What does Ezekiel 40-48 really mean?

¹ In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day, the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me to the city.
² In visions of God he brought me to the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was a structure like a city to the south.
³ When he brought me there, behold, there was a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring reed in his hand, and he was standing in the gateway.
⁴ And the man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.”
⁵ And behold, there was a wall all around the outside of the temple area, and the length of the measuring reed in the man’s hand was six long cubits, each being a cubit and a handbreadth in length. So he measured the thickness of the wall, one reed; and the height, one reed.
⁶ Then he went into the gateway facing east, going up its steps, and measured the threshold of the gate, one reed deep.
⁷ And there was a vestibule in front of the guard rooms, on the inside, and it was twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide.
⁸ He measured the vestibule of the gateway, eight cubits; and its jambs, two cubits; and the vestibule of the gate was at the inner end.
⁹ Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, eight cubits; and its jambs, two cubits; and the vestibule of the gate was at the inner end.
¹⁰ And he measured the breadth of the entrance of the gateway, ten cubits, and the length of the gateway, thirteen cubits.
¹¹ And he measured the breadth of the entrance of the gateway, ten cubits, and the length of the gateway, thirteen cubits.
¹² There was a barrier before the side rooms, one cubit on either side.
¹³ And he measured the gate from the roof of the one guardroom to the roof of the other, a breadth of twenty-five cubits; the openings faced each other.
¹⁴ Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, eight cubits; and its jambs, two cubits; and the vestibule of the gate was at the inner end.
¹⁵ From the front of the entrance at the gate to the front of the inner vestibule of the gate was fifty cubits.
¹⁶ And there were narrow windows to the sills and to the jambs of the side chambers, the latter and the former chambers were on three stories.
¹⁷ Then he brought me into the outer court. And behold, there were chambers and a pavement, all around the court. Thirty chambers faced the pavement.
¹⁸ And the gateway had windows all around, narrowing inwards toward the side rooms and toward their jambs, and likewise the vestibule had windows all around inside, and on the jambs were palm trees.
¹⁹ Then he measured the width from the front of the lower gate to the front of the inner court outside, a hundred cubits on the east and on the north.
²⁰ As for the gate of the outer court that faced the north, he measured its length and its breadth.
²¹ Then he brought me into the outer court and measured the corner gateposts; they were of the same size on both sides.
²² And its windows, its vestibule, and its palm trees were of the same size as those of the gate that faced toward the east. And by seven steps people would go up to it, and find its vestibule before them.
²³ And the nave and the sanctuary each had a double door.
²⁴ And he led me toward the south, and behold, there was a gate on the south. And he measured its jambs and its vestibule; they had the same size.
²⁵ And there were windows all around, narrowing inwards until they reached the side walls of the gate, and also for the side chambers.
²⁶ And there were seven steps leading up to it, and its vestibule was before them, and it had palm trees on its jambs, one on either side.
²⁷ And there was a gateway to the inner court on the south side; and he measured from gate to gate toward the south, a hundred cubits.
²⁸ Then he brought me to the inner court through the south gate, and he measured the south gate; it was of the same size as the others.
²⁹ And its side chambers, three on either side, and its jambs and its vestibule were of the same size as the others, and the gate and its vestibule had windows all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.
³⁰ And there were vestibules all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits broad.
³¹ Its vestibule faced the outer court, and palm trees were on its jambs, and its stairway had eight steps.
³² Then he led me to the inner court on the east side, and he measured the gateway.
³³ And its vestibule faced the outer court, and palm trees were on its jambs, and its stairway had eight steps.
³⁴ Its vestibule faced the outer court, and palm trees were on its jambs, and its stairway had eight steps.
³⁵ And he brought me to the north gate and measured it. It had the same dimensions as the others,
³⁶ its vestibule faced the outer court, and palm trees were on its jambs, and its stairway had eight steps.
³⁷ Its vestibule faced the outer court, and palm trees were on its jambs, and its stairway had eight steps.
³⁸ There was a chamber with its door in the vestibule of the gate, where the burnt offering was to be washed.
³⁹ Then he measured the vestibule of the entrance, 14 feet; and the sidewalls of the entrance were 3½ feet on either side.
⁴⁰ And there was a gateway in the inner court.
⁴¹ Four tables of hewn stone were there, a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high, on which the instruments were to be laid with which the burnt offerings and the sacrifices were slaughtered.
⁴² And the four tables for the burnt offering were of hewn stone, a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high. On them were to be placed the instruments with which the burnt offerings and sacrifices were slaughtered.
⁴³ And there were hooks, a handbreadth long, fastened all around within. And on the tables the flesh of the offering was to be laid.
⁴⁴ And on the outside of the inner gateway there were two chambers in the inner court, one at the side of the north gate facing south, the other at the side of the south gate facing north.
⁴⁵ And he said to me, “This chamber that faces south is for the priests who have charge of the temple,
⁴⁶ And the chamber that faces north is for the priests who have charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who alone among the sons of Levi may come near to the Lord to minister to him.
⁴⁷ And he measured the court, a hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits broad, a square. And the altar was in front of the temple.
⁴⁸ Then he brought me to the vestibule of the temple and measured the jambs of the vestibule, five cubits on either side. And the breadth of the gate was fourteen cubits, and the sidewalls of the gate were three cubits on either side.
⁴⁹ The length of the nave was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits.
¹ Then he brought me to the nave and measured the jambs. They were six cubits wide on either side.
² Then he went to the inner room and measured the jambs of the entrance, two cubits; and the entrance, six cubits; and the breadth of the entrance, seven cubits.
³ Then he went into the inner room and measured the jambs of the entrance, two cubits; and the entrance, six cubits; and the breadth of the entrance, seven cubits.
⁴ And he measured the length of the room, twenty cubits. And the breadth of the room, across the nave, the twenty cubits.
⁵ And he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits thick, and the breadth of the side chambers, four cubits, all around the temple.
⁶ And the side chambers were in three stories, one over another, and thirty in each story.
⁷ And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still upward to the side chambers, for the winding about of the house went still upward all around the house. Therefore the house was higher as it went upward, and thus one would go up from the lowest chamber to the highest by way of the middle chamber.
⁸ I saw also that the house had a raised platform all around; the foundations of the side chambers measured a full reed of six long cubits.
⁹ The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits. The free space between the side chambers of the temple and the other chambers was a breadth of twenty cubits all around the temple on every side.
¹⁰ Then he measured the room that was behind the nave and the nave, a hundred cubits.
¹¹ And the doors of the side chambers were toward the place that was set apart, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south. And the width of the place that was set apart was five cubits all around.
¹² The building that was facing the separate yard on the west side was seventy cubits wide, and the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length ninety cubits.
¹³ Then he measured the temple, a hundred cubits long; and the yard and the building with its walls, a hundred cubits long;
¹⁴ Also he made for the entrance to the nave four-sided doorposts of olive wood
¹⁵ And he measured the length of the building facing the yard at the back and its galleries on either side, a hundred cubits. The inside of the nave and the vestibules of the court,
¹⁶ the thresholds and the narrow windows and the galleries all around the three of them, opposite the threshold, were paneled with wood all around, from the floor up to the windows (now the windows were covered),
¹⁷ to the space above the door, even to the inner room, and on the outside. And on all the walls all around, inside and outside, was a measured pattern.
¹⁸ And it was made with cherubim and palm trees, a palm tree between cherub and cherub. Each cherub had two faces,
¹⁹ a human face toward the palm tree on one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side. It was carved on all the temple all around.
²⁰ The doorposts of the nave were squared, and in front of the Holy Place was something resembling
²¹ The posts of the nave were squared, and in front of the Holy Place was something resembling
²² The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and its length was two cubits. Its corners, its base, and its walls were of wood. He said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.”
²³ The nave and the Holy Place had each a double door.
²⁴ And the doorposts of the nave were squared, and in front of the Holy Place was something resembling a nave.
²⁵ And on the doors of the nave were carved cherubim and palm trees, such as were carved on the walls.
²⁶ And there were narrow windows and palm trees on either side, on the sidewalls of the vestibule, the side chambers of the temple, and the canopies.
¹ Then he led me out into the outer court, toward the north, and he brought me to the chambers that were opposite the separate yard and opposite the building on the north.
² The length of the outer court was a hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty cubits. There were the chambers and a wall for the court all around.
³ Over against the twenty cubits that belonged to the inner court, and facing the pavement that belonged to the outer court, was gallery against gallery in three stories.
⁴ Before the chambers was a passage inward, ten cubits wide and a hundred cubits long, and the doors were on the north.
⁵ Now the upper chambers were narrower, for the galleries took more away from them than from the lower and middle chambers of the building.
⁶ For they were in three stories, and they had no pillars like the pillars of the courts. Thus the upper chambers were set back from the ground more than the lower and the middle ones.
⁷ And the wall that was outside, parallel to the chambers, toward the outer court on the front of the chambers, its length was fifty cubits.
⁸ For the length of the chambers that were in the outer court was fifty cubits, while those to the front of the nave were a hundred cubits.
⁹ And below these chambers was an entrance on the east side, as one enters them from the outer court.
¹⁰ In the thickness of the wall of the court, on the south also, opposite the yard and opposite the building, there were chambers
¹¹ And the way before them was like the appearance of the chambers that were on the north, as long as they, and as broad as they, and all their exits were alike and doors were alike.
¹² In the building that was in front of the separate yard at the side toward the west was seventy cubits wide, and the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length ninety cubits.
¹³ Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers opposite the yard are the holy chambers, where the priests who approach the Lord shall eat the most holy offerings. There they shall put the most holy offerings—the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering—for the place is holy.
¹⁴ When the priests enter the Holy Place, they shall not go out of it into the outer court without laying there the garments in which they minister, for these are holy. They shall put on other garments before they go near to that which is for the people.”
¹⁵ Now when he had finished measuring the interior of the temple area, he led me out by the gate that faced east, and measured the temple area all around.
¹⁶ He measured the east side with the measuring reed, 500 cubits by the measuring reed all around.
¹⁷ In the outer court, and opposite the chambers, was the inner court; and on the opposite of the chambers was the pavement all around.
¹⁸ He measured the wall of the temple, six cubits thick, and the breadth of the side chambers, four cubits, all around the temple.
¹⁹ Then he turned to the west side and measured, five hundred cubits, and measured it on the south side, five hundred cubits, and measured it on the east side, five hundred cubits.
²⁰ He measured it on the four sides. It had a wall around it, 500 cubits long and 500 cubits broad, to make a separation between the holy and the common.
¹ Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east.
² And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory.
³ And it was like the appearance of the vision that I saw, like the vision that I saw when he came to destroy the city, and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the Chebar canal, and I fell on my face.
⁴ As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east,
⁵ The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.
⁶ And I heard him speaking to me out of the temple, and the man stood by me.
⁷ And he said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever.
⁸ by setting their threshold by my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them. They have defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed, so I have consumed them in my anger.
⁹ Now let them put away their whoring and the dead bodies of their kings far from me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.
¹⁰ “As for you, son of man, describe to the house of Israel the temple, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and they shall measure the plan.
¹¹ And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple, its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, its whole design, and all its regulations and all its laws, and write it down in their sight, so that they may observe all its laws and all its statutes and carry them out.
¹² This is the law of the temple: the whole territory on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.
¹³ And these are the measurements of the altar by cubits (the cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth): its base shall be one cubit high and one cubit broad, with a rim of one span around its edge. And this shall be the height of the altar:
¹⁴ And from the base on the ground to the lower ledge, two cubits, with a breadth of one cubit; and from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge, four cubits, with a breadth of one cubit.
¹⁵ And the altar hearth shall be four cubits, and from the altar hearth shall project upwards four horns.
¹⁶ The altar hearth shall be square, twelve cubits long by twelve broad.
¹⁷ The ledge also shall be square, fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad, with a rim all around it of half a cubit, and its base one cubit all around. Its steps shall face east.”
¹⁸ And he said to me, “Son of man, thus says the Lord God: These are the ordinances for the altar: On the day when it is erected for offering burnt offerings upon it and for throwing blood against it,
¹⁹ You shall provide a lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering to the Lord daily; morning by morning you shall provide it.
²⁰ You shall take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the ledge and upon the rim all around. Thus you shall purify the altar and make atonement for it.
²¹ you shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and it shall be burned in the appointed place belonging to the temple, outside the sacred area.
²² On the second day, you shall offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering; and the altar shall be purified, as it was purified with the bull.
²³ When you have finished purifying it, you shall offer a bull from the herd without blemish and a ram from the flock without blemish.
²⁴ And you shall present them before the Lord, and the priests shall sprinkle salt on them and offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord.
²⁵ Seven days you shall provide daily a male goat for a sin offering; also, a bull from the herd and a ram from the flock, without blemish, shall be provided.
²⁶ Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, and so consecrate it.
²⁷ And when they have completed these days, then from the eighth day onward the priests shall offer on the altar your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, and I will accept you, declares the Lord God.”
Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east. And it was shut.
² And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it. Therefore it shall remain shut.
³ Only the prince may sit in it to eat bread before the Lord. He shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go out by the same way.
⁴ Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple, and I looked, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple of the Lord.
⁵ And the Lord said to me, “Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I shall tell you concerning all the statutes of the temple of the Lord and all its laws. And mark well the entrance to the temple and all the exits from the sanctuary.
⁶ And say to the rebellious house, to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: O house of Israel, enough of all your abominations,
⁷ In admitting foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to be in my sanctuary, profaning my temple when you offer to me my food, the fat and the blood. You have broken my covenant, in addition to all your abominations.
⁸ They shall have charge of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle.
⁹ “Thus says the Lord God: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, shall enter my sanctuary.
¹⁰ But the Levites who went far from me, going astray from me after their idols when Israel went astray, shall bear their punishment.
¹¹ They shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the temple and ministering in the temple. They shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before the people to minister to them.
¹² Because they ministered to them before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have sworn concerning them, declares the Lord God, that they shall bear their punishment.
¹³ And they shall not come near to me, to serve me as priest, nor come near any of my holy things and the things that are most holy, but they shall bear their shame and the abominations that they have committed.
¹⁴ Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the temple, to do all its service and all that is to be done in it.
¹⁵ But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me to minister to me. And they shall stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the Lord God.
¹⁶ They shall enter my sanctuary, and they shall approach my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge.
¹⁷ And when they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall wear linen garments. They shall have nothing of wool on them, while they minister at the gates of the inner court, and within.
¹⁸ They shall have linen turbans on their heads, and linen undergarments around their waists. They shall not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat.
¹⁹ And when they go out into the outer court to the people, they shall put off the garments in which they have been ministering and lay them in the holy chambers.
²⁰ They shall not shave their heads or let their locks grow long; they shall surely trim the hair of their heads.
²¹ No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court.
²² They shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but only virgins of the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest.
²³ They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.
²⁴ In a dispute, they shall act as judges, and they shall judge it according to my judgments. They shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts, and they shall keep my Sabbaths holy.
²⁵ They shall not defile themselves by going near to a dead person. Only for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister may they defile themselves.
²⁶ And after he is cleansed, they shall count seven days for him.
²⁷ And on the day that he goes into the Holy Place, into the inner court, to minister in the Holy Place, he shall offer his sin offering, declares the Lord God.
²⁸ And it shall be with regard to their inheritance that I am their inheritance: and you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession.
²⁹ They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs.
³⁰ And the first of all the firstfruits of all kinds, and every offering of all kinds from all your offerings, shall belong to the priests. You shall also give to the priests the first of your dough, that a blessing may rest on your house.
³¹ The priests shall not eat of anything, whether bird or beast, that has died of itself or is torn by wild animals.
¹ “When you allot the land as an inheritance, you shall set apart for the Lord a portion of the land as a holy district, 25,000 cubits long and 20,000 cubits broad. It shall be holy throughout its whole extent.”
² Of this there shall be for the holy place, the sanctuary of the temple, a square five hundred by five hundred, with fifty cubits for an open space around it.
³ And of this measure you shall measure the length of five and twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand, and in it shall be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.
⁴ The holy portion of the land shall be for the priests. It shall be 25,000 cubits long and 20,000 cubits wide. In it shall be the sanctuary, the most holy place.
⁵ The dry measure shall be a sixth of a homer, and a tenth of an ephah shall be the liquid measure;
⁶ “You shall have the cities of Israel, and the territory of the cities shall extend from the one side to the other.”
⁷ And to the prince shall belong the land on both sides of the holy district and the property of the city, alongside the holy district and the property of the city, on the west and on the east, corresponding in length to one of the tribal portions, and extending from the western to the eastern boundary
⁸ They shall have the land as a possession in Israel, and my princes shall no more oppress my people, but they shall let the house of Israel have the land according to their tribes.
⁹ “Thus says the Lord God: Enough, O princes of Israel! Put away violence and oppression, and execute justice and righteousness. Cease your evictions of my people, declares the Lord God.”
¹⁰ You shall have just balances, a just ephah, and a just bath.
¹¹ The ephah and the bath shall be of the same measure, the bath containing one tenth of a homer, and the ephah one tenth of a homer; the homer shall be the standard measure.
¹² The shekel shall be twenty gerahs; twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels shall be your mina.
¹³ “This is the offering that you shall make: one sixth of an ephah from each homer of wheat, and one sixth of an ephah from each homer of barley,”
¹⁴ And the prescribed portion of oil, of the bath of oil, shall be a tenth of a bath from each cor (the cor, like the homer, contains ten baths).
¹⁵ And one sheep from every flock of two hundred, from the watering places of Israel for grain offering, burnt offering, and peace offerings, to make atonement for them, declares the Lord God.
¹⁶ All the people of the land shall be obliged to give this offering to the prince in Israel.
¹⁷ It shall be the prince’s duty to furnish the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings, at the feasts, the new moons, and the Sabbaths, all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel: he shall provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings, to make atonement on behalf of the house of Israel.
¹⁸ “Thus says the Lord God: In the first month, on the first day of the month, you shall take a bull from the herd without blemish, and purify the sanctuary.”
¹⁹ The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and the posts of the gate of the inner court.
²⁰ You shall do the same on the seventh day of the month for anyone who has sinned through error or ignorance; so you shall make atonement for the temple.
²¹ “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall celebrate the Feast of the Passover, and for seven days unleavened bread shall be eaten.
²² On that day the prince shall provide for himself and all the people of the land a young bull for a sin offering.
²³ And during the seven days of the feast he shall provide as a burnt offering to the Lord seven young bulls and seven rams without blemish, on each of the seven days; and a male goat daily for a sin offering.
²⁴ And he shall provide as a grain offering an ephah for each bull, an ephah for each ram, and a hin of oil for each ephah.
²⁵ In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, at the feast, he shall make the same provision for the sin offering, burnt offering, and grain offering, and for the oil.
¹ “Thus says the Lord God: The gate of the inner court that faces east shall be shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened.”
² The prince shall enter by the vestibule of the gate from outside, and shall take his stand by the post of the gate. The priests shall offer his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate.
³ The people of the land shall bow down at the entrance of that gate before the Lord on the Sabbaths and on the new moons.
⁴ The burnt offering that the prince offers to the Lord on the Sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish.
⁵ The grain offering with the ram as he shall offer it, and the drink offering with the ram shall be a fourth of a hin, and you shall offer it with the other lamb a fourth of a hin, and a drink offering with it shall be a fourth of a hin.
⁶ On the day of the new moon he shall offer a bull from the herd without blemish to the Lord.
⁷ And he shall provide a grain offering, an ephah for the bull and an ephah for the ram, and for the lambs as he is able, together with a hin of oil to an ephah.
⁸ When the prince enters, he shall enter by the vestibule of the gate, and he shall go out by the same way.
⁹ “When the people of the land come before the Lord at the appointed feasts, he who enters by the north gate to worship shall go out by the south gate, and he who enters by the south gate shall go out by the north gate. No one shall return by way of the gate by which he entered, but each shall go out straight ahead.”
¹⁰ The prince shall enter by the vestibule of the gate from outside, and shall take his stand by the post of the gate. The priests shall offer his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be shut until evening.
¹¹ At the feasts and the appointed festivals, the grain offering with a young bull shall be an ephah, and with a ram an ephah, and with the lambs as much as one is able to give, together with a hin of oil to an ephah.
¹² When the prince provides a freewill offering, either a burnt offering or peace offerings as a freewill offering to the Lord, the gate facing east shall be opened for him. And he shall offer his burnt offering or his peace offerings as he does on the Sabbath day.
¹³ “You shall provide a lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering to the Lord daily; morning by morning you shall provide it.”
¹⁴ And you shall provide a grain offering with it morning by morning, the sixth of an ephah, and the third of a hin of oil to moisten the flour, as a grain offering to the Lord. This is a perpetual statute.
¹⁵ Thus the lamb and the meal offering and the oil shall be provided, morning by morning, for a regular burnt offering.
¹⁶ Thus says the Lord God: If the prince makes a gift to any of his sons as his inheritance, it shall belong to his sons. It is their property by inheritance.
¹⁷ But if he makes a gift out of his inheritance to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty. Then it shall revert to the prince; surely it is his inheritance—it shall belong to his sons.
¹⁸ The prince shall not take any of the inheritance of the people, thrusting them out of their property. He shall give his sons their inheritance out of his own property, so that none of my people shall be scattered from his property.”
¹⁹ Then he brought me through the entrance, which was at the side of the gate, to the north row of the holy chambers for the priests, and behold, a place was there at the extreme western end of them.
²⁰ And he said to me, “This is the place where the priests shall boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the grain offering, in order not to bring them out into the outer court and so transmit holiness to the people.”
²¹ Then he brought me out into the outer court and led me around to the four corners of the court. And behold, in each corner of the court there was another court.
²² In the four corners of the court there were small courts, forty cubits long and thirty broad; these four corners were of the same size.
²³ And on the inside of the gateway were two tables on either side, on which to slaughter the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering.
²⁴ Then he brought me through the entrance, which was at the side of the gate, to the north row of the holy chambers for the priests, and behold, a place was there at the extreme western end of them.
¹ Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar.
² Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces towards the east, and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side.
³ Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep.
⁴ Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep.
⁵ Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through.
⁶ And he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he led me back to the bank of the river.
⁷ When I returned, behold, on the bank of the river there were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
⁸ And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh.
⁹ And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes.
¹⁰ Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Their fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.
¹¹ But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt.
¹² And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.
¹³ Thus says the Lord God: “This is the boundary by which you shall divide the land for inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions.
¹⁴ And you shall divide equally what I swore to give to your fathers. This land shall fall to you as your inheritance.
¹⁵ “This shall be the boundary of the land: On the north side, from the Great Sea by way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, and on to Zedad,”
¹⁶ Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which lies between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath, as far as Hazer-hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran.
¹⁷ But if he does not drive them out before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell.
¹⁸ “On the east side, the boundary shall run between Hauran and Damascus; along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel; to the eastern sea and as far as Tamar. This is the east side.
¹⁹ And the south side shall be from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribah-kadesh, from there along the Brook of Egypt to the Great Sea. This is the south side.
²⁰ On the west side, the Great Sea shall be the boundary to a point opposite Lebo-hamath. This is the west side.
²¹ “So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel.”
²² You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the sojourners who reside among you and have had children among you. They shall be to you as native-born children of Israel. With you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.
²³ In whatever tribe the sojourner resides, there you shall assign him his inheritance, declares the Lord God.
¹ These are the names of the tribes: Beginning at the northern extreme, beside the way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan (which is on the northern border of Damascus over against Hamath), and extending from the east side to the west, Dan, one portion.
² And by the border of Dan, from the east side to the west, Asher, one portion.
³ “On the east side, the boundary shall run between Hauran and Damascus; along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel; to the eastern sea and as far as Tamar. This is the east side.”
⁴ And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, Manasseh, one portion.
⁵ “Adjoining the territory of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, Ephraim, one portion.
⁶ “And alongside the portion set apart as the holy district, you shall assign for the property of the city an area five thousand cubits broad and twenty-five thousand cubits long. It shall belong to the whole house of Israel.
⁷ And alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an allotment 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in breadth. The whole length shall be 25,000 cubits and the breadth 20,000.
⁸ “Adjoining the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be the portion which you shall set apart, 25,000 cubits in breadth, and in length equal to one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west, with the sanctuary in the midst of it.
⁹ “The offering that you shall give to the Lord shall be 25,000 cubits in length, and 10,000 in breadth.
¹⁰ And these shall be the measurements of the altar by cubits (the cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth): its base shall be one cubit high and one cubit broad, with a rim of one span around its edge. And this shall be the height of the altar:
¹¹ It shall be for the priests who are sanctified of the sons of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, as the Levites did.
¹² These shall be its measurements: the north side four thousand five hundred cubits, the south side four thousand five hundred, the east side four thousand five hundred, and the west side four thousand five hundred.
¹³ And alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an allotment 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in breadth. The whole length shall be 25,000 cubits and the breadth 20,000.
¹⁴ They shall not sell or exchange any of it.
¹⁵ The remainder, 5,000 cubits in breadth and 25,000 in length, shall be for common use for the city, for dwellings and for open country. In the midst of it shall be the city,
¹⁶ These shall be its measurements: the north side four thousand five hundred cubits, the south side four thousand five hundred, the east side four thousand five hundred, and the west side four thousand five hundred.
¹⁷ And the city shall have open land: on the north side 2500 cubits, on the south side 2500 cubits, on the east side 2500 cubits, and on the west side 2500 cubits.
¹⁸ And the remainder of the length alongside the holy portion shall be 10,000 cubits to the east, and 10,000 to the west, and it shall be alongside the holy portion. Its produce shall be food for the workers of the city.
¹⁹ And those who serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel.
²⁰ “All the offering shall be 25,000 by 25,000 cubits; you shall set apart the holy portion, the land belonging to the city, for its property.
²¹ “The rest shall be for the prince, on one side and on the other of the holy district and of the property of the city, in front of the twenty-five thousand cubits of the property as far as the eastern border, and westward in front of the twenty-five thousand, the western border, parallel to the tribal portions. It shall belong to the prince. The holy district and the sanctuary of the temple shall be in the midst of it.
²² The remainder of the length alongside the holy portion shall be 10,000 cubits to the east, and 10,000 to the west, and it shall be alongside the holy portion. Its produce shall be food for the workers of the city.
²³ As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west, Benjamin, one portion.
²⁴ “Beside the portion for the prince, the land allotted for the sanctuary, and the land allotted for the city shall be on the west side and on the east side parallel to the tribal portions. It shall be for the whole house of Israel, with the city in the midst of it.
²⁵ “The gates of the city shall be named after the tribes of Israel, three gates to the north: the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi.
²⁶ On the west side, the Great Sea shall be the boundary to a point opposite Lebo-hamath. This is the west side.
²⁷ “And on the east side, 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, the gate of Dan.”
²⁸ And by the border of Gad, at the south side, the boundary shall run from Tamar to the waters of Meribah-kadesh, from there along the Brook of Egypt to the Great Sea.
²⁹ This is the land that you shall allot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, declares the Lord God.
³⁰ These shall be the exits of the city: On the north side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure,
³¹ The gates of the city shall be named after the tribes of Israel, three gates to the north: the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi.
³² And on the east side, four thousand five hundred cubits, and three gates, and the same measurements for the north side.
³³ “And the south side shall be five thousand cubits by measure.”
³⁴ The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The Lord Is There.”
³⁵ The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The Lord Is There.”