And they that serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel.
Parallel translations
- WEB Those who labor in the city, out of all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it.
- BSB The workers of the city who cultivate it will come from all the tribes of Israel.
- NKJV The workers of the city, from all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it.
- NASB And the workers of the city, out of all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it.
- NLT Those who come from the various tribes to work in the city may farm it.
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
Workers drawn from all the tribes cultivate this land for the city. The whole community shares in supporting the city's life.
Overview
Laborers from every tribe, not just one, work the city's fields, making it a shared responsibility and benefit. This unites the tribes in common service to the central city. Such shared labor for the common good pictures the unity and mutual service that mark the people of God together.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- 1 Kgs 4:7–23And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision.
- Neh 11:1–36And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem: the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts to dwell in other cities.
- Ezek 45:6And ye shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and five and twenty thousand long, over against the oblation of the holy portion: it shall be for the whole house of Israel.
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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 48:19 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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