Ezekiel 36
English Standard Version
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.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 36:27 Or my just decrees
- Ezekiel 36:38 Hebrew flock of holy things
Ezekiel 36
Christian Standard Bible
Restoration of Israel’s Mountains
36 “Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, ‘Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord.(A) 2 This is what the Lord God says: Because the enemy has said about you, “Aha!(B) The ancient heights(C) have become our possession,”’ 3 therefore, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: Because they have made you desolate and have trampled you from every side, so that you became a possession for the rest of the nations and an object of people’s gossip and slander,(D) 4 therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. This is what the Lord God says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and abandoned cities, which have become plunder(E) and a mockery to the rest of the nations all around.
5 “‘This is what the Lord God says: Certainly in my burning zeal I speak against the rest of the nations and all of Edom,(F) who took[a] my land as their own possession with wholehearted rejoicing and utter contempt(G) so that its pastureland became[b] plunder. 6 Therefore, prophesy concerning Israel’s land, and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: This is what the Lord God says: Look, I speak in my burning zeal(H) because you have endured the insults of the nations. 7 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: I swear[c] that the nations all around you will endure their own insults.(I)
8 “‘You, mountains of Israel, will produce your branches(J) and bear your fruit for my people Israel, since their arrival is near. 9 Look! I am on your side; I will turn toward you,(K) and you will be tilled and sown. 10 I will fill you with people, with the whole house of Israel in its entirety.(L) The cities will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. 11 I will fill you with people and animals,(M) and they will increase and be fruitful. I will make you inhabited as you once were and make you better off than you were before. Then you will know that I am the Lord.(N) 12 I will cause people, my people Israel, to walk on you; they will possess you,(O) and you will be their inheritance. You will no longer deprive them of their children.
13 “‘This is what the Lord God says: Because some are saying to you, “You devour people and deprive your nation of children,”(P) 14 therefore, you will no longer devour people and deprive your nation of children.[d] This is the declaration of the Lord God. 15 I will no longer allow the insults of the nations to be heard against you, and you will not have to endure the reproach of the peoples anymore;(Q) you will no longer cause your nation to stumble.[e] This is the declaration of the Lord God.’”
Restoration of Israel’s People
16 The word of the Lord came to me: 17 “Son of man, while the house of Israel lived in their land, they defiled it with their conduct and actions.(R) Their behavior before me was like menstrual impurity.(S) 18 So I poured out my wrath(T) on them because of the blood they had shed on the land, and because they had defiled it with their idols. 19 I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered among the countries.(U) I judged them according to their conduct and actions.(V) 20 When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned my holy name,(W) because it was said about them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, yet they had to leave his land in exile.’ 21 Then I had concern for my holy name,(X) which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they went.
22 “Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: It is not for your sake that I will act,(Y) house of Israel, but for my holy name,(Z) which you profaned among the nations where you went. 23 I will honor the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am the Lord—this is the declaration of the Lord God—when I demonstrate my holiness through you in their sight.(AA)
24 “‘For I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries, and will bring you into your own land.(AB) 25 I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean.(AC) I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.(AD) 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;(AE) I will remove your heart of stone[f] and give you a heart of flesh.(AF) 27 I will place my Spirit within you(AG) and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances.(AH) 28 You will live in the land that I gave your ancestors;(AI) you will be my people, and I will be your God.(AJ) 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will summon the grain and make it plentiful, and I will not bring famine on you.(AK) 30 I will also make the fruit of the trees and the produce of the field plentiful, so that you will no longer experience reproach among the nations on account of famine.
31 “‘You will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good,(AL) and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and detestable practices.(AM) 32 It is not for your sake that I will act(AN)—this is the declaration of the Lord God—let this be known to you. Be ashamed and humiliated because of your ways, house of Israel!
33 “‘This is what the Lord God says: On the day I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the ruins will be rebuilt.(AO) 34 The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of everyone who passes by. 35 They will say, “This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden.(AP) The cities that were once ruined, desolate, and demolished are now fortified and inhabited.” 36 Then the nations that remain around you will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt what was demolished and have replanted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken and I will do it.(AQ)
37 “‘This is what the Lord God says: I will respond to the house of Israel and do this for them:(AR) I will multiply them in number like a flock.[g] 38 So the ruined cities will be filled with a flock of people, just as Jerusalem(AS) is filled with a flock of sheep for sacrifice[h] during its appointed festivals. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
Footnotes
- 36:5 Lit gave
- 36:5 Or contempt, to empty it of; Hb obscure
- 36:7 Lit lift up my hand
- 36:14 Alt Hb tradition reads and cause your nation to stumble
- 36:15 Some Hb mss, Tg read no longer bereave your nation of children
- 36:26 Lit stone from your flesh
- 36:37 Lit flock of people
- 36:38 Lit as the consecrated flock, as the flock of Jerusalem
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.