When I arrived, I saw a great number of trees along both banks of the river.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now when I had returned, behold, on the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
- KJV Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
- NKJV When I returned, there, along the bank of the river, were very many trees on one side and the other.
- NASB Now when I had returned, behold, on the bank of the river there were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
- NLT When I returned, I was surprised by the sight of many trees growing on both sides of the river.
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
Many trees line both banks of the river. The water from God's sanctuary brings flourishing life along its course.
Overview
Returning, the prophet sees abundant trees on both sides of the stream, the first sign of the river's life-giving power. Barren land becomes fruitful where the water flows. This Eden-like restoration anticipates the trees of life by the river in the renewed creation, watered by God's presence (Rev. 22:2).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Ezek 47:12Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of all kinds will grow. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. Each month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will be used for food and their leaves for healing.”
- Rev 22:2down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
- 2 Kgs 2:13Elisha also picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah, and he went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.
- 1 Kgs 9:26King Solomon also assembled a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea.
- Gen 2:9–10Out of the ground the LORD God gave growth to every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. And in the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
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Christ at the center
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 47:7 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.