Eze 47 | EE | STEP | The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple. There I saw water. It was coming out from under the entrance and it was running to the east. (The temple looked towards the east.) It came from under the south side of the temple. Then it ran past the south side of the altar.

Ezekiel 47

The river from the temple

1 The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple. There I saw water. It was coming out from under the entrance and it was running to the east. (The temple looked towards the east.) It came from under the south side of the temple. Then it ran past the south side of the altar. 2 The man took me out of the temple by the north gate. We went to the gate that opens to the east. Another small stream of water came out. That was at the south side of the gate. 3 The man measured five hundred (500) metres down the stream. He told me that I must walk through it. The water came up to my ankles. 4 Then he measured another five hundred (500) metres along the stream and the water came up to my knees. He measured down another five hundred (500) metres. The water came to the middle of my body. 5 When he measured another five hundred (500) metres the river was so deep that nobody could walk through it. 6 ‘Son of man’, he said, ‘remember this.’

Then he took me back to the river’s edge. 7 There I saw very many trees. They were on each side of the river. 8 ‘This water goes through the land to the east. It runs into the River Jordan’s valley and out into the Dead Sea. When it goes into the sea, the water there will lose its salt. 9 Many kinds of animals and plants will live where the river goes. Many fish will live where the river goes. They will live there because there is no salt in the water. 10 Men by the sea will catch fish. They will find fish from the River Engedi to the streams of Eneglaim. They will dry their fishing nets by the side of the sea. Many kinds of fish, like the fish of the Great Sea, will live there. 11 But the wet lands near the Dead Sea will still contain salt. You can use their water to get salt for yourselves. 12 All kinds of fruit trees will live there. They will live on each side of the river. They will remain green and give fruit every month. That is because they live by special water. That is the water that comes from the holy place. You will eat their fruit. And you can use their leaves to make sick people well.’

The edges of Israel’s land

13 This is what the LORD God says. ‘This is the land that I am giving to you to keep. Each of your twelve (12) tribes must have a part. You must give Joseph’s sons two parts. 14 Each tribe must have a part of the same size. I made a promise to your fathers that I would give them this country to live in. I gave it to them and their children to keep for all time.

15 These are the edges of your country. The north side goes from the Great Sea to the city called Hethlon. Then it passes Lebo Hamath and goes to the city called Zedad. 16 From there, it continues through Berothah and Sibraim. They are on the edges of Hamath’s and Damascus’s lands. Then it goes to the city called Hazarhatticon. It goes by the edge of Hauran’s land. 17 That is the north edge of your country. It goes from the Great Sea to the city called Hazarenan. That is the north edge of Damascus’s land. The land of Hamath is north of it.

18 On the east side, your land goes along the River Jordan. It starts between Hauran and Damascus. It goes between Gilead and Israel as far as Tamar on the Dead Sea.

19 On the south side, it goes from Tamar to the waters of Kadesh Meribah. Then it goes north-west along the edge of Egypt to the Great Sea.

20 The Great Sea is the west edge of your country. It goes north as far as the west of Lebo Hamath. That is the west side of your country.

21 You must give each tribe a part of the land. 22 You will keep it for yourselves and the foreigners and their children who live among you. You must think of them as Israel’s people. You must give them land to live on. 23 They can have land in any tribe‘s land where they decide to live’, says the LORD God.