Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel

36 “And you, ^(A)son of man, prophesy to ^(B)the mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. ² Thus says the Lord God: Because ^(C)the enemy said of you, ^(D)‘Aha!’ and, ‘The ancient ^(E)heights have become our possession,’ ³ therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God: Precisely because ^(F)they made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and ^(G)you 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 ^(H)the mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, ^(I)the desolate wastes and the deserted cities, which have become ^(J)a prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around, ⁵ therefore thus says the Lord God: Surely I have spoken in ^(K)my hot jealousy against the rest of the nations and ^(L)against all Edom, who ^(M)gave my land to themselves as a possession ^(N)with wholehearted joy and ^(O)utter contempt, that they might make its pasturelands a prey. ⁶ Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to ^(P)the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, Thus says the Lord God: ^(Q)Behold, I have spoken in my jealous wrath, because you have suffered ^(R)the reproach of the nations. ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(S)I swear that the nations that are all around you ^(T)shall themselves suffer reproach.

⁸ “But you, O mountains of Israel, ^(U)shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for ^(V)they will soon come home. ⁹ For ^(W)behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and ^(X)you shall be tilled and sown. ¹⁰ And ^(Y)I will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. ^(Z)The cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt. ¹¹ And I will multiply on you ^(AA)man and beast, and ^(AB)they shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in ^(AC)your former times, and ^(AD)will do more good to you than ever before. ^(AE)Then you will know that I am the Lord. ¹² I will let people walk on you, even my people Israel. ^(AF)And they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer ^(AG)bereave 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 ^(AI)the 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, ^(AK)they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were ^(AL)like the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. ¹⁸ So ^(AM)I poured out my wrath upon them ^(AN)for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols ^(AO)with which they had defiled it. ^19 (AP)I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. ^(AQ)In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. ²⁰ But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, ^(AR)they 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 ^(AS)for 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: ^(AT)It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, ^(AU)which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. ^23 (AV)And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. ^(AW)And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. ^24 (AX)I will take you ^(AY)from the nations and gather you from all the countries and ^(AZ)bring you into your own land. ^25 (BA)I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from ^(BB)all your uncleannesses, and ^(BC)from all your idols ^(BD)I will cleanse you. ²⁶ And I will give you ^(BE)a new heart, and ^(BF)a new spirit I will put within you. ^(BG)And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ^27 (BH)And I will put my Spirit within you, ^(BI)and cause you to walk in my statutes and ^(BJ)be careful to obey my rules.^{[a] 28 (BK)}You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and ^(BL)you shall be my people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ And ^(BM)I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And ^(BN)I will summon the grain and make it abundant and ^(BO)lay no famine upon you. ^30 (BP)I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, ^(BQ)that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. ³¹ Then ^(BR)you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. ^32 (BS)It 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 ^(BT)I cleanse you from all your iniquities, ^(BU)I 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 ^(BV)the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ ³⁶ Then ^(BW)the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and ^(BX)replanted that which was desolate. ^(BY)I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.

³⁷ “Thus says the Lord God: This also ^(BZ)I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: ^(CA)to increase their people like ^(CB)a flock. ³⁸ Like the flock for sacrifices,^{[b] (CC)}like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so ^(CD)shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. ^(CE)Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Warning to the Rich

5 Come now, ^(A)you rich, weep and howl for the ^(B)miseries that are coming upon you. ^2 (C)Your riches have rotted and ^(D)your garments are moth-eaten. ³ Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. ^(E)You have laid up treasure ^(F)in the last days. ⁴ Behold, ^(G)the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and ^(H)the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of ^(I)the Lord of hosts. ^5 (J)You have lived on the earth in luxury and ^(K)in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in ^(L)a day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned and ^(M)murdered ^(N)the righteous person. He does not resist you.

Patience in Suffering

⁷ Be patient, therefore, brothers,^[a] until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives ^(O)the early and the late rains. ⁸ You also, be patient. ^(P)Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord ^(Q)is at hand. ⁹ Do not grumble against one another, brothers, ^(R)so that you may not be judged; behold, ^(S)the Judge is standing ^(T)at the door. ¹⁰ As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take ^(U)the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of ^(V)the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen ^(W)the purpose of the Lord, how ^(X)the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

¹² But above all, my brothers, ^(Y)do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

The Prayer of Faith

¹³ Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him ^(Z)sing praise. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, ^(AA)anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And ^(AB)if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore, ^(AC)confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, ^(AD)that you may be healed. ^(AE)The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.^{[b] 17} Elijah was a man ^(AF)with a nature like ours, and ^(AG)he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for ^(AH)three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. ^18 (AI)Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

¹⁹ My brothers, ^(AJ)if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone ^(AK)brings him back, ²⁰ let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering ^(AL)will save his soul from death and ^(AM)will cover a multitude of sins.