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Ezekiel 36

Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel

1 “And you ^ason of man, prophesy to ^bthe mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. 2 Thus says the Lord God: Because ^cthe enemy said of you, ^d‘Aha!’ and, ‘The ancient ^eheights have become our possession,’ 3 therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God: Precisely because ^fthey made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and ^gyou became the talk and evil gossip of the people, 4 therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God to ^hthe mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys ⁱthe desolate wastes and the deserted cities, which have become ^ja prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around, 5 therefore thus says the Lord God: Surely I have spoken in ^kmy hot jealousy against the rest of the nations and ^lagainst all Edom, who ^mgave my land to themselves as a possession ⁿwith wholehearted joy and ^outter contempt, that they might make its pasturelands a prey. 6 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to ^pthe mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, Thus says the Lord God: ^qBehold, I have spoken in my jealous wrath, because you have suffered ^rthe reproach of the nations. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^sI swear that the nations that are all around you ^tshall themselves suffer reproach.

8 “But you, O mountains of Israel ^ushall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for ^vthey will soon come home. 9 For ^wbehold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and ^xyou shall be tilled and sown. 10 And ^yI will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. ^zThe cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt. 11 And I will multiply on you ^aaman and beast, and ^abthey shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in ^acyour former times, and ^adwill do more good to you than ever before. ^aeThen you will know that I am the Lord. 12 I will let people walk on you, even my people Israel. ^afAnd they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer ^agbereave them of children. 13 Thus says the Lord God: Because they say to you, ^ah‘You devour people, and you bereave your nation of children,’ 14 therefore you shall no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children, declares the Lord God. 15 And I will not let you hear anymore ^aithe reproach of the nations, and you shall no longer bear the disgrace of the peoples and no longer cause your nation to stumble, declares the Lord God.”

The Lord’s Concern for His Holy Name

16 The word of the Lord came to me: 17 ^aj“Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land ^akthey defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were ^allike the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. 18 So ^amI poured out my wrath upon them ^anfor the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols ^aowith which they had defiled it. 19 ^apI scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. ^aqIn accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. 20 But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, ^arthey profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, and yet they had to go out of his land.’ 21 But I had concern ^asfor my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came.

I Will Put My Spirit Within You

22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: ^atIt is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name ^auwhich you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 ^avAnd I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. ^awAnd the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 ^axI will take you ^ayfrom the nations and gather you from all the countries and ^azbring you into your own land. 25 ^baI will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from ^bball your uncleannesses, and ^bcfrom all your idols ^bdI will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you ^bea new heart, and ^bfa new spirit I will put within you. ^bgAnd I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 ^bhAnd I will put my Spirit within you, ^biand cause you to walk in my statutes and ^bjbe careful to obey my rules. ^{▼

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Or my just decrees} 28 ^blYou shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and ^bmyou shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 And ^bnI will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And ^boI will summon the grain and make it abundant and ^bplay no famine upon you. 30 ^bqI will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant ^brthat you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then ^bsyou will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 ^btIt is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.

33 “Thus says the Lord God: On the day that ^buI cleanse you from all your iniquities ^bvI will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. 34 And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. 35 And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like ^bwthe garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ 36 Then ^bxthe nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and ^byreplanted that which was desolate. ^bzI am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.

37 “Thus says the Lord God: This also ^caI will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: ^cbto increase their people like ^cca flock. 38 Like the flock for sacrifices, ^{▼

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Hebrew flock of holy things} ^celike the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so ^cfshall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. ^cgThen they will know that I am the Lord.”