Ezekiel 48

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The Prince and the Feasts

46 Thus says the Lord God: pThe gate of qthe inner court that faces east shall be shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and ron the day of the new moon it shall be opened. sThe prince shall enter by the vestibule of the gate from outside, and shall take his stand by tthe post of the gate. uThe priests shall offer his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at vthe threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be shut until evening. wThe people of the land shall bow down at the entrance of that gate before the Lord on the Sabbaths and on the new moons. xThe burnt offering that the prince offers to the Lord yon the Sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish. And zthe grain offering with the ram shall be an ephah,1 and the grain offering with the lambs shall be aas much as he is able, together with a hin2 of oil to each ephah. On the day of the new moon he shall offer a bull from the herd without blemish, and six lambs and a ram, which shall be without blemish. As a grain offering he shall provide an ephah with the bull and an ephah with the ram, and with the lambs bas much as he is able, together with a hin of oil to each ephah. cWhen the prince enters, he shall enter by the vestibule of the gate, and he shall go out by the same way.

dWhen the people of the land ecome 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 When they enter, fthe prince shall enter with them, and when they go out, he shall go out.

11 At the feasts and the appointed festivals, zthe grain offering with a young bull shall be an ephah, and with a ram an ephah, and with the lambs bas much as one is able to give, together with a hin of oil to an ephah. 12 When the prince provides ga freewill offering, either a burnt offering or peace offerings as a freewill offering to the Lord, hthe gate facing east shall be opened for him. And he shall offer his burnt offering or his peace offerings ias he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he has gone out the gate shall be shut.

13 jYou 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 kyou shall provide a grain offering with it morning by morning, one sixth of an ephah, and one 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 la 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 mout of his inheritance to one of his servants, it shall be his to nthe year of liberty. Then it shall revert to the prince; surely it is his inheritanceit shall belong to his sons. 18 oThe prince shall not take any of the inheritance of the people, pthrusting 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 qscattered from his property.

Boiling Places for Offerings

19 Then he brought me through the entrance, which was rat the side of the gate, to the north row of sthe 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 tshall boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where uthey shall bake the grain offering, in order not to bring them out into the outer court and so vtransmit holiness to the people.

21 Then he brought me out to 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 were small3 courts, forty cubits4 long and thirty broad; the four were of the same size. 23 On the inside, around each of the four courts was a row of masonry, with hearths made at the bottom of the rows all around. 24 Then he said to me, These are the kitchens where those who wminister at the temple tshall boil the sacrifices of the people.

Water Flowing from the Temple

47 Then he brought me back to xthe door of the temple, and behold, ywater was issuing from below zthe 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 athe altar. Then he brought me out by way of bthe north gate and led me around on the outside to cthe outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side.

Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, dthe man measured a thousand cubits,1 and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. 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. And he said to me, eSon of man, fhave you seen this?

Then he led me back to the bank of the river. As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river gvery many trees on the one side and on the other. And he said to me, This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into hthe Arabah, and enters the sea;2 when the water flows into ithe sea, the water will become fresh.3 And wherever the river goes,4 every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea5 may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. 10 Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From jEngedi to kEneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of lthe Great Sea.6 11 But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. 12 And on the banks, mon both sides of the river, there will grow nall kinds of trees for food. oTheir leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, pbut they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and ptheir leaves for healing.

Division of the Land

13 Thus says the Lord God: This is the boundary7 by which qyou shall divide the land for inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. rJoseph shall have two portions. 14 And you shall divide equally what sI swore tto give to your fathers. uThis land shall fall to you as your inheritance.

15 This shall be the boundary of the land: On the north side, from lthe Great Sea vby way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, and on to wZedad,8 16 xBerothah, Sibraim (which lies on the border between yDamascus and vHamath), as far as Hazer-hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran. 17 So the boundary shall run from the sea to zHazar-enan, which is on the northern border of Damascus, with the border of Hamath to the north.9 This shall be the north side.10

18 On the east side, the boundary shall run between Hauran and Damascus; along the Jordan between aGilead and the land of Israel; to bthe eastern sea and as far as Tamar.11 This shall be the east side.

19 On the south side, it shall run from cTamar as far as dthe waters of Meribah-kadesh, from there along ethe Brook of Egypt12 to fthe Great Sea. This shall be the south side.

20 On the west side, the Great Sea shall be the boundary to a point vopposite Lebo-hamath. This shall be the west side.

21 gSo you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. 22 hYou shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and ifor the sojourners who reside among you and have had children among you. jThey 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.

48 These are the names of the tribes: Beginning at the northern extreme, beside kthe way of Hethlon lto Lebo-hamath, as far as mHazar-enan (which is on the northern border of nDamascus over against Hamath), and extending1 from the east side to the west,2 oDan, one portion. Adjoining the territory of Dan, from the east side to the west, oAsher, one portion. Adjoining the territory of Asher, from the east side to the west, oNaphtali, one portion. Adjoining the territory of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, Manasseh, one portion. Adjoining the territory of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, Ephraim, one portion. Adjoining the territory of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, Reuben, one portion. Adjoining the territory of Reuben, from the east side to the west, Judah, one portion.

Adjoining the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be pthe portion which you shall set apart, 25,000 cubits3 in breadth, and in length equal to one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west, with qthe sanctuary in the midst of it. The portion that you shall set apart for the Lord shall be 25,000 cubits in length, and 20,0004 in breadth. 10 rThese shall be the allotments of the holy portion: the priests shall have an allotment measuring 25,000 cubits on the northern side, 10,000 cubits in breadth on the western side, 10,000 in breadth on the eastern side, and 25,000 in length on the southern side, with the sanctuary of the Lord in the midst of it. 11 This shall be for sthe consecrated priests, tthe sons of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, uas the Levites did. 12 And it shall belong to them as a special portion from the holy portion of the land, a most holy place, adjoining the territory of the Levites. 13 vAnd 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 20,000.5 14 They wshall not sell or exchange any of it. They shall not alienate xthis choice portion of the land, for it is holy to the Lord.

15 yThe remainder, 5,000 cubits in breadth and 25,000 in length, shall be zfor common use for the city, for dwellings and for aopen country. In the midst of it shall be the city, 16 and these shall be its measurements: bthe north side 4,500 cubits, the south side 4,500, the east side 4,500, and the west side 4,500. 17 And the city shall have open land: on the north 250 cubits, on the south 250, on the east 250, and on the west 250. 18 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. cIts produce shall be food for the workers of the city. 19 And the workers of the city, from all the tribes of Israel, shall till it. 20 The whole portion that dyou shall set apart shall be 25,000 cubits square, that is, the holy portion together with the property of the city.

21 eWhat remains on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city shall belong to the prince. Extending from the 25,000 cubits of the holy portion to the east border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the west border, parallel to the tribal portions, it shall belong to the prince. fThe holy portion with the sanctuary of the temple shall be in its midst. 22 It shall be separate from the property of the Levites and the property of the city, which are in the midst of that which belongs to the prince. The portion of the prince shall lie between the territory of Judah and the territory of Benjamin.

23 As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west, Benjamin, one portion. 24 Adjoining the territory of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, Simeon, one portion. 25 Adjoining the territory of Simeon, from the east side to the west, Issachar, one portion. 26 Adjoining the territory of Issachar, from the east side to the west, Zebulun, one portion. 27 Adjoining the territory of Zebulun, from the east side to the west, Gad, one portion. 28 And adjoining the territory of Gad to the south, the boundary shall run gfrom Tamar to the waters of gMeribah-kadesh, from there along the Brook of Egypt6 to hthe Great Sea.7 29 This is the land that iyou shall allot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, declares the Lord God.

The Gates of the City

30 These shall be jthe exits of the city: On the north side, which is to be k4,500 cubits by measure, 31 lthree gates, the gate of mReuben, the gate of mJudah, and the gate of mLevi, the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel. 32 On the east side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan. 33 On the south side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, three gates, the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun. 34 On the west side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates,8 the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali. 35 The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits. And nthe name of the city from that time on shall be, oThe Lord Is There.

Daniel Illustration

Daniel

Daniel Taken to Babylon

In the third year of athe reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of bthe vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to cthe land of Shinar, to the house of his god, dand placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, ehis chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family1 and of fthe nobility, youths without gblemish, of good appearance and hskillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to iteach them the literature and language of the jChaldeans. The king assigned them a daily portion of kthe food that the king ate, and of lthe wine that he drank. They were to be educated for mthree years, and at the end of that time they were to nstand before the king. Among these were oDaniel, pHananiah, pMishael, and pAzariah of the tribe of Judah. And ethe chief of the eunuchs qgave them names: rDaniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

Daniel’s Faithfulness

But Daniel sresolved that he would not tdefile himself with kthe king’s food, or with lthe wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to tdefile himself. uAnd God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, 10 and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king. 11 Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 Test your servants for vten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat kthe king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see. 14 So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate kthe king’s food. 16 wSo the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them xvegetables.

17 As for these four youths, yGod gave them learning and zskill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had aunderstanding in all visions and dreams. 18 At the end of bthe time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore cthey stood before the king. 20 And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all dthe magicians and eenchanters that were in all his kingdom. 21 And Daniel fwas there until the first year of gKing Cyrus.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; hhis spirit was troubled, and ihis sleep left him. Then the king commanded that dthe magicians, ethe enchanters, the jsorcerers, and kthe Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and lstood before the king. And the king said to them, I had a dream, and hmy spirit is troubled to know the dream. Then kthe Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic,1 mO king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation. The king answered and said to kthe Chaldeans, The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be ntorn limb from limb, nand your ohouses shall be laid in ruins. But if you show the dream and its interpretation, pyou shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. qTherefore show me the dream and its interpretation. They answered a second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation. The king answered and said, I know with certainty that you are trying to rgain time, because you see that the word from me is firm if you do not make the dream known to me, sthere is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till tthe times change. uTherefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation. 10 vThe Chaldeans answered the king and said, There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or vChaldean. 11 The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except wthe gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.

12 Because of this the king was angry and xvery furious, and ycommanded that all zthe wise men of Babylon be destroyed. 13 So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought aDaniel and his companions, to kill them. 14 Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to bArioch, the ccaptain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. 15 He declared2 to Arioch, the king’s captain, Why is the decree of the king dso urgent? Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. 16 And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.

God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

17 Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to eHananiah, eMishael, and eAzariah, his companions, 18 fand told them to seek mercy from the gGod of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not hbe destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in ia vision of the night. Then Daniel jblessed the gGod of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said:

kBlessed be the name of God forever and ever,

lto whom belong wisdom and might.

21  mHe changes times and seasons;

nhe removes kings and sets up kings;

ohe gives wisdom to the wise

oand knowledge to those who have understanding;

22  phe reveals deep and hidden things;

phe knows what is in the darkness,

qand the light dwells with him.

23  To you, O rGod of my fathers,

sI give thanks and praise,

for tyou have given me wisdom and might,

and have now made known to me what uwe asked of you,

for you have made known to us the king’s matter.

24 Therefore Daniel went in to vArioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.

25 Then vArioch brought in Daniel before the king win haste and said thus to him: I have found xamong the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation. 26 The king declared to Daniel, ywhose name was Belteshazzar, zAre you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation? 27 Daniel answered the king and said, No wise men, aenchanters, amagicians, or bastrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, 28 but cthere is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar dwhat will be in the latter days. Your dream and ethe visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: 29 To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, fand he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. 30 But gas for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that hyou may know the thoughts of your mind.

Daniel Interprets the Dream

31 You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. 32 iThe head of this image was of fine gold, jits chest and arms of silver, its middle and jthighs of bronze, 33 kits legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 As you looked, a stone was cut out lby no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and mbroke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became nlike the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that onot a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became pa great mountain qand filled the whole earth.

36 This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37 You, O king, rthe king of kings, to whom sthe God of heaven thas given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, 38 and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, uthe beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them allyou are vthe head of gold. 39 wAnother kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom vof bronze, xwhich shall rule over all the earth. 40 And ythere shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron zbreaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall zbreak and crush all these. 41 And as you saw athe feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the yfirmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage,3 but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of those kings bthe God of heaven will set up ca kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. dIt shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and cit shall stand forever, 45 just as eyou saw that fa stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that dit broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A ggreat God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.

Daniel Is Promoted

46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar hfell upon his face and ipaid homage to Daniel, and commanded that jan offering and kincense be offered up to him. 47 The king answered and said to Daniel, Truly, your lGod is God of gods and mLord of kings, and na revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery. 48 Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great ogifts, and made him ruler over the whole pprovince of Babylon and qchief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Daniel made a request of the king, and he rappointed sShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of pthe province of Babylon. But Daniel tremained at the king’s court.