Ezekiel 36

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

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

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

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

3 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.

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.

4 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,

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.

5 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?

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.

6 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.

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.

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

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.

8 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.

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

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

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

10 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.

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.

11 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.

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.

12 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.

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.

13 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,

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

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

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

15 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.”

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.”

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

Another message from Lord came to me, saying,

17 “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.

“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.

18 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.

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

19 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.

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

20 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.

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.’

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

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.

22 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.

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.

23 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.

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.

24 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,

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.

25 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.

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.

26 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.

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.

27 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.

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

28 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.

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

29 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.

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.

30 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.

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.

31 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.

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

32 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.

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!

33 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,

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.

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

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

35 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.

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.’

36 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].

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.

37 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,

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.

38 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!”

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.”