Yechezkel 47

1 7 Afterward he [the angelic being] brought me again unto the Petach HaBeis [HaMikdash]; and, hinei, mayim issued out from under the threshold of the Beis [HaMikdash] eastward; for the forefront of the Beis [HaMikdash] stood toward the east, and the mayim came down from under from the right side of the Beis [HaMikdash], at the south side of the Mizbe’ach.

2 Then he [the angelic being] brought me out of derech Sha’ar Tzafonah, and led me about the derech outside unto the outer Sha’ar by the derech that looketh eastward; and, hinei, there flowed out mayim on the right side.

3 And when the ish that had the measuring line in his yad went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the mayim; the mayim were to the ankles.

4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the mayim; the mayim were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the mayim were to the loins.

5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a nachal (stream) that I could not cross over; for the mayim were risen, mayim to swim in, a nachal that could not be crossed over.

6 And he [the angelic being] said unto me, Ben Adam, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the bank of the nachal.

7 Now when I had returned, hinei, at the bank of the nachal were etz rav me’od (very many trees) on the one side and on the other.

8 Then said he [the angelic being] unto me, These mayim issue out toward the east country, and go down into the Aravah, and go into the [Dead] Sea; which being brought forth into the Sea, the mayim shall be healed.

9 And it shall come to pass, that every nefesh chayyah, which moveth, whithersoever the nachalim shall come, shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of dag (fish), because these mayim shall come there; for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the nachal cometh.

10 And it shall come to pass, that the fishermen shall stand upon it from En-Gedi even unto En-Eglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their dag (fish) shall be according to their kinds, as the dag (fish) of the Yam HaGadol [Mediterranean Sea], exceeding many.

11 But the miry places thereof and the marshes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to melach.

12 And by the nachal upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow kol etz ma’achal, whose aleh (leaf) shall not fade, neither shall the p’ri thereof fail; it shall yield fresh fruit every month, because the mayim for them flowed out of the Mikdash; and the p’ri thereof shall be for food, and the aleh (leaf) thereof for terufah (healing).

13 Thus saith Adonoi Hashem: This shall be the boundary, whereby ye shall inherit HaAretz according to the Shnei Asar Shivtei Yisroel: Yosef shall have two portions.

14 And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another; concerning the which I lifted up Mine Yad to give it unto your Avot; and HaAretz HaZot shall fall unto you for nachalah.

15 And this shall be the boundary of HaAretz toward the north side, from the Yam HaGadol, the derech Chetlon, as men go to Tzedad;

16 Chamat, Berotah, Sibrayim, which is between the boundary of Damascus and the boundary of Chamat; Chamat Khatzer Hattikhon, which is by the boundary of Chavran.

17 And the boundary from the Yam shall be Khatzar Einon, the boundary of Damascus, and the north northward, and the boundary of Chamat. And this is the north side.

18 And the east side ye shall measure from Chavran, and from Damascus, and from Gil‘ad, and from Eretz Yisroel by Yarden, from the boundary unto the eastern sea [Dead Sea]. And this is the east side.

19 And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of Merivot in Kadesh, the nachalah to the Yam HaGadol. And this is the south side southward.

20 The west side also shall be the Yam HaGadol from the boundary, until opposite the approach to Chamat. This is the west side.

21 So shall ye divide HaAretz Hazot unto you according to the Shivtei Yisroel.

22 And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for a nachalah unto you, and to the gerim that sojourn among you, which shall father banim among you; and they shall be unto you as nativeborn among the Bnei Yisroel; they shall have nachalah with you among the Shivtei Yisroel.

23 And it shall come to pass, that in what shevet (tribe) the ger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his nachalah, saith Adonoi Hashem.

Yechezkel 47 Commentary

Chapter 47

- These waters signify the gospel of Christ, which went forth from Jerusalem, and spread into the countries about; also the gifts and powers of the Holy Ghost which accompanied it, by virtue of which is spread far, and produced blessed effects. Christ is the Temple; and he is the Door; from him the living waters flow, out of his pierced side. They are increasing waters. Observe the progress of the gospel in the world, and the process of the work of grace in the heart; attend the motions of the blessed Spirit under Divine guidance. If we search into the things of God, we find some things plain and easy to be understood, as the waters that were but to the ankles; others more difficult, which require a deeper search, as the waters to the knees, or the loins; and some quite beyond our reach, which we cannot penetrate; but must, as St. Paul did, adore the depth, ( Romans 11 ) . It is wisdom to begin with that which is most easy, before we proceed to that which is dark and hard to be understood. The promises of the sacred word, and the privileges of believers, as shed abroad in their souls by the quickening Spirit, abound where the gospel is preached; they nourish and delight the souls of men; they never fade nor wither, nor are exhausted. Even the leaves serve as medicines to the soul: the warnings and reproofs of the word, though less pleasant than Divine consolations, tend to heal the diseases of the soul. All who believe in Christ, and are united to him by his sanctifying Spirit, will share the privileges of Israelites. There is room in the church, and in heaven, for all who seek the blessings of that new covenant of which Christ is Mediator.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 47

This chapter gives an account of the vision of the holy waters, and of the borders of the holy land, and the division of it to Israelites and strangers. The waters are described by the original and spring of them, Eze 47:1,2, by the progress and increase of them, Eze 47:3-5, by the healing and quickening nature of them, and the places where they were so, and were not, Eze 47:8-11, and by the trees which grew upon the banks of them, Eze 47:6,7,12. The borders of the holy land are fixed, Eze 47:13,14, the northern border, Eze 47:15-17, the eastern border, Eze 47:18, the southern, Eze 47:19, and the western, Eze 47:20, which is to be divided by lot to the tribes of Israel, and the strangers that sojourn among them, Eze 47:21-23.