Ezekiel 47:3-13

3 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters [were] to the ankles.

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

5 Afterward he measured a thousand; [and it was] a river that I could not pass over: for the waters had risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.

6 And he said to me, Son of man, hast thou seen [this]? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.

7 Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river [were] very many trees on the one side and on the other.

8 Then said he to me, These waters issue out towards the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: [which being] brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.

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

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

11 But its miry places and its marshes shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.

12 And by the river upon its bank, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for food, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall its fruit be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to its months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and its fruit shall be for food, and its leaf for medicine.

13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; This [shall be] the border, by which ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph [shall have two] portions.

Ezekiel 47:3-13 Meaning and Commentary

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.