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The Lord’s Portion of the Land

45 “‘When you allot the land as an inheritance, you will offer an allotment[a] to the Lord, a holy portion from the land; the length will be 8¼ miles[b] and the width 3⅓ miles.[c] This entire area will be holy.[d] Of this area a square 875 feet[e] by 875 feet will be designated for the sanctuary, with 87½ feet[f] set aside for its open space round about. From this measured area you will measure a length of 8¼ miles[g] and a width of 3⅓ miles;[h] in it will be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. It will be a holy portion of the land; it will be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary who approach the Lord to minister to him. It will be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary.[i] An area 8¼ miles[j] in length and 3⅓ miles[k] in width will be for the Levites, who minister at the temple, as the place for the cities[l] in which they will live.

“‘Alongside the portion set apart as the holy allotment, you will allot for the city an area 1⅔ miles[m] wide and 8¼ miles[n] long; it will be for the whole house of Israel.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 45:1 tn Heb “a contribution.”
  2. Ezekiel 45:1 tn Heb “25,000 cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers). The measuring units here are the Hebrew “long” cubit, consisting of a cubit (about 18 inches or 45 cm) and a handbreadth (about 3 inches or 7.5 cm), for a total of 21 inches (52.5 cm). Because modern readers are not familiar with the cubit as a unit of measurement, and due to the additional complication of the “long” cubit as opposed to the regular cubit, all measurements have been converted to American standard miles (one mile = 5,280 feet), with the Hebrew measurements and the metric equivalents given in the notes.
  3. Ezekiel 45:1 tc The LXX reads “20,000 cubits.”tn Heb “10,000 cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).
  4. Ezekiel 45:1 tn Heb “holy it is in all its territory round about.”
  5. Ezekiel 45:2 tn Heb “500 cubits” (i.e., 262.5 meters); the phrase occurs twice in this verse.
  6. Ezekiel 45:2 tn Heb “50 cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).
  7. Ezekiel 45:3 tn Heb “25,000 cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
  8. Ezekiel 45:3 tn Heb “10,000 cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).
  9. Ezekiel 45:4 tc The LXX apparently understood “open land” instead of “sanctuary.”
  10. Ezekiel 45:5 tn Heb “25,000 cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
  11. Ezekiel 45:5 tn Heb “10,000 cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).
  12. Ezekiel 45:5 tc The translation follows the LXX here. The MT reads “twenty.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:246.
  13. Ezekiel 45:6 tn Heb “5,000 cubits” (i.e., 2.625 kilometers).
  14. Ezekiel 45:6 tn Heb “25,000 cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).

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)

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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