Now when I had returned, behold, on the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. Then he said to me, “These waters flow out toward the eastern region, and will go down into the Arabah. Then they will go toward the sea; and flow into the sea which will be made to flow out; and the waters will be healed. It will happen, that every living creature which swarms, in every place where the rivers come, will live. Then there will be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters have come there, and the waters of the sea will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river comes. It will happen, that fishermen will stand by it. From En Gedi even to En Eglaim will be a place for the spreading of nets. Their fish will be after their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceedingly many.
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Ezekiel 47:7-10 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Now when I had returned, behold, on the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. Then he said to me, “These waters flow out toward the eastern region, and will go down into the Arabah. Then they will go toward the sea; and flow into the sea which will be made to flow out; and the waters will be healed. It will happen, that every living creature which swarms, in every place where the rivers come, will live. Then there will be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters have come there, and the waters of the sea will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river comes. It will happen, that fishermen will stand by it. From En Gedi even to En Eglaim will be a place for the spreading of nets. Their fish will be after their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceedingly many. But the miry places of it, and its marshes, will not be healed. They will be given up to salt. By the river on its bank, on this side and on that side, will grow every tree for food, whose leaf won’t wither, neither will its fruit fail. It will produce new fruit every month, because its waters issue out of the sanctuary. Its fruit will be for food, and its leaf for healing.”
Parallel Translations
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Now when I had returned, behold, on the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
Then he said to me, “These waters flow out toward the eastern region, and will go down into the Arabah. Then they will go toward the sea; and flow into the sea which will be made to flow out; and the waters will be healed.
It will happen, that every living creature which swarms, in every place where the rivers come, will live. Then there will be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters have come there, and the waters of the sea will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river comes.
It will happen, that fishermen will stand by it. From En Gedi even to En Eglaim will be a place for the spreading of nets. Their fish will be after their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceedingly many.
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Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
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.
And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.
And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
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Now when I had been brought back, behold, upon the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
Then said he unto me: 'These waters issue forth toward the eastern region, and shall go down into the Arabah; and when they shall enter into the sea, into the sea of the putrid waters, the waters shall be healed.
And it shall come to pass, that every living creature wherewith it swarmeth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters are come thither, that all things be healed and may live whithersoever the river cometh.
And it shall come to pass, that fishers shall stand by it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; there shall be a place for the spreading of nets; their fish shall be after their kinds, as the fish of the Great Sea, exceeding many.
Cross-references (62)
- John 7:37-38 (v9) Now on the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink! He who…
- Joshua 3:16 (v8) the waters which came down from above stood, and rose up in one heap a great way off, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those…
- Ezekiel 47:12 (v7) By the river on its bank, on this side and on that side, will grow every tree for food, whose leaf won’t wither, neither will its fruit…
- Deuteronomy 3:17 (v8) the Arabah also, and the Jordan and its border, from Chinnereth even to the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah…
- John 6:63 (v9) It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and are life.
Show all 61 cross-references
- Deuteronomy 4:49 (v8) and all the Arabah beyond the Jordan eastward, even to the sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.
- 2 Kings 2:19-22 (v8) The men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold, please, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the…
- Isaiah 44:3-5 (v8) For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and streams on the dry ground. I will pour my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on…
- Isaiah 55:1 (v9) “Hey! Come, everyone who thirsts, to the waters! Come, he who has no money, buy, and eat! Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and…
- Matthew 4:19 (v10) He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men.”
- John 4:14 (v9) but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst again; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well…
- Numbers 34:6 (v10) “ ‘For the western border, you shall have the great sea and its border. This shall be your west border.
- Psalms 78:16 (v9) He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.
- Psalms 104:25 (v10) There is the sea, great and wide, in which are innumerable living things, both small and large animals.
- Isaiah 35:7 (v8) The burning sand will become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water. Grass with reeds and rushes will be in the habitation of…
- Isaiah 41:17-19 (v8) The poor and needy seek water, and there is none. Their tongue fails for thirst. I, Yahweh, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will…
- Isaiah 43:20 (v8) The animals of the field, the jackals and the ostriches, shall honor me, because I give water in the wilderness and rivers in the desert,…
- Ephesians 2:1-5 (v9) You were made alive when you were dead in transgressions and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world,…
- Revelation 22:2 (v7) in the middle of its street. On this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruits, yielding its fruit…
- Isaiah 49:12 (vv9–10) Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.”
- Exodus 15:26 (v9) He said, “If you will diligently listen to Yahweh your God’s voice, and will do that which is right in his eyes, and will pay attention to…
- 2 Chronicles 20:2 (v10) Then some came who told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea from Syria. Behold, they are in…
- Psalms 103:3 (v9) who forgives all your sins, who heals all your diseases,
- Isaiah 12:3 (v9) Therefore with joy you will draw water out of the wells of salvation.
- Isaiah 30:26 (v9) Moreover the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of…
- Isaiah 35:1 (v8) The wilderness and the dry land will be glad. The desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose.
- Isaiah 60:3-10 (v9) Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. “Lift up your eyes all around, and see: they all gather…
- Jeremiah 31:9 (v8) They will come with weeping. I will lead them with petitions. I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way in which…
- Ezekiel 47:15 (v10) “This shall be the border of the land: “On the north side, from the great sea, by the way of Hethlon, to the entrance of Zedad;
- Ezekiel 48:28 (v10) “By the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar to the waters of Meribath Kadesh, to the brook, to…
- Zechariah 2:11 (v9) Many nations shall join themselves to Yahweh in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell among you, and you shall know that…
- Zechariah 8:21-23 (v9) and the inhabitants of one shall go to another, saying, ‘Let’s go speedily to entreat the favor of Yahweh, and to seek Yahweh of Armies. I…
- Malachi 1:11 (v8) For from the rising of the sun even to its going down, my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my…
- Matthew 13:47-50 (v10) “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet, that was cast into the sea, and gathered some fish of every kind, which, when it was…
- Mark 1:17 (v10) Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you into fishers for men.”
- Luke 5:4-10 (v10) When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered him, “Master,…
- John 3:16 (v9) For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
- John 5:25 (v9) Most certainly I tell you, the hour comes, and now is, when the dead will hear the Son of God’s voice; and those who hear will live.
- John 11:25-26 (v9) Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. Whoever lives and believes…
- John 14:6 (v9) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.
- John 14:19 (v9) Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more; but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also.
- John 21:3-11 (v10) Simon Peter said to them, “I’m going fishing.” They told him, “We are also coming with you.” They immediately went out, and entered into…
- Acts 2:41 (v9) Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. There were added that day about three thousand souls.
- Acts 2:47 (v9) praising God, and having favor with all the people. The Lord added to the assembly day by day those who were being saved.
- Romans 8:2 (v9) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death.
- Genesis 2:9-10 (v7) Out of the ground Yahweh God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food, including the tree of life in the…
- Joshua 15:62 (v10) Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En Gedi; six cities with their villages.
- Joshua 23:4 (v10) Behold, I have allotted to you these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from the Jordan, with all the nations that…
- 1 Samuel 23:29 (v10) David went up from there, and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.
- 1 Kings 9:26 (v7) King Solomon made a fleet of ships in Ezion Geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.
- 2 Kings 2:13 (v7) He also took up Elijah’s mantle that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of the Jordan.
- Isaiah 11:6-9 (v8) The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, the calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf…
- Isaiah 49:9 (v8) saying to those who are bound, ‘Come out!’; to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves!’ “They shall feed along the paths, and their…
- Isaiah 49:20 (v10) The children of your bereavement will say in your ears, ‘This place is too small for me. Give me a place to live in.’
- Ezekiel 26:5 (v10) She will be a place for the spreading of nets in the middle of the sea; for I have spoken it,’ says the Lord Yahweh. ‘She will become…
- Matthew 13:15 (v8) for this people’s heart has grown callous, their ears are dull of hearing, they have closed their eyes; or else perhaps they might perceive…
- Acts 4:4 (v9) But many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
- Acts 5:14 (v9) More believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.
- Acts 6:7 (v9) The word of God increased and the number of the disciples greatly multiplied in Jerusalem. A great company of the priests were obedient to…
- Acts 21:20 (v9) They, when they heard it, glorified God. They said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have…
- 1 Corinthians 15:45 (v9) So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
61 distinct cross-references across this passage (62 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (17 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv7–10 Meaning, the multitude of them that should be refreshed…
Meaning, the multitude of them that should be refreshed by the spiritual waters.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv7–10 Eze 47:7 Now when I had returned, behold, at…
Eze 47:7 Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river [were] very many trees on the one side and on the other.
Ver. 7. Behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees.] These were trees of righteousness, fruitful Christians. Arboretum Christi est Ecclesia. The trees of Christ are the churches. See Psa 1:3; Psa 92:12 Isa 44:3-5; Isa 55:11-13 Jer 17:8 Rev 22:2, where and elsewhere it is easy to observe that John the Divine borroweth the elegancies and flowers of this and other prophets in his description of the Church Christian.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv7–10 In his first coming he observed no trees, and…
In his first coming he observed no trees, and no mention is made of any, but it seems he found them on his return: though they do not really so soon grow, they might be visionally there.
At the bank of the river, where usually, for delight and ornament, and for profit too, men plant trees. Very many trees; the kinds are not mentioned, though (he excellency of them is commended, Eze 47:12, but the multitude of them is mentioned, and the growth intimated, in the Hebrew; and perhaps the uniformity of them, which seemed as of one tree, for so it is, the singular number, in the Hebrew.
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On the one side and on the other; on the north and south sides, for the river ran from east to west.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv7–10 Now when I had returned,.... To the brink of…
Now when I had returned,.... To the brink of the river:
behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side, and on the other; here was a new wonder observed, which had not been before; and therefore this note of admiration, "behold!" is prefixed; on a sudden sprung up trees on each side of the river, of a perfect stature, and full of fruit; which the prophet had not seen when he went along with the man on the bank of it, as he measured the waters; but now being returned, sees this wonderful sight; an emblem of true Christians, believers, and regenerate persons, who are trees of righteousness, planted by the river of divine love; watered with the grace of God, and doctrines of the Gospel; whereby they become fruitful in good works, and are to be seen wherever the Gospel comes with power and efficacy; see Psa 1:3, or, "an exceeding large tree" (e); so John saw but one tree, which was on each side of the river, which he calls the tree of life, Rev 22:2, but here it seems to be put for many, as appears from Eze 47:12.
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(e) "arbor multa admodum", Cocceius, Starckius.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv8–10 The sea - The Dead-sea, or lake of Sodom.…
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.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv9–10 Verse 9. Every thing - whithersoever the rivers shall…
Verse 9. Every thing - whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live] Life and salvation shall continually accompany the preaching of the Gospel; the death of sin being removed, the life of righteousness shall be brought in.
There shall be a very great multitude of fish] On the above plan this must refer to genuine converts to the Christian faith; true believers, who have got life and salvation by the streams of God's grace. The apostles were fishers of men; converts were the fish caught. See below. As the waters flow into the DEAD Sea, where no fish, it is said, can live, its waters must be healed, that is, made capable of preserving life; and so its nature be thus far most surprisingly altered.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv8, 10 Eze 47:8-9. Then said he, These waters issue toward…
Eze 47:8-9. Then said he, These waters issue toward the east country — These waters are described as taking their course along the plain, or champaign country, (for that is the sense of the word here rendered desert,) toward the lake where Sodom formerly stood, called the Dead sea, and by Moses, the Salt sea: see Deu 3:17. Which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed — These living and salubrious streams, by mixing with the salt and brackish waters of the sea, shall render them wholesome and fit for use; finely representing the tendency of the gospel, and the healing virtue of divine grace, in curing the corruptions of human nature, and vices of mankind. And every thing that liveth, &c., whithersoever the river shall come, shall live — “Even in the Asphaltite lake, or Dead sea, which is so unfavourable to animal life. Josephus represents this lake as salt, and incapable of feeding fishes. Tacitus says, that it does not suffer fishes or water-fowl to live in it; yet Maundrell observed two or three shells of fishes on the shore. Bishop Pococke found its water very salt; and on tasting it, his mouth was constringed, as if it had been a strong alum water. The bishop observes, ‘It has been said by all authors, and is the common opinion, that there is no fish in this lake: the fresh water fish of the river Jordan probably would not live in it. After I left the Holy Land, it was positively affirmed to me, that a monk had seen fish caught in this water; and possibly there may be fish peculiar to this lake, for which this water may not be too salt: but this is a fact that deserves to be inquired into. The air about this lake has always been thought to be very bad.’ ‘The Dead sea,’ says Michaelis, ‘is more brackish than any known sea or salt-well in the world. It contains as much salt as water can dissolve, namely, the fourth part of the weight of the water: and this is the reason why neither men nor animals sink in the Dead sea. If you throw fishes into heavy water, they cannot swim, but fall immediately on their sides.’“ — Newcome. The reader who wishes to have farther information on this subject, may find it in Dr. Pococke and Dr. Shaw’s Travels, or the Encycl. Britan. on the word Asphaltites. Every thing shall live whither the river cometh — This signifies the wonderful and blessed efficacy of the gospel, when accompanied by the influence of the Holy Spirit, and received in faith and love: it communicates spiritual life to such as were before dead in trespasses and sins: it creates them anew in Christ Jesus unto all holy tempers, words, and works, such as God hath ordained that men should walk in them.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv7–10 Trees naturally flourish where there is abundance of water…
Trees naturally flourish where there is abundance of water Psa 1:3.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv8, 10 The. Hebrew, "the east country," (Protestants; Haydock) or "the…
The. Hebrew, "the east country," (Protestants; Haydock) or "the frontiers (Gelilah) eastward," by which some improperly suppose that one rivulet went to the sea of Galilee. --- And shall. Hebrew, "the sea of the going out," where the Jordan River empties itself into the Dead Sea; or, the second rivulet ran into the Mediterranean, Zacharias xiv. 8. But this passage relates to the Dead Sea alone, (ver. 18.) and Gelilah is a place near it, where the Israelites erected an altar of union, Josue xxii. 10. (Calmet) --- Healed. No fish can live in the sea of Sodom. (Solin xxxviii.) --- Yet, let the place be ever so noxious, this water shall cure it; (see 4 Kings ii. 19.; Calmet) which must be taken in a mystical sense. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv7–10 trees--not merely one tree of life as in Paradise…
trees--not merely one tree of life as in Paradise (Gen 3:22), but many: to supply immortal food and medicine to the people of God, who themselves also become "trees of righteousness" (Isa 61:3) planted by the waters and (Psa 1:3) bearing fruit unto holiness.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v9 9. The rivers — Literally, the two rivers. Either…
9. The rivers — Literally, the two rivers. Either an intensified double indicating the power of the stream, or, more probably, an indication that the holy Jordan unites with the temple stream in the work of healing the Salt Sea.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv7–10 7. Both banks of the wady, as is everywhere…
7. Both banks of the wady, as is everywhere seen, were covered with trees.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv7–10 (7) Very many trees.—In the corresponding vision of Rev_22:2…
(7) Very many trees.—In the corresponding vision of Rev_22:2 the same thought is symbolised by the “tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv7–10 Now when I had returned ynibeWvB is by the…
Now when I had returned ynibeWvB is by the best interpreters, after Gesenius ("Hebrew Grammar," 2), regarded as an incorrect form for ybiWvB (literally, in my returning), though Schroder adheres to the transitive sense of the verb, and translates," when I had turned myself," and Hitzig takes the suffix yni as a genitive of possession, and renders, "when he came back with me." In any case, on the return journey the prophet observed that at (or, on) the bank (or, lip) of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. Hitzig supposes the trees had not been there when the prophet made the down journey, but sprang up when he had turned to his guide (ver. 6), and stood with his back to the river. Kliefoth"s conclusion is better, that the trees had been there all the while, but that the prophet"s attention had not been directed to them. The luxuriant foliage of this vision reappears in that of the Apocalyptic river. (Rev_22:2)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv8–9 These waters . . . go down into the…
Eze_47:8
These waters . . . go down into the desert.
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Christ as a river in the desert
Though manhood seems to be a dry place, a salt and barren land, yet in the case of this Man it yields rivers of water,--numberless streams, abounding with refreshment.
I. Natures drought does not hinder Christs coming to men.
1. He came into the dry place of a fallen, ruined, rebellious world.
2. He comes to men personally, notwithstanding their being without strength, without righteousness, without desire, without life.
3. He flows within us in rivers of grace, though the old nature continues to be a dry and parched land.
4. He continues the inflowing of His grace till He perfects us, and this He does though decay of nature, failure, and fickleness prove us to be as a dry place.
III. Natures drought enhances the preciousness of Christ.
1. He is the more quickly discovered; as rivers would be in a desert.
2. He is the more highly valued; as water in a torrid climate.
3. He is the more largely used; as streams in a burning wilderness.
4. He is the more surely known to be the gift of Gods grace. How else came He to be in so dry a place? Those who are most devoid of merit are the more clear as to Gods grace.
5. He is the more gratefully extolled. Men sing of rivers which flow through dreary wastes.
III. Natures drought is most effectually removed by Christ. Rivers change the appearance and character of a dry place. By our Lord Jesus appearing in our manhood as Emmanuel, God with us,--
1. Our despair is cheered away.
2. Our sinfulness is purged.
3. Our nature is renewed.
4. Our barrenness is removed.
5. Our trials are overcome.
6. Our fallen condition is changed to glory.
IV. Our own sense of drought should lead us the more hopefully to apply to Christ. He is rivers of water in a dry place. The dry place is His sphere of action. Natures want is the platform for the display of grace.
1. This is implied in our Lords offices. A Saviour for sinners. A Priest who can have compassion on the ignorant, etc.
2. This is remembered in His great qualifications. Rivers, because the place is so dry. Full of grace and truth, because we are so sinful and false. Mighty to save, because we are so lost, etc.
3. This is manifested by the persons to whom He comes. Not many great or mighty are chosen. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. He calls the chief of sinners. In every case the rivers of love flow into a dry place.
4. This is clear from the object which He aimed at, namely, the glory of God, and the making known of the riches of His grace. This can be best accomplished by working salvation where there is no apparent likelihood of it, or, in other words, causing rivers to water dry places. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The purifying and transforming power of the Gospel
What a mercy it is that the Gospel does go into the desert. Think of what this island used to be, when our sires wandered about in their nakedness among its oak groves. Think of the times when the great wicker image was set up, and the Druids surrounded it, and that image was crammed full of hundreds of men and women, who were all to be consumed in one dread fire, while the people stood by to see their fellow creatures offered to their national Meloch. That is all over now. No longer is the mistletoe cut with the golden sickle, or the fierce deity appeased with blood of men. The missionary came and preached the Gospel; and the Druids ceased out of the land. They were both the legislature and the hierarchy, but they could not stand before the Divine truth. They were everybody then, but they are nobody now. I do not know what may happen here yet,. But I do know this, that when the Gospel comes, the images, the idols, the filthy things, the cruel and horrible things must go. The river of life purified Britain once, and it will cleanse it yet again. The waters shall be healed. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The waters shall be healed.
The modern Dead Sea, and the living waters
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, drear and dreadful, known by the suggestive name of the Dead Sea! This was the Chamber of Horrors of the land of Canaan. The world is a veritable Dead Sea upon a gigantic scale. Such also is the city in which we live: must I call it modern Sodom? Every wave that breaks upon the shore of this human lake now seems to wash up remains of monstrous things, unearthly, inhuman, beastly, devilish. London is a simmering cauldron of vice and crime. O God! how long shall it be? In certain respects such is every mans natural heart until he is renewed by grace. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, and may be well typified by the Sea of Death. If we could but look into it with such eyes as God hath, what should we not set? Thus the world, the city, the heart are each symbolised by the Dead Sea. Can they ever be purged? Can these waters be healed? According to our text, the Lord saith expressly, the waters shall be healed. Let us believe His promise, and take heart of hope from this good hour. Here is room, my brethren, for the faith which, like charity, believeth all things, hopeth all things.
I. And, first, to encourage your faith, I bid you to consider the promise.
1. We feel sure that this word of prophecy shall be accomplished to the letter in due time, because He that made the promise is able to fulfil it. What can resist the thunder of His word? Who shall stay His hand, or frustrate His design?
2. The Lord will fulfil this word thoroughly. This promise shall not be kept to the ear only, but it shall be fulfilled in the largest conceivable sense. What hosts have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb!
3. He will fulfil this word in connection with the present dispensation. To my mind this is clear enough, from the fact that these waters flowed forth from Mount Zion. From this I gather that our God means to use His church for His purposes of grace. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. We believe that He means to win His ultimate triumphs by the preaching of the Gospel.
4. Note, carefully, that this Divine promise, the waters shall be healed, will not put aside instrumentality, but when it is fulfilled it will call forth more abundant agencies. The waters run into the Dead Sea, and purify its waters; then fish begin to multiply, and then mans part comes in: The fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even into En-eglaim. You, slothful Christian men and women, who have never gone to sea in this fishery, will then be moved to the work, and will say, like Peter, I go a-fishing.
II. I invite you, next, to consider the wonder of the healing waters, that we may be helped thereby to believe that healing will come even to the Dead Sea of this present evil world, this present sinful Babylon, this present deceitful heart.
1. The wonders of the waters which Ezekiel saw lay in many things. First, consider whence they came. The healing waters flow from the throne of God and of the Lamb. As God is God, He hath decreed and purposed to redeem His people; and in that decree and purpose is the fountain of good to men. These waters flowed in the vision hard by the altar of burnt offering. Learn hence that the one channel of mercy to the sons of men is by the sacrifice of Christ. These waters, though they flowed unseen across the temple area, presently bubbled up from under the threshold of the door of the house. You know who is the Door of the temple of God: by Him we enter in unto God, and by Him God cometh forth in blessing unto us.
2. Note next, as a wonder in connection with these waters, how they increased. You and I have waded into these waters, have we not? If so, we know how they have increased upon us. Do you not see that the God who has done all this for you can do as much for others? Can He not heal the waters of the Dead Sea of our day?
3. Notice what these waters produced. They began to flow, and very soon vegetation came into the wilderness. They flowed into the desert, and into the Acacia Vale, as Joel calls it; and soon, on both sides of the river, there were trees, and, on a sudden, the trees were bearing fruit. Wherever the Gospel goes it carries life, and growth, and fruit with it.
4. As a further wonder, note whither the stream flowed. 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. What a mercy it is that the Gospel does go into the desert! Think of what this island used to be, when our sires wandered about in their nakedness among its oak groves.
III. Consider the efficacy of the waters. I will quit the figure in some measure in order to explain how the Gospel is adapted to heal the wickedness of men. What does the Gospel do? saith one. I answer, In the Gospel we set before men the horrible nature of sin, and thus we lead them to turn from it. The Gospel gives man a hope; and that is a grand thing for the degraded and self-condemned. To have a hope that you can be a better man is a great help in escaping from sin. The Gospel purifies men because it gives them Christ Himself to be their Saviour. It brings them the Son of God to be their salvation. Moreover, the Gospel does not merely tell men certain truths, but it gives life, and power, and grace to them. There comes with the Gospel a power almighty, which changes the nature of the man; touches his understanding, and enlightens it; touches his will, and changes it; touches his affections, and purifies them. This power is the Holy Ghost, equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son--nothing less than very God of very God. The power of the Gospel to cleanse this horrible Lake of Gomorrah lies in this: that it touches the heart, it moves the affections, it changes the nature, it renews the entire man. Moreover, it binds men in a holy brotherhood, and leads them back to their Father, and their God.
IV. The lesson of the waters. God works in very unexpected ways. The Lord knows how to do His own work, and He does it by apparently slender means.
2. As the Dead Sea has to be cleansed by that stream of water, all that we can do is, first of all, to pray, Spring up, O Well!
3. When we have done that, what next have we to do? Why, begin fishing. Go and fish in the streets, fish in the street corners, fish in any little room you can open, fish in the great crowds if they will come to you. The stream is breeding swarms of life; be ye fishers of men. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v9 Then it will happen
Then it will happen
See how you translated this in Ezekiel 21:7.
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En Gedi
This is the name of a very large spring on the western side of the Salt Sea. (See: How to Translate Names)
a place to dry out the fishing nets
"a place for people to dry out their fishing nets"
En Eglaim
This is the name of a large spring on the eastern side of the Salt Sea. (See: How to Translate Names)
translationWords
life
fishermen
kind
the sea
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v10 47:10 From En-gedi, a town on the west side…
47:10 From En-gedi, a town on the west side of the Dead Sea, to En-eglaim, a town on the east side, the Dead Sea would be brought from death to life. This water, so full of salt and other minerals that it is devoid of life, would teem with enough fish to support a major fishing industry.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.