Ezekiel 47:5
in Ezekiel 47Once again he measured off a thousand cubits, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough for swimming—a river that could not be crossed on foot.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass through; for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed through.
KJV
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.
⋯
This verse in Ezekiel 47
Commentary
4 notes on this verse(Verse 5) And he measured a thousand of a deep, which I could not pass over, because the waters were risen, waters of a deep river, which could not be passed over. For which LXX have translated: And he measured a thousand, and could not pass over: because the water was bearing a stream like the rapid stream, which cannot be passed over. Hence it is now said in the fourth (book): And he measured a thousand, with the addition of cubits, of a torrent (which the Septuagint did not translate), which I could not go through: much better than the Seventy who said, and he could not go through.
This site's exposition
the waters were to the ankles
on Ezekiel 47:3-5
The man with the measuring line walks the prophet eastward in four stages of a thousand cubits each, and the river deepens at every stage, ankles, then knees, then loins, then water too deep to cross, a river to swim in. Keil reads the rising measure as the vision's own picture of grace, small at its source and only ever increasing the further it is followed, never receding. The prophet cannot walk this river to its end; he can only be carried further into it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The waters of the sanctuary are running waters, as those of a river, not standing waters, as those of a pond. The gospel, when it was first preached, was still spreading further. Grace in the soul is still pressing forward; it is an active principle, plus ultra--onward still, till it comes to perfection.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The rivers in Palestine were for the most part mere watercourses, dry in summer, in winter carrying the water along the wadys to the sea. The river of the vision is to have a continuous flow. Waters to swim in - When under Constantine the Roman empire had become Christian, the Church may be contemplated as the full river, to flow on through time until the final completion of Isaiah’s prophecy Isa 11:9.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּ֣מָד | vaiyamod | and he measured out | H4058 → | 51 times |
| אֶ֔לֶף | ʾelef | a thousand [cubits] | H505 → | 505 times |
| נַ֕חַל | nachal | a river | H5158 → | 141 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אוּכַ֖ל | ʾukhal | I was able | H3201 → | 194 times |
| לַעֲבֹ֑ר | laavor | to pass through | H5674 → | 556 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| גָא֤וּ | gau | they had risen | H1342 → | |
| הַמַּ֙יִם֙ | hamayim | the waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| מֵ֣י | mei | waters of | H4325 → | 581 times |
| שָׂ֔חוּ | sachu | swimming | H7813 → | |
| נַ֖חַל | nachal | a river | H5158 → | 141 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֵעָבֵֽר׃ | yeaver | it was passed through | H5674 → | 556 times |
וַיָּ֣מָדand he measured out
vaiyamodH4058 →51 times
אֶ֔לֶףa thousand [cubits]
ʾelefH505 →505 times
נַ֕חַלa river
nachalH5158 →141 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
אוּכַ֖לI was able
ʾukhalH3201 →194 times
לַעֲבֹ֑רto pass through
laavorH5674 →556 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
גָא֤וּthey had risen
gauH1342 →
הַמַּ֙יִם֙the waters
hamayimH4325 →581 times
מֵ֣יwaters of
meiH4325 →581 times
שָׂ֔חוּswimming
sachuH7813 →
נַ֖חַלa river
nachalH5158 →141 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יֵעָבֵֽר׃it was passed through
yeaverH5674 →556 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Habakkuk 2:14For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
it leads to
- Isaiah 11:9
They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the sea is full of water.
- Psalms 22:27
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.
- Psalms 72:19
And blessed be His glorious name forever; may all the earth be filled with His glory. Amen and amen.
- Isaiah 6:3
And they were calling out to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts; all the earth is full of His glory.”
- Psalms 86:9
All the nations You have made will come and bow before You, O Lord, and they will glorify Your name.
- Isaiah 11:9
Through
Revelation 7:9After this I looked and saw a multitude too large to count, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes…
it leads to
- Revelation 5:9
And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and…
- John 12:13
They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting: “Hosanna!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!”
- Revelation 5:9
Through
Isaiah 11:9They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the sea is full of water.
it leads to
- Habakkuk 2:14
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
- Habakkuk 2:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this chapter
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.