Ezekiel 40-48

New Catholic Bible

The New Israel^[a]

The Future Temple

Chapter 40

The Man with a Measuring Rod. ¹ During the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, fourteen years after the fall of the city, on that very day the hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me there. ² In divine visions, he brought me to the land of Israel and set me down on a very high mountain, to the south of which a city seemed to have been built.

³ When he had brought me there, I beheld a man whose appearance was like that of bronze. He had a linen cord^[b] and a measuring rod in his hand, and he was standing in the gateway. ⁴ The man said to me, “Son of man, look carefully and listen attentively, and pay close attention to all that I will show you. That is the reason why you were brought here. Report to the house of Israel everything that you see.”

⁵ Then I beheld an outer wall that surrounded the temple on all sides. The length of the measuring rod that the man was holding was six cubits long, each cubit^[c] being a cubit and a handbreadth in length. He measured the thickness and the height of the wall; each was one rod.

The East Gate. ⁶ Then he went to the gate which faced eastward, mounted its steps, and measured the gate’s threshold; it was one rod deep. ⁷ Each cell was one rod long and one rod wide, and the walls between the cells measured five cubits. The threshold of the gate adjoining the vestibule of the gate at the inner end measured one rod.

⁸ Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, ⁹ which was eight cubits, and its pilasters, which were two cubits. The vestibule of the gate was at the inner end. ¹⁰ Inside the east gate were three cells on each side. All of them were identical in size, and the pilasters on either side were also of equal size.

¹¹ After this, he measured the width of the entrance of the gateway, which was ten cubits, while its length was thirteen cubits. ¹² There was a wall, one cubit high, in front of each cell, and the cells were six cubits square. ¹³ He then measured the width of the gate from the back wall of one cell to the back of the cell on the opposite side. The width was twenty-five cubits from wall to wall. ¹⁴ After this, he measured the vestibule, which was twenty cubits, and also the pilasters adjoining the court on either side, which were six cubits.

¹⁵ From the front of the entrance gate to the far end of its portico, the distance was fifty cubits. ¹⁶ Both the guardrooms and their pilasters had windows on the inside of the gateway, and the vestibules also had windows all around; the pilasters were decorated with palm trees.

¹⁷ The Outer Court. Then he brought me to the outer court, where there were rooms and a paved terrace all around the court. There was a total of thirty rooms. ¹⁸ The pavement was laid along the side of the gates, its width equaling the length of the gates. This was the lower pavement. ¹⁹ Then he measured the width of the court, from the front of the lower gateway to the outside of the inner court; there were one hundred cubits between them.

²⁰ The North Gate. Then he measured the length and breadth of the gate leading into the outer court that faced north. ²¹ Its cells, three on either side, and its pilasters and its vestibules were of the same size as those of the first gate. Its depth was fifty cubits, and its width was twenty-five cubits.

²² Its windows, its vestibule, and its palm trees were identical in size to those of the gate that faced toward the east. Seven steps led up to it, and its vestibule was at the inner end. ²³ Opposite the north gate there was a gate that led to the inner court, exactly like the one opposite the east gate. He measured one hundred cubits from one gate to the other.

²⁴ The South Gate. Then he led me to the south side, and I saw a gate facing south. He measured its cells, its pilasters, and its vestibule; they all had the same dimensions as the others. ²⁵ The gate and its vestibule had windows all around. Each window was fifty cubits in depth and twenty-five cubits in width.

²⁶ There were seven steps leading up to it. Its vestibule was on the inside, and palm trees decorated its pilasters, one on either side. ²⁷ The inner court had a gate facing south. He measured the distance from this gate to the outer gate on the south—one hundred cubits.

²⁸ The Inner Court Gates. Then he brought me into the inner court by the south gate. He measured the south gate, which had the same dimensions as the others. ²⁹ Its cells, its pilasters, and its vestibule were the same size as those of the others. The gate and its vestibule had windows all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.

³⁰ The vestibules of the gateways around the inner court were twenty-five cubits wide and five cubits deep. ³¹ However, the major vestibule faced the outer court. Palm trees were carved on its pilasters, and it had a stairway of eight steps.

³² Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side and measured the gate, its dimensions were identical to those of the others. ³³ Its cells, its pilasters, and its vestibule were the same size as those of the others. The gate and its vestibule had windows all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁴ Its vestibule opened onto the outer court. There were palm trees carved on its pilasters, and there were eight steps leading up to it.

³⁵ Then he brought me to the north gate, and he measured it. Its dimensions were identical to those of the others. ³⁶ Its cells, its pilasters, and its vestibule were of the same size as those of the others, and it had windows all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁷ Its portico faced the outer court; it had a palm tree carved on its pilasters on either side, and its stairway had eight steps.

³⁸ The Side Chambers.^[d]There was a room that was entered through a door in the vestibule of the gateway. That was where the burnt offerings were to be washed. ³⁹ In the vestibule of the gate, there were two tables on either side, on which the burnt offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings were slaughtered.

⁴⁰ On the outside of the vestibule, near the entrance of the north gate, were two tables, and on the other side of the vestibule of the gate were two tables. ⁴¹ Thus, four tables were inside the gate and four tables were outside the gate—eight tables upon which the sacrifices were slaughtered.

⁴² There were also four slabs of cut stone that were used for holocausts—one and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and a cubit high—on which were placed the instruments for slaughtering the burnt offerings and the other sacrifices. ⁴³ Double-pronged hooks, a handbreadth wide, were attached to the nearby wall, and on the tables the flesh of the offering was laid.

⁴⁴ Then he led me into the inner court, where there were two rooms—one on the side of the north gate, facing south; the other on the side of the south gate, facing north. ⁴⁵ He said to me, “This room that faces south is for the priests who are in charge of the temple. ⁴⁶ The room that faces north is for the priests who have charge of the altar. These are the descendants of Zadok, who alone among the descendants of Levi are allowed to come near to minister to the Lord.” ⁴⁷ Thereupon, he measured the court. It was a perfect square, one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide, with the altar standing in front of the temple.

⁴⁸ The Temple. Then he brought me into the vestibule of the temple and measured the pilasters of the vestibule; it was five cubits on either side. The width of the gate was fourteen cubits, and the side walls of the gate were three cubits on either side. ⁴⁹ The vestibule was twenty cubits long and twelve cubits wide. There were ten steps leading up to it, and there were pillars beside the pilasters, one on either side.

Chapter 41

¹ Then he brought me into the sanctuary and measured the pilasters. They were six cubits wide on each side. ² The width of the entrance was ten cubits, and the walls on either side of the entrance were five cubits each. Then he measured the length of the nave, which was fifty cubits, while its width was twenty cubits.

³ Then he went into the inner room and measured the pilasters at the entrance; they were two cubits. The width of the entrance was six cubits, and the walls at either side of the entrance were seven cubits. ⁴ Beyond the nave, he measured the length of the inner sanctuary, which was twenty cubits, and its width, which was also twenty cubits, after which he said to me, “This is the Holy of Holies.”

⁵ Then he measured the wall of the temple, which was six cubits thick. The width of the side chambers was four cubits all around the temple. ⁶ The side chambers were on three levels, one above the other, with thirty chambers on each level. There were ledges all around the wall of the temple that were designed to serve as supports for the side chambers, but there were no supports in the wall of the temple itself.

⁷ The passageway leading upward to the side chambers became broader from story to story, for the structure surrounding the temple was constructed in successive stages, so that the width of the cells increased from one story to the next. One ascended from the lowest story to the highest story by means of the middle one.

⁸ I also noted that there was a raised pavement encircling the temple all around. This formed the foundation of the side chambers, measuring a full rod, six cubits high. ⁹ The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits. Between the cells of the temple ¹⁰ and the chambers of the court, there was an open space, twenty cubits wide, surrounding the temple on every side.

¹¹ The side chambers had entrances to the open space, one entrance on the north side and one on the south side. The width of the free space was five cubits all around. ¹² On the western side, the building that faced the temple yard was seventy cubits wide. The wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length was ninety cubits.

¹³ Then, he measured the temple, whose length was one hundred cubits. ¹⁴ The temple courtyard and the buildings with its walls were also one hundred cubits. ¹⁵ Next, he measured the length of the building facing the courtyard, and together with its walls on either side, it came to one hundred cubits.

The Temple Interior. The inner nave of the temple and the inner room and outer vestibule ¹⁶ were paneled with precious wood from the floor up to the windows and thresholds, and the windows were covered with latticework. ¹⁷ The wood extended up to the lintel of the door, even to the outer sanctuary. And on all the walls throughout the inner room and the nave there was a pattern ¹⁸ that depicted cherubim and palm trees, with one palm tree between every pair of cherubim.

Each cherub had two faces: ¹⁹ a human face turned toward the palm tree on one side, and the face of a young lion turned toward the palm tree on the other side. ²⁰ From the floor to the lintel above the door, the cherubim and the palm trees were carved on the wall. ²¹ The doorposts of the temple were square.

In front of the sanctuary, there was something that resembled ²² an altar of wood, three cubits high and two cubits long. Its corners, its base, and its sides were of wood. He said to me, “This is the table of the Lord.” ²³ The nave and the holy place each had a double door. ²⁴ The double doors each had two hinged leaves, two leaves for each door.

²⁵ Carved upon the doors of the nave were cherubim and palm trees, like those carved in the walls. Also, there was a wooden lattice over the vestibule. ²⁶ On both sides of the vestibule were recessed windows and palm trees.

Chapter 42

Other Structures. ¹ Then he led me toward the north into the outer court and brought me to the rooms that were opposite the temple courtyard and facing the building on the north. ² The length of the building on the north side was one hundred cubits, and its width was fifty cubits.

³ Facing the twenty cubits of the inner court and the pavement of the outer court, there were three parallel rows of chambers on each level facing each other. ⁴ In front of the chambers, there was a passageway, ten cubits wide and one hundred cubits long, and the entrances to the rooms faced north.

⁵ The chambers on the upper level were narrower than those on the two levels below because the galleries took up more of the width on the upper level. ⁶ For they were divided into three stories and they had no pillars as the courts had. Thus, the upper chambers were more narrow than those on the lower and middle levels.

⁷ There was an outer wall parallel to the chambers that extended out toward the outer court; it was fifty cubits long. ⁸ The chambers facing the outer court were fifty cubits long, while those facing the temple were one hundred cubits long.

⁹ Below these chambers there was a passage that one entered from the east so that one could enter them from the outer court. ¹⁰ On the south side that faced the open area and the building, there were chambers.

¹¹ There was a passage that ran in front of these chambers. They were identical in design to those on the north, with the same length and width, and with the same exits and entrances and doorways. ¹² Before the chambers on the south side, there was an entrance from the east at the end of each passage, by means of which one could enter from the east.

¹³ Then he said to me, “The north and the south chambers which open out onto the courtyard are the chambers of the sanctuary. It is there that the priests approach the Lord and eat the most sacred offerings. There they deposit these most sacred offerings—the grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings—for this is a holy place. ¹⁴ When the priests have entered the holy place, they must not depart from the holy place and enter the outer court without first leaving there the vestments they have worn while performing their duties, since these vestments are holy. They shall first clothe themselves in other garments before they go near the area designated for the people.”

¹⁵ Measurements of the Outer Court. When he had completed his measurements of the interior of the temple area, he brought me out through the gateway that faces east, and he measured the temple area all around.

¹⁶ He measured the east side with his measuring rod, and it was five hundred cubits. ¹⁷ He then turned and measured the north side, and it was five hundred cubits. ¹⁸ He next turned and measured the south side, and it was five hundred cubits. ¹⁹ Then he turned and measured the west side, and it was five hundred cubits.

²⁰ Thus, he measured the area on all four sides. The wall around it was five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to separate the sacred from the profane.

Restoration of the Temple

Chapter 43

The Lord’s Return.^1 [e]Then the man brought me to the gate that faces the east, ² and there I beheld the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. The sound of his coming was like the sound of a mighty torrent of waters, and the earth shone with his glory.

³ The vision I beheld was like the man I had seen when he had come to destroy the city, and like the vision I had seen by the River Chebar, and I fell prostrate.

⁴ As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by way of the east gate, ⁵ the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the inner court, and I beheld the glory of the Lord fill the temple.

⁶ While the man stood beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from the temple. ⁷ He said to me: Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will dwell forever among the Israelites. Never again will the house of Israel defile my holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their whoring and by the corpses of their kings.

⁸ When they placed their threshold next to my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall separating me and them, they were defiling my holy name by the loathsome practices in which they engaged. Therefore, I will destroy them in my anger.^{[f] 9} From now on, they must cease their harlotry and remove the corpses of their kings from my presence. Then I will dwell among them forever.

¹⁰ The Temple Law. As for you, son of man, describe this temple to the house of Israel, so that they will be truly ashamed of their iniquities. ¹¹ And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design and arrangement of the temple, its exits and entrances, its shape, and all its ordinances. ¹² This is the law of the temple: all the surrounding area on the top of the mountain shall be most holy. Such is the law of the temple.

¹³ Measurements of the Altar.^[g]These were the dimensions of the altar in cubits of one cubit and a handbreadth. Its base was one cubit high and one cubit wide, with a rim of one span around its edge. This was the height of the altar. ¹⁴ From its base on the ground up to the lower ledge, it was two cubits high and one cubit wide, and from the lower ledge to the upper ledge, it was four cubits high and again one cubit wide.

¹⁵ The altar hearth was four cubits high, and from the hearth, four horns projected upward. ¹⁶ The hearth was a square, twelve cubits long by twelve cubits wide. ¹⁷ The upper ledge was also a square, fourteen cubits long by fourteen cubits wide, with a rim around it a half cubit wide and a surrounding base of one cubit. The steps of the altar face the east.

¹⁸ Then he said to me: Son of man, thus says the Lord God: These are the regulations for the altar when it has been erected for the offering of holocausts upon it and for the sprinkling of blood upon it. ¹⁹ You are to present a young bull as a sin offering to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok who are authorized to draw near me in order to minister to me, says the Lord God.

²⁰ You are to 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 surrounding rim. Thus, you will purify it and make atonement for it. ²¹ Then take the bull designated for the sin offering and immolate it in the designated part of the temple area outside the sanctuary.

²² On the second day, you are to present an unblemished male goat as a sin offering, and the altar must be purified again, as was done with the bull. ²³ When you have finished purifying it, choose an unblemished young bull and an unblemished ram from the flock. ²⁴ After you present them before the Lord, the priests will throw salt on them and offer them to the Lord as burnt offerings.

²⁵ For seven days you are to offer a male goat for a sin offering, as well as a young bull and an unblemished ram from the flock. ²⁶ In this way, they will make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, and thereby consecrate it.

²⁷ Once these days have been completed, from the eighth day onward the priests will offer your burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar. Then I will accept you, says the Lord.

Chapter 44

The Shut Gate. ¹ Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary that faces east, but it was shut. ² The Lord said to me: This gate will remain closed. It shall not be opened, and no one may enter through it. ³ Only the prince himself may sit inside the gate to eat his meal in the presence of the Lord. He must enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and he must depart by the same way.

The New Law

Admittance to the Temple. ⁴ Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. And when I looked, I beheld the glory of the Lord filling the Lord’s temple, and I fell upon my face. ⁵ Then he said to me: Son of man, pay attention, look carefully, and listen closely to everything that I will tell you in regard to all the ordinances of the temple of the Lord and all its laws. Also, mark carefully those who are admitted to the temple and those who are to be excluded from the sanctuary.

⁶ Say to the rebels of the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: I have endured enough of these abominable practices in which you engage, O house of Israel. ⁷ You have allowed foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and body, to enter my sanctuary and profane it when you offer to me my food, the fat and the blood. Thus, you have broken my covenant with all of your loathsome practices.

⁸ Instead of taking charge of my sacred offerings, you have assigned foreigners to serve me in my sanctuary in your place. ⁹ Thus says the Lord God: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, shall be permitted to enter my sanctuary, not even those foreigners who dwell among the Israelites.

¹⁰ Levites. But as for the Levites who abandoned me when Israel strayed far from me by following its idols, they must suffer the consequences for their iniquity. ¹¹ They may be permitted to serve as ministers in my sanctuary, with the responsibility of guarding the gates of the temple and serving in the temple. They may be allowed to slaughter the burnt offerings and the sacrifices for the people as well as attending to the needs of the people and serving them.

¹² However, because they used to minister to them in front of their idols and thereby caused the house of Israel to fall into a state of sin, therefore, I have sworn an oath against them, says the Lord God, that they shall be punished for their iniquity. ¹³ They may never again be permitted to approach me in order to serve as priests, nor will they be allowed to come near any of my holy things or my most sacred offerings. Rather, they must bear the shame of their abominable deeds. ¹⁴ However, I will assign them the responsibility of service to the temple and for all the work that has to be done in it.

¹⁵ Priests. As for the Levitical priests, the descendants of Zadok, who continued to fulfill faithfully their responsibility for caring for my sanctuary when the Israelites strayed far from me, they shall draw near me in order to minister to me, and they will stand in my presence to offer me the fat and the blood, says the Lord God. ¹⁶ They are the ones who will enter my sanctuary, the ones who will approach my table to minister to me and serve me.

¹⁷ Whenever they approach the gates of the inner court, the priests are to wear linen vestments. They must not wear any garment of wool when they minister at the gates of the inner court or inside the temple. ¹⁸ They are to have linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments on their loins, and they may not wear anything that might cause them to perspire.

¹⁹ Before they go out to the people in the outer court, they are to remove the clothes in which they have been performing their ministry, and they are then to put on other garments so that they will not communicate holiness to the people with their garments.

²⁰ Priests are not permitted to shave their heads or to let their hair grow long. Rather, they must keep their hair carefully trimmed, ²¹ nor are they allowed to drink wine on the day they are to enter the inner court.

²² Priests may not marry either widows or divorced women, but only virgins of the race of Israel. However, they may marry women who are the widows of priests. ²³ They shall teach my people to distinguish between the sacred and the profane, and they shall make known to them the difference between what is clean and what is unclean.

²⁴ In any dispute, the priests are to serve as judges, and they shall render their decisions according to my decrees. They must observe my laws and my statutes for all of my appointed feasts, and they shall keep my Sabbaths holy.

²⁵ Priests may not make themselves unclean by coming near a dead person. However, if the deceased is a father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried sister, then they are permitted to defile themselves. ²⁶ After such a priest has been purified, he must wait a further seven days. ²⁷ On the day that he enters the inner court of the sanctuary to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer a sin offering for himself, says the Lord God.

²⁸ Priests will have no inheritance. I, myself, will be their inheritance. You will not give them any possession in Israel. I, myself, am their possession. ²⁹ They will eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering. Everything in Israel that is dedicated by vow to God will be theirs.

³⁰ The best of all the firstfruits of every kind and the best of all your offerings of every kind shall belong to the priests. Likewise, you shall give to the priests the best of your dough so that a blessing may rest upon your house. ³¹ In addition, the priests must not eat the flesh of a bird or animal that has died a natural death or been killed by a wild animal.

Chapter 45

The Sacred Plot. ¹ When you draw lots to divide the country as an inheritance, you shall set aside a sacred portion of the land for the Lord, twenty-five thousand cubits long and twenty thousand cubits wide. Its entire area will be regarded as sacred. ² Of this land, a plot, five hundred cubits square, shall be set aside for the sanctuary, and that plot will be surrounded by an open space of fifty cubits.

³ Out of this area you must also set aside a section twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousand cubits wide, within which will be the sanctuary, the Holy of Holies. ⁴ This will be the sacred portion of the land belonging to the priests who minister in the sanctuary and approach the Lord to serve him. It will be both a place for their houses as well as a holy place for the sanctuary.

⁵ Another section, twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousand cubits wide, will be set apart for the Levites who minister at the temple, so that they will have towns in which to live. ⁶ Near the land belonging to the sanctuary, you are to grant the city possession of an area five thousand cubits wide and twenty-five thousand cubits long. This shall belong to the whole house of Israel.

⁷ To the prince will belong the land that borders on both sides of the sacred district and the property of the city, extending westward from the west and eastward from the east, corresponding in length to one of the tribal portions and extending from the western to the eastern borders ⁸ of the land. This will be his property in Israel. Therefore, the princes of Israel will no longer oppress my people, but they will grant the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.

Weights and Measures. ⁹ Thus says the Lord God: Enough, you princes of Israel! Cease your violence and oppression and do what is right and just. Stop evicting my people from their land, says the Lord God.

^10 [h]You must use scales that are accurate, and have an honest ephah and an accurate liquid measure. ¹¹ The ephah and the liquid measure must be of equal size. The liquid measure must contain one-tenth of a homer, and the ephah must contain one-tenth of a homer. The homer will be the standard measure for both. ¹² The shekel must consist of twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, and fifteen shekels will constitute one mina.

¹³ Grain Offerings. This is the special offering 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 The prescribed portion of oil: one-tenth of a measure for every measure of oil, consisting of ten liquid measures to a kor (or a homer, since ten liquid measures equal one homer).

¹⁵ In addition, you must take from the pastures of Israel one sheep from every flock of two hundred. These will be used for sacrifice—burnt offerings and peace offerings and fellowship offerings—to make atonement for the people, says the Lord God.

¹⁶ All the people of the land will be required to contribute to this offering for the prince of Israel. ¹⁷ The prince himself has the obligation to provide the holocausts, the cereal offerings, and the libations for all of the feasts, new moons, Sabbaths, and appointed festivals of the house of Israel. He, himself, must provide the sin offerings, the grain offerings, the burnt offerings, and the fellowship offerings to make atonement for the house of Israel.

¹⁸ The Feast of Passover. Thus says the Lord God: On the first day of the first month you shall sacrifice an unblemished young bull to purify the sanctuary. ¹⁹ The priest must take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the doorposts of the gates of the inner court. ²⁰ You are to do the same on the seventh day of the month for anyone who has sinned inadvertently or because of ignorance. In this way, you will make atonement for the temple.

²¹ On the fourteenth day of the first month, you must celebrate the Feast of the Passover, and for seven days, everyone must eat unleavened bread. ²² On that day the prince must provide a bull as a sin offering for himself and for all the people of the land.

²³ On each of the seven days of the feast, the prince must offer as a holocaust to the Lord seven bulls and seven rams without blemish, and as a sin offering, he must offer one male goat each day. ²⁴ He also is to provide as a grain offering one ephah for each bull and one ephah for each ram, as well as a hin^[i] of oil for each ephah.

²⁵ The Feast of Booths. On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, and for the entire seven days of the festival, he shall provide the same sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, and oil.

Chapter 46

Sabbath Offerings. ¹ Thus says the Lord God: The east gate of the inner court must remain closed during the six working days. However, it shall be opened on the Sabbath and on the day of the new moon. ² The prince is to enter from the outside through the vestibule of the gate and stand by the doorposts of the gate. Then the priest must offer his burnt offerings and his peace offerings, and he shall bow down at the threshold of the gate. After this, he will go out, but the gate is not to be closed until evening. ³ The people of the land shall worship before the Lord at the entrance of the gate on the Sabbaths and the days of the new moon.

⁴ The burnt offering that the prince offers to the Lord on the Sabbath shall consist of six lambs without blemish and one unblemished ram. ⁵ The grain offering presented with the ram shall be an ephah, and the grain offering with the lambs shall be whatever he chooses to present; also, a hin of oil must be included for every ephah.

⁶ On the day of the new moon, the prince must offer an unblemished young bull, six unblemished lambs, and one unblemished ram. ⁷ As a grain offering, he shall provide an ephah with the bull and an ephah with the ram. With the lambs, he shall provide as much as he wishes to give, adding a hin of oil for every ephah.

Ritual Regulations. ⁸ Whenever the prince comes in, he must enter by the porch of the gate, and he must depart by the same way. ⁹ When the people of the land come to worship before the Lord on designated festival days, anyone who enters by the north gate to worship must depart by the south gate, and anyone who enters by the south gate must leave by the north gate. No one may return through the gate by which he entered but must depart by the opposite gate. ¹⁰ The prince will be in their midst, coming in when they enter and also departing with them as they leave.

¹¹ On feast days and solemn festivities, the grain offering shall be one ephah for every bull, one ephah for every ram, and as much as he wishes to give for the lambs, together with a hin of oil for every ephah. ¹² When the prince makes a free-will offering to the Lord, whether a burnt offering or a peace offering, the east gate will be opened for him. After presenting his burnt offering or peace offering as he does on the Sabbath, then he will leave, and the gate will be closed after his departure.

¹³ The prince will offer as a daily sacrifice to the Lord, a yearling without blemish for a burnt offering. He must offer this every morning. ¹⁴ With it in addition, he must regularly provide as a grain offering, morning after morning, one-sixth of an ephah and one-third of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour. The presentation of this grain offering to the Lord is a mandatory decree, prescribed for all time. ¹⁵ The lamb, the grain offering, and the oil must be offered every morning as an established holocaust.

¹⁶ The Prince’s Inheritance. Thus says the Lord God: If the prince makes a gift of a portion of his inheritance to any of his sons, it will belong to his sons. That gift becomes their property by inheritance. ¹⁷ However, if he makes a gift of a portion of his inheritance to one of his servants, it will belong to that servant until the year of liberation; then it must revert to the prince. Only the sons of the prince may rightfully keep their inheritance.^[j]

¹⁸ On the other hand, the prince may not seize any of the inheritance of the people by evicting them from their property. He must provide an inheritance for his sons out of his own property, so that none of my people will be deprived of holdings that are rightfully theirs.

¹⁹ The Temple Kitchens. Then he led me through the entrance on the side of the gate to the rooms facing north that were reserved for the priests. There before us, at the western end, he pointed to a space, ²⁰ and he said to me, “This is the place where the priests must boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where they bake the cereal offering, so that they may avoid bringing them into the outer court and thereby run the risk of transmitting holiness to the people.”

²¹ Then he brought me to the outer court and led me around to its four corners. In each of the corners, I saw that there was another court. ²² In each of the four corners of the court, there were four small courts, forty cubits long and thirty cubits wide, all four being the same size.

²³ On the inside, around each of the four courts, there was a ledge of stone, with a hearth all around at the bottom of the wall. ²⁴ Then he said to me, “These are the kitchens where the temple servants boil the sacrifices offered by the people.”

Chapter 47^[k]

The Temple Stream. ¹ Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I beheld water flowing out eastward from under the threshold of the temple, for the temple faced east. The water was flowing down from the southern end of the temple, south of the altar. ² He took me out through the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces the east, where I saw that the water was trickling forth from the south side.

³ The man walked off to the east with a measuring line in his hand, and he measured off a thousand cubits. Then he led me through the water, which was ankle-deep. ⁴ Again, he measured off a thousand cubits and made me wade across the stream again. This time the water reached my knees. Again, he measured off a thousand cubits and made me wade across the stream again. This time the water reached my waist.

⁵ Once again, he measured off a thousand cubits, but now I beheld a river that I could not cross, for the water had risen, and it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed except by swimming. ⁶ He asked me, “Have you seen this, son of man?” Then he brought me back to the bank of the river.

⁷ When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. ⁸ He said to me, “This water flows east and goes down into the Arabah and empties into the sea, whose salt waters it makes fresh.

⁹ “Wherever the river flows, swarms of living creatures will live there and multiply. There will be an abundance of fish, for this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh. ¹⁰ Also, fishermen will gather along its banks from En-gedi to Englaim, spreading their nets. All kinds of fish will be found there, like the fish of the Great Sea.

¹¹ “However, its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt. ¹² Along the river, on both banks, fruit trees of every kind will grow, with leaves that never wither and with fruit that never fails. They will bear fresh fruit every month, because they will be watered by the flow from the sanctuary. Their fruit will serve as food, and their leaves will serve for healing.”

The New Israel

¹³ Boundaries of the Land. Thus says the Lord God: These are the boundaries by which you are to divide the land as an inheritance for the twelve tribes of Israel, with two portions allotted to Joseph. ¹⁴ You are to divide it equally among them. Because I swore to your fathers that I would give it to your forefathers, this land will be given to you as your inheritance.

¹⁵ These will be the boundaries of the land: On the north side, from the Great Sea by the road from Hethlon, past Lebo-hamath, and on to Zedad, ¹⁶ Berothah, and Sibraim, between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath, as far as Hazar-enon, which is on the border of Hauran. ¹⁷ Thus, the border will extend from the sea to Hazar-enon, with the frontier of Hamath and Damascus to the north. This was the northern boundary.

¹⁸ On the east side, 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 eastern boundary.

¹⁹ On the south side, from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, and from there along the Wadi of Egypt to the Great Sea. This is the southern boundary.

²⁰ On the west side is the Great Sea, which forms the boundary as far as a point parallel to and opposite Lebo-hamath. This is the western boundary.

²¹ The Northern Allotment. You are to distribute this land yourselves among the tribes of Israel ²² and allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens who reside in your midst and have begotten children among you. You are to treat them as children of Israel. With you, they shall be allotted as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.^{[l] 23} In whatever tribe an alien settles, there you shall assign him his inheritance. This is the word of the Lord God.

Chapter 48

¹ What follows is the list of the tribes:

At the northernmost border, Dan will have one portion, in the direction of Hethlon, through Lebo of Hamath to Hazar-enon, on the border of Damascus to the north, next to Hamath, his portion extending from the eastern to the western boundary.

² Asher will have one portion, bordering Dan, from the eastern to the western boundary.

³ Naphtali will have one portion, bordering Asher, from the eastern to the western boundary.

⁴ Manasseh will have one portion, bordering Naphtali, from the eastern to the western boundary.

⁵ Ephraim will have one portion, bordering Manasseh, from the eastern to the western boundary.

⁶ Reuben will have one portion, bordering Ephraim, from the eastern to the western boundary.

⁷ Judah will have one portion, bordering Reuben, from the eastern to the western boundary.

The Sacred Allotment. ⁸ Adjoining the territory of Judah from the eastern to the western boundary shall be the portion that you are to set apart—twenty-five thousand cubits wide, and its length the same as each of the other tribal portions from the eastern to the western boundary. The sanctuary of the Lord shall be located in the center of it.

⁹ The portion that you set aside for the Lord shall be twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousand cubits wide. ¹⁰ This will be the sacred portion for the priests. It will measure twenty-five thousand cubits on the north, ten thousand cubits on the east, ten thousand cubits on the west, and twenty-five thousand cubits on the south. The sanctuary of the Lord will be placed in the center of it.

¹¹ This will be for the consecrated priests, the descendants of the tribe of Zadok, who remained faithful in their service to me and did not follow the Israelites in going astray, as the Levites did, ¹² it will belong to them as a special gift set aside from the sacred portion of the land, adjoining the territory of the Levites.

¹³ The territory of the Levites shall correspond to that of the priests, twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousand cubits wide. Its total length will be twenty-five thousand cubits, and its total width will be ten thousand cubits. ¹⁴ They will not be allowed to sell or exchange any part of it. This is the choice portion of the land, and it cannot be transferred, because it is holy to the Lord.

¹⁵ The remaining area, five thousand cubits in width and twenty-five thousand cubits in length, shall be used at the discretion of the city for dwellings and pasture lands. The city shall be located in the middle of it, ¹⁶ and these shall be its dimensions: on the north side, four thousand five hundred cubits; on the south side, four thousand five hundred cubits; on the east side, four thousand five hundred cubits; on the west side, four thousand five hundred cubits.

¹⁷ The pasture land of the city will be two hundred and fifty cubits to the north, two hundred and fifty cubits to the south, two hundred and fifty cubits to the east, and two hundred and fifty cubits to the west. ¹⁸ The remainder of the area, along the sacred tract, will be ten thousand cubits to the east and ten thousand cubits to the west. Its produce will provide food for the workers of the city.

¹⁹ The workers of the city who farm this land will come from all the tribes of Israel. ²⁰ The entire tract that you set apart will be a square, twenty-five thousand cubits by twenty-five thousand cubits. As a sacred gift, you must set apart the sacred tract together with the property of the city.

²¹ What remains on both sides of the sacred portion and of the property of the city shall belong to the prince. Extending eastward along the twenty-five thousand cubits to the eastern border, and extending westward along the twenty-five thousand cubits to the western border, parallel to the tribal portions, it will belong to the prince. The sacred portion and the sanctuary of the temple will be in the center. ²² Therefore, aside from the property of the Levites and the property of the city, which lie in the midst of the prince’s property, everything between the borders of Judah and the borders of Benjamin shall belong to the prince.

²³ The Southern Allotment. These are the remaining tribes:

Benjamin will have one portion, from the eastern boundary to the western boundary.

²⁴ Simeon will have one portion, bordering the territory of Benjamin from east to west.

²⁵ Issachar will have one portion, bordering the territory of Simeon from east to west.

²⁶ Zebulun will have one portion, bordering the territory of Issachar from east to west.

²⁷ Gad will have one portion, bordering the territory of Zebulun from east to west.

²⁸ The southern boundary of Gad will extend from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, and from there along the Wadi of Egypt to the Great Sea.

²⁹ This is the land that you are to allot as inheritances among the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, says the Lord God.

³⁰ The City Gates. These are the exits from the city, the gates of which are named after the tribes of Israel.

On the north side, which will measure four thousand five hundred cubits in length, ³¹ there will be three gates: the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi.

³² On the east side, which will measure four thousand five hundred cubits in length, there will be three gates: the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan.

³³ On the south side, which will measure four thousand five hundred cubits in length, there will be three gates: the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun.

³⁴ On the west side, which will measure four thousand five hundred cubits in length, there will be three gates: the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali.

³⁵ The perimeter of the city will measure eighteen thousand cubits. And the name of the city from that time on will be: “The Lord Is There.”