What Does Ezekiel 47:2 Mean?
Then he led me out by the way of the north gate, and around the outer way to the outer gate that faces east. And look, waters went out from the right side.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.THE KEY
The water’s first sign is not a river but an emergence: the guided detour brings a small flow at the house’s side into view.
THE MEANING
You are led along an outer route to the east-facing gate, where water trickles from the house’s right side. The flow is already present at the edge of the sanctuary, and the detour brings it into view.
THE ROOT
וַיּוֹצִאֵנִי
wayyotsi'eni
GROWS FROM
יצא
To go out, come forth, or emerge; in this form, to bring someone out.
“went out” in this verse is wayyotsi'eni. The guide’s first action is bringing the seer out, and this root also supplies words for an exit and an outlet. The water’s verb here is different, but the shared language of emergence echoes the scene: the seer is brought outward to where the trickle comes forth.
ALSO GROWS
motsa': An outlet, source, or place of going out.
מוֹצָא
This branch names a point of emergence, echoing the outer place where the water comes into view.
yetsi'ah: A going out or exit.
יְצִיאָה
It keeps the movement concrete: the seer is taken along an outward route toward the flow.
THE PATTERN
Life-giving water moves outward from the dwelling of God, turning its source into provision for what lies beyond.
Afterward he brought me back to the opening of the house, and look, waters went out from under the threshold of the house eastward, for the face of the house faced east. And the waters came down from under the right side of the house, from the south of the altar.And it will come to pass in that day, that the mountains will drip sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk, and all the channels of Judah will flow with waters, and a spring will come out of the house of the LORD, and will water the streambed of Shittim.And he points out to me a clean river of the waters of life, bright as crystal, flowing out from the throne of God and of the Lamb.THE THREAD
Afterward he brought me back to the opening of the house, and look, waters went out from under the threshold of the house eastward, for the face of the house faced east. And the waters came down from under the right side of the house, from the south of the altar.The preceding verse locates the source beneath the house’s threshold; this verse carries the seer around to the outer, east-facing gate and the house’s right side. Together they map the water’s emergence from the hidden threshold to a visible trickle.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us