The Mountains of Israel to Be Blessed

36 “Now you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, ‘You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. ² This is what the Lord ^[a]God says: “Since the enemy has spoken against you, ‘Aha!’ and, ‘The everlasting ^[b](A)heights have become our possession,’ ³ therefore prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “^[c]For good reason they have made you ^(B)desolate and harassed you from every side, so that you would become a possession of the rest of the nations; and you have been taken up in the ^[d](C)talk and the rumor of the people.”’” ⁴ Therefore, you ^(D)mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. This is what the Lord God says to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, to the desolate ruins and to the abandoned cities which have become ^(E)plunder and an object of ridicule to the rest of the nations which are all around— ⁵ therefore the Lord God says this: “Certainly in the fire of My ^(F)jealousy I have spoken against the ^(G)rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who ^[e]appropriated My land for themselves as a possession with wholehearted ^(H)joy and with contempt of soul, in order to make its pastureland plunder.” ⁶ Therefore prophesy in regard to the land of Israel and say to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, “This is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and in My wrath because you have ^(I)endured the insults of the nations.’ ⁷ Therefore the Lord God says this: ‘I have ^[f]sworn that the nations that are around you will certainly endure their insults themselves. ⁸ But as for you, mountains of Israel, you will ^[g](J)grow your branches and bear fruit for My people Israel; for they are about to come. ⁹ For, behold, I am for you, and I will ^(K)turn to you, and you will be ^(L)cultivated and sown. ¹⁰ And I will multiply people on you, ^(M)all the house of Israel, all of it; and the ^(N)cities will be inhabited and the ruins will be rebuilt. ¹¹ I will multiply on you people and animals, and they will increase and be fruitful; and I will populate you as you were ^(O)previously, and treat you ^(P)better than at the beginning. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ¹² Yes, I will have ^(Q)people—My people Israel—walk on you and possess you, so that you will become their ^(R)inheritance and never again ^(S)bereave them of children.’

¹³ “The Lord God says this: ‘Since they say to you, “You are a ^(T)devourer of people and have bereaved your nation of children,” ¹⁴ for that reason you will no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children,’ declares the Lord God. ¹⁵ I will not let you hear ^(U)insults from the nations anymore, nor will you suffer ^(V)disgrace from the peoples any longer, nor will you make your nation ^(W)stumble any longer,” declares the Lord God.’”

¹⁶ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁷ “Son of man, when the house of Israel was living on their own land, they ^(X)defiled it by their ways and their deeds; their way before Me was like ^(Y)the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity. ¹⁸ Therefore I ^(Z)poured out My wrath on them for the blood which they had shed on the land, because they had defiled it with their idols. ¹⁹ I also ^(AA)scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the lands. ^(AB)According to their ways and their deeds I judged them. ²⁰ When they came to the nations where they went, they ^(AC)profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, ‘These are the ^(AD)people of the Lord, yet they have left His land.’ ²¹ But I had ^[h]concern for My ^(AE)holy 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, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “It is ^(AF)not for your sake, house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. ²³ And I will ^(AG)vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. Then the ^(AH)nations will know that I am the Lord,” declares the Lord God, “when I show Myself holy among you in their sight. ²⁴ For I will ^(AI)take you from the nations, and gather you from all the lands; and I will bring you into your own land. ²⁵ Then I will ^(AJ)sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your ^(AK)filthiness and from all your ^(AL)idols. ²⁶ Moreover, I will give you a ^(AM)new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the ^(AN)heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will ^(AO)put My Spirit within you and bring it about that you walk in My statutes, and are careful and ^[i]follow My ordinances. ²⁸ And you will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be ^(AP)My people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I ^(AQ)will not ^[j]bring a famine on you. ³⁰ Instead, I will ^(AR)multiply 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. ³¹ Then you will ^(AS)remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your wrongdoings and your abominations. ³² I am not doing this ^(AT)for your sake,” declares the Lord God; “let that be known to you. Be ashamed and humiliated for your ways, house of Israel!”

³³ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “On the day that I cleanse you from all your wrongdoings, I will populate the ^(AU)cities, and the ^(AV)places of ruins will be rebuilt. ³⁴ The desolated land will be cultivated instead of being a desolation in the sight of everyone who passes by. ³⁵ And they will say, ‘This desolated land has become like the ^(AW)Garden of Eden; and the waste, desolated and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.’ ³⁶ Then the nations around you that are left will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted that which was desolated; I, the Lord, have spoken, and I ^(AX)will do it.”

³⁷ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “This too I will let the house of Israel ask Me to do for them: I will increase their people like a flock. ³⁸ Like the ^(AY)flock ^[k]for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so will the waste cities be filled with ^(AZ)flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”’”

Judging Others

7 “^(A)Do not ^[a]judge, so that you will not be judged. ² For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and ^[b](B)by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. ³ Why do you ^(C)look at the ^[c]speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ^4 (D)Or how ^[d]can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the ^[e]speck out of your eye,’ and look, the log is in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the ^[f]speck out of your brother’s eye!

⁶ “^(E)Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Prayer and the Golden Rule

⁷ “^[g](F)Ask, and ^(G)it will be given to you; ^[h]seek, and you will find; ^[i]knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or what person is there among you ^[j]who, when his son asks for a loaf of bread, ^[k]will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or ^[l]if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? ¹¹ So if you, despite being ^[m]evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, ^(H)how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

¹² “In everything, ^(I)therefore, ^[n]treat people the same way you want ^[o]them to treat you, for ^(J)this is the Law and the Prophets.

The Narrow and Wide Gates

¹³ “^(K)Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

A Tree and Its Fruit

¹⁵ “Beware of the ^(L)false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ^(M)ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will ^[p](N)know them by their fruits. ^[q]Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? ¹⁷ So ^(O)every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ^19 (P)Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ So then, you will ^[r]know them ^(Q)by their fruits.

²¹ “^(R)Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. ^22 (S)Many will say to Me on ^(T)that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many ^[s]miracles?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; ^(U)leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

The Two Foundations

²⁴ “Therefore, ^(V)everyone who hears these words of Mine, and ^[t]acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell and the ^[u]floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not ^[v]act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ And the rain fell and the ^[w]floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and its collapse was great.”

^28 [x](W)When Jesus had finished these words, ^(X)the crowds were amazed at His teaching; ²⁹ for He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.