¹³ Thus says the Lord God: Because they say to you, ^(A)‘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 ^(B)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 (C)“Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, ^(D)they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were ^(E)like the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. ¹⁸ So ^(F)I poured out my wrath upon them ^(G)for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols ^(H)with which they had defiled it. ^19 (I)I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. ^(J)In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. ²⁰ But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, ^(K)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 ^(L)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: ^(M)It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, ^(N)which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. ^23 (O)And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. ^(P)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 (Q)I will take you ^(R)from the nations and gather you from all the countries and ^(S)bring you into your own land. ^25 (T)I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from ^(U)all your uncleannesses, and ^(V)from all your idols ^(W)I will cleanse you. ²⁶ And I will give you ^(X)a new heart, and ^(Y)a new spirit I will put within you. ^(Z)And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ^27 (AA)And I will put my Spirit within you, ^(AB)and cause you to walk in my statutes and ^(AC)be careful to obey my rules.^{[a] 28 (AD)}You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and ^(AE)you shall be my people, and I will be your God.