1. ‘These are the tribes, listed by name: at the northern frontier, Dan will have one portion; it will follow the Hethlon road to Lebo Hamath; Hazar Enan and the northern border of Damascus next to Hamath will be part of its border from the east side to the west side.
2. ‘Asher will have one portion; it will border the territory of Dan from east to west.
3. ‘Naphtali will have one portion; it will border the territory of Asher from east to west.
4. ‘Manasseh will have one portion; it will border the territory of Naphtali from east to west.
5. ‘Ephraim will have one portion; it will border the territory of Manasseh from east to west.
6. ‘Reuben will have one portion; it will border the territory of Ephraim from east to west.
7. ‘Judah will have one portion; it will border the territory of Reuben from east to west.
8. ‘Bordering the territory of Judah from east to west will be the portion you are to present as a special gift. It will be 25,000 cubits wide, and its length from east to west will equal one of the tribal portions; the sanctuary will be in the centre of it.
9. ‘The special portion you are to offer to the Lord will be 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide.
10. This will be the sacred portion for the priests. It will be 25,000 cubits long on the north side, 10,000 cubits wide on the west side, 10,000 cubits wide on the east side and 25,000 cubits long on the south side. In the centre of it will be the sanctuary of the Lord.
11. This will be for the consecrated priests, the Zadokites, who were faithful in serving me and did not go astray as the Levites did when the Israelites went astray.
12. It will be a special gift to them from the sacred portion of the land, a most holy portion, bordering the territory of the Levites.
13. ‘Alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites will be allotted a portion of land 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide. Its total length will be 25,000 cubits and its width 10,000 cubits.
14. They must not sell or exchange any of it. This is the best of the land and must not pass into other hands, because it is holy to the Lord.
15. ‘The remaining area, 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, will be for the common use of the city, for houses and for pasture-land. The city will be in the centre of it
16. and will have these measurements: the north side 4,500 cubits, the south side 4,500 cubits, the east side 4,500 cubits, and the west side 4,500 cubits.
17. The pasture-land for the city will be 250 cubits on the north, 250 cubits on the south, 250 cubits on the east, and 250 cubits on the west.
18. What remains of the area, bordering on the sacred portion and running the length of it, will be 10,000 cubits on the east side and 10,000 cubits on the west side. Its produce will supply food for the workers of the city.
19. The workers from the city who farm it will come from all the tribes of Israel.
20. The entire portion will be a square, 25,000 cubits on each side. As a special gift you will set aside the sacred portion, along with the property of the city.
21. ‘What remains on both sides of the area formed by the sacred portion and the property of the city will belong to the prince. It will extend eastward from the 25,000 cubits of the sacred portion to the eastern border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the western border. Both these areas running the length of the tribal portions will belong to the prince, and the sacred portion with the temple sanctuary will be in the centre of them.
22. So the property of the Levites and the property of the city will lie in the centre of the area that belongs to the prince. The area belonging to the prince will lie between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin.
23. ‘As for the rest of the tribes: Benjamin will have one portion; it will extend from the east side to the west side.
24. ‘Simeon will have one portion; it will border the territory of Benjamin from east to west.
25. ‘Issachar will have one portion; it will border the territory of Simeon from east to west.
26. ‘Zebulun will have one portion; it will border the territory of Issachar from east to west.
27. ‘Gad will have one portion; it will border the territory of Zebulun from east to west.
28. ‘The southern boundary of Gad will run south from Tamar to the waters of Meribah Kadesh, then along the Wadi of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea.
29. ‘This is the land you are to allot as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel, and these will be their portions,’ declares the Sovereign Lord.
30. ‘These will be the exits of the city: beginning on the north side, which is 4,500 cubits long,
31. the gates of the city will be named after the tribes of Israel. The three gates on the north side will be the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah and the gate of Levi.
32. ‘On the east side, which is 4,500 cubits long, will be three gates: the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin and the gate of Dan.
33. ‘On the south side, which measures 4,500 cubits, will be three gates: the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar and the gate of Zebulun.
34. ‘On the west side, which is 4,500 cubits long, will be three gates: the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher and the gate of Naphtali.
35. ‘The distance all around will be 18,000 cubits.‘And the name of the city from that time on will be:THE Lord IS THERE.’Footnotes for the Book of Ezekiela 1 The Hebrew phrase ben adam means human being. The phrase son of man is retained as a form of address here and throughout Ezekiel because of its possible association with ‘Son of Man’ in the New Testament.a 4 Or upon your sideb 10 That is, about 230 gramsc 11 That is, about 0.6 litred 17 Or away ina 14 Most Hebrew manuscripts; a few Hebrew manuscripts Riblaha 2 Or saw a fiery figurea 24 Or Chaldeaa 14 Or Danel, a man of renown in ancient literature; also in verse 20a 10 Or things to a brothera 29 Bamah means high place.b 40 Or and the gifts of your firstfruitsc 49 In Hebrew texts 20:45-49 is numbered 21:1-5.a 16 Or When I have allotted you your inheritanceb 25 Septuagint; Hebrew prophetsa 23 Or away ina 5 That is, Mount Hermonb 6 Targum; the Masoretic Text has a different division of the consonants.c 15 Septuagint; Hebrew Dedand 16 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac Edome 17 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.a 7 Syriac (see also Septuagint and Vulgate); Hebrew and you caused their backs to standb 10 That is, the upper Nile regionc 21 Horn here symbolises strength.a 9 Hebrew; Septuagint bring you into captivity among the nations, / tob 27 Septuagint; Hebrew warriors who were uncircumcisedc 27 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text punishmenta 26 Or I will cause them and the places surrounding my hill to be named in blessings (see Gen. 48:20); or I will cause them and the places surrounding my hill to be seen as blesseda 2 Or the prince of Rosh,b 3 Or Gog, prince of Rosh,c 5 That is, the upper Nile regiond 12 The Hebrew for this phrase means the navel of the earth.e 13 Or her strong lionsa 5 That is, about 3.2 metres; also in verse 12. The long cubit of about 53 centimetres is the basic unit of measurement of length throughout chapters 40 – 48.b 7 That is, about 2.7 metres; also in verse 48c 8,9 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts gateway facing the temple; it was one rod deep. 9Then he measured the portico of the gateway; itd 9 That is, about 4.2 metrese 9 That is, about about 1 metref 11 That is, about 5.3 metres wide and 6.9 metres longg 13 That is, about 13 metres; also in verses 21, 25, 29, 30, 33 and 36h 14 That is, about 32 metresi 14 Septuagint; Hebrew projecting wallj 14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.k 15 That is, about 27 metres; also in verses 21, 25, 29, 33 and 36l 19 That is, about 53 metres; also in verses 23, 27 and 47m 37 Septuagint (see also verses 31 and 34); Hebrew jambsn 39 Or purification offeringso 42 That is, about 80 centimetres long and wide and 53 centimetres highp 43 That is, about 9 centimetresq 44 Septuagint; Hebrew were rooms for singers, which werer 44 Septuagint; Hebrew easts 48 That is, about 7.4 metrest 48 Septuagint; Hebrew entrance wasu 48 That is, about 1.6 metresv 49 That is, about 11 metresw 49 Septuagint; Hebrew elevenx 49 That is, about 6.4 metresy 49 Hebrew; Septuagint Ten steps led up to ita 2 That is, about 53 metres long and 27 metres wideb 3 That is, about 11 metresc 4 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew and one cubitd 4 That is, about 5.3 metres wide and 53 metres longe 10 Septuagint; Hebrew Eastwardf 13 Or purification offeringsg 16 See Septuagint of verse 17; Hebrew rods; also in verses 18 and 19.h 16 Five hundred cubits equal about 265 metres; also in verses 17, 18 and 19.i 17 Septuagint; Hebrew rodsa 27 Or purification offering; also in verse 29b 29 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord.a 5 That is, probably about 16 kilograms; also in verses 7 and 11b 5 That is, about 3.8 litres; also in verses 7 and 11c 14 That is, probably about 2.7 kilogramsd 14 That is, about 1.3 litrese 20 Or purification offeringf 22 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.g 22 That is, about 21 metres long and 16 metres widea 8 That is, about 8 miles or about 13 kilometres; also in verses 9, 10, 13, 15, 20 and 21b 9 That is, about 3 1/3 miles or about 5.3 kilometres; also in verses 10, 13 and 18c 15 That is, about 1 2/3 miles or about 2.7 kilometresd 16 That is, about 1 1/2 miles or about 2.4 kilometres; also in verses 30, 32, 33 and 34e 17 That is, about 135 metresf 35 That is, about 6 miles or about 9.5 kilometres