Ezekiel 36
Restoration of Israel’s Mountains
1 “Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. a 2This is what the Lord God says: Because the enemy has said about you, ‘Good! b The ancient heights c have become our possession,’ 3 therefore, prophesy and say: This is what the Lord God says: Because they have made you desolate and have trampled you from every side, so that you became a possession for the rest of the nations and an object of people’s gossip and slander, d 4 therefore, 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 plunder e and a mockery to the rest of the nations all around. 5“This is what the Lord God says: Certainly in My burning zeal I speak against the rest of the nations and all of Edom, f who took ▼▼Lit gave
My land as their own possession with wholehearted rejoicing and utter contempt h so that its pastureland became ▼▼Or contempt, to empty it of; Hb obscure
plunder. 6 Therefore, prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: This is what the Lord God says: Look, I speak in My burning zeal j because you have endured the insults of the nations. 7 Therefore this is what the Lord God says: I swear ▼▼Lit lift up My hand
that the nations all around you will endure their own insults. l 8 “You, mountains of Israel, will produce your branches m and bear your fruit for My people Israel, since their arrival is near. 9 Look! I am on your side; I will turn toward you, n and you will be tilled and sown. 10I will fill you with people, with the whole house of Israel in its entirety. o The cities will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. 11I will fill you with people and animals, p and they will increase and be fruitful. I will make you inhabited as you once were and make you better off than you were before. Then you will know that I am ▼▼Yahweh/Yah: Or The Lord; the personal name of God in Hebrew; "Yah" is the shortened form of the name.
Yahweh. r 12I will cause people, My people Israel, to walk on you; they will possess you, s and you will be their inheritance. You will no longer deprive them of their children. 13“This is what the Lord God says: Because people are saying to you, ‘You devour men and deprive your nation of children,’ t 14 therefore, you will no longer devour men and deprive your nation of children.” ▼▼Alt Hb tradition reads and cause your nation to stumble
This is the declaration of the Lord God. 15“I will no longer allow the insults of the nations to be heard against you, and you will not have to endure the reproach of the peoples anymore; v you will no longer cause your nation to stumble.” ▼▼Some Hb mss, Tg read no longer bereave your nation of children
This is the declaration of the Lord God. Restoration of Israel’s People
16 The word of the Lord came to me: 17 “Son of man, while the house of Israel lived in their land, they defiled it with their conduct and actions. x Their behavior before Me was like menstrual impurity. y 18So I poured out My wrath z on them because of the blood they had shed on the land, and because they had defiled it with their idols. 19I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered among the countries. aa I judged them according to their conduct and actions. ab 20When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned My holy name, ac because it was said about them, ‘These are the people of Yahweh, yet they had to leave His land in exile.’ 21Then I had concern for My holy name, ad which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they went. 22 “Therefore, say to the house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: It is not for your sake that I will act, ae house of Israel, but for My holy name, af which you profaned among the nations where you went. 23I will honor the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations – the name you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am Yahweh” – the declaration of the Lord God – “when I demonstrate My holiness through you in their sight. ag 24“For I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries, and will bring you into your own land. ah 25I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be ▼▼clean: When something is clean, it is holy or acceptable to God. When it is unclean, it is unholy (such as an unclean spirit). The term can be used in a ritual sense to apply to moral standards for living.
clean. aj I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. ak 26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; al I will remove your heart of stone ▼▼Lit stone from your flesh
and give you a heart of flesh. an 27I will place My Spirit within you ao and cause you to follow My statutes and carefully observe My ordinances. ap 28Then you will live in the land that I gave your fathers; aq you will be My people, and I will be your God. ar 29I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will summon the grain and make it plentiful, and will not bring famine on you. as 30I will also make the fruit of the trees and the produce of the field plentiful, so that you will no longer experience reproach among the nations on account of famine. 31“Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, at and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and detestable practices. au 32It is not for your sake that I will act” av – the declaration of the Lord God – “let this be known to you. Be ashamed and humiliated because of your ways, house of Israel! 33“This is what the Lord God says: On the day I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the ruins will be rebuilt. aw 34The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of everyone who passes by. 35Then they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden. ax The cities that were once ruined, desolate, and destroyed are now fortified and inhabited.’ 36Then the nations that remain around you will know that I, Yahweh, have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I, Yahweh, have spoken and I will do it. ay 37“This is what the Lord God says: I will respond to the house of Israel and do this for them: az I will multiply them in number like a flock. ▼▼Lit flock of people
38 So the ruined cities will be filled with a flock of people, just as the flock of sheep for sacrifice bb is filled ▼▼Lit the flock of consecrated things, as the flock
in Jerusalem during its appointed festivals. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.”
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