Ezekiel 45

1 "'Moreover, when you shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, you shall offer an offering to the LORD, a holy portion of the land; the length shall be the length of eight and one eighth miles, and the breadth shall be six and a half miles. It shall be holy in all its border all around.

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 Of this there shall be for the holy place eight hundred sixty-one feet three inches in length by eight hundred sixty-one feet three inches in breadth, square all around; and eighty-six feet two inches for its suburbs all around.

Inside this there is the section for the sanctuary that measures 500 cubits square, with an open area around it 50 cubits wide.

3 Of this measure you shall measure a length of twenty-five thousand, and a breadth of ten thousand: and in it shall be the sanctuary, which is most holy.

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 It is a holy portion of the land; it shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who come near to minister to the LORD; and it shall be a place for their houses, and a holy place for 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 Eight and one eighth miles in length, and three and one quarter miles in breadth, shall be to the Levites, the ministers of the house. It will be their possession for cities to live in.

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 "'You shall appoint the possession of the city one and two-thirds miles broad, and eight and one eighth miles, long, side by side with the offering of the holy portion: it shall be 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 "'Whatever is for the prince shall be on the one side and on the other side of the holy offering and of the possession of the city, in front of the holy offering and in front of the possession of the city, on the west side westward, and on the east side eastward; and in length answerable to one of the portions, 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 In the land it shall be to him for a possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more oppress 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 says the LORD: 'Let it suffice you, princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute justice and righteousness; dispossessing my people, says the LORD.

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 ephah, and a just bath.

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 ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of a homer, and the ephah the tenth part of a homer: its measure shall be after the homer.

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 The shekel shall be twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels shall be your mina.

Twenty gerahs make one shekel. Sixty shekels make one mina.

13 "'This is the offering that you shall offer: the sixth part of an ephah from a homer of wheat; and you shall give the sixth part of an ephah from a homer of barley;

These are the taxes you are to contribute: one sixth of an ephah from every homer of wheat or barley.

14 and the set portion of oil, of the bath of oil, the tenth part of a bath out of the cor, which is ten baths, even a homer; (for ten baths are a homer; )

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 lamb of the flock, out of two hundred, from the well-watered pastures of Israel—for a meal offering, and for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings, to make atonement for them, says the LORD.

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 give to this offering for the prince in Israel.

Everyone in the country has to make these contributions to the prince in Israel.

17 It shall be the prince's part to give the burnt offerings, and the meal offerings, and the drink offerings, in the feasts, and on the new moons, and on the Sabbaths, in all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meal offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make atonement 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 says the LORD: In the first month, in the first day of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish; and you shall cleanse 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 The priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering, and put it on the door posts of the house, and on the four corners of the ledge 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 So you shall do on the seventh day of the month for everyone who errs, and for him who is simple: so you shall make atonement 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, in the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a feast of 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 On that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering.

On that day the prince will provide a bull as a sin offering for himself and for everyone on the country.

23 The seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the LORD, seven bulls and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days; and a male goat daily for a sin offering.

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 He shall prepare a meal offering, an ephah for a bull, and an ephah for a ram, and a hin of oil to an ephah.

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 feast, shall he do the like the seven days; according to the sin offering, according to the burnt offering, and according to the meal offering, and according to 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.