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Major Prophets · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

Ezekiel 48

Visions of glory, judgment, responsibility, restoration, a new heart, and renewed presence.

Old Testament

Ezekiel 48

1“Now these are the names of the tribes: From the north end, beside the way of Hethlon to the entrance of Hamath, Hazar Enan at the border of Damascus, northward beside Hamath (and they shall have their sides east and west), Dan, one portion.

2“By the border of Dan, from the east side to the west side, Asher, one portion.

3“By the border of Asher, from the east side even to the west side, Naphtali, one portion.

4“By the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west side, Manasseh, one portion.

5“By the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west side, Ephraim, one portion.

6“By the border of Ephraim, from the east side even to the west side, Reuben, one portion.

7“By the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west side, Judah, one portion.

8“By the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side, shall be the offering which you shall offer, twenty-five thousand reeds in width, and in length as one of the portions, from the east side to the west side; and the sanctuary shall be in the middle of it.

9“The offering that you shall offer to the LORD shall be twenty-five thousand reeds in length, and ten thousand in width.

10For these, even for the priests, shall be the holy offering: toward the north twenty-five thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in width, and toward the east ten thousand in width, and toward the south twenty-five thousand in length; and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the middle of it.

11It shall be for the priests who are sanctified of the sons of Zadok, who have kept my instruction, who didn’t go astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.

12It shall be to them an offering from the offering of the land, a most holy thing, by the border of the Levites.

13“Alongside the border of the priests, the Levites shall have twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width. All the length shall be twenty-five thousand, and the width ten thousand.

14They shall sell none of it, nor exchange it, nor shall the first fruits of the land be alienated, for it is holy to the LORD.

15“The five thousand cubits that are left in the width, in front of the twenty-five thousand, shall be for common use, for the city, for dwelling and for pasture lands; and the city shall be in the middle of it.

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

17The city shall have pasture lands: toward the north two hundred fifty, and toward the south two hundred fifty, and toward the east two hundred fifty, and toward the west two hundred fifty.

18The remainder of the length, alongside the holy offering, shall be ten thousand eastward and ten thousand westward; and it shall be alongside the holy offering. Its increase shall be for food to those who labor in the city.

19Those who labor in the city, out of all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it.

20All the offering shall be a square of twenty-five thousand by twenty-five thousand. You shall offer it as a holy offering, with the possession of the city.

21“The remainder shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy offering and of the possession of the city; in front of the twenty-five thousand of the offering toward the east border, and westward in front of the twenty-five thousand toward the west border, alongside the portions, it shall be for the prince. The holy offering and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the middle of it.

22Moreover, from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the middle of that which is the prince’s, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince.

23“As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west side, Benjamin, one portion.

24“By the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, Simeon, one portion.

25“By the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, Issachar, one portion.

26“By the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, Zebulun, one portion.

27“By the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side, Gad, one portion.

28“By the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar to the waters of Meribath Kadesh, to the brook, to the great sea.

29“This is the land which you shall divide by lot to the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their several portions, says the Lord GOD.

30“These are the exits of the city: On the north side four thousand five hundred reeds by measure;

31and the gates of the city shall be named after the tribes of Israel, three gates northward: the gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; the gate of Levi, one.

32“At the east side four thousand five hundred reeds, and three gates: even the gate of Joseph, one; the gate of Benjamin, one; the gate of Dan, one.

33“At the south side four thousand five hundred reeds by measure, and three gates: the gate of Simeon, one; the gate of Issachar, one; the gate of Zebulun, one.

34“At the west side four thousand five hundred reeds, with their three gates: the gate of Gad, one; the gate of Asher, one; the gate of Naphtali, one.

35“It shall be eighteen thousand reeds in circumference; and the name of the city from that day shall be, ‘The LORD is there.’

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Visions of glory, judgment, responsibility, restoration, a new heart, and renewed presence. Read Ezekiel 48 within the complete Ezekiel overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in Ezekiel 48

Ezekiel 48 contains 35 verses and about 991 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: ““Now these are the names of the tribes: From the north end, beside the way of Hethlon to the entrance of Hamath, Hazar Enan at the border of Damascus, northward beside…” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 35 closes: ““It shall be eighteen thousand reeds in circumference; and the name of the city from that day shall be, ‘The LORD is there.’” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include side, thousand, border, east, west, portion. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About Ezekiel 48

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, Ezekiel 48:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

You do not have to have everything figured out.

Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.

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