The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel 48 The boundaries of the twelve tribes

 The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel 48

The boundaries of the twelve tribes

1 These are the names of the tribes: from the far north, along the road from Hethlon to Hamath, Hazer-Enon on the border of Damascus northward, near Hamath; they shall have the east and the west; Dan shall have one portion.

2 And next to the border of Dan, from east to west, Asher shall have one portion.

3 And next to the border of Asher, from east to west, Naphtali shall have one portion.

4 And next to the border of Naphtali, from east to west, Manasseh shall have one portion.

5 And next to the border of Manasseh, from east to west, Ephraim shall have one portion.

6 And by the border of Ephraim, from the east to the west, Reuben, one portion.

7 And by the border of Reuben, from the east to the west, Judah, one portion.

8 And by the border of Judah, from the east to the west, shall be the offering which you shall make, twenty-five thousand reeds in width and length, as one of the portions, from the east to the west; and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it.

9 The offering which you shall make to the Lord shall be twenty-five thousand reeds in length and ten thousand in width.

10 And the holy offering shall be from the priests: twenty-five thousand reeds in length toward the north, and ten thousand in width toward the west, and ten thousand in width toward the east, and twenty-five thousand in length toward the south; and the sanctuary of the Lord shall be in the midst of it. 

11 And it shall be for the sanctified priests from among the sons of Zadok, who kept my ordinance, who did not go astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the other Levites went astray.

12 And the offering of the land offering shall be holy among holiness to them, at the boundary of the Levites.

13 And the Levites shall have, according to the boundary of the priests, twenty-five thousand reeds in length, and ten thousand in width; the whole length shall be twenty-five thousand and the width ten thousand.

14 And they shall not sell any of it, nor exchange it, nor transfer the firstfruits of the land, for it is holy to the Lord.

15 But the five thousand, which are left of the width before the twenty-five thousand, shall be for the use of the city, for habitation and for suburbs; and the city shall be in the midst.

16 These shall be its measurements: the north side shall be four thousand five hundred reeds, and the south side four thousand five hundred, and the east side four thousand five hundred, and the west side four thousand five hundred.

17 And the outskirts of the city shall be two hundred and fifty reeds to the north, and two hundred and fifty to the south, and two hundred and fifty to the east, and two hundred and fifty to the west.

18 And as for the remainder of the length, parallel to the holy offering, it shall be ten thousand to the east, and ten thousand to the west; and it shall correspond to the holy offering; and its produce shall be for the sustenance of those who serve the city.

19 And those who serve the city shall serve it from all the tribes of Israel.

20 The entire offering shall be twenty-five thousand reeds plus twenty-five thousand: you shall offer the holy offering in a square with the possession of the city.

21 And what remains shall be for the prince; on this side and on the other side of the holy offering, and of the possession of the city, before the twenty-five thousand reeds of the offering, toward the eastern and western borders, before the twenty-five thousand, toward the western border, corresponding to the portions, shall be the prince's portion: and the holy offering and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the middle.

22 And from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, in the middle of what belongs to the prince, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, it shall be for the prince.

23 And as for the rest of the tribes: from the eastern side to the western side, Benjamin, one portion.

24 And by the border of Benjamin, from east to west, Simeon, one portion.

25 And by the border of Simeon, from east to west, Issachar, one portion.

26 And by the border of Issachar, from east to west, Zebulun, one portion.

27 And by the border of Zebulun, from east to west, Gad, one portion.

28 And by the border of Gad, to the south, on the south side, the border shall be from Tamar to the waters of Meribah Kadesh, toward the brook to the Great Sea.

29 This is the land which you shall allot as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel; and these are their portions, says the Lord God.

30 These are the city's exits from the north side: four thousand five hundred measures.

31 The city gates will be according to the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates on the north side: the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi.

32 On the east side, four thousand five hundred measures, and three gates: the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan.

33 On the south side, four thousand five hundred measures, and three gates: the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun.

34 On the west side, four thousand five hundred measures, and its three gates: the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali.

35 Eighteen thousand measures round about, and the name of the city from that day shall be: The Lord is there.