Through the Bible – Day 338

₁The man took me back to the temple, where I saw a stream flowing from under the entrance. It began in the south part of the temple, where it ran past the altar and continued east through the courtyard.

₂We walked out of the temple area through the north gate and went around to the east gate. I saw the small stream of water flowing east from the south side of the gate.

₃The man walked east, then took out his measuring stick and measured five hundred metres downstream. He told me to wade through the stream there, and the water came up to my ankles. ₄Then he measured another five hundred metres downstream, and told me to wade through it there. The water came up to my knees. Another five hundred metres downstream the water came up to my waist. ₅Another five hundred metres downstream, the stream had become a river that could be crossed only by swimming. ₆The man said, “Ezekiel, son of man, pay attention to what you've seen.”

We walked to the river bank, ₇where I saw dozens of trees on each side. ₈The man said:

_13-14The LORD God said to the people of Israel:

When the land is divided among the twelve tribes of Israel, the Joseph tribe will receive two shares. Divide the land equally, because I promised your ancestors that this land would some day belong to their descendants. These are the borders of the land:

₁₅The northern border will begin at the Mediterranean Sea, then continue eastward to Hethlon, to Lebo-Hamath, then across to Zedad, ₁₆Berothah, and Sibraim, which is on the border between the two kingdoms of Damascus and Hamath. The border will end at Hazer-Hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran. ₁₇So the northern border will run between the Mediterranean Sea and Hazar-Enon, which is on the border between Damascus and Hamath.

₁₈The eastern border will begin on the border between the two kingdoms of Hauran and Damascus. It will run south along the River Jordan, which separates the territories of Gilead and Israel, and it will end at the Dead Sea near the town of Tamar.

₁₉The southern border will begin at Tamar, then run south-west to the springs near Meribath-Kadesh. It will continue along the Egyptian Gorge and will end at the Mediterranean Sea.

₂₀The western border will run north along the Mediterranean Sea to a point just west of Lebo-Hamath.

₂₁That is the land to be divided among the tribes of Israel. ₂₂It will belong to the Israelites and to any foreigners living among them whose children were born in Israel. These foreigners must be treated like any other Israelite citizen, and they will receive ₂₃a share of the land given to the tribe where they live. I, the LORD God, have spoken.

_1-7Each tribe will receive a section of land that runs from the eastern border of Israel west to the Mediterranean Sea. The northern border of Israel will run along the towns of Hethlon and Lebo-Hamath, and will end at Hazar-Enon, which is on the border between the kingdoms of Damascus and Hamath. The tribes will receive their share of land in the following order, from north to south: Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben, and Judah.

₈South of Judah's territory will be a special section of land. Its length will be twelve and a half kilometres, and its width will run from the eastern border of Israel west to the Mediterranean Sea. My temple will be in this section of land.

₉An area in the centre of this land will belong to me. It will be twelve and a half kilometres long and ten kilometres wide.

₁₀I, the LORD, will give half of my sacred land to the priests. Their share will be twelve and a half kilometres long and five kilometres wide, and my temple will be right in the middle. ₁₁Only priests who are descendants of Zadok will receive a share of this sacred land, because they remained faithful to me when the Levites and the rest of the Israelites started sinning. ₁₂The land belonging to the priests will be the most sacred area and will lie south of the area that belongs to the Levites.

₁₃I will give the other half of my sacred land to the Levites. Their share will also be twelve and a half kilometres long and five kilometres wide, ₁₄and they must never sell or trade any of this land—it is the best land and belongs to me.

₁₅South of my sacred land will be a section twelve and a half kilometres long and three kilometres wide. It will not be sacred, but will belong to the people of Israel and will include the city of Jerusalem, together with its houses and pasture land. ₁₆The city will be a square: each side will be two kilometres long, ₁₇and an open area one hundred and twenty-five metres wide will surround the city. ₁₈The land on the east and west sides of the city boundaries will be farmland for the people of Jerusalem; both sections will be five kilometres long and three kilometres wide. ₁₉People from the city will farm the land, no matter which tribe they belong to.

₂₀And so the centre of this special section of land will be for my sacred land, as well as for the city and its property. The land will be a square, twelve and a half kilometres on each side.

₂₁The regions east and west of this square of land will belong to the ruler of Israel. His property will run east to the River Jordan and west to the Mediterranean Sea. In the very centre of his property will be my sacred land, as well as the temple, ₂₂together with the share belonging to the Levites and the city of Jerusalem. The northern border of the ruler's property will be the land that belongs to Judah, and the southern border will be the land that belongs to Benjamin.

_23-27South of this special section will be the land that belongs to the rest of Israel's tribes. Each tribe will receive a section of land that runs from the eastern border of Israel west to the Mediterranean Sea. The tribes will receive their share of land in the following order, from north to south: Benjamin, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun, and Gad.

₂₈Gad's southern border is also the southern border of Israel. It will begin at the town of Tamar, then run south-west to the springs near Meribath-Kadesh. It will continue along the Egyptian Gorge and end at the Mediterranean Sea.

₂₉That's how the land of Israel will be divided among the twelve tribes. I, the LORD God, have spoken.

_30-34The city of Jerusalem will have twelve gates, three on each of the four sides of the city wall. These gates will be named after the twelve tribes of Israel. The gates of Reuben, Judah, and Levi will be in the north; Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan will be in the east; Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun will be in the south; Gad, Asher, and Naphtali will be in the west. Each side of the city wall will be two kilometres long, ₃₅and so the total length of the wall will be ten kilometres. The new name of the city will be “The-LORD-Is-Here!”