Ezekiel 47:8
in Ezekiel 47And 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then said he unto me, These waters issue forth toward the eastern region, and shall go down into the Arabah; and they shall go toward the sea; into the sea shall the waters go which were made to issue forth; and the waters shall be healed.
KJV
Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
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This verse in Ezekiel 47
Commentary
12 notes on this verse(Verse 8) These waters that come out, either into the Galilee of the Gentiles, according to the Septuagint, or (as it is more accurately contained in Hebrew) into the hills of the eastern sand, and they descend to the plains of the desert, or to Arabia, they will enter the sea, or to the ends of the sea, and the waters will be healed. We previously said that waters either signify the grace of baptism or the Evangelical doctrine.
This site's exposition
flows out to the eastern region
on Ezekiel 47:8-9
The water “flows out to the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah”, and where it enters the Sea, “the water there becomes fresh”. The river brings it “swarms of living creatures and a great number of fish”. Henry notes the repetition as the text's own emphasis.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verses 8-10) And he said to me: These waters that go out to the hills of the East (or Oriental), and go down to the plains of the desert (or this water that goes out into Galilee, which turns to the East, and goes down to Arabia), shall enter the sea, and shall go out, and the waters shall be healed. And every living creature (or animal) that crawls (or of crawling creatures), wherever the torrent (or river) shall come, shall live; and there shall be very many fish, after these waters come there; and they shall be healed, and all things to which the torrent (or river) shall come shall live. And the fishermen shall stand upon its banks from Engaddi even to Engallim; it shall be a place to spread their nets. The fish of it shall be of very many kinds, like the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. And the leading guide and teacher, the prophet, teaches and says: These waters that come out, either into the Galilee of the Gentiles, according to the Septuagint, or (as it is more accurately contained in Hebrew) into the hills of the eastern sand, and they descend to the plains of the desert, or to Arabia, they will enter the sea, or to the ends of the sea, and the waters will be healed. We previously said that waters either signify the grace of baptism or the Evangelical doctrine. If these waters leave the threshold of the Lord's temple and hold fast to the Apostolic discipline, they make the previously barren and infertile hills fruitful and turn everything flat and deserted into a well-watered land, so that they embody the sacrament of the Jordan River. This river, which Elisha cured with Evangelical and Apostolic salt, transformed barrenness and death into abundance and life. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
The sea - The Dead-sea, or lake of Sodom. Shall be healed - The waters of the sea shall be healed, made wholesome. So where the grace of God from his temple and altar flows, it heals the corrupt nature of man, and renders barren terrible deserts, as a land of waters and gardens.
), for so they were directed. The prophet and his guide followed the stream as it ran down from the holy mountains, and when they had followed it about a thousand cubits they went over across it, to try the depth of it, and it was to the ankles,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Then said he unto me,....
This was accomplished when the gospel was preached with success throughout all the regions of Judea and Samaria ( Acts viii. 1 ), and afterwards the nations about, nay, and those that lay most emote, even in the isles of the sea, were enlightened and leavened by it.
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
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 Century4 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
“The sea” is a term commonly applied to the Dead Sea. Compare Deu 3:17, “the sea of the plain (Arabah), even the salt sea.” The more literal rendering of the verse in this sense would be, “and go into the sea; into the sea go the waters that issue forth, and the waters shall be healed.” Healed - Every living thing (of which there were none before) shall abound in the “healed” waters. The absence of living creatures in the Dead Sea has been remarked by ancient and modern writers.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the desert--or "plain," Hebrew, Arabah (De 3:17; Jos 3:16), which is the name still given to the valley of the Jordan and the plain south of the Dead Sea, and extending to the Elanitic gulf of the Red Sea. the sea--the Dead Sea.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Ezekiel is robed in dreadful tempest and his whole book is "as the terrible crystal" for brightness and for mystery, yet he often gives us visions of exceeding comfort. For instance, who can think without joy of that tender branch of the cedar which is to be planted by God in the mountain of the height of Israel—which shall grow so exceedingly that all fowl of every wing shall dwell in its branches? Do we not all rejoice that, whatever may become of the institutions of modern society, we have received a Kingdom which cannot be moved?
Ezekiel is robed in dreadful tempest and his whole book is "as the terrible crystal" for brightness and for mystery, yet he often gives us visions of exceeding comfort. For instance, who can think without joy of that tender branch of the cedar which is to be planted by God in the mountain of the height of Israel—which shall grow so exceedingly that all fowl of every wing shall dwell in its branches? Do we not all rejoice that, whatever may become of the institutions of modern society, we have received a Kingdom which cannot be moved? The Kingdom of our Lord Jesus, which began as a tender slip, is yet to increase till it is likened to a goodly cedar "upon a high mountain and eminent"—is not this an unspeakable joy? Think, also, of that other vision, so weird and strange, of a valley full of dead bones, "very many" and "very dry." What an answer does that vision give to the question of unbelief! "Can these dry bones live?" How plainly does the Lord answer—"I will put My Spirit in you and you shall live"! When I think of that goodly cedar, I see that the Kingdom will come unto Christ. And when I think of the valley of dry bones, I am comforted concerning the masses around me. We, too, as we walk through this morgue of a city, may hope that life will conquer death and an exceedingly great army, quickened by the Spirit of our God, shall yet rise from these dry bones! The remarkable vision which lies open before us, is exceedingly reassuring to those who are troubled by reason of the dreadful condition of the times—and which of us is not? The Prophet bids us think of those waters, dreary and dreadful, known by the suggestive name of the Dead Sea! This was the "Chamber of Horrors" of the land of Canaan! Travelers describe it as a place of utter desolation.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלַ֗י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַמַּ֤יִם | hamayim | the waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| הָאֵ֙לֶּה֙ | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| יוֹצְאִ֗ים | yotzim | [are] going out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַגְּלִילָה֙ | hagelilah | the territory | H1552 → | |
| הַקַּדְמוֹנָ֔ה | hakadmonah | <the> eastern | H6930 → | |
| וְיָרְד֖וּ | veyaredu | and they will go down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָֽעֲרָבָ֑ה | haaravah | the Arabah | H6160 → | |
| וּבָ֣אוּ | uvau | and they will go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| הַיָּ֔מָּה | haiyamah | the sea towards | H3220 → | 396 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַיָּ֥מָּה | haiyamah | the sea <towards> | H3220 → | 396 times |
| הַמּֽוּצָאִ֖ים | hamutzaim | those [which] were brought out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| וְנִרְפּ֥וּ | venirpeu | and they will be healed | H7495 → | 67 times |
| הַמָּֽיִם׃ | hamayim | the waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵלַ֗יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
הַמַּ֤יִםthe waters
hamayimH4325 →581 times
הָאֵ֙לֶּה֙<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
יוֹצְאִ֗ים[are] going out
yotzimH3318 →1067 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַגְּלִילָה֙the territory
hagelilahH1552 →
הַקַּדְמוֹנָ֔ה<the> eastern
hakadmonahH6930 →
וְיָרְד֖וּand they will go down
veyareduH3381 →381 times
עַל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָֽעֲרָבָ֑הthe Arabah
haaravahH6160 →
וּבָ֣אוּand they will go
uvauH935 →2568 times
הַיָּ֔מָּהthe sea towards
haiyamahH3220 →396 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַיָּ֥מָּהthe sea <towards>
haiyamahH3220 →396 times
הַמּֽוּצָאִ֖יםthose [which] were brought out
hamutzaimH3318 →1067 times
וְנִרְפּ֥וּand they will be healed
venirpeuH7495 →67 times
הַמָּֽיִם׃the waters
hamayimH4325 →581 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
Deuteronomy 3:17The Jordan River in the Arabah bordered it from Chinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) with the slopes of Pisgah to the east.
it leads to
- Genesis 14:3
The latter five came as allies to the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 12:3
as well as the Arabah east of the Sea of Chinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea), eastward through Beth-jeshimoth, and southward below the slopes of Pisgah.
- Joshua 3:16
the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was…
- Deuteronomy 4:49
including all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan and as far as the Sea of the Arabah, below the slopes of Pisgah.
- Genesis 14:3
Through
Joshua 3:16the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was…
it leads to
- Joshua 3:13
When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD—the Lord of all the earth—touch down in the waters of the Jordan, its flowing waters will be cut off and will…
- 1 Kings 4:12
Baana son of Ahilud in Taanach, in Megiddo, and in all of Beth-shean next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah and on past Jokmeam;
- 1 Kings 7:46
The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan.
- Deuteronomy 1:1
These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan—in the Arabah opposite Suph—between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
- Joshua 3:13
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; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1852: “The Modern Dead Sea and the Living Waters” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.