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The Division of the Land for Holy Use

45 “You will divide the land for the Israelite tribes by throwing lots. At that time you will separate out a part of the land. It will be a holy part for the Lord. The land will be 25,000 cubits[a] long and 20,000 cubits[b] wide.[c] All this land will be holy. A square area that is 500 cubits[d] long on each side will be for the Temple. There will be an open space around the Temple that is 50 cubits[e] wide. In the holy area you will measure 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits[f] wide. The Temple will be in this area. The Temple area will be the Most Holy Place.

“This holy part of the land will be for the priests, the servants of the Temple. This is where they approach the Lord to serve him. It will be a place for the priests’ houses and a place for the Temple. Another area, 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide, will be for the Levites who serve in the Temple. This land will also become cities for the Levites.

“And you will give the city an area that is 5000 cubits[g] wide and 25,000 cubits long. It will be along the side of the holy area. It will be for all the family of Israel. The ruler will have land on both sides of the holy area and the land belonging to the city. It will be next to the holy area and the area belonging to the city. It will be the same width as the land that belongs to a tribe. It will go all the way from the west border to the east border. This land will be the ruler’s property in Israel. So he will not need to make life hard for my people anymore. But they will give the land to the Israelites for their tribes.”

This is what the Lord God said: “Enough, you rulers of Israel! Stop being cruel and stealing things from people! Be fair and do what is right! Stop forcing my people out from their homes!” This is what the Lord God said.

10 “Stop cheating people. Use accurate scales and measures! 11 The ephah and the bath must be the same size: A bath and an ephah must both equal 1/10 homer.[h] Those measures will be based on the homer. 12 A shekel[i] must equal 20 gerahs. A mina must equal 60 shekels. It must be equal to 20 shekels plus 25 shekels plus 15 shekels.

13 “This is a special offering that you must give:

1/6 ephah[j] of wheat for every homer of wheat;

1/6 ephah of barley for every homer of barley;

14 1/10 bath[k] of olive oil for every cor[l] of olive oil;

(Remember: Ten baths make a homer, and ten baths make a cor.)

15 and one sheep for every 200 sheep

from every watering hole in Israel.

“Those special offerings are for the grain offerings, for the burnt offerings, and for the fellowship offerings. These offerings are to remove the sins of the people.” This is what the Lord God said.

16 “Everyone in the country will give to this offering for the ruler of Israel. 17 But the ruler must give the things needed for the special holy days. The ruler must provide the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the drink offerings for the feast days, for the New Moon, for the Sabbaths, and for all the other special meeting days of the family of Israel. He must give all the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and fellowship offerings that are used to make the family of Israel pure.”

18 This is what the Lord God says: “In the first month, on the first day of the month, you will take a young bull that has nothing wrong with it. You must use that bull to make the Temple pure. 19 The priest will take some of the blood from the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the Temple and on the four corners of the ledge of the altar and on the posts of the gate to the inner courtyard. 20 You will do the same thing on the seventh day of that month for anyone who has sinned by mistake or without knowing it. So you will make the Temple pure.

Offerings During the Passover

21 “On the 14th day of the first month, you must celebrate the Passover. The Festival of Unleavened Bread begins at this time. It continues for seven days. 22 At that time the ruler will offer a bull for himself and for all the people of Israel. The bull will be for a sin offering. 23 During the seven days of the festival, the ruler will offer seven bulls and seven rams that have nothing wrong with them. They will be burnt offerings to the Lord. The ruler will offer one bull on every day of the seven days of the festival, and he will offer a male goat every day for a sin offering. 24 The ruler will give an ephah[m] of barley as a grain offering with each bull, and an ephah of barley with each ram. He must give a hin[n] of oil for each ephah of grain. 25 He must do the same thing for the seven days of the Festival of Shelters. This festival begins on the 15th day of the seventh month. These offerings will be the sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the oil offering.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 45:1 25,000 cubits 8.05 miles (12.96 km). Also in verses 4, 6.
  2. Ezekiel 45:1 20,000 cubits 6.44 miles (10.37 km).
  3. Ezekiel 45:1 20,000 cubits wide This is from the ancient Greek version. The standard Hebrew text has 10,000 cubits (3.22 miles or 5.18 km) wide.
  4. Ezekiel 45:2 500 cubits 850' 3 1/16" (259.16 m).
  5. Ezekiel 45:2 50 cubits 85' 5/16" (25.92 m).
  6. Ezekiel 45:3 10,000 cubits 3.22 miles (5.18 km). Also in verse 5.
  7. Ezekiel 45:6 5000 cubits 1.61 miles (2.6 km).
  8. Ezekiel 45:11 homer A measure equal to about 7 bushels or about 60 gallons (220 l). Also in verse 13.
  9. Ezekiel 45:12 shekel A weight equal to 2/5 of an ounce or 11.5 grams. This also became an amount of money.
  10. Ezekiel 45:13 1/6 ephah 14 cups (3.67 l).
  11. Ezekiel 45:14 1/10 bath 1/2 gallon (2.2 l).
  12. Ezekiel 45:14 cor 55 gallons (220 l).
  13. Ezekiel 45:24 ephah A dry measure (3/5 bushel or 22 l). Also in 46:5, 7, 11.
  14. Ezekiel 45:24 hin A liquid measure (1 gallon or 3.2 l). Also in 46:5, 7, 11.

Israel Fully Restored

45 “‘When you allot the land as an inheritance,(A) you are to present to the Lord a portion of the land as a sacred district, 25,000 cubits[a] long and 20,000[b] cubits[c] wide; the entire area will be holy.(B) Of this, a section 500 cubits[d] square(C) is to be for the sanctuary, with 50 cubits[e] around it for open land. In the sacred district, measure off a section 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits[f] wide. In it will be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. It will be the sacred portion of the land for the priests,(D) who minister in the sanctuary and who draw near to minister before the Lord. It will be a place for their houses as well as a holy place for the sanctuary.(E) An area 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide will belong to the Levites, who serve in the temple, as their possession for towns to live in.[g](F)

“‘You are to give the city as its property an area 5,000 cubits[h] wide and 25,000 cubits long, adjoining the sacred portion; it will belong to all Israel.(G)

“‘The prince will have the land bordering each side of the area formed by the sacred district and the property of the city. It will extend westward from the west side and eastward from the east side, running lengthwise from the western to the eastern border parallel to one of the tribal portions.(H) This land will be his possession in Israel. And my princes will no longer oppress my people but will allow the people of Israel to possess the land according to their tribes.(I)

“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You have gone far enough, princes of Israel! Give up your violence and oppression(J) and do what is just and right.(K) Stop dispossessing my people, declares the Sovereign Lord. 10 You are to use accurate scales,(L) an accurate ephah[i](M) and an accurate bath.[j] 11 The ephah(N) and the bath are to be the same size, the bath containing a tenth of a homer and the ephah a tenth of a homer; the homer is to be the standard measure for both. 12 The shekel[k] is to consist of twenty gerahs.(O) Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels equal one mina.[l]

13 “‘This is the special gift you are to offer: a sixth of an ephah[m] from each homer of wheat and a sixth of an ephah[n] from each homer of barley. 14 The prescribed portion of olive oil, measured by the bath, is a tenth of a bath[o] from each cor (which consists of ten baths or one homer, for ten baths are equivalent to a homer). 15 Also one sheep is to be taken from every flock of two hundred from the well-watered pastures of Israel. These will be used for the grain offerings, burnt offerings(P) and fellowship offerings to make atonement(Q) for the people, declares the Sovereign Lord. 16 All the people of the land will be required to give this special offering to the prince in Israel. 17 It will be the duty of the prince to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings and drink offerings at the festivals, the New Moons(R) and the Sabbaths(S)—at all the appointed festivals of Israel. He will provide the sin offerings,[p] grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to make atonement for the Israelites.(T)

18 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In the first month(U) on the first day you are to take a young bull without defect(V) and purify the sanctuary.(W) 19 The priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the upper ledge(X) of the altar(Y) and on the gateposts of the inner court. 20 You are to do the same on the seventh day of the month for anyone who sins unintentionally(Z) or through ignorance; so you are to make atonement for the temple.

21 “‘In the first month on the fourteenth day you are to observe the Passover,(AA) a festival lasting seven days, during which you shall eat bread made without yeast. 22 On that day the prince is to provide a bull as a sin offering for himself and for all the people of the land.(AB) 23 Every day during the seven days of the festival he is to provide seven bulls and seven rams(AC) without defect as a burnt offering to the Lord, and a male goat for a sin offering.(AD) 24 He is to provide as a grain offering(AE) an ephah for each bull and an ephah for each ram, along with a hin[q] of olive oil for each ephah.(AF)

25 “‘During the seven days of the festival,(AG) which begins in the seventh month on the fifteenth day, he is to make the same provision for sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings and oil.(AH)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 45:1 That is, about 8 miles or about 13 kilometers; also in verses 3, 5 and 6
  2. Ezekiel 45:1 Septuagint (see also verses 3 and 5 and 48:9); Hebrew 10,000
  3. Ezekiel 45:1 That is, about 6 1/2 miles or about 11 kilometers
  4. Ezekiel 45:2 That is, about 875 feet or about 265 meters
  5. Ezekiel 45:2 That is, about 88 feet or about 27 meters
  6. Ezekiel 45:3 That is, about 3 1/3 miles or about 5.3 kilometers; also in verse 5
  7. Ezekiel 45:5 Septuagint; Hebrew temple; they will have as their possession 20 rooms
  8. Ezekiel 45:6 That is, about 1 2/3 miles or about 2.7 kilometers
  9. Ezekiel 45:10 An ephah was a dry measure having the capacity of about 3/5 bushel or about 22 liters.
  10. Ezekiel 45:10 A bath was a liquid measure equaling about 6 gallons or about 22 liters.
  11. Ezekiel 45:12 A shekel weighed about 2/5 ounce or about 12 grams.
  12. Ezekiel 45:12 That is, 60 shekels; the common mina was 50 shekels. Sixty shekels were about 1 1/2 pounds or about 690 grams.
  13. Ezekiel 45:13 That is, probably about 6 pounds or about 2.7 kilograms
  14. Ezekiel 45:13 That is, probably about 5 pounds or about 2.3 kilograms
  15. Ezekiel 45:14 That is, about 2 1/2 quarts or about 2.2 liters
  16. Ezekiel 45:17 Or purification offerings; also in verses 19, 22, 23 and 25
  17. Ezekiel 45:24 That is, about 1 gallon or about 3.8 liters