Ezekiel 36
New American Standard Bible
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.”’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 36:2 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
- Ezekiel 36:2 Heb bamoth
- Ezekiel 36:3 Lit Because; or By the cause
- Ezekiel 36:3 Lit lip of the tongue
- Ezekiel 36:5 Lit gave
- Ezekiel 36:7 Lit lifted up My hand
- Ezekiel 36:8 Lit give
- Ezekiel 36:21 Lit compassion
- Ezekiel 36:27 Lit do My
- Ezekiel 36:29 Lit give
- Ezekiel 36:38 Lit of holy things
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.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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.
