15The remaining 5,000 in breadth by 25,000 shall be for common use— serving the city for dwellings and pasture. The city itself shall be in the middle of it; 16and these shall be its measurements: On the north side 4,500 cubits, on the south side 4,500, on the east side 4,500, and on the west side 4,500. 17The pasture shall extend 250 cubits to the north of the city, 250 to the south, 250 to the east, and 250 to the west. 18As for the remaining 10,000 to the east and 10,000 to the west, adjoining the long sided of the sacred reserve, the produce of these areas adjoining the sacred reserve shall serve as food for the workers in the city; 19the workers in the city from all the tribes of Israel shall cultivate it. 20The entire reserve, 25,000 square, you shall set aside as the sacred reserve plus the city property. 21What remains on either side of the sacred reserve and the city property shall belong to the prince. The prince shall own [the land] from the border of the 25,000 e-of the reserve-e up to the eastern boundary, and from the border of the 25,000 on the west up to the western boundary, corresponding to the [tribal] portions. The sacred reserve, with the Temple Sanctuary in the middle of it 22and the property of the Levites and the city property as well, shall be in the middle of the [area belonging] to the prince; [the rest of the land] between the territory of Judah and the territory of Benjamin shall belong to the prince.
23As for the remaining tribes:f From the eastern border to the western border: Benjamin—one.
24Adjoining the territory of Benjamin, from the eastern border to the western border: Simeon—one.
25Adjoining the territory of Simeon, from the eastern border to the western border: Issachar—one.
26Adjoining the territory of Issachar, from the eastern border to the western border: Zebulun—one.
27Adjoining the territory of Zebulun, from the eastern border to the western border: Gad—one.
28The other border of Gad shall be the southern boundary. This boundary shall run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the Wadi [of Egypt], and to the Great Sea.
29That is the land which you shall allot as a heritage to the tribes of Israel, and those are their portions—declares the Lord GOD.
30And these are the exits from the city: On its northern side, measuring 4,500 cubits, 31the gates of the city shall be—three gates on the north— named for the tribes of Israel: the Reuben Gate: one; the Judah Gate: one; the Levi Gate: one. 32On the eastern side, [measuring] 4,500 cubits—there shall be three gates: the Joseph Gate: one; the Benjamin Gate: one; and the Dan Gate: one. 33On the southern side, measuring 4,500 cubits, there shall be three gates: the Simeon Gate: one; the Issachar Gate: one; and the Zebulun Gate: one. 34And on the western side, [measuring] 4,500 cubits—there shall be three gates: the Gad Gate: one; the Asher Gate: one; the Naphtali Gate: one.
35Its circumference [shall be] 18,000 [cubits]; and the name of the city from that day on shall be “The LORD Is There.”
a We do not know the 30th of what.
b I.e., cleft in front.
c Or “plumage.”
d-d Meaning of Hebs. uncertain.
e Traditionally “the Almighty”; see Gen. 17.1.
a-a Lit. “are with.”
a-a Emendation yields “as the Presence of the LORD rose from where it stood.”
b I.e., the people.
a I.e., in hostility.
b Since left and right also denote north and south (e.g., 16.46), the left side represents Israel, the northern kingdom, and the right side Judah, the southern kingdom.
c Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
d Resuming the thought of v. 11.
a Lit. “them.”
b-b Heb. “it.”
c Cf. v. 12; lit. “I will unsheathe.”
d Heb. “they.”
e Cf. Isa. 15.2 and Jer. 48.37; here an allusion to the symbolism in v. 1.
f Heb. “she.”
a-a Targum and other ancient versions read “shall be devastated.”
b-b Emendation yields “how I broke.”
c A few Heb. mss. read “Riblah”; cf. 2 Kings 23.33; 25.6 ff.
a-a A number of mss. and editions, as well as Targum, read “Disaster after disaster.”
b-b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c-c Emendation yields “like moaning doves. All of them shall perish.”
d I.e., their adornments.
a Septuagint “a man.”
b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c See chap. 1 and 3.22–23.
d-d Meaning of Heb. uncertain; emendation yields “north of the gate was the altar of.”
e-e Or “at a distance.”
f I.e., the outer court of the Temple.
g-g I.e., the gate of the inner court.
h A Babylonian god.
i-i Apparently meaning “goad Me to fury”; “their” is a euphemism for “My.”
a The raised platform on which the Temple stood; cf. 47.1.
a See note at 47.1.
b See note at Gen. 17.1.
c See v. 2.
d Lit. “it.”
e Because they had been called “cherubs.” (cf. v. 2.).
f-f Lit. “themselves.”
a I.e., the exiles will not return.
b I.e., the exiles.
c Heb. “you.”
a-a Lit. “by hand.”
b Heb. “They.”
c Cf. 2 Kings 25.7.
a-a Heb. “it.”
b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c-c Heb. “Me.”
d-d Heb. “where.”
a-a Emendation yields “directly, because of”; cf. v. 7.
b-b Several ancient versions read “who are bringing out sons and daughters.”
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b-b This sentence is missing from some ancient versions and a few Heb. mss.
c-c An act symbolizing espousal; cf. note at Deut. 23.1, Ruth 3.9.
d-d See note at Ex. 25:4.
e I.e., as a sacrifice; cf. Lev. 2.2.
f Lit. “big of phallus”; cf. 23.20.
g-g Change of vocalization yields “How furious I was with you”; lit. “How I was filled with your fury” (libbat, as in Akkadian and Old Aramaic).
h-h Construction of Heb. uncertain.
i Construed as second-person feminine; cf. qere, vv. 47 and 51; and see above vv. 13, 18, 22, 31, 43.
j Many Heb. mss. and editions read “Edom.”
a-a This description suggests the golden eagle; the vulture, called by the same word in Heb. (nesher) has a bald head (Mic. 1.16) and dark feathers.
b Cf. 16.29.
c Emendation yields “cedar.”
d-d Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
e I.e., the first eagle.
f Many mss. read “picked men.”
g Others “fruit.”
a Others “set on edge.”
b I.e., in idolatry, Emendation yields “with the blood”; cf. 33.25; Lev. 17.10–11, 19.26.
c I.e., interest deducted in advance or interest added at the time of repayment; cf. Lev. 25.36.
d-d Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
e-e Lit. “turned his hand back from the poor.” Emendation yields “abstained from wrongdoing”; cf. v. 8.
a-a Emendation yields “ravaged their castles.”
b-b Meaning of Heb. uncertain; emendation yields “in a vineyard.”
c Heb. plural.
d-d Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a-a Lit. “Will you arraign them, will you arraign, O mortal?”
b-b Lit. “raised My hand.”
c-c Lit. “of his eyes.”
d Lit. “them.”
e See v. 31.
f Emendation yields “guilty.”
g As if from ba “visit” and mah “what.”
h I.e., to be counted; see Lev. 27.32.
i Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a Teman, Darom, Negeb are three terms for “the south.” The allusion is to Jerusalem (v. 7), which was always approached from Babylon by way of the north.
b-b Lit. “it has been polished in order that it may have lightning.”
c-c Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
d Meaning of Heb. uncertain; Targum reads “Be whetted.” Cf. vv. 14–16.
e I.e., of a sacrificed animal.
f The inhabitants of Jerusalem disregarded their oaths to the Babylonians; cf. 17.13 ff.
g-g Emendation yields “Return to your scabbard!” In this and the following verses, the prophet describes the future punishment of Babylon, still symbolized by the sword.
a-a Lit. “will you arraign, arraign.”
b-b Some Babylonian mss. and ancient versions read “the time of your years has come.”
c Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
d-d I.e., in idolatry. Emendation yields “with the blood”; cf. Lev. 19.26.
e I.e., have cohabited with a former wife of the father; cf. Lev. 18.7–8.
f Cf. note at 18.8.
g-g Septuagint reads “Whose chieftains.”
h Cf. 13.10 ff.
a I.e., “Tent.”
b I.e., “My Tent Is in Her.”
c Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
d Lit. “for the sake of.”
e I.e., the former lovers, vv. 22 ff.
f Lit. “will you arraign”; cf. 22.2.
a Lit. “limbs.”
b Emendation yields “wood”; cf. v. 10.
c Or “rust.”
d-d Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
e Heb. “I.”
f-f Emendation yields “Pour out the broth.”
g Lit. “men.”
h V. 24 moved up for clarity.
a-a Lacking in some Septuagint mss.
a The month is not indicated.
b Targum reads “trafficker”; cf. 27.3.
c Lit. “spreading out.”
d Lit. “swords.”
e-e Septuagint reads “vanished.”
f-f I.e., of the sea. Emendation yields “the dry land.”
g Understanding nathatti as second-person singular feminine; cf. 16.50 and note. But meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a-a Emendation yields: “O Tyre, you are a ship / Perfect in beauty.”
b-b Emendation yields “The skilled men of Zemar”; cf. Gen. 10.18.
c-c Lit. “in you.”
d The exact identity of these stones is uncertain.
e-e Meaning of Heb. uncertain; cf. “Minnith,” Judg. 11.33.
f-f Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
g Resuming the description of Tyre as a ship, as in vv. 3b–9a.
h I.e., to ward off the calamity from the viewer; cf. Jer. 18.16, 49.17; Job 27.23; Lam. 2.15.
a This sentence is continued in v. 6; vv. 3–5 are parenthetical.
b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c According to popular belief, those who die uncircumcised and those left unburied are relegated to the lower level of the netherworld; cf. 31.18; 32.19 ff.
d-d Meaning of Heb. uncertain. On the stones, see note at Exod. 28.17.
a Lit. “its.”
b Lit. “they.”
c Septuagint and Syriac read “plams”; cf. 2 Kings 18.21; Isa. 36.6.
d Taking ‘amad as a byform of ma‘ad; cf. Syriac translation.
e-e I.e., the length of Egypt, from north to south. Syene is modern Aswan.
f I.e., southern Egypt.
g Heb. “them.”
h-h Lit. “cause
