Ezekiel 45:8

This land will be his possession in Israel. And My princes will no longer oppress My people, but will give the rest of the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — God declares the future land allocation to the princes of Israel within a visionary blueprint for post-exilic territory. The statement follows a detailed description of the prince's allotted borderlands and precedes a direct command to halt princely violence.

The words — The text employs יִהְיֶה (yih.yeh) meaning "it will belong" and יוֹנוּ (yo.nu) meaning "they will oppress." These verbs establish the prince's legal land claim and the termination of his former pattern of dispossession.

The thread — The restriction on princely power reappears in Ezekiel 46:18, which explicitly forbids the ruler from evicting citizens from their property. Joshua 11:23 and Isaiah 11:3 frame the broader biblical pattern of land distribution and impartial leadership.

Why it lands — The passage requires political leaders to relinquish exploitative control and transfer territory to Israel's tribes according to established inheritance. It sets a concrete limit on authority to prevent the displacement of the governed.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

לָאָ֛רֶץla./'A.retzto the/ land יִֽהְיֶה־yih.yeh-it will belongלּ֥וֹl/oto/ himלַֽאֲחֻזָּ֖הla./'a.chu.Zahto/ a possession בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑לbe./Yis.ra.'Elin/ Israel וְלֹא־ve./lo'-and/ not יוֹנ֨וּyo.Nuthey will oppress ע֤וֹדodagain נְשִׂיאַי֙ne.si.'A/iprinces/ my אֶת־'et-<obj.>עַמִּ֔י'a.M/ipeople/ my וְהָאָ֛רֶץve./ha./'A.retzand/ the/ land יִתְּנ֥וּyi.te.Nuthey will give לְבֵֽית־le./veit-to/ [the] house of יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לYis.ra.'ElIsrael לְשִׁבְטֵיהֶֽם׃ סle./shiv.tei./Hemto/ tribes/ their

King James Version

In the land shall be his possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more oppress my people; and the rest of the land shall they give to the house of Israel according to their tribes.

Cross-references

Isaiah 11:3 And He will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what His eyes see, and He will not decide by what His ears hear,
Ezekiel 46:18 The prince must not take any of the inheritance of the people by evicting them from their property. He is to provide an inheritance for his sons from his own property, so that none of My people will be displaced from his property.’”
Joshua 11:23 So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to the allotments to their tribes. Then the land had rest from war.
Jeremiah 23:5 Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
Ezekiel 22:27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.
Proverbs 28:16 A leader who lacks judgment is also a great oppressor, but he who hates dishonest profit will prolong his days.
Isaiah 32:1 Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice.
Isaiah 60:17 Instead of bronze I will bring you gold; I will bring silver in place of iron, bronze instead of wood, and iron instead of stones. I will appoint peace as your governor and righteousness as your ruler.
Jeremiah 22:17 “But your eyes and heart are set on nothing except your own dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing extortion and oppression.”
Ezekiel 19:3 She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a young lion. After learning to tear his prey, he devoured men.