Ezekiel 47:4-14

4 And again he meted a thousand, and led me over through the water till to the knees. And again he meted a thousand, and led me over through the water till to the reins. (And again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water unto my knees. And again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water unto my waist.)
5 And (again) he meted a thousand, by the strand which I might not pass [over]; for the deep waters of the strand had waxed great, that may not be waded over. (And again he measured a thousand, and it was now a river, which I could not cross over; for the deep waters of the river had grown so great, that they could not be waded through.)
6 And he said to me, Certainly, son of man, thou hast seen (this). And he led me, and he turned me (again) to the river of the strand. (And he said to me, Son of man, mark thou this well/remember that thou hast seen this. And then he led me back to the river bank.)
7 And when I had turned me (again), lo! in the river of the strand (were) full many trees on ever either side. (And when I had returned there, lo! on the river bank were a great many trees on either side.)
8 And he said to me, These waters that go out to the heaps of sand of the east, and go down into [the] plain places of desert, shall enter into the sea, and shall go out; and the waters shall be healed. (And he said to me, This water that goeth out to the heaps of sand in the east, and goeth down to the plains of the desert, or down to the Arabah, shall enter into the Dead Sea, and then shall go out again; and the waters of the Dead Sea shall be healed.)
9 And each living beast that creepeth, shall live, whither ever the strand shall come; and fishes many enough shall be, after that these waters come thither, and [they] shall be healed, and shall live; all things to which the strand shall come, shall live. (And every living beast that moveth, shall live, wherever the stream shall come; and there shall be a great many fish, after that this water cometh there, and they shall be healed, and shall live; yea, everything to which the stream shall come, shall live/shall have life.)
10 And fishers shall stand on those waters; from Engedi till to Eneglaim shall be drying of nets; full many kinds of fishes thereof shall be, as the fishes of the great sea, of full great multitude; (And fishermen shall stand by this water; from Engedi unto Eneglaim shall be the drying of nets; and there shall be a great many kinds of fish, like the fish of the Great Sea, that is, the Mediterranean Sea, yea, of a very great multitude;)
11 but in the brinks thereof and in (the) marishes (the) waters shall not be healed, for those shall be given into places of (the) making of salt.
12 And each tree bearing fruit shall grow on the strand, in the rivers thereof on each side; a leaf thereof shall not fall down, and the fruit thereof shall not fail; by all months it shall bear first fruits, for the waters thereof shall go out of the saintuary; and the fruits thereof shall be into meat, and the leaves thereof to medicine. (And every tree bearing fruit shall grow by the stream, on its banks on each side; none of their leaves shall fall down, and none of their fruit shall fail; in every month they shall bear first fruits, for the water there shall have gone out from the sanctuary; and their fruit shall be for food, and their leaves for shall be medicine.)
13 The Lord God saith these things, This is the end, in which ye shall wield the land, in the twelve lineages of Israel; for Joseph hath double part. (The Lord God saith these things, These be the borders, or the boundaries, in which ye shall possess the land, among the twelve tribes of Israel; for Joseph hath a double portion.)
14 Forsooth ye shall wield it, each man evenly as his brother; on which I raised mine hand, that I should give to your fathers; and this land shall fall to you into possession. (And ye shall possess it, each man equally like his brother; on which I raised up my hand, that I should give it to your forefathers; and this land shall fall to you into a possession.)

Ezekiel 47:4-14 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.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.