Ezekiel 48 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

Division of the Land

Eze 48:1“Here is the list of the tribes of Israel and the territory each is to receive. The territory of Dan is in the extreme north. Its boundary line follows the Hethlon road to Lebo-hamath and then runs on to Hazar-enan on the border of Damascus, with Hamath to the north. Dan’s territory extends all the way across the land of Israel from east to west.

Eze 48:2

Eze 48:2“Asher’s territory lies south of Dan’s and also extends from east to west.

Eze 48:3

Eze 48:3Naphtali’s land lies south of Asher’s, also extending from east to west.

Eze 48:4

Eze 48:4Then comes Manasseh south of Naphtali, and its territory also extends from east to west.

Eze 48:5

Eze 48:5South of Manasseh is Ephraim,

Eze 48:6

Eze 48:6and then Reuben,

Eze 48:7

Eze 48:7and then Judah, all of whose boundaries extend from east to west.

Eze 48:8

Eze 48:8“South of Judah is the land set aside for a special purpose. It will be 8⅓ miles[fn] wide and will extend as far east and west as the tribal territories, with the Temple at the center.

Eze 48:9

Eze 48:9“The area set aside for the LORD’s Temple will be 8⅓ miles long and 6⅔ miles wide.[fn]

Eze 48:10

Eze 48:10For the priests there will be a strip of land measuring 8⅓ miles long by 3⅓ miles wide,[fn] with the LORD’s Temple at the center.

Eze 48:11

Eze 48:11This area is set aside for the ordained priests, the descendants of Zadok who served me faithfully and did not go astray with the people of Israel and the rest of the Levites.

Eze 48:12

Eze 48:12It will be their special portion when the land is distributed, the most sacred land of all. Next to the priests’ territory will lie the land where the other Levites will live.

Eze 48:13

Eze 48:13“The land allotted to the Levites will be the same size and shape as that belonging to the priests—8⅓ miles long and 3⅓ miles wide. Together these portions of land will measure 8⅓ miles long by 6⅔ miles wide.[fn]

Eze 48:14

Eze 48:14None of this special land may ever be sold or traded or used by others, for it belongs to the LORD; it is set apart as holy.

Eze 48:15

Eze 48:15“An additional strip of land 8⅓ miles long by 1⅔ miles wide,[fn] south of the sacred Temple area, will be allotted for public use—homes, pasturelands, and common lands, with a city at the center.

Eze 48:16

Eze 48:16The city will measure 1½ miles[fn] on each side—north, south, east, and west.

Eze 48:17

Eze 48:17Open lands will surround the city for 150 yards[fn] in every direction.

Eze 48:18

Eze 48:18Outside the city there will be a farming area that stretches 3⅓ miles to the east and 3⅓ miles to the west[fn] along the border of the sacred area. This farmland will produce food for the people working in the city.

Eze 48:19

Eze 48:19Those who come from the various tribes to work in the city may farm it.

Eze 48:20

Eze 48:20This entire area—including the sacred lands and the city—is a square that measures 8⅓ miles[fn] on each side.

Eze 48:21

Eze 48:21“The areas that remain, to the east and to the west of the sacred lands and the city, will belong to the prince. Each of these areas will be 8⅓ miles wide, extending in opposite directions to the eastern and western borders of Israel, with the sacred lands and the sanctuary of the Temple in the center.

Eze 48:22

Eze 48:22So the prince’s land will include everything between the territories allotted to Judah and Benjamin, except for the areas set aside for the sacred lands and the city.

Eze 48:23

Eze 48:23“These are the territories allotted to the rest of the tribes. Benjamin’s territory lies just south of the prince’s lands, and it extends across the entire land of Israel from east to west.

Eze 48:24

Eze 48:24South of Benjamin’s territory lies that of Simeon, also extending across the land from east to west.

Eze 48:25

Eze 48:25Next is the territory of Issachar with the same eastern and western boundaries.

Eze 48:26

Eze 48:26“Then comes the territory of Zebulun, which also extends across the land from east to west.

Eze 48:27

Eze 48:27The territory of Gad is just south of Zebulun with the same borders to the east and west.

Eze 48:28

Eze 48:28The southern border of Gad runs from Tamar to the waters of Meribah at Kadesh[fn] and then follows the Brook of Egypt to the Mediterranean.[fn]

Eze 48:29

Eze 48:29“These are the allotments that will be set aside for each tribe’s exclusive possession. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!

The Gates of the City

Eze 48:30

Eze 48:30“These will be the exits to the city: On the north wall, which is 1½ miles long,

Eze 48:31

Eze 48:31there will be three gates, each one named after a tribe of Israel. The first will be named for Reuben, the second for Judah, and the third for Levi.

Eze 48:32

Eze 48:32On the east wall, also 1½ miles long, the gates will be named for Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan.

Eze 48:33

Eze 48:33The south wall, also 1½ miles long, will have gates named for Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun.

Eze 48:34

Eze 48:34And on the west wall, also 1½ miles long, the gates will be named for Gad, Asher, and Naphtali.

Eze 48:35

Eze 48:35“The distance around the entire city will be 6 miles.[fn] And from that day the name of the city will be ‘The LORD Is There.’[fn]”

See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NLT Footnotes

(48:8)

Hebrew 25,000 cubits [13.3 kilometers].

(48:9)

As in one Greek manuscript and the Greek reading in 45:1: 25,000 cubits [13.3 kilometers] long and 20,000 cubits [10.6 kilometers] wide; Hebrew reads 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits [31/3 miles or 5.3 kilometers] wide. Similarly in 48:13b. Compare 45:1-5; 48:10-13.

(48:10)

Hebrew 25,000 cubits [13.3 kilometers] long by 10,000 cubits [5.3 kilometers] wide; also in 48:13a.

(48:13)

See note on 48:9.

(48:15)

Hebrew 25,000 cubits [13.3 kilometers] long by 5,000 cubits [2.65 kilometers] wide.

(48:16)

Hebrew 4,500 cubits [2.4 kilometers]; also in 48:30, 32, 33, 34.

(48:17)

Hebrew 250 cubits [133 meters].

(48:18)

Hebrew 10,000 cubits [5.3 kilometers] to the east and 10,000 cubits to the west.