe of Levi will not receive any].

14 And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: [concerning] the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance.

I lifted up my arm and solemnly declared to your ancestors that I would give you this land to own permanently. [So divide the land equally among all of the other tribes].

15 And this [shall be] the border of the land toward the north side, from the great sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad;

These will be the boundaries of the land: On the north side, [it will extend] from the Mediterranean Sea east along the road to Hethlon, past Lebo-Hamath to Zedad,

16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which [is] between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazar-hatticon, which [is] by the coast of Hauran.

to [the cities of] Berothah and Sibraim, which are on the border between Damascus and Hamath. [From there the boundary will extend] as far [the city of] Hazer-Hatticon, which is on the border of the Hauran [region].

17 And the border from the sea shall be Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border of Hamath. And [this is] the north side.

So the boundary will extend from the [Mediterranean] Sea to [the city of] Hazar-Enan on the border between Hamath to the north and Damascus [to the south]. That will be the northern boundary.

18 And the east side ye shall measure from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel [by] Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And [this is] the east side.

On the east side, the boundary [will extend] between Hauran and Damascus, [south] along the Jordan [River] between the Gilead [region] and the land of Israel, along the Dead Sea as far as [the town of] Tamar. That will be the eastern boundary.

19 And the south side southward, from Tamar [even] to the waters of strife [in] Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And [this is] the south side southward.

On the south side, the boundary will extend from Tamar [southwest] to the springs near [the town of] Meribah-Kadesh. Then [the boundary will extend west] along the dry riverbed [at the border] of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. That will be the southern boundary.

20 The west side also [shall be] the great sea from the border, till a man come over against Hamath. This [is] the west side.

On the west side, the boundary will be the Mediterranean Sea, north to near Lebo-Hamath.

21 So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel.

You must distribute this land among yourselves, among the tribes of Israel.

22 And it shall come to pass, [that] ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.

You must allot the land to be a permanent possession for yourselves, and [also] to be a permanent possession of any foreigners who are living among you and raising their children. You must consider those people to be like you who were born Israelis, and they must be allotted land among the tribes of Israel.

23 And it shall come to pass, [that] in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give [him] his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD.

Wherever foreigners are living, you must give them some land to belong to them permanently. [That is what I], Yahweh the Lord, declare.”