On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands.

However, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land I had given them—the most beautiful of all lands, flowing with milk and honey—

therefore I am about to give you to the people of the east as a possession. They will set up their encampments and pitch their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk.

“As the property of the city, you must set aside an area 1⅔ of a mile wide and 8⅓ miles long, adjacent to the holy donation of land. It will be for the whole house of Israel.

As the man went out east with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a third of a mile and led me through the water. It came up to my ankles.

Then he measured off a third of a mile and led me through the water. It came up to my knees. He measured off another third of a mile and led me through the water. It came up to my waist.

Again he measured off a third of a mile, and it was a river that I could not cross on foot. For the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed on foot.

“The remaining area, 1⅔ of a mile wide and 8⅓ miles long, will be for common use by the city, for both residential and open space. The city will be in the middle of it.