Ezekiel 36

The Mountains of Israel to Be Blessed

1“And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. 2Thus says the Lord 1God, “Because the enemy has spoken against you, ‘Aha!’ and, ‘The everlasting 23heights have become our possession,’ 3therefore prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “4For good reason they have made you 5desolate and crushed you from every side, that you would become a possession of the rest of the nations and you have been taken up in the 67talk and the whispering of the people.”’” 4Therefore, O 8mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. Thus says the Lord God to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes and to the forsaken cities which have become a 9prey and a derision to the rest of the nations which are round about, 5therefore thus says the Lord God, “Surely in the fire of My 10jealousy I have spoken against the 11rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who 12appropriated My land for themselves as a possession with wholehearted 13joy and with scorn of soul, to drive it out for a prey.” 6Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, “Thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and in My wrath because you have 14endured the insults of the nations.’ 7Therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘I have 15sworn that surely the nations which are around you will themselves endure their insults. 8But you, O mountains of Israel, you will 16put forth your branches and bear your fruit for My people Israel; for they will soon come. 9For, behold, I am for you, and I will 17turn to you, and you will be 18cultivated and sown. 10I will multiply men on you, 19all the house of Israel, all of it; and the 20cities will be inhabited and the waste places will be rebuilt. 11I will multiply on you man and beast; and they will increase and be fruitful; and I will cause you to be inhabited as you were 21formerly and will 22treat you 23better than at the first. Thus you will know that I am the Lord. 12Yes, I will cause 24men--My people Israel--to walk on you and possess you, so that you will become their 25inheritance and never again 26bereave them of children.’

13“Thus says the Lord God, ‘Because they say to you, “You are a 27devourer of men and have bereaved your 28nation of children,” 14therefore you will no longer devour men and no longer bereave your nation of children,’ declares the Lord God. 15I will not let you hear 29insults from the nations anymore, nor will you bear 30disgrace from the peoples any longer, nor will you cause your nation to 31stumble any longer,” declares the Lord God.’”

16Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, 17“Son of man, when the house of Israel was living in their own land, they 32defiled it by their ways and their deeds; their way before Me was like 33the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity. 18Therefore I 34poured out My wrath on them for the blood which they had shed on the land, because they had defiled it with their idols. 19Also I 35scattered them among the nations and they were dispersed throughout the lands. 36According to their ways and their deeds I judged them. 20When they came to the nations where they went, they 37profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, ‘These are the 38people of the Lord; yet they have come out of His land.’ 21But I had 39concern for My 40holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went.

Israel to Be Renewed for His Name’s Sake

22“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “It is 41not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. 23I will 42vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the 43nations will know that I am the Lord,” declares the Lord God, “when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. 24For I will 44take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. 25Then I will 45sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your 46filthiness and from all your 47idols. 26Moreover, I will give you a 48new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the 49heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27I will 50put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. 28You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be 51My people, and I will be your God. 29Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I 52will not 53bring a famine on you. 30I will 54multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31Then you will 55remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and your abominations. 32I am not doing this 56for your sake,” declares the Lord God, “let it 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 I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the 57cities to be inhabited, and the 58waste places will be rebuilt. 34The desolate land will be cultivated instead of being a desolation in the sight of everyone who passes by. 35They will say, ‘This desolate land has become like the 59garden of Eden; and the waste, desolate and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.’ 36Then the nations that are left round about you will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted that which was desolate; I, the Lord, have spoken and 60will do it.”

37‘Thus says the Lord God, “This also I will let the house of Israel ask Me to do for them: I will increase their men like a flock. 38Like the 61flock 62for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so will the waste cities be filled with 63flocks of men. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”’”