²⁷ “Therefore, ^(A)son of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: In this also your fathers blasphemed me, by ^(B)dealing treacherously with me. ²⁸ For when I had brought them into the land that ^(C)I swore to give them, then wherever they saw ^(D)any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented ^(E)the provocation of their offering; there they sent up their pleasing aromas, and there they poured out their drink offerings. ²⁹ (I said to them, ^(F)‘What is the high place to which you go?’ So its name is called Bamah^[a] to this day.)

³⁰ “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: ^(G)Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go ^(H)whoring after their detestable things? ³¹ When you present your gifts and ^(I)offer up your children in fire,^[b] you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And ^(J)shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? ^(K)As I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.

^32 (L)“What is in your mind shall never happen—the thought, ^(M)‘Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, ^(N)and worship wood and stone.’

The Lord Will Restore Israel

^33 (O)“As I live, declares the Lord God, ^(P)surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and ^(Q)with wrath poured out I will be king over you. ^34 (R)I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out. ^35 (S)And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, ^(T)and there I will enter into judgment with you ^(U)face to face. ^36 (V)As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord God. ³⁷ I will make you ^(W)pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. ^38 (X)I will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me. ^(Y)I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, ^(Z)but they shall not enter the land of Israel. ^(AA)Then you will know that I am the Lord.

³⁹ “As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: ^(AB)Go serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; ^(AC)but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols.

^40 (AD)“For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, declares the Lord God, there ^(AE)all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. ^(AF)There I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred offerings. ⁴¹ As a pleasing aroma I will accept you, when ^(AG)I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And ^(AH)I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. ^42 (AI)And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that ^(AJ)I swore to give to your fathers. ^43 (AK)And there you shall remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, ^(AL)and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed. ⁴⁴ And you shall know that I am the Lord, ^(AM)when I deal with you for my name's sake, ^(AN)not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”