Ezekiel 36

1 “And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD.

“And you, son of man, prophesy to mountains of Israel, and you have said, O mountains of Israel, hear a word of YHWH!

2 This is what the Lord GOD says: Because the enemy has said of you, ‘Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession,’

Thus said Lord YHWH: Because the enemy said against you, Aha! The high places of old have also become our possession,

3 therefore prophesy and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: Because they have made you desolate and have trampled you on every side, so that you became a possession of the rest of the nations and were taken up in slander by the lips of their talkers,

therefore, prophesy, and you have said, Thus said Lord YHWH: Because, even because, of desolating, And of swallowing you up from all around, For your being a possession to the remnant of the nations, And you are taken up on the tip of the tongue, And [are] an evil report to the people.

4 therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD. This is what the Lord GOD says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and abandoned cities, which have become a spoil and a mockery to the rest of the nations around you.

Therefore, O mountains of Israel, Hear a word of Lord YHWH! Thus said Lord YHWH, to mountains, and to hills, To streams, and to valleys, And to ruins that [are] desolate, And to cities that are forsaken, That have been for a prey, And for a scorn, to the remnant of the surrounding nations,

5 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Surely in My burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who took My land as their own possession with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, so that its pastureland became plunder.

Therefore, thus said Lord YHWH: Have I not, in the fire of My jealousy, Spoken against the remnant of the nations, And against Edom—all of it, Who gave My land to themselves for a possession, With the joy of the whole heart—with despite of soul, For the sake of casting it out for a prey?

6 Therefore, prophesy concerning the land of Israel and tell the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I have spoken in My burning zeal because you have endured the reproach of the nations.

Therefore, prophesy concerning the ground of Israel, And you have said to mountains, and to hills, To streams, and to valleys, Thus said Lord YHWH: Behold, I, in My jealousy and in My fury, have spoken, Because you have borne the shame of nations.

7 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I have sworn with an uplifted hand that surely the nations around you will endure reproach of their own.

Therefore, thus said Lord YHWH: I have lifted up My hand, Do the nations who [are] surrounding you not bear their own shame?

8 But you, O mountains of Israel, will produce branches and bear fruit for My people Israel, for they will soon come home.

And you, O mountains of Israel, You give out your branch, And you bear your fruits for My people Israel, For they have drawn near to come.

9 For behold, I am on your side; I will turn toward you, and you will be tilled and sown.

For behold, I [am] for you, and have turned to you, And you have been tilled and sown.

10 I will multiply the people upon you—the house of Israel in its entirety. The cities will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt.

And I have multiplied men on you, All the house of Israel—all of it, And the cities have been inhabited, And the ruins are built.

11 I will fill you with people and animals, and they will multiply and be fruitful. I will make you as inhabited as you once were, and I will make you prosper more than before. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

And I have multiplied man and beast on you, And they have multiplied and been fruitful, And I have caused you to dwell according to your former states, And I have done better than at your beginnings, And you have known that I [am] YHWH.

12 Yes, I will cause My people Israel to walk upon you; they will possess you, and you will be their inheritance, and you will no longer deprive them of their children.

And I have caused man to walk over you—My people Israel, And they possess you, and you have been their inheritance, And you no longer add to bereave them.

13 For this is what the Lord GOD says: Because people say to you, ‘You devour men and deprive your nation of its children,’

Thus said Lord YHWH: Because they are saying to you, You [are] a devourer of men, And you have been a bereaver of your nations,

14 therefore you will no longer devour men or deprive your nation of its children, declares the Lord GOD.

Therefore, you no longer devour man, And you do not cause your nations to stumble anymore, A declaration of Lord YHWH.

15 I will no longer allow the taunts of the nations to be heard against you, and you will no longer endure the reproach of the peoples or cause your nation to stumble, declares the Lord GOD.”

And I do not proclaim the shame of the nations to you anymore, And you no longer bear the reproach of peoples, And your nations do not stumble anymore, A declaration of Lord YHWH.”

16 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,

17 “Son of man, when the people of Israel lived in their land, they defiled it by their own ways and deeds. Their behavior before Me was like the uncleanness of a woman’s impurity.

“Son of man, The house of Israel are dwelling on their land, And they defile it by their way and by their doings, Their way has been as the uncleanness of a separated one before Me.

18 So I poured out My wrath upon them because of the blood they had shed on the land, and because they had defiled it with their idols.

And I pour out My fury on them For the blood that they shed on the land, And they have defiled it with their idols.

19 I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered throughout the lands. I judged them according to their ways and deeds.

And I scatter them among nations, And they are spread through lands, According to their way, and according to their doings, I have judged them.

20 And wherever they went among the nations, they profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, yet they had to leave His land.’

And one goes to the nations to where they have gone, And they defile My holy Name by saying to them, These [are] the people of YHWH, And they have gone forth from His land.

21 But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they had gone.

And I have pity on My holy Name, That the house of Israel has defiled Among the nations to where they have gone in.

22 Therefore tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: It is not for your sake that I will act, O house of Israel, but for My holy name, which you profaned among the nations to which you went.

Therefore, say to the house of Israel, Thus said Lord YHWH: I am not working for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy Name That you have defiled Among the nations to where you have gone in.

23 I will show the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when I show My holiness in you before their eyes.

And I have sanctified My great Name, That is profaned among the nations, That you have defiled in your midst, And the nations have known that I [am] YHWH, A declaration of Lord YHWH, In My being sanctified in you before your eyes.

24 For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all the countries, and I will bring you back into your own land.

And I have taken you out of the nations, And have gathered you out of all the lands, And I have brought you into your land,

25 I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.

And I have sprinkled clean water over you, And you have been clean; I cleanse you from all your uncleannesses, And from all your idols.

26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

And I have given a new heart to you, And I give a new spirit in your midst, And I have turned aside the heart of stone out of your flesh, And I have given a heart of flesh to you.

27 And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.

And I give My Spirit in your midst, And I have done this, so that you walk in My statutes, And you keep My judgments, and have done them.

28 Then you will live in the land that I gave your forefathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God.

And you have dwelt in the land that I have given to your fathers, And you have been to Me for a people, And I am to you for God.

29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will summon the grain and make it plentiful, and I will not bring famine upon you.

And I have saved you from all your uncleannesses, And I have called to the grain, and multiplied it, And I have put no famine on you.

30 I will also make the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field plentiful, so that you will no longer bear reproach among the nations on account of famine.

And I have multiplied the fruit of the tree, And the increase of the field, So that you do not receive a reproach of famine among nations anymore.

31 Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and abominations.

And you have remembered your ways that [are] evil, And your doings that [are] not good, And have been loathsome in your own faces, For your iniquities, and for your abominations.

32 It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD—let it be known to you. Be ashamed and disgraced for your ways, O house of Israel!

I am not working for your sake, A declaration of Lord YHWH, Be it known to you, Be ashamed and confounded, because of your ways, O house of Israel.

33 This is what the Lord GOD says: On the day I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be resettled and the ruins to be rebuilt.

Thus said Lord YHWH: In the day of My cleansing you from all your iniquities, I have caused the cities to be inhabited, And the ruins have been built,

34 The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through.

And the desolate land is tilled, Instead of which it was a desolation before the eyes of everyone passing by,

35 Then they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden. The cities that were once ruined, desolate, and destroyed are now fortified and inhabited.’

And they have said: This land, that was desolated, Has been as the Garden of Eden, And the cities—the dried up, And the desolated, and the broken down, [And the] fortified have remained.

36 Then the nations around you that remain will know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt what was destroyed, and I have replanted what was desolate. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it.

And the nations who are left around you have known That I, YHWH, have built the thrown down, I have planted the desolated: I, YHWH, have spoken, and I have done [it].

37 This is what the Lord GOD says: Once again I will hear the plea of the house of Israel and do for them this: I will multiply their people like a flock.

Thus said Lord YHWH: Yet this I am inquired of by the house of Israel to do for them: I multiply them as a flock of men,

38 Like the numerous flocks for sacrifices at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so the ruined cities will be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

As a flock of holy ones, as a flock of Jerusalem, In her appointed times, So the dried up cities are full of flocks of man, And they have known that I [am] YHWH!”