This chapter gives an account of the vision of the holy waters, and of the borders of the holy land, and the division of it to Israelites and strangers. The waters are described by the original and spring of them, Ezek. 47:1, Ezek. 47:2, by the progress and increase of them, Ezek.

Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house The door of the temple, even of the holy of holies; hither the prophet is said to be brought again, or “brought back” [[22]]; for he was last in the corners of the outward court, viewing the kitchens or boiling places of the ministers; but…

Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward Out of the inward court where he was, by the way of the north gate, the eastern gate being shut: and led me about the way without unto the utter gate, by the way that looketh eastward; and from thence he had him round to the outward eastern…

And when the man that had the line in his hand The same as in and is no other than Christ, who appeared in a human form to the prophet; and who hitherto had only made use of the measuring reed in taking the dimensions of the house, and what appertained to it; but now he uses the line of flax he had…

And again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees The man with his line measured another thousand cubits straight on from the first; and then bid the prophet cross and ford them again, and then they were knee deep: again he measured a thousand, and…

Afterward he measured a thousand A fourth time a thousand cubits. Some think these four measurings respect the preaching of the Gospel in the four parts of the world; but rather they refer to four remarkable seasons of the ministry of it; as in the times of John the Baptist, and the disciples of…

And he said unto me, son of man, hast thou seen this? &c]. That is, the man that measured the waters said to the prophet, hast thou carefully observed all this from whence the waters flowed? from what small beginnings they rose, and gradually increased? how they first issued forth, as out of a…

Now when I had returned To the brink of the river: behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side, and on the other; here was a new wonder observed, which had not been before; and therefore this note of admiration, “behold!” is prefixed; on a sudden sprung up trees on each…

Then said he unto me The man that measured the waters spoke to the prophet again, and showed him the course of the waters; the quickening and healing virtue of them, and the multitude of fish in them: these waters issue out toward the east country; the Gospel was first preached in the eastern parts…

And it shall come to pass that everything that liveth, which moveth That is, every living man; everyone that lives naturally or corporeally, that lives, moves, and has his being in God, as all men have, , whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live; or, “the two rivers” [[8]]; the waters…

And it shall come to pass In Gospel times: what follows had a fulfilment in the first times of the Gospel, and will have a greater in the latter times of it: that the fishers shall stand upon it; upon the brink of the river, or the shore of the sea, whose waters will be healed by this river running…

But the miry places thereof, and the marshes thereof That is, of the sea; the waters of which were healed, by the waters of the sanctuary coming into them: but the ditches and lakes, the miry and marsh ground, separate from the sea, which lay near it, and upon the borders of it, shall not be…

And by the river on the banks thereof, on this side and on that side On each side of the river, on the banks of it: shall grow all trees for meat; such as bear fruit, that may be eaten, and is good for food: by these “trees” are meant truly gracious souls, converted persons, real Christians, true…

Thus saith the Lord God, this shall be the border Of the land of Israel, as described in the following verses; which being different from, and much larger, and more extensive, than it was in the times of Moses or Joshua, or than it was either before or after the captivity in Babylon, shows that…

And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another That is, the twelve tribes shall equally inherit it; one tribe shall not have more, and another less, but each alike: this was not the case, at the division of the land, in the times of Moses and Joshua; for to such tribes as were very numerous a…

And this shall be the border of the land toward the north side The description of the borders of the land begins on the north side; because the Gospel, and the interest of Christ, would be, as they now are, chiefly in the northern part of the world, before the latter day glory takes place, and from…

Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim The line of the northern border should be drawn on by Hamath, the same with Antiochia in Syria, since called Epiphania, as Jerom observes, from Antiochus Epiphanies; and go on by Berothah, a city of Hadadezer king of Zobah, , the same with the Barothena of Ptolemy [[15]],…

And the border from the sea shall be Hazarenan, the border of Damascus Which was the furthermost part and end of the northern border, as fixed by Moses, : and the north northward, and the border of Hamath; if this is carrying on the border further, it seems to be another Hamath, distinct from the…

And the east side ye shall measure Hauran The line of the eastern border of the land shall begin at Hauran or Auranitis; see , which lay to the south [[17]] of Damascus: and it follows, and from the land of Israel by Jordan, from the border unto the east sea; and so from Damascus, the metropolis of…

And the south side southward from Tamar Not Jericho, as the Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi, called by this name from the palm trees which grew near it; according to Jerom, this is Palmyra, so called for the same reason; but it is rather Engedi, called Hazazontamar, , the line of the southern border…

The west side also shall be the great sea from the border From the border of Egypt, and the river of it, to the Mediterranean sea, is the west side of the land, and the western border of it; hence the western point is often expressed in Scripture by the sea: till a man come over against Hamath;…

So shall ye divide this land unto you As thus bounded, east, west, north, and south: according to the tribes of Israel; (See Gill on Ezek. 47:13).

And it shall come to pass In the last days, under the Gospel dispensation: that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you; who were Israelites, both by natural descent, and by the Spirit and grace of God: the Gospel was first preached to Israel after the flesh, and made effectual to the…

And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth Whatsoever particular congregation or church these strangers and sojourners (as all the Lord’s people are in this world, and even in their church state), or those Gentiles before described, shall be nearest unto, and to which…