Ezekiel 48

1 Now these [are] the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east [and] west; a [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 by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side, a [portion for] Asher.

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

3 And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, a [portion for] Naphtali.

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

4 And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side, a [portion for] Manasseh.

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

5 And by the border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side, a [portion for] Ephraim.

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

6 And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the west side, a [portion for] Reuben.

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

7 And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, a [portion for] Judah.

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

8 And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand [reeds in] breadth, and [in] length as one of the [other] parts, from the east side unto the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it.

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 oblation that ye shall offer unto the LORD [shall be] of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth.

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

10 And for them, [even] for the priests, shall be [this] holy oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand [in length], and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof.

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 [It shall be] for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites 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 [this] oblation of the land that is offered shall be unto them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites.

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 And over against the border of the priests the Levites [shall have] five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length [shall be] five and twenty thousand, and the breadth 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 of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the firstfruits of the land: for [it is] holy unto 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 And the five thousand, that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane [place] for the city, for dwelling, and for suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst thereof.

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] the measures thereof; 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 will be square, (1.5 miles/2.4 km.) on each side.

17 And the suburbs of the city shall be toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west 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 And the residue in length over against the oblation of the holy [portion shall be] ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward: and it shall be over against the oblation of the holy [portion; ] and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that 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 they that serve the city shall serve it out of 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 oblation [shall be] five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand: ye shall offer the holy oblation foursquare, with 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 the residue [shall be] for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city, over against the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, over against the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house [shall be] in the midst thereof.

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 Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, [being] in the midst [of that] which is the prince’s, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for 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 As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side unto the west side, Benjamin [shall have] a [portion].

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 by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon [shall have] a [portion].

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

25 And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side, Issachar a [portion].

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

26 And by the border of Issachar, from the east side unto the west side, Zebulun a [portion].

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

27 And by the border of Zebulun, from the east side unto the west side, Gad a [portion].

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

28 And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar [unto] the waters of strife [in] Kadesh, [and] to the river toward 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 which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these [are] their portions, saith 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 [are] the goings out of the city on the north side, four thousand and five hundred measures.

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] after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi.

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

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

33 And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun.

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

34 At the west side four thousand and five hundred, [with] their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.

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

35 [It was] round about eighteen thousand [measures: ] and the name of the city from [that] day [shall be], The LORD [is] there.

[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’.’