Ezekiel 47

Water from the Temple

1 Then he brought me back to the ¹door of the house; and behold, ²water was flowing from under the threshold of the house toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar.

2 He brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate by way of the gate that faces east. And behold, water was trickling from the south side.

3 When the man went out toward the east with a line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he led me through the water, water reaching the ankles.

4 Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the knees. Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the loins.

5 Again he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not ford, for the water had risen, enough water to swim in, a ³river that could not be forded.

6 He said to me, "Son of man, have you ⁴seen this?" Then he brought me back to the bank of the river.

7 Now when I had returned, behold, on the bank of the river there were very many ⁵trees on the one side and on the other.

8 Then he said to me, "These waters go out toward the eastern region and go down into the ⁶Arabah; then they go toward the sea, being made to flow into the ⁷sea, and the waters of the sea become fresh.

9 "It will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where * the river goes, will live. And there will be very many fish, for these waters go there and the others become fresh; so ⁸everything will live where * the river goes.

10 "And it will come about that ⁹fishermen will stand beside it; from ¹⁰Engedi to Eneglaim there will be a place for the ¹¹spreading of nets. Their fish will be according to their kinds, like the fish of the ¹²Great Sea, ¹³very many.

11 "But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for ¹⁴salt.

12 "¹⁵By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of ¹⁶trees for food. Their ¹⁷leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their ¹⁸leaves for healing."

Boundaries and Division of the Land

13 Thus says the Lord GOD, "This shall be the ¹⁹boundary by which you shall divide the land for an inheritance among the twelve * tribes of Israel; Joseph shall have two ²⁰portions.

14 "You shall divide it for an inheritance, each one equally with the other; for I ²¹swore * to give it to your forefathers, and this land shall fall to you as an inheritance.

15 "This shall be the boundary of the land: on the ²²north side, from the Great Sea by the way of Hethlon, to the entrance of ²³Zedad;

16 ²⁴Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of ²⁵Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazer-hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran.

17 "The boundary shall extend from the sea to ²⁶Hazar-enan at the border of Damascus, and on the north toward the north is the border of Hamath. This is the north side.

18 "The ²⁷east side, from between Hauran, Damascus, ²⁸Gilead and the land of Israel, shall be the ²⁹Jordan; from the north border to the eastern sea you shall measure. This is the east side.

19 "The ³⁰south side toward the south shall extend from ³¹Tamar as far as the waters of ³²Meribath-kadesh *, to the ³³brook of Egypt and to the ³⁴Great Sea. This is the south side toward the south.

20 "The ³⁵west side shall be the Great Sea, from the south border to a point opposite ³⁶Lebo-hamath. This is the west side.

21 "So you shall divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel.

22 "You shall divide it by ³⁷lot for an inheritance among yourselves and among the ³⁸aliens who stay in your midst, who bring forth sons in your midst. And they shall be to you as the native-born among the sons of Israel; they shall be allotted an ³⁹inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.

23 "And in the tribe with which the alien stays, there you shall give him his inheritance," declares the Lord GOD.

PREVIOUS Ezekiel 46 NEXT Ezekiel 48

Ezekiel 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.

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

Cross References 39

1. Ezek 41:2, 23-25
2. Psalms 46:4; Isaiah 30:25; Isaiah 55:1; Jeremiah 2:13; Joel 3:18; Zechariah 13:1; Zechariah 14:8; Revelation 22:1, 17
3. Isaiah 11:9; Habakkuk 2:14
4. Ezekiel 8:6; Ezekiel 40:4; Ezekiel 44:5
5. Isaiah 60:13, 21; Isaiah 61:3; Ezekiel 47:12
6. Deuteronomy 3:17; Isaiah 35:6, 7; Isaiah 41:17-19; Isaiah 44:3
7. Joshua 3:16
8. Isaiah 12:3; Isaiah 55:1; John 4:14; John 7:37, 38
9. Matthew 4:19; Matthew 13:47; Luke 5:10
10. Genesis 14:7; Joshua 15:62; 1 Samuel 23:29; 1 Samuel 24:1; 2 Chronicles 20:2
11. Ezekiel 26:5, 14
12. Numbers 34:6; Psalms 104:25; Ezekiel 47:15; Ezekiel 48:28
13. Luke 5:5-9; John 21:6
14. Deuteronomy 29:23
15. Ezekiel 47:7; Revelation 22:2
16. Genesis 2:9
17. Psalms 1:3; Jeremiah 17:8
18. Revelation 22:2
19. Numbers 34:2-12
20. Genesis 48:5; Ezekiel 48:4, 5
21. Deuteronomy 1:8; Ezekiel 20:6
22. Numbers 34:7-9
23. Numbers 34:8
24. Numbers 13:21; Isaiah 10:9; Ezekiel 47:17, 20; Ezekiel 48:1; Zechariah 9:2
25. Genesis 14:15; Ezekiel 47:17, 18; Ezekiel 48:1
26. Numbers 34:9
27. Numbers 34:10-12
28. Genesis 37:25; Jeremiah 50:19
29. Genesis 13:10, 11
30. Numbers 34:3-5
31. Ezekiel 48:28
32. Deuteronomy 32:51
33. Numbers 34:5; 1 Kings 8:65; Isaiah 27:12
34. Ezekiel 47:10, 15
35. Numbers 34:6
36. Judges 3:3; 2 Chronicles 7:8; Ezekiel 48:1; Amos 6:14
37. Numbers 26:55, 56
38. Isaiah 14:1; Isaiah 56:6, 7
39. Acts 11:18; Acts 15:9; Ephesians 2:12-14; Ephesians 3:6; Colossians 3:11

Footnotes 15

[a]. Lit "by way of"
[b]. Lit "and caused me to return"
[c]. Lit "healed"
[d]. Lit "two rivers"
[e]. Lit "are healed"
[f]. Lit "healed"
[g]. Lit "given"
[h]. Heb "YHWH," usually rendered LORD, and so throughout the ch
[i]. Lit "like his brother"
[j]. Lit "lifted up My hand"
[k]. Lit "in"
[l]. Or "Hamath"
[m]. Or "Zedad"
[n]. Lit "be"
[o]. Or "entrance of Hamath"

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.