Ezekiel 36
1 You human, prophesy about the mountains in Israel. Say to them, “You mountains in Israel, listen to what Yahweh says.
“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 This is what Yahweh the Lord says: Your enemies [happily] said about you, ‘Aha! The mountains in Israel that have existed for a long time have become ours!’”
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 about those mountains and say, “This is what Yahweh the Lord declares: [Armies of other nations] attacked you [DOU] from every direction, with the result that your land became abandoned, and people of other nations occupied you, and they spoke maliciously about you and slandered you.
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 in Israel, listen to this message from me. I, Yahweh the Lord, have something to say to the hills and mountains, to the ravines and valleys, to the deserted ruins and towns whose valuable possessions have been taken and their people ridiculed by the people of other nations around them. This is what I, Yahweh the Lord, declare: I am very angry [DOU] with the people of Edom and other nations; they have forced you [Israeli people] to endure them insulting you.
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:
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.
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, this is what I, Yahweh the Lord, say: Lifting up my arm, I solemnly declare that the people of the nations that are around you will also endure being insulted.
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 [I say to] you mountains in Israel that huge crops of fruit will grow on your trees for my Israeli people, because they will soon return home [from Babylonia].
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 I (am concerned about/will take care of) you, and I will bless you. I will [enable farmers to] plow the ground and plant seed there.
For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you will be plowed, and you will receive seed.
10 I will cause the number of people who live on you mountains and everywhere else in Israel to greatly increase. People will live in the towns and rebuild [houses where there are now only] ruins.
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 I will cause the number of people and domestic animals to increase. People will have many children [IDM, DOU]. I will enable people to live there like they did previously, and I will enable them to prosper like they did before. Then you will know that it is I, Yahweh, [who have the power to do what I say that I will do].
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 I will enable my Israeli people to walk through your mountains. They will own you; you will be their permanent possession. Never again will their children die.
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 This is also what I, Yahweh the Lord, say to you: People say that [only a small amount of food is produced on your mountains, and as a result the people of Israel] die from hunger.
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, I, Yahweh the Lord, declare that no longer will that happen.
because of this, you shall no longer consume men, and you shall no longer harm your own nation, says the Lord God.
15 No longer will the people of other nations ridicule you; no longer will they laugh at you; no longer will [the armies of] other nations conquer you. [That will surely happen because] I, Yahweh, have declared that it will happen.”
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 Yahweh gave me another message. He said,
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
17 “You human, when the Israeli people were living in their own land, they (defiled it/caused it to become unacceptable to me) by the things that they did. I considered that their behavior was [disgusting], like [SIM] the rags/cloths that women use during their monthly menstrual periods.
“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 severely punished [MTY] them, because they had murdered [MTY] many people and because they had defiled the land by [worshiping] idols there.
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 I caused them to be scattered among many nations [DOU]. I punished [MTY] them like they deserved to be punished because of their very evil behavior [DOU].
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 wherever they went among those nations, they caused my reputation [MTY] to be disgraced. What has happened is that the people in those countries said about the Israeli people, ‘They belong to Yahweh, but they were forced to leave the land that he [gave to them].’
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 was concerned about my reputation, which the people of Israel had disgraced among the nations to which they were forced to go.
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 Israeli people, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says: You Israeli people, it is not for your sake that I am going to do these things. Instead, it is for the sake of my sacred reputation, which you have disgraced among the nations to which you were forced to go.
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 I will show that my reputation is sacred, a reputation which you have disgraced among the nations to which you were forced to go. And when I show the nations that I am holy, the people of those nations will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].
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 What I will do is to bring you back from those nations. I will gather you from all the countries [to which you were forced to go], and bring you back to 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 [It will be as though] [MET] I will sprinkle clean water on you, and then you will be clean. I will cause you to be cleansed from everything that has defiled you, and I will cause you to stop worshiping idols.
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 I will give you a completely new way of thinking [IDM]. I will enable you to stop being stubborn [IDM], and I will enable you to obey me from your inner beings [IDM].
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 I will put my Spirit within you and enable you to carefully obey all my laws [DOU].
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 You will again live in the land that I gave to your ancestors. You will be my people, and I will be your 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 I will free you from all your disgraceful behavior. I will cause your grain to be plentiful, and I will not send a famine to you again.
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 I will cause your fruit trees to produce plenty of fruit and your ground to produce plenty of good crops, with the result that you will no longer be ridiculed by the people of other nations because of your not having enough food.
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 When that happens, you will think about your previous evil behavior and wicked deeds, and you will (be very displeased with/hate) yourselves for your sins and the detestable things that you did.
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 But I, Yahweh the Lord, declare that I want you to know that it is not for your sake that I will do those things. You Israeli people ought to be ashamed of your behavior.
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 This is also what I, Yahweh the Lord, say: At the time that I forgive you for all the sins that you have committed, I will enable you to live in your towns again and to build houses where there are now only ruins.
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 People who walk through your country will see that your land is again cultivated instead of (being desolate/having nothing growing in it).
and when the deserted land will have been cultivated, which previously was desolate to the eyes of all who passed by,
35 They will say, “This land that was ruined has become [very fertile/productive] like [SIM] the garden of Eden! The cities that were piles of ruins, empty and destroyed, now have walls around them, and people live in those cities.”
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 When that happens, the people in the nations that are around you that still exist will know that it is I, Yahweh, who have enabled you to rebuild what was destroyed, and to again plant crops in the fields that had nothing growing in them. I, Yahweh, have said [that it will happen], and I will cause it to happen.
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 This is also what I, Yahweh the Lord, say: Again I will heed what you Israeli people are pleading for me to do for you. I will cause your people to be as numerous as your 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 numerous as the flocks of sheep that will be needed for offerings in Jerusalem during your regular festivals. The cities that are now ruined will be filled with people, and then you will know that I, Yahweh the Lord, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].’”
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.”
