Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, August 2nd, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
Attention!
For 10¢ a day you can enjoy StudyLight.org ads
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!

Read the Bible

Christian Standard Bible ®

Ezekiel 47:9

Every kind of living creature that swarms will live wherever the river flows, and there will be a huge number of fish because this water goes there. Since the water will become fresh, there will be life everywhere the river goes.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Church;   Dead Sea;   Ezekiel;   Fish;   Gospel;   River;   Vision;   Thompson Chain Reference - Life, Water of;   Living Water;   Water;   Water of Life;   Wells;   The Topic Concordance - Living Waters;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Kidron or Cedron;   Sea;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Dead sea;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Amos, Theology of;   Create, Creation;   Drink;   Easton Bible Dictionary - River;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Zechariah, the Book of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Creature;   Fish, Fishing;   Fountain;   Water;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Fasting;   Moses;   Nations;   Priests and Levites;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - New Jerusalem;   Old Testament (Ii. Christ as Student and Interpreter of).;   River ;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Fish, Fishers, Fishing;   River;   Salt Sea;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Temple;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Fish;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Babylonish Captivity, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Ezekiel;   Fish;   River;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Eden, Garden of;   Esther, Apocryphal Book of;   New-Year for Trees;   Shittim;  

Devotionals:

- Faith's Checkbook - Devotion for September 24;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
It shall happen, that every living creature which swarms, in every place where the rivers come, shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters are come there, and [the waters of the sea] shall be healed, and everything shall live wherever the river comes.
King James Version
And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.
English Standard Version
And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes.
New American Standard Bible
"And it will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes, will live. And there will be very many fish, for these waters go there and the others become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes.
New Century Version
Everywhere the river goes, there will be many fish. Wherever this water goes the Dead Sea will become fresh, and so where the river goes there will be many living things.
Amplified Bible
"It will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes, will live. And there will be a very great number of fish, because these waters go there so that the waters of the sea are healed and become fresh; so everything will live wherever the river goes.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And euery thing that liueth, which moueth, wheresoeuer the riuers shal come, shal liue, and there shalbe a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be wholesome, and euery thing shall liue whither the riuer commeth.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"It will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes, will live. And there will be very many fish, for these waters go there and the others become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes.
Legacy Standard Bible
And it will be that every living creature, which swarms in every place where the river goes, will live. And there will be very many fish, for these waters go there and the other waters are healed; so everything will live where the river goes.
Berean Standard Bible
Wherever the river flows, there will be swarms of living creatures and a great number of fish, because it flows there and makes the waters fresh; so wherever the river flows, everything will flourish.
Contemporary English Version
Wherever this water flows, there will be all kinds of animals and fish, because it will bring life and fresh water to the Dead Sea.
Complete Jewish Bible
When this happens, swarms of all kinds of living creatures will be able to live in it wherever the streams flow; so that there will be a vast number of fish; for this water is flowing there, so that, wherever the river goes, everything will be restored and able to live.
Darby Translation
And it shall come to pass that every living thing which moveth, whithersoever the double river shall come, shall live. And there shall be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters shall come thither, and [the waters of the sea] shall be healed; and everything shall live whither the river cometh.
Easy-to-Read Version
This water flows into the Dead Sea so that the water in that sea becomes fresh and clean. There are many fish in this water, and all kinds of animals live where this river goes.
George Lamsa Translation
And it shall come to pass that every living creature that swarms wheresoever the torrent shall flow shall live; and there shall be many fish because of the waters that flow there and make the water fresh.
Good News Translation
Wherever the stream flows, there will be all kinds of animals and fish. The stream will make the water of the Dead Sea fresh, and wherever it flows, it will bring life.
Lexham English Bible
And then every living creature with which it teems, to every place the waters come it will live; and very many fish will live because these waters came there, and so the water will be healed and everything will be alive everywhere that the stream will come.
Literal Translation
And it shall be, every soul that lives, which swarms in every place , there where the two torrents go, that soul shall live. And there shall be very many fish, because these waters shallcome there. And they shall be healed. Andall shall live there where the torrent goes.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Yee all that liue and moue, where vnto this ryuer commeth, shal recouer. And where this water cometh, there shalbe many fysh. For all that commeth to this water, shall be lusty and whole.
American Standard Version
And it shall come to pass, that every living creature which swarmeth, in every place whither the rivers come, shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters are come thither, and the waters of the sea shall be healed, and everything shall live whithersoever the river cometh.
Bible in Basic English
And it will come about that every living and moving thing, wherever their streams come, will have life; and there will be very much fish because these waters have come there and have been made sweet: and everything wherever the river comes will have life.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And it shall come to pass, that every living creature wherewith it swarmeth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters are come thither, that all things be healed and may live whithersoever the river cometh.
King James Version (1611)
And it shall come to passe, that euery thing that liueth, which mooueth, whithersoeuer the riuers shall come, shall liue, and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed, and euery thing shall liue whither the riuer commeth.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Yea, all that liue and moue, whereunto this riuer commeth, shall liue: and there shalbe a very great multitude of fishe, because these waters shal come thither, for they shalbe holsome: and euery thing shall liue whyther the riuer commeth.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And it shall come to pass, that every animal of living and moving creatures, all on which the river shall come, shall live: and there shall be there very many fish; for this water shall go thither, and it shall heal them, and they shall live: everything on which the river shall come shall live.
English Revised Version
And it shall come to pass, that every living creature which swarmeth, in every place whither the rivers come, shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish: for these waters are come thither, and the waters of the sea shall be healed, and every thing shall live whithersoever the river cometh.
World English Bible
It shall happen, that every living creature which swarms, in every place where the rivers come, shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters are come there, and [the waters of the sea] shall be healed, and everything shall live wherever the river comes.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And ech lyuynge beeste that creepith, schal lyue, whidur euere the stronde schal come; and fischis many ynow schulen be, aftir that these watris comen thidur, and schulen be heelid, and schulen lyue; alle thingis to whiche the stronde schal come, schulen lyue.
Update Bible Version
And it shall come to pass, that every living creature which swarms, in every place where the rivers come, shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters have come there, and [the waters of the sea] shall be healed, and everything shall live wherever the river comes.
Webster's Bible Translation
And it shall come to pass, [that] every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.
New English Translation
Every living creature which swarms where the river flows will live; there will be many fish, for these waters flow there. It will become fresh and everything will live where the river flows.
New King James Version
And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes.
New Living Translation
There will be swarms of living things wherever the water of this river flows. Fish will abound in the Dead Sea, for its waters will become fresh. Life will flourish wherever this water flows.
New Life Bible
Every living thing that gathers where the river goes will live. There will be very many fish, because these waters go there and make the salt water clean. So everything will live where the river goes.
New Revised Standard
Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there. It will become fresh; and everything will live where the river goes.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And it shall come to pass that every living soul that swarmeth whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live, and the fish shall become a very great multitude; for these waters have come thither, that they may be healed so shall everything live whithersoever the river cometh.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And every living creature that creepeth whithersoever the torrent shall come, shall live: and there shall be fishes in abundance after these waters shall come thither, and they shall be healed, and all things shall live to which the torrent shall come.
Revised Standard Version
And wherever the river goes every living creature which swarms will live, and there will be very many fish; for this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes.
Young's Literal Translation
And it hath come to pass, every living creature that teemeth, whithersoever the streams come, doth live: and there hath been great abundance of fish, for these waters have come thither, and they are healed; and every thing whither the stream cometh hath lived.

Contextual Overview

1Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple and there was water flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the temple faced east. The water was coming down from under the south side of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. 2Next he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate that faced east; there the water was trickling from the south side. 3As 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. 4Then 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. 5Again 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. 6He asked me, “Do you see this, son of man?” Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 7When I had returned, I saw a very large number of trees along both sides of the riverbank. 8He said to me, “This water flows out to the eastern region and goes down to the Arabah. When it enters the sea, the sea of foul water, the water of the sea becomes fresh. 9Every kind of living creature that swarms will live wherever the river flows, and there will be a huge number of fish because this water goes there. Since the water will become fresh, there will be life everywhere the river goes. 10Fishermen will stand beside it from En-gedi to En-eglaim. These will become places where nets are spread out to dry. Their fish will consist of many different kinds, like the fish of the Mediterranean Sea.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

every thing: John 3:16, John 11:26

rivers: Heb. two rivers, Psalms 78:16

shall live: John 5:25, John 6:63, John 11:25, John 14:6, John 14:19, Romans 8:2, 1 Corinthians 15:45, Ephesians 2:1-5

a very great: Isaiah 49:12, Isaiah 60:3-10, Zechariah 2:11, Zechariah 8:21-23, Acts 2:41, Acts 2:47, Acts 4:4, Acts 5:14, Acts 6:7, Acts 21:20, Greek

for they: Exodus 15:26, Psalms 103:3, Isaiah 30:26

Reciprocal: Matthew 4:19 - I will Luke 5:10 - from

Cross-References

Genesis 5:27
So Methuselah’s life lasted 969 years; then he died.
Genesis 11:11
After he fathered Arpachshad, Shem lived 500 years and fathered other sons and daughters.
Genesis 35:28
Isaac lived 180 years.
Genesis 47:3
And Pharaoh asked his brothers, “What is your occupation?”
Genesis 47:7
Joseph then brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
Genesis 47:8
Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many years have you lived?”
Genesis 47:9
Jacob said to Pharaoh, “My pilgrimage has lasted 130 years. My years have been few and hard, and they have not reached the years of my fathers during their pilgrimages.”
Genesis 47:12
And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s family with food for their dependents.
Genesis 47:16
But Joseph said, “Give me your livestock. Since the silver is gone, I will give you food in exchange for your livestock.”
Genesis 47:17
So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks of sheep, the herds of cattle, and the donkeys. That year he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And it shall come to pass that everything that liveth, which moveth,.... That is, every living man; everyone that lives naturally or corporeally, that lives, moves, and has his being in God, as all men have, Acts 17:28,

whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live; or, "the two rivers" i; the waters divided as before, east and west; not the two Testaments, Old and New; nor the two ordinances of baptism and the Lord's supper; but the Gospel, which, wherever it shall come with power, and to whomsoever it so comes, they shall live spiritually; not to whomsoever it is preached, for to some it is not profitable; see

Ezekiel 47:11, but is the savour of death unto death; but to all to whom it is accompanied by the Spirit of God it is the savour of life unto life; the Spirit that gives life, and is the means of it: indeed, the love of God is the river of water of life, Revelation 21:1, it is the spring of spiritual life to dead sinners, and what revives drooping saints, quickens their graces, faith, hope, and love; enlivens and cheers their spirits, and greatly influences true religion and godliness, and very much promotes the life and power of it: and so the grace of the Spirit is living water, by which dead sinners are quickened; the work of grace in saints is revived, and which always continues and issues in eternal life, John 4:10, but the Gospel, and its doctrines, are rather intended; which are the means of quickening those who are dead in trespasses and sins; serve greatly to invigorate the graces of the Spirit in the hearts of God's people; to influence their lives and conversations; to support them under afflictions, and to nourish them up to everlasting life; and point out the way to eternal life, and give a true account of it.

And there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither; that is, a multitude of fish in the Dead sea, where none lived before, and owing to those waters coming thither: it signifies the great number of living Christians, true believers, who shall appear wherever the Gospel is truly, purely, and powerfully preached; of these see more in the next verse:

for they shall be healed; John 4:10- ::

and everything shall live whither the river cometh; not only shall live as before, but continue to live, shall never die; their graces shall not die, nor shall they themselves die the second death, but shall have eternal life; because of the purpose of God, who has ordained them to it; and the promise of God, who is faithful to it; and because of the security of their life in Christ, to whom they are united; and because of the indwelling of the Spirit of life in them. So the Targum,

"they shall remain in every place where the waters of the river come.''

i נחלים "duo torrentes", Pagninus, Montanus; "geminus torrens", Tigurine version, Cocceius; "fluvius geminus", Starckius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The rivers - literally, as in the margin. Perhaps with reference to the circumstance that this “brook or river” is to come into the Dead Sea through the same plain as the Jordan. The one river (Jordan) always flowed, but now, when another river comes in, and “two rivers” flow into the sea, the waters shall be healed.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ezekiel 47:9. Every thing - whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall liveLife and salvation shall continually accompany the preaching of the Gospel; the death of sin being removed, the life of righteousness shall be brought in.

There shall be a very great multitude of fish — On the above plan this must refer to genuine converts to the Christian faith; true believers, who have got life and salvation by the streams of God's grace. The apostles were fishers of men; converts were the fish caught. See below. As the waters flow into the DEAD Sea, where no fish, it is said, can live, its waters must be healed, that is, made capable of preserving life; and so its nature be thus far most surprisingly altered.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile