Ezekiel 47–48; Ezekiel 29:17–30:19; 2 Kings 25:27–30; Jeremiah 52:31–34

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Ezekiel 47–48

Water Flowing from the Temple

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.

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 extending13 from the east side to the west,14 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 cubits15 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 20,00016 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 20,000.17 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 Egypt18 to hthe Great Sea.19 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,20 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.


Ezekiel 29:17–30:19

17 lIn the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 18 mSon of man, nNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare, yet neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had performed against her. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: oBehold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; pand he shall carry off its wealth1 qand despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army. 20 rI have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, declares the Lord God.

21 On that day sI will cause a horn to spring up for the house of Israel, and tI will open your lips among them. uThen they will know that I am the Lord.

A Lament for Egypt

The word of the Lord came to me: vSon of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God:

wWail, Alas for the day!

wFor the day is near,

xthe day of the Lord is near;

it will be ya day of clouds,

a time of doom for2 the nations.

zA sword shall come upon Egypt,

aand anguish shall be in bCush,

when the slain fall in Egypt,

and cher wealth3 is carried away,

and dher foundations are torn down.

bCush, and ePut, and Lud, and fall Arabia, and Libya,4 and the people of the land that is in league,5 shall fall with them by the sword.

Thus says the Lord:

gThose who support Egypt shall fall,

and hher proud might shall come down;

ifrom Migdol to Syene

they shall fall within her by the sword,

declares the Lord God.

jAnd they shall be desolated in the midst of desolated countries,

and their cities shall be in the midst of cities that are laid waste.

kThen they will know that I am the Lord,

when lI have set fire to Egypt,

and gall her helpers are broken.

On that day mmessengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting bpeople of Cush, and aanguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt’s doom;6 for, behold, it comes!

10 Thus says the Lord God:

nI will put an end to the wealth of Egypt,

by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

11  He and his people with him, othe most ruthless of nations,

shall be brought in to destroy the land,

zand they shall draw their swords against Egypt

and fill the land with the slain.

12  And pI will qdry up the Nile

and will sell the land into the hand of revildoers;

sI will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it,

by the hand of tforeigners;

uI am the Lord; I have spoken.

13 Thus says the Lord God:

vI will destroy the idols

and put an end to the images in wMemphis;

xthere shall no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;

so yI will put fear in the land of Egypt.

14  I will make zPathros a desolation

and will set fire to aZoan

band will execute judgments on cThebes.

15  And I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,

the stronghold of Egypt,

and cut off the multitude7 of Thebes.

16  And I will set fire to Egypt;

Pelusium shall be in great agony;

Thebes shall be breached,

and wMemphis shall face enemies8 by day.

17  The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword,

and the women9 shall go into captivity.

18  At dTehaphnehes ethe day shall be dark,

when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt,

and fher proud might shall come to an end in her;

she shall be covered by a cloud,

and her daughters shall go into captivity.

19  Thus gI will execute judgments on Egypt.

hThen they will know that I am the Lord.


2 Kings 25:27–30

Jehoiachin Released from Prison

27 fAnd in the thirty-seventh year of gthe exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously hfreed1 Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. 28 And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life ihe dined regularly at the king’s table, 30 and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived.


Jeremiah 52:31–34

Jehoiachin Released from Prison

31 cAnd in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed1 dJehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. 32 And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of ethe kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king’s table, 34 and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, until the day of his death, as long as he lived.