Ezekiel 36

1 “And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: Mountains of Israel, listen to this message from the Lord.

Also, you son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, All of you mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD:

2 This is what the Lord God says: The enemy said about you, ‘Aha! These old high places now belong to us,’

Thus says the Lord GOD; Because the enemy has said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession:

3 so you must prophesy and announce that this is what the Lord God says: They have turned you into a wasteland, attacking you from every direction, so that you became the property of other nations and people gossiped about you and slandered you.

Therefore prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord GOD; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that all of you might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and all of you are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an ill repute of the people:

4 So now, mountains of Israel, listen to the message from the Lord God. This is what the Lord God says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the deserted ruins and abandoned towns, that the other nations around you have looted and mocked.

Therefore, all of you mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about;

5 Yes, this is what the Lord God says: I have spoken passionately against these other nations, and against all the Edomites, who took over my country and made it theirs, happily celebrating as they looted the land and treated me with complete contempt.

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.

6 So prophesy concerning the country of Israel and tell the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, that this is what the Lord God says: Just watch, for I have spoken passionately about this because you have had to put up with this mockery from other nations.

Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because all of you have borne the shame of the heathen:

7 This is what the Lord God says: I hold up my hand and swear that the other nations around you will suffer their own shame.

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame.

8 But you, mountains of Israel, will grow trees that will produce fruit for my people Israel, for soon they'll be coming home.

But all of you, O mountains of Israel, all of you shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come.

9 Look, I am for you and I will help you. Your land will be ploughed, and crops will be sown.

For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and all of you shall be tilled and sown:

10 You will support the people of Israel as they return and grow in number. People will live in the towns again and rebuild the ruins.

And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be built:

11 The number of your people will grow— they will have many children. The animals too will have many young. I will make sure that you're inhabited just as you used to be, and I will make you more prosperous that you were before. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and all of you shall know that I am the LORD.

12 I will have my people Israel walk on you mountains. You will be theirs; you will belong to them, and you will no longer rob your nation of their children.

Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel; and they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no more henceforth bereave them of men.

13 This is what the Lord God says: Because people say to you, ‘You eat people, and rob your nation of their children,’

Thus says the Lord GOD; Because they say unto you, You land devour up men, and have bereaved your nations:

14 from now on you won't eat people or rob your nation of their children, declares the Lord God.

Therefore you shall devour men no more, neither bereave your nations any more, says the Lord GOD.

15 I'm going to stop these nations insulting you, and you won't have to put up with their taunts any more, or make the nation fall, declares the Lord God.”

Neither will I cause men to hear in you the shame of the heathen any more, neither shall you bear the reproach of the people any more, neither shall you cause your nations to fall any more, says the Lord GOD.

16 Another message from Lord came to me, saying,

Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

17 “Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their country, they made it unclean by the way they behaved, by what they did. The way they were behaving in my presence was like the ceremonial uncleanness of a woman's period.

Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman.

18 So I became angry with them because of murders they committed in the country, and because they made it unclean by worshiping idols.

Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it:

19 I scattered them among the different nations and countries. I judged them according to the way they had behaved and what they did.

And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.

20 But wherever they went among the nations, they ruined my reputation, because people said about them, ‘These are the Lord's people, but they had to leave his country.’

And when they entered unto the heathen, where they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land.

21 So I had to take care of my reputation for holiness which the people of Israel had ruined among the nations where they'd gone.

But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, where they went.

22 Tell the people of Israel that this is what the Lord God says: I'm not doing this for you, people of Israel, but for my reputation for holiness, which you ruined among the nations where you went.

Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus says the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which all of you have profaned among the heathen, where all of you went.

23 I will reveal the holy nature and importance of my reputation, which has been ruined among the nations, the reputation you have ruined among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when I reveal my holiness through you as they watch.

And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which all of you have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.

24 For I will bring you back from among the nations, gathering you from all the different countries, and I will lead you back into your own country.

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

25 I will also pour pure water over you, and you will be clean. I will wash you clean from all your uncleanness and from all your idols.

Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and all of you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

26 I will give you a new mind and I will put a new spirit inside you. I will take away your stubborn mind and I will give you a loving mind.

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

27 I will put my Spirit inside you so you will follow my laws and remember to do what I tell you.

And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and all of you shall keep my judgments, and do them.

28 Then you will live in the country I gave to your forefathers. You will be my people, and I will be your God.

And all of you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and all of you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

29 I will save you from everything that makes you unclean. I will make sure you have plenty of grain. I won't send you any famines.

I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.

30 I will also make sure you have good harvests from your orchards and fields, so that you won't be mocked by other nations anymore because of famine.

And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that all of you shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.

31 Then you will remember your evil ways and terrible things you've done, and you'll hate yourselves for your sins and disgusting actions.

Then shall all of you remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.

32 You need to realize that I'm not doing this for your sake, declares the Lord God. You should be ashamed and embarrassed for what you've done, people of Israel!

Not for your sakes do I this, says the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.

33 This is what the Lord God says: On the day I make you clean from all your sins, I will have you live in your towns again and make sure the ruins are rebuilt.

Thus says the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be built.

34 The land that was deserted will be cultivated again instead of looking abandoned to everyone passing by.

And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by.

35 Then they will say, ‘This deserted land is now like the garden of Eden. The towns that were demolished, abandoned, and destroyed have been restored and strengthened, and people are living in them.’

And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.

36 Then those nations around you that are left will acknowledge that I, the Lord, have rebuilt what was demolished, and that I have replanted what was destroyed. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will carry it out.

Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.

37 This is what the Lord God says: I will once again answer the prayers of the people of Israel. This is what I will do for them: I will have them increase in number like a flock.

Thus says the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.

38 Just like all the many flocks that are brought to Jerusalem to be sacrificed during the religious festivals, so the towns that were once demolished will be full of flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD.