Ezekiel 47:1
in Ezekiel 47Then the man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he brought me back unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward (for the forefront of the house was toward the east); and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar.
KJV
Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
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This verse in Ezekiel 47
Commentary
13 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The vision of the waters; or, the blessings which flow from this source to animate and refresh all the inhabitants of the earth. Compare Isa 44:8...; Joe 3:18. Ezekiel’s description is adopted and modifled by Zechariah and in Rev. (compare the marginal references) Hebrew tradition speaks of a spring of water, named Etham, said to be identical with the well-waters of Nephtoah Jos 18:15, on the west of the temple, whose waters were conducted by pipes into the temple-courts for the uses needed in the ministration of the priests.
This site's exposition
water flowing from under the threshold
on Ezekiel 47:1-2
Water flows “from under the threshold of the temple toward the east”, the way by which the glory returned in chapter 43. The water comes down “south of the altar”, and at the outer gate facing east the prophet sees it “trickling out from the south side”.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
Further, what says He? "And there was a river flowing on the right, and from it arose beautiful trees; and whosoever shall eat of them shall live for ever." This meaneth, that we indeed descend into the water full of sins and defilement, but come …
Thoroughly instructed in sacrificial matters, after he learned that sacrifices have to be offered for sins in a figurative manner, the prophet was taught that two expiations of souls were made through water and spirit.
Therefore, just as we read in a good sense the waters that flow from the threshold of the temple and are returned to the teaching of the Church, so are bitter waters and the worst waters to which the prophet Jeremiah forbids us to approach, saying: 'What have you to do with the way of Egypt, to drink from the waters of the Nile?' Regarding these, God speaks angrily about the heretics: 'Behold, I will feed them with bitterness and give them poisonous water to drink' (Jeremiah 9:15).
From the temple of the Lord, that is, from his bosom, the Savior came forth and sweetened the Dead Sea and the bitter waters.
When the world falls into sin, nothing but a flood of waters can cleanse it again.
6 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 47, verse 1) And he brought me back to the door of the house, and behold, water was coming out from under the threshold of the house eastward. For the face of the house was toward the east, and the water was flowing down from the right side of the temple, south of the altar.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The original of these waters was not above-ground, but they sprang up from under the threshold; for the fountain of a believer's life is a mystery; it is hid with Christ in God, Col. iii. Some observe that they came forth on the right side of the house to intimate that gospel-blessings are right-hand blessings.
Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house,....
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
waters--So Re 22:1, represents "the water of life as proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." His throne was set up in the temple at Jerusalem (Eze 43:7). Thence it is to flow over the earth (Joe 3:18; Messiah is the temple and the door; from His pierced side flow the living waters, ever increasing, both in the individual believer and in the heart.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
Behold, waters issued out from under the threshold - Ezekiel, after having made the whole compass of the court of the people, is brought back by the north gate into the courts of the priests; and, having reached the gate of the temple, he saw waters which had their spring under the threshold of that gate, that looked towards the east; and which passing to the south of the altar of burnt-offerings on the right of the temple, ran from the west to the east, that they might fall into the brook Kidron, and thence be carried into the Dead Sea. Literally, no such waters were ever in the temple; and because there were none, Solomon had what is called the brazen sea made, which held water for the use of the temple. It is true that the water which supplied this sea might have been brought by pipes to the place: but a fountain producing abundance of water was not there, and could not be there, on the top of such a hill; and consequently these waters, as well as those spoken of in Joe 3:18, and in Zec 14:8, are to be understood spiritually or typically; and indeed the whole complexion of the place here shows, that they are thus to be understood. Taken in this view, I shall proceed to apply the whole of this vision to the effusion of light and salvation by the outpouring of the Spirit of God under the Gospel dispensation, by which the knowledge of the true God was multiplied in the earth; and have only one previous remark to make, that the farther the waters flowed from the temple, the deeper they grew. With respect to the phraseology of this chapter, it may be said that St. John had it particularly in view while he wrote his celebrated description of the paradise of God, Revelation 22. The prophet may therefore be referring to the same thing which the apostle describes, viz., the grace of the Gospel, and its effects in the world.
The words behind it
23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְשִׁבֵנִי֮ | vayshiveni | and he brought back me | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| פֶּ֣תַח | petach | [the] entrance of | H6607 → | 164 times |
| הַבַּיִת֒ | habayit | the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| וְהִנֵּה־ | vehineh- | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| מַ֣יִם | mayim | waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| יֹצְאִ֗ים | yotzeim | [were] going out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מִתַּ֨חַת | mitachat | from under | H8478 → | 505 times |
| מִפְתַּ֤ן | miftan | [the] threshold of | H4670 → | 8 times |
| הַבַּ֙יִת֙ | habayit | the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| קָדִ֔ימָה | kadimah | east -ward | H6921 → | 69 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| פְנֵ֥י | fenei | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הַבַּ֖יִת | habayit | the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| קָדִ֑ים | kadim | [was] east | H6921 → | 69 times |
| וְהַמַּ֣יִם | vehamayim | and the waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| יֹרְדִ֗ים | yoredim | [were] going down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| מִתַּ֜חַת | mitachat | from under | H8478 → | 505 times |
| מִכֶּ֤תֶף | miketef | from [the] side of | H3802 → | 67 times |
| הַבַּ֙יִת֙ | habayit | the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הַיְמָנִ֔ית | haymanit | <the> south | H3233 → | 32 times |
| מִנֶּ֖גֶב | minegev | from [the] south | H5045 → | 112 times |
| לַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ׃ | lamizbeach | of the altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
וַיְשִׁבֵנִי֮and he brought back me
vayshiveniH7725 →1056 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
פֶּ֣תַח[the] entrance of
petachH6607 →164 times
הַבַּיִת֒the house
habayitH1004 →2046 times
וְהִנֵּה־and there!
vehineh-H2009 →843 times
מַ֣יִםwaters
mayimH4325 →581 times
יֹצְאִ֗ים[were] going out
yotzeimH3318 →1067 times
מִתַּ֨חַתfrom under
mitachatH8478 →505 times
מִפְתַּ֤ן[the] threshold of
miftanH4670 →8 times
הַבַּ֙יִת֙the house
habayitH1004 →2046 times
קָדִ֔ימָהeast -ward
kadimahH6921 →69 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
פְנֵ֥י[the] face of
feneiH6440 →2123 times
הַבַּ֖יִתthe house
habayitH1004 →2046 times
קָדִ֑ים[was] east
kadimH6921 →69 times
וְהַמַּ֣יִםand the waters
vehamayimH4325 →581 times
יֹרְדִ֗ים[were] going down
yoredimH3381 →381 times
מִתַּ֜חַתfrom under
mitachatH8478 →505 times
מִכֶּ֤תֶףfrom [the] side of
miketefH3802 →67 times
הַבַּ֙יִת֙the house
habayitH1004 →2046 times
הַיְמָנִ֔ית<the> south
haymanitH3233 →32 times
מִנֶּ֖גֶבfrom [the] south
minegevH5045 →112 times
לַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ׃of the altar
lamizbeachH4196 →401 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 22:1Then 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
it leads to
- John 4:14
But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
- John 7:38–39
Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’”
- Psalms 36:8–9
They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from Your river of delights.
- John 4:10–11
Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
- John 4:14
Through
Isaiah 55:1“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost!
it leads to
- John 7:37–38
On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
- Revelation 21:6
And He told me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life.
- Revelation 22:17
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely.
- John 7:37–38
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ezekiel
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Epistle of Barnabas, The Epistle of Barnabas, Chapter XI; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; Jerome, HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 10 (PS 76); Jerome, LETTER 69.6; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON EZEKIEL 16:47.