Ezekiel 48

1 "Now these are the names of the tribes: From the north end, beside the way of Hethlon to Lebo Hamath, Hazar Enan at the border of Damascus, northward beside Hamath (and they shall have their sides east and west), Dan, one portion.

“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 By the border of Dan, from the east side to the west side, Asher, one portion.

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

3 By the border of Asher, from the east side even to the west side, Naphtali, one portion.

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

4 By the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west side, Manasseh, one portion.

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

5 By the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west side, Ephraim, one portion.

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

6 By the border of Ephraim, from the east side even to the west side, Reuben, one portion.

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

7 By the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west side, Judah, one portion.

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

8 "By the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side, shall be the offering which you shall offer, twenty-five thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the portions, from the east side to the west side: 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 offering that you shall offer to YHWH shall be twenty-five thousand reeds in length, and ten thousand in breadth.

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

10 For these, even for the priests, shall be the holy offering: toward the north twenty-five thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south twenty-five thousand in length: and the sanctuary of YHWH 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 It shall be for the priests who are sanctified of the sons of Zadok, who have kept my instruction, who didn't go 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 It shall be to them an offering from the offering of the land, 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 "Answerable to the border of the priests, the Levites shall have twenty-five thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be twenty-five 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 They shall sell none of it, nor exchange it, nor shall the first fruits of the land be alienated; for it is holy to YHWH.

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 "The five thousand that are left in the breadth, in front of the twenty-five thousand, shall be for common use, for the city, for dwelling and for suburbs; and the city shall be in its midst.

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 These shall be its measures: 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 The city shall have suburbs: toward the north two hundred fifty, and toward the south two hundred fifty, and toward the east two hundred fifty, and toward the west two hundred fifty.

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

18 The remainder in the length, answerable to the holy offering, shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward; and it shall be answerable to the holy offering; and its increase shall be for food to those who labor in 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 Those who labor in the city, out of all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it.

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

20 All the offering shall be twenty-five thousand by twenty-five thousand: you shall offer the holy offering 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 "The residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy offering and of the possession of the city; in front of the twenty-five thousand of the offering toward the east border, and westward in front of the twenty-five thousand toward the west border, answerable to the portions, it shall be for the prince: and the holy offering and the sanctuary of the house shall be in its midst.

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, it 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 to the west side, Benjamin, one 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 By the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, Simeon, one portion.

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

25 By the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, Issachar, one portion.

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

26 By the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, Zebulun, one portion.

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

27 By the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side, Gad, one portion.

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

28 By the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar to the waters of Meribath Kadesh, to the Wadi, to 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 you shall divide by lot to the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their several portions, says YHWH.

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 "These are the exits of the city: On the north side four thousand and five hundred reeds by measure;

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: 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 At the east side four thousand and five hundred reeds, and three gates: even 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 At the south side four thousand and five hundred reeds by measure, and 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 At the west side four thousand and five hundred reeds, with 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 It shall be eighteen thousand reeds around: and the name of the city from that day shall be, 'YHWH 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’.’