Ezekiel 11:14–21

The Promise of Israel’s Return

14 The word of the Lord came to me: 15 “Son of man, the people of Jerusalem have said of your fellow exiles and all the other Israelites, ‘They are far away from the Lord; this land was given to us as our possession.’e

16 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuaryf for them in the countries where they have gone.’

17 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.’g

18 “They will return to it and remove all its vile imagesh and detestable idols.i 19 I will give them an undivided heartj and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stonek and give them a heart of flesh.l 20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.m They will be my people,n and I will be their God.o 21 But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols,p I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.q”