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Ezekiel 45

God orders Israel’s land and worship under his authority, requiring rulers to uphold justice and provide for the people’s sacrifices.

YHWH directs the division of Israel’s land, setting apart a holy portion for the sanctuary and its ministers, alongside land for the city and the prince. Speaking through Ezekiel, he commands Israel’s rulers to stop violence and dispossession and requires honest weights and measures. The people must contribute offerings, and the prince must provide sacrifices for Israel’s appointed feasts. The chapter closes with instructions for cleansing the sanctuary and observing Passover and the seventh-month feast.

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1“‘“Moreover, when you divide by lot the land for inheritance, you shall offer an offering to the LORD, a holy portion of the land. The length shall be the length of twenty-five thousand reeds, and the width shall be ten thousand. It shall be holy in all its border all around.
2Of this there shall be a five hundred by five hundred square for the holy place, and fifty cubits for its pasture lands all around.
3Of this measure you shall measure a length of twenty-five thousand, and a width of ten thousand. In it shall be the sanctuary, which is most holy.
4It is a holy portion of the land; it shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who come near to minister to the LORD. It shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary.
5Twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width shall be for the Levites, the ministers of the house, as a possession for themselves, for twenty rooms.
6“‘“You shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand cubits wide and twenty-five thousand long, side by side with the offering of the holy portion. It shall be for the whole house of Israel.
7“‘“What is for the prince shall be on the one side and on the other side of the holy allotment and of the possession of the city, in front of the holy allotment and in front of the possession of the city, on the west side westward, and on the east side eastward, and in length corresponding to one of the portions, from the west border to the east border.
8In the land it shall be to him for a possession in Israel. My princes shall no more oppress my people, but they shall give the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.”
9“‘The Lord GOD says: “Enough, you princes of Israel! Remove violence and plunder, and execute justice and righteousness! Stop dispossessing my people!” says the Lord GOD.
10“You shall have just balances, a just ephah, and a just bath.
11The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain one tenth of a homer, and the ephah one tenth of a homer. Its measure shall be the same as the homer.
12The shekel shall be twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels shall be your mina.
15and one lamb of the flock out of two hundred, from the well-watered pastures of Israel—for a meal offering, for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings, to make atonement for them,” says the Lord GOD.
16“All the people of the land shall give to this offering for the prince in Israel.
17It shall be the prince’s part to give the burnt offerings, the meal offerings, and the drink offerings, in the feasts, and on the new moons, and on the Sabbaths, in all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel. He shall prepare the sin offering, the meal offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel.”
18“‘The Lord GOD says: “In the first month, on the first day of the month, you shall take a young bull without defect, and you shall cleanse the sanctuary.
19The priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the door posts of the house, and on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the posts of the gate of the inner court.
20So you shall do on the seventh day of the month for everyone who errs, and for him who is simple. So you shall make atonement for the house.
21“‘“In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.
22On that day the prince shall prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering.
23The seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the LORD, seven bulls and seven rams without defect daily the seven days; and a male goat daily for a sin offering.
24He shall prepare a meal offering, an ephah for a bull, an ephah for a ram, and a hin of oil to an ephah.
25“‘“In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, during the feast, he shall do like that for seven days. He shall make the same provision for sin offering, the burnt offering, the meal offering, and the oil.”
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Ezekiel 45:17The prince bears responsibility for providing the offerings at Israel’s appointed feasts, including sacrifices that make atonement for the people.
Ezekiel 45:9God confronts Israel’s princes over violence and stolen land, making justice a direct obligation of their rule.
Ezekiel 45:10Honest weights and measures bring God’s demand for righteousness into the concrete details of trade and public life.
Where this chapter reaches

Leviticus and Numbers share this chapter’s concern for sacrifices, atonement, and appointed feasts, while Exodus shares its Passover observance and unleavened bread. Proverbs likewise requires honest weights, and Isaiah shares the demand that rulers reject oppression and uphold justice.

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After reading the whole chapter

What stands out to you about the prince’s responsibilities toward both the sanctuary and the people?

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How does the command for honest measures shape your reading of the chapter’s worship instructions?

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Questions people ask about Ezekiel 45

Who is the prince in Ezekiel 45?

The chapter does not name the prince. He receives a land allotment and must provide sacrifices for Israel’s worship, including a sin offering for himself and the people. His authority is bounded by God’s commands against oppression. These duties establish his role here, while his precise identity remains unstated.

What are the ephah, bath, and mina in Ezekiel 45?

The ephah measures dry goods, the bath measures liquids, and the mina is a unit of weight. The chapter sets each ephah and bath at one tenth of a homer and makes the mina sixty shekels. These standards follow God’s command for honest balances, addressing fairness in economic dealings.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).