Jezekiel 36

1 And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say to the mountains of Israel, Hear you the word of the Lord:

“But as for you, son of man, prophesy over the mountains of Israel, and you shall say: O mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord.

2 Thus says the Lord God; Because the enemy has said against you, Aha, the old waste places are become a possession for us:

Thus says the Lord God: Because the enemy has said about you: ‘It is well! The everlasting heights have been given to us as an inheritance!’

3 therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God; Because you have been dishonored, and hated by those round about you, that you might be a possession to the remainder of the nations, and you became a byword, and a reproach to the nations:

because of this, prophesy and say: Thus says the Lord God: Because you have been made desolate, and you have been trampled on every side, and you have been made into an inheritance for the remainder of the nations, and because you rose up, over the tip of the tongue and over the shame of the people,

4 therefore, you mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord; Thus says the Lord to the mountains, and to the hills, and to the streams, and to the valleys, and to [the places] that have been made desolate and destroyed, and to the cities that have been deserted, and have become a spoil and a trampling to the nations that were left round about;

because of this, O mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord God. Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, to the torrents, and to the valleys, and to the deserts, and to the ruins, and to the forsaken cities, which have been depopulated and ridiculed by the remainder of the nations all around:

5 therefore, thus says the Lord; Verily in the fire of my wrath have I spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Idumea, because they have appropriated my land to themselves for a possession with joy, disregarding the lives [of the inhabitants], to destroy [it] by plunder:

Because of this, thus says the Lord God: In the fire of my zeal, I have spoken about the remainder of the nations, and about all of Idumea, who have given my land to themselves, joyfully, as an inheritance, and with all the heart and mind, and who have cast it out, so that they may lay waste to it.

6 therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains, and to the hills, and to the valleys, and to the forests, Thus says the Lord; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my wrath, because you have borne the reproaches of the heathen:

Therefore, prophesy over the soil of Israel, and you shall say to the mountains, and to the hills, to the ridges, and to the valleys: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I have spoken in my zeal and in my fury, because you have endured the shame of the Gentiles.

7 therefore I will lift up my hand against the nations that are round about you; they shall bear their reproach.

Therefore, thus says the Lord God: I have lifted up my hand, so that the Gentiles, who are all around you, will themselves bear their shame.

8 But your grapes and your fruits, O mountains of Israel, shall my people eat; for they are hoping to come.

But as for you, O mountains of Israel, spring forth your branches, and bear your fruit, to my people Israel. For they are close to their advent.

9 For, behold, I am toward you, and I will have respect to you, and you shall be tilled and sown:

For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you will be plowed, and you will receive seed.

10 and I will multiply men upon you, [even] all the house of Israel to the end: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the desolate land shall be built upon.

And I will multiply men among you and among all the house of Israel. And the cities shall be inhabited, and the ruinous places shall be restored.

11 And I will multiply men and cattle upon you; and I will cause you to dwell as at the beginning, and will treat you well, as in your former [times]: and you shall know that I am the Lord.

And I will fill you again with men and with cattle. And they will be multiplied, and they will increase. And I will cause you to live as from the beginning, and I will give you even greater gifts than those you had from the start. And you shall know that I am the Lord.

12 And I will increase men upon you, [even] my people Israel; and they shall inherit you, and you shall be to them for a possession; and you shall no more be bereaved of them.

And I will lead men over you, over my people Israel, and they will possess you as an inheritance. And you shall be to them as an inheritance. And you shall no longer be permitted to be without them.

13 Thus says the Lord God: Because they said to you, You [land] devour men, and have been bereaved of your nation;

Thus says the Lord God: Because they are saying about you, ‘You are a woman who devours men, and you are strangling your own nation,’

14 therefore you shall no more devour men, and you shall no more bereave your nation, says the Lord God.

because of this, you shall no longer consume men, and you shall no longer harm your own nation, says the Lord God.

15 And there shall no more be heard against you the reproach of the nations, and you shall no more bear the revilings of the peoples, says the Lord God.

Neither will I permit men to discover in you the shame of the Gentiles any more. And you shall never again bear the reproach of the peoples. And you shall not send your people away any more, says the Lord God.”

16 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

17 Son of man, the house of Israel lived upon their land, and defiled it by their way, and with their idols, and with their uncleannesses; and their way was before me like the uncleanness of a removed woman.

“Son of man, the house of Israel lived on their own soil, and they defiled it with their ways and with their intentions. Their way, in my sight, became like the uncleanness of a menstruous woman.

18 So I poured out my wrath upon them:

And so I poured out my indignation upon them, because of the blood which they shed upon the land, and because they defiled it with their idols.

19 and I dispersed them among the nations, and utterly scattered them through the countries: I judged them according to their way and according to their sin.

And I dispersed them among the Gentiles, and they have been scattered among the lands. I have judged them according to their ways and their plans.

20 And they went in among the nations, among which they went, and they profaned my holy name, while it was said of them, These are the people of the Lord, and they came forth out of his land.

And when they walked among the Gentiles, to whom they had entered, they defiled my holy name, though it was being said about them: ‘This is the people of the Lord,’ and ‘They went forth from his land.’

21 But I spared them for the sake of my holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations, among whom they went.

But I have spared my holy name, which the house of Israel has defiled among the Gentiles, to whom they entered.

22 Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord; I do not this, O house of Israel, for your sakes, but because of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations, among whom you went.

For this reason, you shall say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: I will act, not for your sake, O house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have defiled among the Gentiles, to whom you entered.

23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the nations, which you profaned in the midst of them; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord, when I am sanctified among you before their eyes.

And I will sanctify my great name, which was defiled among the Gentiles, which you have defiled in their midst. So may the Gentiles know that I am the Lord, says the Lord of hosts, when I will have been sanctified in you, before their eyes.

24 And I will take you out from the nations, and will gather you out of all the lands, and will bring you into your own land:

Certainly, I will take you away from the Gentiles, and I will gather you together from all the lands, and I will lead you into your own land.

25 and I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be purged from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols, and I will cleanse you.

And I will pour clean water over you, and you shall be cleansed from all your filth, and I will cleanse you from all your idols.

26 And I will give you a new heart, and will put a new spirit in you: and I will take away the heart of stone out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh.

And I will give to you a new heart, and I will place in you a new spirit. And I will take away the heart of stone from your body, and I will give to you a heart of flesh.

27 And I will put my Spirit in you, and will cause you to walk in mine ordinances, and to keep my judgments, and do [them].

And I will place my Spirit in your midst. And I will act so that you may walk in my precepts and keep my judgments, and so that you may fulfill them.

28 And you shall dwell upon the land which I gave to your fathers; and you shall be to me a people, and I will be to you a God.

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

29 And I will save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and multiply it, and will not bring famine upon you.

And I will save you from all your filth. And I will call for grain, and I will multiply it, and I will not impose a famine upon you.

30 And I will multiply the fruit of the trees, and the produce of the field, that you may not bear the reproach of famine among the nations.

And I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you may no longer bear the disgrace of famine among the nations.

31 And you shall remember your evil ways and your practices that were not good, and you shall be hateful in your own sight for your transgressions and for your abominations.

And you shall remember your very wicked ways and your intentions, which were not good. And you will be displeased by your own iniquities and your own crimes.

32 Not for your sakes do I [this], says the Lord God, [as] it is known to you: be you ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.

It is not for your sakes that I will act, says the Lord God; let this be known to you. Be confounded and ashamed over your own ways, O house of Israel.

33 Thus says the Lord God; In the day wherein I shall cleanse you from all your iniquities I will also cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste [places] shall be built upon:

Thus says the Lord God: In the day when I will have cleansed you from all your iniquities, and when I will have caused the cities to be inhabited, and when I will have restored the ruinous places,

34 and the desolate land shall be cultivated, whereas it was desolate in the eyes of every one that passed by.

and when the deserted land will have been cultivated, which previously was desolate to the eyes of all who passed by,

35 And they shall say, That desolate land is become like a garden of delight; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are inhabited.

then they shall say: ‘This uncultivated land has become a garden of delight, and the cities, which were deserted and destitute and overturned, have been settled and fortified.’

36 And the nations, as many as shall have been left round about you, shall know that I the Lord have built the ruined [cities] and planted the waste [lands]: I the Lord have spoken, and will do [it].

And the Gentiles, those who remain around you, shall know that I, the Lord, have built up what was destroyed, and have planted what was uncultivated. I, the Lord, have spoken and acted.

37 Thus says the Lord God; Yet [for] this will I be sought by the house of Israel, to establish them; I will multiply them [even] men as sheep;

Thus says the Lord God: Even in this time, the house of Israel shall find me, so that I may act for them. I will multiply them like a flock of men,

38 as holy sheep, as the sheep of Jerusalem in her feasts; thus shall the desert cities be full of flocks of men: and they shall know that I [am] the Lord.

like a holy flock, like the flock of Jerusalem in her solemnities. So shall the deserted cities be filled with flocks of men. And they shall know that I am the Lord.”