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Ezequiel 47

BLIVRE · Chapter 47/48

1Depois disto ele me fez voltar à entrada da casa; e eis que águas saíam de debaixo do umbral da casa para o oriente, pois a fachada da casa estava para o oriente; e as águas desciam de debaixo, desde o lado direito da casa, do lado sul do altar.

2E ele me tirou [pelo] caminho da porta do norte, e me fez rodear pelo caminho de fora, até a porta externa, pelo caminho voltado ao oriente; e eis que águas corriam do lado direito.

3E quando aquele homem saiu para o oriente, tinha em sua mão um cordel de medir; ele mediu mil côvados, e me fez passar pelas águas, que [chegavam] aos tornozelos.

4E mediu mil [côvados] , e me fez passar pelas águas, que [chegavam] aos joelhos. Mediu [mais] mil, e me fez passar pelas águas, que [chegavam] à cintura.

5E mediu [mais] mil, e já era um rio que eu não podia passar, porque as águas eram tão profundas que o rio não se podia atravessar a pé, somente a nado.

6Então me disse: “Viste [isto] , filho do homem?” Depois ele me levou e trouxe-me de volta à margem do rio.

7Quando voltei, eis que na margem do rio havia muitíssimas árvores, de um lado e do outro.

8Então me disse: “Estas águas saem para a região do oriente, descem à planície, e entram no mar; e quando chegarem ao mar, tornarão saudáveis as águas.

9E será que toda alma vivente que se move por onde quer que estes rio passar, viverá; e haverá muitíssimos peixes por ali terem passado estas águas, e ficarão saudáveis; e tudo viverá por onde quer que este este rio passar.

10Será também que pescadores estarão junto a ele; desde En-Gedi até En-Eglaim haverá [lugares para] se estender redes; seus peixes serão segundo suas espécies, como os peixes do grande mar, em muitíssima quantidade.

11Porém seus charcos e seus pântanos não ficarão saudáveis; estarão salgados.

12E junto do rio, em suas margens de um lado e do outro, crescerá toda árvore de comer; sua folha nunca cairá, nem seu fruto faltará; em [todos os] seus meses produzirá frutos, porque suas águas saem do santuário; e seu fruto servirá de alimento, e sua folha de remédio.”

13Assim diz o Senhor DEUS: “Este é o limite em que tomareis a terra em herança segundo as doze tribos de Israel: José [terá] duas partes.

14E a herdareis igualmente, um como o outro; [terra] a qual jurei de mão levantada que daria aos vossos pais; portanto esta terra será a vossa herança.

15E este será o limite da terra para o lado norte: desde o mar Grande, a caminho de Hetlom, e indo por Lebo-Hamate até Zedade;

16Berota, Sibraim (que está entre o limite de Damasco e o limite de Hamate); Hazer-Haticom, que está junto ao limite de Haurã.

17E o limite será do mar [até] Haser-Enom, ao limite de Damasco ao norte, e ao limite de Hamate; [este será] o lado norte.

18Ao lado do oriente, passando entre Haurã e Damasco, e entre Gileade e a terra de Israel, junto ao Jordão; medireis desde o limite até do mar do oriente; [este será] o lado do oriente.

19E ao lado sul, ao sul, será desde Tamar até as águas de Meribá-Cades, indo ao longo do ribeiro até o grande mar; e [este será] o lado sul, ao sul.

20E o lado do ocidente será o grande mar, desde o limite até Lebo-Hamate; este será o lado do ocidente.

21Repartireis, pois, esta terra entre vós, segundo as tribos de Israel.

22E será que a sorteareis em herança para vós, e para os estrangeiros que peregrinam entre vós, que tiverem gerado filhos entre vós; e vos serão como nativos entre os filhos de Israel; repartirão herança convosco, entre as tribos de Israel.

23E será que na tribo onde o estrangeiro peregrinar, ali [lhe] dareis sua herança”, diz o Senhor DEUS.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Ezekiel sees a miraculous river flowing out from the temple, growing progressively deeper, bringing life and healing wherever it goes, until it turns the salty waters of the Dead Sea into fresh water full of fish; afterward, the boundaries of the promised land are established for the twelve tribes.

Explanation

The river that grows from a small trickle of water into a current impossible to cross on foot (v.3-5) symbolizes how the presence and blessing of God, even starting small, have limitless power to grow and transform. The transformation of the Dead Sea — the saltiest and most lifeless body of water in the region, unable to sustain life — into water full of fish is one of the most powerful images of restoration in the entire Bible, showing that no place is considered by God too barren or too dead to flourish. The inclusion of resident foreigners receiving an inheritance of land equal to native-born Israelites (v.22-23) is remarkably inclusive for the standards of the time, anticipating themes of inclusion that would be further expanded in the New Testament.

Fun facts

  • This vision of the river that heals the Dead Sea is taken up almost directly in Revelation 22:1-2, in the description of the river of the water of life in the New Jerusalem, showing Ezekiel's direct influence on the Bible's final imagery.
  • The real Dead Sea has one of the highest salinity levels on the planet, about ten times saltier than the ordinary ocean, which made the promise of abundant life there an even more striking and radical image for its original hearers.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Ezequiel 47:1The river that flows out of the temple and grows deeper and deeper — first at the ankles, then the knees, then the waist, until it becomes impossible to cross — is an image of ever-growing blessing: the deeper someone goes into God’s presence, the greater the transforming effect.
  2. Ezequiel 47:2The guide takes Ezekiel outside the complex, around to the outer east gate, and there shows him that the same water was already visible flowing out on the right side.
  3. Ezequiel 47:3The man begins measuring the river on foot: a thousand cubits out, the water already reached the ankles — the river grows steadily the farther it gets from the temple.
  4. Ezequiel 47:4Every thousand cubits the water gets deeper: first the knees, then the waist — the growth symbolizes a small source that becomes ever more powerful.
  5. Ezequiel 47:5After four thousand cubits the water was already too deep to wade through, requiring swimming — the thin stream that starts beneath the temple becomes a flow impossible to contain.
  6. Ezequiel 47:6A rhetorical question from the guide, drawing Ezekiel’s attention to the meaning of the scene before continuing the explanation.
  7. Ezequiel 47:7Back on the bank, Ezekiel sees a huge number of trees on both sides of the river — a sign of abundance flowing directly from God’s presence.
  8. Ezequiel 47:8The river reaches the Dead Sea, here simply called “the sea,” and turns its salt water into water good for fish, except for the marshes, which stay salty on purpose, set aside for producing salt.
  9. Ezequiel 47:9The river’s water has the power to heal even the Dead Sea, mentioned in the previous verse, making a naturally salty, lifeless place livable — a powerful image of total restoration.
  10. Ezequiel 47:10The sea, once lifeless, would become so full of fish that fishermen would settle along its shores, with the same variety of species found in the “great sea,” the Mediterranean.
  11. Ezequiel 47:11The one realistic detail amid the lush imagery: the marshes and mudflats at the edges would remain salty, kept for salt extraction — not everything is transformed, but the overall effect is one of life.
  12. Ezequiel 47:12Trees bearing fruit every month, with leaves used for healing, is an image of lasting abundance around the river flowing from the temple — a scene that later biblical texts pick up again in very similar language.
  13. Ezequiel 47:13Begins the description of the land’s borders, to be divided among the twelve tribes, with Joseph receiving a double portion, through his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.
  14. Ezequiel 47:14Reinforces that this division fulfills an ancient promise made to the people’s ancestors, not something newly invented in the vision.
  15. Ezequiel 47:15Describes the land’s northern border, naming cities and roads in the region of Syria — a boundary far wider than the territory Israel actually held for most of its history.
  16. Ezequiel 47:16Continues listing cities along the northern border, located between the territories of Damascus and Hamath.
  17. Ezequiel 47:17Closes the description of the northern border, placing it between Hazar-enan and the territory of Damascus.
  18. Ezequiel 47:18Describes the eastern border, using the Jordan River as the natural boundary between the land of Israel and the regions of Hauran and Gilead.
  19. Ezequiel 47:19Describes the southern border, from the region of Tamar to the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, ending at the “great sea,” the Mediterranean.
  20. Ezequiel 47:20Describes the western border simply as the Mediterranean Sea itself, from the south up to the area of Hamath in the north.
  21. Ezequiel 47:21The provision that resident foreigners receive a land inheritance alongside the tribes of Israel, rather than being treated as second-class outsiders, is a remarkably inclusive provision for such an ancient text.
  22. Ezequiel 47:22A notable detail: foreigners living among the people, with children born there, were to receive a land inheritance as if they were native-born Israelites.
  23. Ezequiel 47:23Specifies how this would work in practice: the foreigner receives his portion within the tribe where he actually lives, alongside the rest of that territory’s residents.

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