Prophecy to Israel’s Mountains

36 “Now as for you, Son of Man, prophesy to Israel’s mountains and tell them, ‘Listen to this message from the Lord, you mountains of Israel: ² “This is what the Lord God says: ‘The enemy has been saying about you, “Good! The ancient heights are back in our possession!”’”’

³ “Therefore this is what you are to prophesy: ‘Here’s what the Lord God says, “You’ve been turned into a desolate wasteland and crushed by everyone who surrounds you for a very, very good reason. You’ve become the property of all the other nations and you’ve become the object of gossip and whispering campaigns of the nations.”’”

⁴ “Therefore listen to what the Lord God has to say, you mountains of Israel: ‘This is what the Lord God says to the mountains, to the hills, to the waterways, to the valleys, to the desolate wastelands, and to the abandoned cities that have become an object of derision to the mountains that surround you: ⁵ “‘Because this is what the Lord God says: “Motivated by my burning zealousness, I have spoken against the rest of the surrounding nations, including Edom, who confiscated my land, taking possession of it with joyful enthusiasm and with animal-like malice, in order to plunder Israel’s^[a] pastures.’ ⁶ “Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and speak to its mountains, hills, ravines, and valleys. Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Pay attention! In my zealous anger I’m speaking because you’ve had to endure the mockery of the world’s nations.”’”

⁷ “Therefore this is what the Lord God says: “I hereby raise my hand to swear this oath: the nations that surround you will have their own mockery to endure! ⁸ But you mountains of Israel are going to sprout branches and bear fruit for my people Israel, because they’ll be coming soon.’”

The Future of Israel’s Mountains

⁹ “Watch me! I’m on your side! I’ll be turning in your direction, and you mountains^[b] will be plowed and planted. ¹⁰ I’m going to make the entire house of Israel grow—every single member^[c]—and their cities will be inhabited with all the ruins rebuilt. ¹¹ I’ll make both the population and the livestock increase throughout your territories. They’ll increase and be fruitful. I’ll make your territories to be settled like you were in the past, and you will be treated better than you ever were before. At that time you will know that I am the Lord.

¹² “I’ll lead my people, my nation of Israel, across you mountains,^[d] and they will take possession of you again, and you’ll be their inheritance once more. Never again will you leave them robbed of children.

¹³ “This is what the Lord God says: ‘Because some have been saying to you, “You mountains^[e] have been devouring human beings and leaving people childless,” ¹⁴ therefore you will no longer devour human beings or leave their nation childless,’ declares the Lord God. ¹⁵ ‘I won’t let you hear other people mock you, and no nation will ever make you childless again,’ declares the Lord God.”

Israel’s Past Punishments

¹⁶ This message came to me from the Lord: ¹⁷ “Son of Man, when the house of Israel was living on their own land, they defiled it with their lifestyles^[f] and behavior; they were as disqualified to be with me as a menstruating woman is to you.^{[g] 18} So I poured out my anger on them because of all the bloodshed throughout the land and because they had defiled it with their idolatry. ¹⁹ Then I scattered them among the nations, dispersing them to other lands, just as their lifestyles and behavior deserved. That’s how I judged them. ²⁰ Nevertheless, when they arrived in those nations, they continued to profane my holy name. It was said about them, ‘These are the Lord’s people, even though they’ve left his land.’ ²¹ I’ve been concerned about my holy reputation,^[h] which the house of Israel has been defiling throughout all of the nations where they’ve gone.”

The Coming Renewal of Israel

²² “Therefore tell the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “I’m not about to act for your sake, you house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy reputation, which you have been defiling throughout all of the nations where you’ve gone. ²³ I’m going to affirm^[i] my great reputation that has been defiled among the nations (that is, that you have defiled in their midst), and those people will learn that I am the Lord,” declares the Lord God, “when I affirm my holiness in front of their very eyes. ²⁴ I’m going to remove you from the nations, gather you from all of the territories, and bring you all back to your own land. ²⁵ I’ll sprinkle pure water on you all, and you’ll be cleansed from your impurity and from all of your idols.”

²⁶ “‘“I’m going to give you a new heart, and I’m going to give you a new spirit within all of your deepest parts. I’ll remove that rock-hard heart of yours^[j] and replace it with one that’s sensitive to me.^{[k] 27} I’ll place my spirit within you, empowering you to live according to^[l] my regulations and to keep my just decrees. ²⁸ You’ll live in the land that I gave to your ancestors, you’ll be my people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ In addition, I’ll deliver you from everything that makes you unclean. I’ll call out to the grain you plant, ordering it to produce abundant yields, and I will never bring famine in your direction. ³⁰ I’ll increase the yields of your fruit trees and crops so that you’ll never again experience the disgrace of famine that occurs in other nations. ³¹ Then you’ll remember your lifestyles and practices that were not good. You’ll hate yourselves as you look at your own iniquities and loathsome practices. ³² I won’t be doing any of this for your sake,” declares the Lord God, “so keep that in mind. Be ashamed and frustrated because of your behavior, you house of Israel!”’”

The Restoration of Israel’s Cities

³³ “This is what the Lord God says: ‘At the same time^[m] that I cleanse you from all of your guilt, I’ll make your cities become inhabited again and the desolate wastelands will be rebuilt. ³⁴ The desolate fields will be cultivated, replacing the former wasteland that everyone who passed by in times past^[n] had noticed. ³⁵ They will say, “This wasteland has become like the garden of Eden, and what used to be desolate ruins are now fortified and inhabited.” ³⁶ Then the surviving people that live around you will learn that I, the Lord, have rebuilt these ruins and have cultivated these pastures that used to be desolate wastelands. I, the Lord, have spoken this, and I’m going to bring it about!’

³⁷ “This is what the Lord God has to say: ‘I’m going to allow the house of Israel to ask anything they want from me, including this: I’m going to increase their population as a shepherd increases his flock. ³⁸ The desolate cities will be filled with flocks of human beings, just like Jerusalem used to be filled with flocks of sheep during the times of the appointed festivals. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”