Ezekiel 48:15
in Ezekiel 48The remaining area, 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, will be for common use by the city, for houses, and for pastureland. The city will be in the center of it
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the five thousand that are left in the breadth, in front of the five and twenty thousand, shall be for common use, for the city, for dwelling and for suburbs; and the city shall be in the midst thereof.
KJV
And the five thousand, that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling, and for suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst thereof.
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This verse in Ezekiel 48
Commentary
7 notes on this verse(Verse 15) The remaining five thousand cubits in width, along the twenty-five thousand, shall be for common use by the city for dwellings and common land, and the city shall be in the middle of it. What we translate as 'profane', Aquila translated as 'βέβηλον', Symmachus and Theodotion translated as 'λαἳκὸν'; the LXX used 'προτείχισμα' which can also be translated as 'antemurale'. 'Profane' and 'laicum' are both secular, that is, common, and can be used by all people everywhere.
This site's exposition
for common use by the city
on Ezekiel 48:15-19
Beside the holy portion lies ground “for common use by the city, for houses, and for pastureland”, with the city “in the center of it”. Common use stands next to consecrated use, the same distinction chapter 42 drew between the priests' garments and the outer court.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), or common; not but that the city was a holy city above other cities, for the Lord was there, but, in comparison with the sanctuary, it was a profane place.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And the five thousand that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The five thousand rods, apportioned to the city out of the twenty-five thousand square, are to be laid off in a square of four thousand five hundred, with the two hundred fifty all around for suburbs. profane--that is, not strictly sacred as the sacerdotal portions, but applied to secular uses.
And the five thousand that are left - The territory of the Levites was twenty-five thousand square cubits, Eze 48:20, But their city was only four thousand five hundred square cubits, see Eze 48:13 and Eze 48:16; there remained, therefore, ten thousand cubits square to be divided, of which five thousand cubits in breadth, by twenty-five thousand in length, on the east and west sides, were reserved for a sort of second city; or for suburbs where laymen might dwell who were employed by those priests and Levites who lodged in the temple and in the city, Eze 48:18. And another space of one thousand cubits in breadth, by twenty-five thousand in length, which extended only from north to south, was for fields and gardens appointed for the support of those lay servants. On which we may remark, there was no cultivated land between the portion of the Levites and that of the prince, but only on the east and west sides. See Eze 45:6, and the map FF.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The five thousand ... - The remainder of the square of 25,000 reeds from north to south. Profane - For common use, as distinguished from that which is holy unto the Lord.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
or exchange And he shall not exchange it for any other land.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַחֲמֵ֨שֶׁת | vachameshet | and five | H2568 → | 343 times |
| אֲלָפִ֜ים | ʾalafim | thousand [cubits] | H505 → | 505 times |
| הַנּוֹתָ֣ר | hanotar | which remain | H3498 → | 106 times |
| בָּרֹ֗חַב | barochav | in the breadth | H7341 → | 101 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵ֨י | penei | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| חֲמִשָּׁ֤ה | chamishah | five | H2568 → | 343 times |
| וְעֶשְׂרִים֙ | veesrim | and twenty | H6242 → | 315 times |
| אֶ֔לֶף | ʾelef | thousand [cubits] | H505 → | 505 times |
| חֹֽל־ | chol- | [will be] a profane area | H2455 → | 7 times |
| ה֣וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| לָעִ֔יר | lair | for the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| לְמוֹשָׁ֖ב | lemoshav | for dwelling place | H4186 → | 44 times |
| וּלְמִגְרָ֑שׁ | ulemigrash | and for open land | H4054 → | 119 times |
| וְהָיְתָ֥ה | vehayetah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הָעִ֖יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| בְּתוֹכֽוֹ׃ | betokho | in [the] middle of it | H8432 → | 418 times |
וַחֲמֵ֨שֶׁתand five
vachameshetH2568 →343 times
אֲלָפִ֜יםthousand [cubits]
ʾalafimH505 →505 times
הַנּוֹתָ֣רwhich remain
hanotarH3498 →106 times
בָּרֹ֗חַבin the breadth
barochavH7341 →101 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵ֨י[the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
חֲמִשָּׁ֤הfive
chamishahH2568 →343 times
וְעֶשְׂרִים֙and twenty
veesrimH6242 →315 times
אֶ֔לֶףthousand [cubits]
ʾelefH505 →505 times
חֹֽל־[will be] a profane area
chol-H2455 →7 times
ה֣וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
לָעִ֔ירfor the city
lairH5892 →1090 times
לְמוֹשָׁ֖בfor dwelling place
lemoshavH4186 →44 times
וּלְמִגְרָ֑שׁand for open land
ulemigrashH4054 →119 times
וְהָיְתָ֥הand it will be
vehayetahH1961 →3559 times
הָעִ֖ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
בְּתוֹכֽוֹ׃in [the] middle of it
betokhoH8432 →418 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
Ezekiel 44:23They are to teach My people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to discern between the clean and the unclean.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 22:26
Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 10:10–11
You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the clean and the unclean,
- 2 Timothy 2:24–25
And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing.
- Ezekiel 22:26
Through
1 Timothy 3:15in case I am delayed, so that you will know how each one must conduct himself in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:5
you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
- Ephesians 2:21–22
In Him the whole building is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
- 1 Peter 2:5
Through
Ezekiel 22:26Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 44:23
They are to teach My people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to discern between the clean and the unclean.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 10:10
You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the clean and the unclean,
- Ezekiel 22:8
You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.
- Ezekiel 44:23
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
On this verse
On this chapter
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.