Ezekiel 45:1-17
Ezekiel 45:1-17 NLT
“When you divide the land among the tribes of Israel, you must set aside a section for the LORD as his holy portion. This piece of land will be 8-1/3 miles long and 6-2/3 miles wide. The entire area will be holy. A section of this land, measuring 875 feet by 875 feet, will be set aside for the Temple. An additional strip of land 87-1/2 feet wide is to be left empty all around it. Within the larger sacred area, measure out a portion of land 8-1/3 miles long and 3-1/3 miles wide. Within it the sanctuary of the Most Holy Place will be located. This area will be holy, set aside for the priests who minister to the LORD in the sanctuary. They will use it for their homes, and my Temple will be located within it. The strip of sacred land next to it, also 8-1/3 miles long and 3-1/3 miles wide, will be a living area for the Levites who work at the Temple. It will be their possession and a place for their towns. “Adjacent to the larger sacred area will be a section of land 8-1/3 miles long and 1-2/3 miles wide. This will be set aside for a city where anyone in Israel can live. “Two special sections of land will be set apart for the prince. One section will share a border with the east side of the sacred lands and city, and the second section will share a border on the west side. Then the far eastern and western borders of the prince’s lands will line up with the eastern and western boundaries of the tribal areas. These sections of land will be the prince’s allotment. Then my princes will no longer oppress and rob my people; they will assign the rest of the land to the people, giving an allotment to each tribe. “For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Enough, you princes of Israel! Stop your violence and oppression and do what is just and right. Quit robbing and cheating my people out of their land. Stop expelling them from their homes, says the Sovereign LORD. Use only honest weights and scales and honest measures, both dry and liquid. The homer will be your standard unit for measuring volume. The ephah and the bath will each measure one-tenth of a homer. The standard unit for weight will be the silver shekel. One shekel will consist of twenty gerahs, and sixty shekels will be equal to one mina. “You must give this tax to the prince: one bushel of wheat or barley for every 60 you harvest, one percent of your olive oil, and one sheep or goat for every 200 in your flocks in Israel. These will be the grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings that will make atonement for the people who bring them, says the Sovereign LORD. All the people of Israel must join in bringing these offerings to the prince. The prince will be required to provide offerings that are given at the religious festivals, the new moon celebrations, the Sabbath days, and all other similar occasions. He will provide the sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, liquid offerings, and peace offerings to purify the people of Israel, making them right with the LORD.