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Ezekiel 47

KJV · Chapter 47/48

1Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.

2Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.

3And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.

4Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.

5Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.

6And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.

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

8Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.

9And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.

10And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from En–gedi even unto En–eglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.

11But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.

12And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.

13Thus saith the Lord God; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.

14And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance.

15And this shall be the border of the land toward the north side, from the great sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad;

16Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazar–hatticon, which is by the coast of Hauran.

17And the border from the sea shall be Hazar–enan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border of Hamath. And this is the north side.

18And the east side ye shall measure from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And this is the east side.

19And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the south side southward.

20The west side also shall be the great sea from the border, till a man come over against Hamath. This is the west side.

21So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel.

22And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.

23And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord God.

📖 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 47:6A rhetorical question from the guide, drawing Ezekiel’s attention to the meaning of the scene before continuing the explanation.
  7. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 47:14Reinforces that this division fulfills an ancient promise made to the people’s ancestors, not something newly invented in the vision.
  15. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 47:16Continues listing cities along the northern border, located between the territories of Damascus and Hamath.
  17. Ezekiel 47:17Closes the description of the northern border, placing it between Hazar-enan and the territory of Damascus.
  18. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 47:19Describes the southern border, from the region of Tamar to the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, ending at the “great sea,” the Mediterranean.
  20. Ezekiel 47:20Describes the western border simply as the Mediterranean Sea itself, from the south up to the area of Hamath in the north.
  21. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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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