Ezekiel 36

1 “Now you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, 'Mountains of Israel, listen to the word of Yahweh.

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

2 The Lord Yahweh says this: The enemy has said about you, “Aha!” and “The ancient high places have become our possession.”'

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

3 Therefore prophesy and say, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Because of your desolation and because of the attacks that came on you from all sides, you have become a possession of the other nations; you have been the subject of slanderous lips and tongues, and of people's stories.

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,

4 Therefore, mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord Yahweh: The Lord Yahweh says this to the mountains and the high hills, to the streambeds and valleys, to the uninhabited desolations and the forsaken cities that have become plunder and a subject of mocking for the other nations that surround them—

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.

5 therefore the Lord Yahweh says this: I have certainly spoken in the fire of my fury against the other nations, against Edom and all who took my land for themselves as a possession, against all those who had both joy in their heart and disdain in their spirit, as they seized my land that they might claim its pasturelands for themselves.'

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.

6 Therefore, prophesy to the land of Israel and say to the mountains and to the high hills, to the streambeds and to the valleys, 'the Lord Yahweh says this: Behold! In my fury and in my anger I am declaring this because you have borne the insults of nations.

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.

7 Therefore, the Lord Yahweh says this: I myself will lift up my hand to swear that the nations that surround you will certainly carry their own shame.

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.

8 But you, mountains of Israel, you will grow branches and bear fruit for my people Israel, since they will soon come back to you.

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

9 For behold, I am for you, and I treat you with favor; you will be plowed and sown with seed.

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

10 So I will multiply upon you the number of your people, even the whole house of Israel. The cities will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt.

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

11 I will multiply man and beast on you mountains so that they will multiply and be fruitful. Then I will cause you to be inhabited as you previously were, and I will make you prosper more than you did in the past, for you will know that I am Yahweh.

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.

12 I will bring men, my people Israel, to walk on you. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance, and you will no longer cause their children to die.

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.

13 The Lord Yahweh says this: Because they are saying to you, “You devour men, bereaving your nation of children,”

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

14 therefore you will not consume people any longer, and you will no longer make your nation mourn their deaths. This is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

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

15 Nor will I allow you to hear the insults of the nations any longer; you will no longer have to bear the shame of the peoples or cause your nation to fall—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'”

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.”

16 Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

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

17 “Son of man, when the house of Israel inhabited their land, they defiled it with their ways and their deeds. Their ways were like the unclean menstruation of a woman before me.

“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.

18 So I poured out my fury against them for the blood that they poured out on the land and for their pollution of it by their idols.

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.

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

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

20 Then they went to the nations, and wherever they went, they profaned my holy name when people said of them, 'Are these really the people of Yahweh? For they have been thrown out of his land.'

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.’

21 But I had compassion for my holy name that the house of Israel had defiled among the nations, when they went there.

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

22 Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: I am not doing this for your sake, house of Israel, but for my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations everywhere you have gone.

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.

23 For I will make my great name holy, which you have profaned among the nations—in the midst of the nations, you profaned it. Then the nations will know that I am Yahweh—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—when you see that I am holy.

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.

24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from every land, and I will bring you to your land.

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.

25 Then I will sprinkle pure water on you so you will be purified from all of your impurities, and I will purify you from all of your idols.

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.

26 I will give you a new heart and a new spirit in your innermost parts, and I will take away the heart of stone from your flesh. For I will give you a heart of flesh.

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.

27 I will set my Spirit in you and enable you to walk in my statutes and keep my decrees, so you will do them.

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

28 Then you will inhabit the land that I gave to your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.

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

29 For I will save you from all of your uncleanness. I will summon the grain and multiply it. I will no longer put famine upon you.

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.

30 I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field so that you will no longer bear the shame of famine among the nations.

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.

31 Then you will think of your wicked ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will show loathing on your faces because of your own sins and your disgusting deeds.

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

32 I am not doing this for your sake—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—let this be known to you. So be ashamed and disgraced because of your ways, house of Israel.

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!

33 The Lord Yahweh says this: On the day that I purify you from all your iniquity, I will cause you to inhabit the cities and to rebuild the ruined places.

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.

34 For you will plow the ruined land until it is no longer a ruin before the eyes of all who pass by.

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

35 Then they will say, “This land was desolate, but it has become like the garden of Eden; the desolate cities and the uninhabited ruins that were torn down are now fortified and inhabited.”

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.’

36 Then the other nations around you will know that I am Yahweh, that I built up the ruins and replanted the abandoned places. I am Yahweh. I have declared it and I will do it.

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.

37 The Lord Yahweh says this: Again I will be asked by the house of Israel to do this for them, to increase them like a flock of people.

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.

38 Like the flock is set apart for sacrifices, like the flock in Jerusalem at her appointed feasts, so will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people and they will know that I am Yahweh.'”

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.”