Ezekiel 47:4
in Ezekiel 47Then he measured off a thousand cubits and led me through knee-deep water. Again he measured a thousand cubits and led me through waist-deep water.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Again he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the loins.
KJV
Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
⋯
This verse in Ezekiel 47
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The knees - The mission of Paul and Barnabas Act 13:1-4 is another marked epoch in the Church’s history; and the time of Paul’s martyrdom denotes an increase in the Gentile Church, which corresponds with the waters reaching the loins.
This site's exposition
led me through ankle-deep water
on Ezekiel 47:3-5
The man with “a measuring line in his hand” goes eastward in four stages of “a thousand cubits”, and the water deepens at each one. The prophet is led through “ankle-deep water”, then “knee-deep water”, then “waist-deep water”, until it becomes “a river that I could not cross”.
This site's exposition
led me through knee-deep water
Barnes reads each depth as an era of church history, with the knees marking the mission of Paul and Barnabas in Acts 13:1 to 4. Others, such as dispensational writers, expect a literal river, like the living water of Zechariah 14:8. The measures stay equal while the depth grows.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 4) And he measured again a thousand, and he led me through the water up to the knees (or he passed in the water unto the thighs). And he measured a thousand, and he led me through the water up to the loins (or he passed in the water unto the waist). But after one thousand cubits, which bring us to the ankle, he measures another thousand cubits in water and leads me up to the knees.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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 brought me through; the waters were to the loins; a third time he measured a thousand cubits still onward, and ordered the prophet to wade through them, when they were risen so high as to reach his loins.
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 words behind it
11 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 |
| וַיַּעֲבִרֵ֥נִי | vaiyaavireni | and he made pass me | H5674 → | 556 times |
| בַמַּ֖יִם | vamayim | in the waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| מַ֣יִם | mayim | waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| בִּרְכָּ֑יִם | birkayim | knees | H1290 → | 25 times |
| וַיָּ֣מָד | vaiyamod | and he measured out | H4058 → | 51 times |
| אֶ֔לֶף | ʾelef | a thousand [cubits] | H505 → | 505 times |
| וַיַּעֲבִרֵ֖נִי | vaiyaavireni | and he made pass through me | H5674 → | 556 times |
| מֵ֥י | mei | waters of | H4325 → | 581 times |
| מָתְנָֽיִם׃ | matenayim | loins | H4975 → | 47 times |
וַיָּ֣מָדand he measured out
vaiyamodH4058 →51 times
אֶ֔לֶףa thousand [cubits]
ʾelefH505 →505 times
וַיַּעֲבִרֵ֥נִיand he made pass me
vaiyaavireniH5674 →556 times
בַמַּ֖יִםin the waters
vamayimH4325 →581 times
מַ֣יִםwaters
mayimH4325 →581 times
בִּרְכָּ֑יִםknees
birkayimH1290 →25 times
וַיָּ֣מָדand he measured out
vaiyamodH4058 →51 times
אֶ֔לֶףa thousand [cubits]
ʾelefH505 →505 times
וַיַּעֲבִרֵ֖נִיand he made pass through me
vaiyaavireniH5674 →556 times
מֵ֥יwaters of
meiH4325 →581 times
מָתְנָֽיִם׃loins
matenayimH4975 →47 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
Colossians 1:6that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood the…
it leads to
- John 15:16
You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.
- Philippians 1:11
filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
- Colossians 1:23
if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul,…
- 1 Peter 5:12
Through Silvanus, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.
- Romans 10:17–18
Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
- John 15:16
Through
Romans 15:19by the power of signs and wonders, and by the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 12:12
The true marks of an apostle—signs, wonders, and miracles—were performed among you with great perseverance.
- Hebrews 2:4
and was affirmed by God through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.
- Galatians 3:5
Does God lavish His Spirit on you and work miracles among you because you practice the law, or because you hear and believe?
- 2 Corinthians 12:12
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); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.