Ezekiel 48:1-35

“This is the list of the tribes and the land they are to receive. The border follows the Hethlon road to the boundary between Damascus and Hamath. The territory for each tribe will extend all the way across the country from east to west. Starting from the north, the tribes are: Dan Asher Naphtali Manasseh Ephraim Reuben Judah.” “South of Judah, from the eastern limit to the western limit, is the special portion of holy land that you must set aside. The temple complex will stand in the center. That land will be 25,000 cubits wide and the same length as one of the tribal portions from the east side to the west. The portion that you must set aside for YAHWEH must be 25,000 cubits long and 20,000 cubits wide. “Here is how you will divide the sacred section of land. You will give the priests a portion of land that is 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 cubits in width. The temple of YAHWEH will stand inside this area in the center. This will be for the sons of Zadok, the consecrated priests who faithfully served me. They did not join with the straying Israelites, as did the other Levites who went astray. It will be a special gift to them from the sacred portion of the land, a most holy portion on the border of the Levites. “Alongside the border of the priests, the Levites’ portion will be 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 cubits in width. The whole length will be 25,000 cubits and 10,000 cubits in width. It is forbidden for them to sell or exchange any part of it. They are not to allow anyone else to own this special land, since it is consecrated to YAHWEH.” “The rest of the special area is 25,000 cubits long and 5,000 cubits wide. This must be for the common use of the city, for houses and pastures. In the middle will be the city of Jerusalem. The dimensions of the city will form a square with 4,500 cubits on each side. There will be an open space of 250 cubits around the perimeter of the city. “There will remain one strip of land along the sacred portion left over that will extend 10,000 cubits to the east of the city and 10,000 cubits to the west of the city. This portion will be used to grow food for the people who work in the city. And the city workers, drawn from all the tribes of Israel, will farm it. The entire portion of land you must set apart will have a total area of 25,000 cubits square, that is, the sacred portion of land for the temple together with the area for the city. “This 25,000-cubit square will contain the holy portion of the priests, the Levites’ land, and the land where the city will be. It will be in the middle of the prince’s land, and he will have any land remaining on either side of the sacred portion and of the property of the city. The prince will have two sections, one stretching from the edge of this area to the eastern border of the country, the other stretching from the other edge of this area to the western border. These two sections of land belonging to the prince will run alongside the borders of the territories of Judah and Benjamin. It will lie between those two territories south of Judah and north of Benjamin.” “As regards the remaining tribes south of this sacred section, each tribe is to receive one portion of land that extends from the eastern boundary west to the Mediterranean Sea: Benjamin Simeon Issachar Zebulun Gad. “And adjoining the territory of Gad, on the south side, the border will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, following the dry riverbed to the Mediterranean Sea. This is how you must distribute the land to the tribes of Israel as their inheritance. These are to be their portions. I, Lord YAHWEH, have spoken.” “Here are the twelve exits from the city. Each gate is to be named after a tribe of Israel. Each of the four walls of the city will extend for 4,500 cubits and has three gates in it. The three gates on the north side are to be named Reuben, Judah, and Levi. The three gates on the east side are to be named Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan. The three gates on the south side are to be named Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun. The three gates on the west side are to be named Gad, Asher, and Naphtali. The total perimeter of the city is to be 18,000 cubits. “From that time on the city will be called YAHWEH-Lives-There!”