Ezekiel 47

1 And he brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the front of the house was eastward. And the waters came down from under, from the right side of the house, south of the altar.

Then, [in the vision], the man brought me back to the entrance of the temple. There I saw water flowing out from under the entrance, flowing toward the east. The water was flowing from under the south side of the entrance, south of the altar.

2 And he brought me out by the way of the gate northward, and led me round outside unto the outer gate towards [the gate] that looketh eastward; and behold, waters ran out on the right side.

Then the man brought me out of the inner courtyard through the north entryway, and then he led me around to the outer entryway on the east side [of the inner courtyard].

3 When the man went forth eastward, a line was in his hand; and he measured a thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters: the waters were to the ankles.

As the man continued walking toward the east, he had a measuring line in his hand. He measured off (1,750 feet/530 meters), and then led me through water that covered my ankles.

4 And he measured a thousand [cubits], and caused me to pass through the waters: the waters were to the knees. And he measured a thousand and caused me to pass through: the waters were to the loins.

Then he measured off another (1,750 feet/530 meters) and led me through water that was up to my knees. Then he measured off another (1,750 feet/530 meters) and led me through water that was up to my waist.

5 And he measured a thousand: it was a river that I could not pass through, for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed through.

Then he measured off another (1,750 feet/530 meters) and led me through water that had become a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen [very high, with the result that] it would be necessary to swim across it. It was a river that no one could cross [by walking across it].

6 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen [this]? And he led me, and brought me back to the bank of the river.

Then he said to me, “You human, think carefully about what you have seen.”

7 When I returned, behold, on the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.

Then he led me to the bank of that river. There I saw many trees growing on each side of the river.

8 And he said unto me, These waters issue out toward the east district, and go down into the plain, and go into the sea; when they are brought forth into the sea, the waters [thereof] shall be healed.

He said to me, “This water flows east and down into the [Dead] Sea. And when it flows into the [Dead] Sea, its salty water becomes fresh.

9 And it shall come to pass that every living thing which moveth, whithersoever the double river shall come, shall live. And there shall be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters shall come thither, and [the waters of the sea] shall be healed; and everything shall live whither the river cometh.

Wherever the river flows, there will be lots of animals and fish. And there will be lots of fish in the [Dead] Sea, because the water that flows into it will cause the salt water to become (fresh water/water that people can drink). Wherever the river flows, everything [alongside it] will flourish.

10 And it shall come to pass, that fishers shall stand upon it; from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim shall be [a place] to spread forth nets: their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.

Fishermen will stand along the bank [of the Dead Sea to catch fish]. From En-Gedi [on the western side] to En-Eglaim [on the eastern side] there will be places [for fishermen] to spread their fishing nets. There will be many kinds of fish, like there are in the Mediterranean Sea.

11 But its marshes and its pools shall not be healed; they shall be given up to salt.

But the swamps and marshes [along the shore] will not become fresh; they will be left to the people to use make salt.

12 And by the river, upon its bank, on the one side and on the other, shall grow all trees for food, whose leaf shall not fade, nor their fruit fail: it shall bring forth new fruit every month, for its waters issue out of the sanctuary; and the fruit thereof shall be for food, and the leaf thereof for medicine.

Many kinds of fruit trees will grow on both sides of the river. Their leaves will not wither, and they will always have fruit. They will bear fruit every month, because [they will continually get water from] the water [that comes] from the temple. Their fruit will be good to eat and their leaves will be [good] for healing.”

13 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: This shall be the border whereby ye shall allot the land as inheritance according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph [shall have two] portions.

[In the vision], Yahweh [also] said this to me: “Here is a list of the twelve tribes of Israel and the territory that each tribe must receive. [The descendants of] Joseph will receive two portions; [the tribe of Levi will not receive any].

14 And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another, [the land] concerning which I lifted up my hand to give it unto your fathers; and this land shall fall to you for inheritance.

I lifted up my arm and solemnly declared to your ancestors that I would give you this land to own permanently. [So divide the land equally among all of the other tribes].

15 And this shall be the border of the land: toward the north side, from the great sea, the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Zedad,

These will be the boundaries of the land: On the north side, [it will extend] from the Mediterranean Sea east along the road to Hethlon, past Lebo-Hamath to Zedad,

16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazer-hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran.

to [the cities of] Berothah and Sibraim, which are on the border between Damascus and Hamath. [From there the boundary will extend] as far [the city of] Hazer-Hatticon, which is on the border of the Hauran [region].

17 And the border from the sea shall be Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border of Hamath: this is the north side.

So the boundary will extend from the [Mediterranean] Sea to [the city of] Hazar-Enan on the border between Hamath to the north and Damascus [to the south]. That will be the northern boundary.

18 — And on the east side ye shall measure between Hauran and Damascus, and Gilead and the land of Israel [by] the Jordan, from the border unto the east sea: this is the east side.

On the east side, the boundary [will extend] between Hauran and Damascus, [south] along the Jordan [River] between the Gilead [region] and the land of Israel, along the Dead Sea as far as [the town of] Tamar. That will be the eastern boundary.

19 — And the south side southward, from Tamar to the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, by the torrent, unto the great sea: this is the south side southward.

On the south side, the boundary will extend from Tamar [southwest] to the springs near [the town of] Meribah-Kadesh. Then [the boundary will extend west] along the dry riverbed [at the border] of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. That will be the southern boundary.

20 — And the west side shall be the great sea from the border, as far as over against the entering into Hamath: this is the west side.

On the west side, the boundary will be the Mediterranean Sea, north to near Lebo-Hamath.

21 And ye shall divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel.

You must distribute this land among yourselves, among the tribes of Israel.

22 And it shall come to pass that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, who shall beget children among you; and they shall be unto you as the home-born among the children of Israel: with you shall they draw by lot inheritance among the tribes of Israel.

You must allot the land to be a permanent possession for yourselves, and [also] to be a permanent possession of any foreigners who are living among you and raising their children. You must consider those people to be like you who were born Israelis, and they must be allotted land among the tribes of Israel.

23 And it shall come to pass that in the tribe in which the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give [him] his inheritance, saith the Lord Jehovah.

Wherever foreigners are living, you must give them some land to belong to them permanently. [That is what I], Yahweh the Lord, declare.”