Ezekiel 36
Holman 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, ‘Good!(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 the land of Israel 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 Yahweh.(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 people are saying to you, ‘You devour men and deprive your nation of children,’(P) 14 therefore, you will no longer devour men 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 Yahweh, 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 Yahweh”—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 Then you will live in the land that I gave your fathers;(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 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 “Then 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)—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 Then they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden.(AP) The cities that were once ruined, desolate, and destroyed are now fortified and inhabited.’ 36 Then the nations that remain around you will know that I, Yahweh, have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I, Yahweh, 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 the flock of sheep for sacrifice(AS) is filled[h] in Jerusalem during its appointed festivals. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 36:5 Lit gave
- Ezekiel 36:5 Or contempt, to empty it of; Hb obscure
- Ezekiel 36:7 Lit lift up My hand
- Ezekiel 36:14 Alt Hb tradition reads and cause your nation to stumble
- Ezekiel 36:15 Some Hb mss, Tg read no longer bereave your nation of children
- Ezekiel 36:26 Lit stone from your flesh
- Ezekiel 36:37 Lit flock of people
- Ezekiel 36:38 Lit the flock of consecrated things, as the flock
Ezekiel 36
New Living Translation
Restoration for Israel
36 “Son of man, prophesy to Israel’s mountains. Give them this message: O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord! 2 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Your enemies have taunted you, saying, ‘Aha! Now the ancient heights belong to us!’ 3 Therefore, son of man, give the mountains of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: Your enemies have attacked you from all directions, making you the property of many nations and the object of much mocking and slander. 4 Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. He speaks to the hills and mountains, ravines and valleys, and to ruined wastes and long-deserted cities that have been destroyed and mocked by the surrounding nations. 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My jealous anger burns against these nations, especially Edom, because they have shown utter contempt for me by gleefully taking my land for themselves as plunder.
6 “Therefore, prophesy to the hills and mountains, the ravines and valleys of Israel. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am furious that you have suffered shame before the surrounding nations. 7 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I have taken a solemn oath that those nations will soon have their own shame to endure.
8 “But the mountains of Israel will produce heavy crops of fruit for my people—for they will be coming home again soon! 9 See, I care about you, and I will pay attention to you. Your ground will be plowed and your crops planted. 10 I will greatly increase the population of Israel, and the ruined cities will be rebuilt and filled with people. 11 I will increase not only the people, but also your animals. O mountains of Israel, I will bring people to live on you once again. I will make you even more prosperous than you were before. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 12 I will cause my people to walk on you once again, and you will be their territory. You will never again rob them of their children.
13 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The other nations taunt you, saying, ‘Israel is a land that devours its own people and robs them of their children!’ 14 But you will never again devour your people or rob them of their children, says the Sovereign Lord. 15 I will not let you hear those other nations insult you, and you will no longer be mocked by them. You will not be a land that causes its nation to fall, says the Sovereign Lord.”
16 Then this further message came to me from the Lord: 17 “Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by the evil way they lived. To me their conduct was as unclean as a woman’s menstrual cloth. 18 They polluted the land with murder and the worship of idols,[a] so I poured out my fury on them. 19 I scattered them to many lands to punish them for the evil way they had lived. 20 But when they were scattered among the nations, they brought shame on my holy name. For the nations said, ‘These are the people of the Lord, but he couldn’t keep them safe in his own land!’ 21 Then I was concerned for my holy name, on which my people brought shame among the nations.
22 “Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations. 23 I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord. 24 For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.
25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.[b] 27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.
28 “And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will cleanse you of your filthy behavior. I will give you good crops of grain, and I will send no more famines on the land. 30 I will give you great harvests from your fruit trees and fields, and never again will the surrounding nations be able to scoff at your land for its famines. 31 Then you will remember your past sins and despise yourselves for all the detestable things you did. 32 But remember, says the Sovereign Lord, I am not doing this because you deserve it. O my people of Israel, you should be utterly ashamed of all you have done!
33 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I cleanse you from your sins, I will repopulate your cities, and the ruins will be rebuilt. 34 The fields that used to lie empty and desolate in plain view of everyone will again be farmed. 35 And when I bring you back, people will say, ‘This former wasteland is now like the Garden of Eden! The abandoned and ruined cities now have strong walls and are filled with people!’ 36 Then the surrounding nations that survive will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruins and replanted the wasteland. For I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I say.
37 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am ready to hear Israel’s prayers and to increase their numbers like a flock. 38 They will be as numerous as the sacred flocks that fill Jerusalem’s streets at the time of her festivals. The ruined cities will be crowded with people once more, and everyone will know that I am the Lord.”
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
