Ezekiel 36:1–24

Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel

36 “And you, ison of man, prophesy to jthe mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. 2 Thus says the Lord God: Because kthe enemy said of you, l‘Aha!’ and, ‘The ancient mheights have become our possession,’ 3 therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God: Precisely because nthey made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and oyou 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 pthe mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, qthe desolate wastes and the deserted cities, which have become ra prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around, 5 therefore thus says the Lord God: Surely I have spoken in smy hot jealousy against the rest of the nations and tagainst all Edom, who ugave my land to themselves as a possession vwith wholehearted joy and wutter contempt, that they might make its pasturelands a prey. 6 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to jthe mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, Thus says the Lord God: xBehold, I have spoken in my jealous wrath, because you have suffered ythe reproach of the nations. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: zI swear that the nations that are all around you yshall themselves suffer reproach.

8 “But you, O mountains of Israel, ashall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for bthey will soon come home. 9 For cbehold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and dyou shall be tilled and sown. 10 And eI will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. fThe cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt. 11 And I will multiply on you gman and beast, and hthey shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in iyour former times, and jwill do more good to you than ever before. kThen you will know that I am the Lord. 12 I will let people walk on you, even my people Israel. lAnd they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer mbereave them of children. 13 Thus says the Lord God: Because they say to you, n‘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 ythe 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 o“Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, pthey defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were qlike the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. 18 So rI poured out my wrath upon them sfor the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols twith which they had defiled it. 19 uI scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. vIn accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. 20 But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, wthey 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 xfor 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: yIt is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, wwhich you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 zAnd I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. aAnd the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 bI will take you cfrom the nations and gather you from all the countries and dbring you into your own land.