Ezekiel 47:7
in Ezekiel 47When I arrived, I saw a great number of trees along both banks of the river.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now when I had returned, behold, upon the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
KJV
Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
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This verse in Ezekiel 47
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Son of man, do you see this
on Ezekiel 47:6-7
The guide's question, addressed to the prophet, turns him back to the river's bank, where very many trees stand on either side. Gill reads the question as making the prophet an eyewitness on record before the interpretation is given. The trees are named before their purpose is explained.
This site's exposition
a great number of trees along both banks
Trees along a river that flows from God's house recall Eden, where a river watered the garden in Genesis 2:10. Revelation 22:2 takes up the picture, with the tree of life on either side of the river. Verse 12 gives the trees' purpose.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Ver. 6-7) And he said to me: You have certainly seen, son of man; and he brought me out, and turned me toward the bank of the river (or the stream). And when I turned (or had turned), behold, on the bank of the river (or the stream) there were very many trees (or very many trees) on both sides. Although this whole chapter may be lengthy, I wanted to present it all at once so as not to interrupt the reader's understanding and to avoid disrupting the listener's comprehension.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Now when I had returned,....
An appointment of the borders of the land of Canaan, which was to be divided by lot to the tribes of Israel and the strangers that sojourned among them,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
trees--not merely one tree of life as in Paradise (Ge 3:22), but many: to supply immortal food and medicine to the people of God, who themselves also become "trees of righteousness" (Isa 61:3) planted by the waters and (Ps 1:3) bearing fruit unto holiness.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Trees naturally flourish where there is abundance of water Psa 1:3.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּשׁוּבֵ֕נִי | beshuveni | when had returned I | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| וְהִנֵּה֙ | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | [was] to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שְׂפַ֣ת | sefat | [the] bank of | H8193 → | 176 times |
| הַנַּ֔חַל | hanachal | the river | H5158 → | 141 times |
| עֵ֖ץ | ʾetz | tree[s] | H6086 → | 328 times |
| רַ֣ב | rav | many | H7227 → | 454 times |
| מְאֹ֑ד | meod | very | H3966 → | 300 times |
| מִזֶּ֖ה | mizeh | from this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| וּמִזֶּֽה׃ | umizeh | and from this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
בְּשׁוּבֵ֕נִיwhen had returned I
beshuveniH7725 →1056 times
וְהִנֵּה֙and there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
אֶל־[was] to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שְׂפַ֣ת[the] bank of
sefatH8193 →176 times
הַנַּ֔חַלthe river
hanachalH5158 →141 times
עֵ֖ץtree[s]
ʾetzH6086 →328 times
רַ֣בmany
ravH7227 →454 times
מְאֹ֑דvery
meodH3966 →300 times
מִזֶּ֖הfrom this
mizehH2088 →1180 times
וּמִזֶּֽה׃and from this
umizehH2088 →1180 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
Revelation 22:2down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month.…
it leads to
- Revelation 22:1
Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
- Genesis 2:9
Out of the ground the LORD God gave growth to every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. And in the middle of the garden were the tree of life…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Peter 2:24
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”
- Revelation 2:7
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the…
- Ezekiel 47:8–12
And he said to me, “This water flows out to the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah. When it empties into the Sea, the water there becomes fresh.
- Revelation 22:1
Through
Ezekiel 47:12Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of all kinds will grow. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. Each month they will bear fruit, because the water from…
it leads to
- Revelation 22:2
down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month.…
- Psalms 1:3
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.
- Jeremiah 17:8
He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not…
- Revelation 22:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.