1 Afterward 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.

2 Then 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.

3 And 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.

4 Again 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.

5 Afterward 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.

6 And 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.

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

8 Then 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.

9 And 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.

10 And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; 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.

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

12 And 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.

13 Thus 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.

14 And 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.

15 And 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;

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

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

18 And 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.

19 And 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.

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

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

22 And 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.

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

Commentary

Verse 1

John Wesley's Bible Commentary
Eastward - The fountain lay to the west, the conduit pipes were laid to bring the water to the temple, and so must run eastward, and perhaps one main pipe might be laid under the east - gate of the temple. The right side - On the south - side of the temple.
McArther Bible Commentary
This section reinforces the constant emphasis of the prophets that in the final kingdom amazing physical and geographical changes will occur on the earth, and especially the land of Israel. This chapter deals mainly with changes in the water.
Bible Cross References
Revelation 22:1 Revelation 22:17 Psalm 46:4 Isaiah 30:25 Isaiah 55:1 Jeremiah 2:13 Ezekiel 41:2 Ezekiel 41:23 Ezekiel 46:24 Ezekiel 47:2 Joel 3:18 Zechariah 13:1 Zechariah 14:4 Zechariah 14:8

Verse 2

John Wesley's Bible Commentary
Out - Of the inmost court. The outer gate - The outmost north - gate in the wall that compassed the whole mountain of the Lord's house.
Bible Cross References
Ezekiel 40:35 Ezekiel 47:1 Ezekiel 47:3

Verse 3

John Wesley's Bible Commentary
He measured - By the line in his hand. He brought me - Went before, and the prophet followed; all this was in vision.
McArther Bible Commentary
he measured. The escorting angel, wanting to reveal the size of the river, took Ezekiel in the vision to four different distances from the temple where the stream was found to be at increasing depths, until it was over his head. Cf. Isa 35:1-7 where the prophet says the "desert will blossom like a rose."
Bible Cross References
Ezekiel 40:3 Ezekiel 47:2 Ezekiel 47:4 Zechariah 2:1

Verse 4

Bible Cross References
Ezekiel 47:3 Ezekiel 47:5

Verse 5

Bible Cross References
Isaiah 11:9 Ezekiel 47:4 Habakkuk 2:14

Verse 6

Bible Cross References
Ezekiel 8:6 Ezekiel 40:4 Ezekiel 44:5

Verse 7

McArther Bible Commentary
very many trees. Lush growth from the river.
Bible Cross References
Exodus 15:25 Isaiah 60:13 Isaiah 60:21 Isaiah 61:3 Ezekiel 47:12

Verse 8

John Wesley's Bible Commentary
The sea - The Dead - sea, or lake of Sodom. Shall be healed - The waters of the sea shall be healed, made wholesome. So where the grace of God from his temple and altar flows, it heals the corrupt nature of man, and renders barren terrible deserts, as a land of waters and gardens.
McArther Bible Commentary
waters are healed. The flow east, then south, runs into the Dead Sea and literally refreshes the salty water (more than six times as salty as the sea) that formerly would not support life because of its high mineral content. The Dead Sea is transformed into a "living sea" of fresh water.
Bible Cross References
Exodus 15:25 Deuteronomy 3:17 Joshua 3:16 Isaiah 35:6 Isaiah 35:7 Isaiah 41:17 Isaiah 44:3

Verse 9

John Wesley's Bible Commentary
Shall live - Be preserved alive, and thrive, whereas no fish can live in the Dead - sea. For they - The poisonous waters of the Dead - sea shall be made wholesome for fish. Shall live - Thrive, and multiply in the virtue of the healing streams. Thus is the fruitfulness of the grace of God in the church set forth.
McArther Bible Commentary
multitude of fish. These fish are said to be the same kinds as in the Mediterranean Sea (Eze 47:10), probably referring to volume rather than species, since the river and the Dead Sea are fresh water.
Bible Cross References
John 4:14 John 7:37 John 7:38 Isaiah 12:3 Isaiah 55:1

Verse 10

John Wesley's Bible Commentary
En - gedi - Which lay on the south - west of the lake of Sodom. En - eglaim - A city on the north - east of the Dead - sea. To spread forth nets - All along on the west - side of this sea to dry them.
McArther Bible Commentary
En Gedi. See note on 1Sa 23:29. The site is on the Dead Sea's west bank, about halfway along its length, near Masada. En Eglaim. Possibly it is Ein-Feska near Qumran at the northwestern extremity of the sea. Some argue for a site on the east bank, so that fishermen on both sides are in view.
Bible Cross References
Matthew 4:19 Matthew 13:47 Luke 5:5 Luke 5:10 John 21:6 Genesis 14:7 Numbers 34:6 Joshua 15:62 1 Samuel 23:29 1 Samuel 24:1 2 Chronicles 20:2 Psalm 104:25 Isaiah 19:8 Ezekiel 26:5 Ezekiel 26:14 Ezekiel 47:15 Ezekiel 47:19 Ezekiel 48:28

Verse 11

McArther Bible Commentary
swamps and marshes. This could supply salt for the temple offerings (cf. Eze 43:24), as well as for food.
Bible Cross References
Deuteronomy 29:23 Ezekiel 47:12

Verse 12

John Wesley's Bible Commentary
Consumed - Never be consumed, never decay, there shall always be fruit, and enough. Their waters - Those that watered them. Issued out - And so carried a blessing with them.
McArther Bible Commentary
all kinds of trees. Cf. verse Eze 47:7. The scene describes the blessing of returning to Eden-like abundance (Gen 2:8-9, Eze 47:16). leaves … fruit. Cf. verse Eze 47:7. The fruit is for food and the leaves serve a medicinal purpose, probably both in preventative and corrective senses. The fruit is perpetual, kept so by a continual and lavish supply of spring water from the temple.
Bible Cross References
Revelation 22:2 Genesis 2:9 Psalm 1:3 Jeremiah 17:8 Ezekiel 47:7

Verse 13

John Wesley's Bible Commentary
The border - The utmost bounds of the whole land. Shall inherit - That is, shall divide for inheritance to the tribes of Israel. Joseph - That is, the two sons of Joseph, Ephraim, and Manasseh.
McArther Bible Commentary
These are the borders. The picture is that of an enlarged Canaan for all to inhabit. The boundaries are substantially larger than those given to Moses in Num 34:1-15. Palestine, promised in God's covenant with Abraham (Eze 47:14; Gen 12:7), has specific geographical limits within which Israel will finally occupy tribal areas which differ from the occupation in Joshua's day (cf. Josh. Eze 47:13-22). This is the complete fulfillment of the promise of the land in the Abrahamic covenant.
Bible Cross References
Genesis 48:5 Numbers 34:2 Ezekiel 48:4 Ezekiel 48:5 Ezekiel 48:29

Verse 14

Bible Cross References
Deuteronomy 1:8 Ezekiel 20:6 Ezekiel 36:12

Verse 15

John Wesley's Bible Commentary
The great sea - The Mediterranean, which was the greatest sea the Jews knew.
McArther Bible Commentary
The borders of the millennial Promised Land are described: (1) to the north (Eze 47:15-17); (2) to the east (Eze 47:18); (3) to the south (Eze 47:19); and (4) to the west (Eze 47:20).
Bible Cross References
Numbers 34:7 Numbers 34:8 Ezekiel 47:10 Ezekiel 47:19 Ezekiel 48:28

Verse 16

Bible Cross References
Genesis 14:15 Numbers 13:21 2 Samuel 8:8 Isaiah 10:9 Ezekiel 27:18 Ezekiel 47:17 Ezekiel 47:18 Ezekiel 47:20 Ezekiel 48:1 Zechariah 9:2

Verse 17

Bible Cross References
Numbers 34:9 Ezekiel 47:16

Verse 18

John Wesley's Bible Commentary
The east sea - The Dead - sea, which lay on the east of Jerusalem. Thus a line drawn from Damascus through Auranitis, Gilead, the land of Israel beyond Jordan to the east - sea, made the eastern frontier.
Bible Cross References
Genesis 13:10 Genesis 13:11 Genesis 37:25 Numbers 34:10 Jeremiah 50:19 Ezekiel 47:16

Verse 19

John Wesley's Bible Commentary
The river - Called the river of Egypt, lay directly in the way to Egypt from Jerusalem. The great sea - To the south - west part of the Mediterranean sea near Gaza.
Bible Cross References
Numbers 34:3 Numbers 34:5 Deuteronomy 32:51 1 Kings 8:65 Isaiah 27:12 Ezekiel 47:10 Ezekiel 47:15 Ezekiel 48:28

Verse 20

Bible Cross References
Numbers 34:6 Judges 3:3 2 Chronicles 7:8 Ezekiel 47:16 Ezekiel 47:21 Ezekiel 48:1 Amos 6:14

Verse 21

Bible Cross References
Ezekiel 45:1 Ezekiel 47:20 Ezekiel 47:22

Verse 22

John Wesley's Bible Commentary
Children - Who from their birth should be invested with this right of inheriting.
McArther Bible Commentary
bear children. Children will be born all through the one-thousand-year rule of Messiah. Not all will believe and be saved, as evidenced by the final rebellion (cf. Rev 20:8-9).
Bible Cross References
Acts 11:18 Acts 15:9 Ephesians 2:12 Ephesians 3:6 Colossians 3:11 Numbers 26:55 Numbers 26:56 Deuteronomy 10:19 Isaiah 14:1 Isaiah 56:6 Isaiah 56:7 Ezekiel 47:21 Ezekiel 47:23

Verse 23

John Wesley's Bible Commentary
His inheritance - This certainly looks at gospel times, when the partition - wall between Jew and Gentile was taken down, and both put on a level before God, both made one in Christ Jesus.
McArther Bible Commentary
stranger. This provision is in keeping with Lev 19:34.
Bible Cross References
Deuteronomy 10:19 Ezekiel 47:22 Ezekiel 48:1