You are to divide it equally among them. Because I swore with an uplifted hand to give it to your forefathers, this land will fall to you as an inheritance.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall inherit it, one as well as another; for I swore to give it to your fathers: and this land shall fall to you for inheritance.
- KJV And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance.
- NKJV You shall inherit it equally with one another; for I raised My hand in an oath to give it to your fathers, and this land shall fall to you as your inheritance.
- NASB And you shall divide it for an inheritance, each one equally with the other; for I swore to give it to your forefathers, and this land shall fall to you as an inheritance.
- NLT Otherwise each tribe will receive an equal share. I took a solemn oath and swore that I would give this land to your ancestors, and it will now come to you as your possession.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The land is to be inherited equally, fulfilling God's sworn promise to the patriarchs. God keeps His covenant oath to give His people their inheritance.
Overview
Each tribe shares the land 'one as well as another,' grounded in the oath God swore to the fathers (Gen. 15; 17). The emphasis on equal inheritance and divine promise stresses God's faithfulness and impartiality. The certainty of an inheritance promised on oath anticipates the unshakable inheritance guaranteed to believers in Christ (Heb. 6:17-18).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Gen 12:7Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
- Ezek 20:5–6and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: On the day I chose Israel, I swore an oath to the descendants of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt. With an uplifted hand I said to them, ‘I am the LORD your God.’
- Ezek 48:29This is the land you are to allot as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel, and these will be their portions,” declares the Lord GOD.
- Gen 28:13And there at the top the LORD was standing and saying, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you now lie.
- Gen 17:8And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.”
- Gen 15:7The LORD also told him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
- Num 14:16‘Because the LORD was unable to bring this people into the land He swore to give them, He has slaughtered them in the wilderness.’
- Prov 16:33The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.
- Gen 13:15for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever.
- Deut 1:8See, I have placed the land before you. Enter and possess the land that the LORD swore He would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their descendants after them.”
- Ezek 20:42Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the land that I swore to give your fathers.
- Num 14:30Surely none of you will enter the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
- Gen 26:3Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.
- Ezek 20:28When I brought them into the land that I swore to give them and they saw any high hill or leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices, presented offerings that provoked Me, sent up their fragrant incense, and poured out their drink offerings.
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The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 47:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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