Ezekiel 36-37

Tree of Life Version

Comfort to the Land of Israel

36 “You, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: ‘Mountains of Israel, hear the word of Adonai. ² Thus says Adonai Elohim: “The enemy has said against you, ‘Aha! Even the ancient high places have become our possession!’ ³ Therefore prophesy and say, thus says Adonai Elohim: ‘Because they ravaged and crushed you from every side, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations and you became the talk and evil gossip of people,’ ⁴ therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of Adonai, thus says Adonai Elohim to the mountains, the hills, the streams and the valleys, the desolate wastes and the cities that are forsaken, which have become prey and derision to the rest of the surrounding nations. ⁵ Therefore thus says Adonai Elohim: ‘Surely in the fire of My wrath I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, that have taken My land for themselves as a possession with the joy of all their heart and contempt in their souls, in order to seize it as plunder.’ ⁶ Therefore, prophesy to the land of Israel and say to the mountains and the hills, the streams and the valleys, thus says Adonai Elohim: ‘Behold, I have spoken in My wrath and in My fury, because you have suffered the scorn of the nations.’ ⁷ Therefore thus says Adonai Elohim: ‘I have lifted My hand. Surely the nations that surround you will themselves suffer scorn.

⁸ “‘But you, mountains of Israel, you will shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit for My people Israel; for their return is near. ⁹ For behold, I am for you. I will turn to you. You will be tilled and sown. ¹⁰ I will settle a large population upon you—the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities will be inhabited. The desolate places will be built up. ¹¹ I will multiply man and beast upon you. They will increase and be fruitful. I will cause you to be inhabited as you were before. I will do better for you than at your beginnings. You will know that I am Adonai. ¹² I will cause people, my people Israel, to walk upon you. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance. You will no longer deprive them of children.’”

¹³ Thus says Adonai Elohim: “Because they say to you, ‘You are a devourer of men and you deprive your nation of children,’ ¹⁴ therefore you will no longer devour men and you will no longer deprive your nation of children.” It is a declaration of Adonai. ¹⁵ “I will no longer let the scorn of the nations be heard against you. You will no longer bear disgrace from the peoples. You will no longer cause your nation to stumble.” It is a declaration of Adonai.

¹⁶ The word of Adonai came to me saying: ¹⁷ “Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it by their way and by their deeds. Their way before Me was like the uncleanness of a woman in her niddah. ¹⁸ So I poured out My fury on them for the blood which they had shed upon the land and because they had defiled it with their idols. ¹⁹ I scattered them among the nations, so they were dispersed through the countries. According to their way and their deeds I judged them. ²⁰ Wherever they went among the nations, they profaned My holy Name, since it was said about them, ‘These are the people of Adonai, yet they had to leave His land.’ ²¹ But I had concern for My holy Name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went.

²² “Therefore say to the house of Israel, thus says Adonai Elohim: ‘I do not do this for your sake, house of Israel, but for My holy Name, which you profaned among the nations wherever you went. ²³ I will sanctify My great Name, which has been profaned among the nations—which you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am Adonai’”—it is a declaration of Adonai—“‘when I am sanctified in you before their eyes.’”

New Heart, New Spirit

²⁴ “‘For I will take you from the nations, gather you out of all the countries and bring you back to your own land. ²⁵ Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean from all your uncleanness and from all your idols. ²⁶ Moreover I will give you a new heart. I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the stony heart from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ^{[a] 27} I will put My Ruach within you. Then I will cause you to walk in My laws, so you will keep My rulings and do them. ²⁸ Then you will live in the land that I gave to your fathers. You will be My people and I will be your God.

²⁹ “So I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful. I will not bring a famine upon you. ³⁰ I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will no longer bear the disgrace of famine among the nations. ³¹ When you remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, you will be disgusted with yourselves because of your iniquities and your abominations. ³² Not for your sake will I do this”—it is a declaration of Adonai—“let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, house of Israel!”

³³ Thus says Adonai Elohim: “In the day that I pronounce you clean from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited and the ruins will be rebuilt. ³⁴ The land that was desolate will be tilled instead of being a wasteland in the sight of all that passed by. ³⁵ They will say, ‘This land that was a wasteland has become like the garden of Eden. The waste, desolate and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.’ ³⁶ Then the nations that are left all around you will know that I, Adonai, have rebuilt the ruined places, and replanted what was desolate. I, Adonai, have spoken it. So I will do it.”

³⁷ Thus says Adonai Elohim: “I will again be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them—I will populate them with people like a flock. ³⁸ Like the holy flock, like the flock of Jerusalem during her moadim, so the waste cities will be filled with flocks of people.^[b] Then they will know that I am Adonai.”

Dry Bones Live

37 The hand of Adonai was upon me. The Ruach Adonai carried me out and set me down in the middle of the valley. It was full of bones. ² He led me all around them. Behold, there were very many on the floor of the valley. Behold, they were very dry. ³ Then He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”^[c]

I answered, “Adonai Elohim, You know.”

⁴ “Prophesy over these bones,” He said to me. “Say to them: ‘Dry bones, hear the word of Adonai!’ ⁵ Thus says Adonai Elohim to these bones: “Behold, I will cause Ruach^[d] to enter you, so you will live. ⁶ I will attach tendons to you, bring flesh on you and cover you with skin. Then I will put breath in you. You will live. You will know that I am Adonai.”

⁷ So I prophesied just as I was commanded. As I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, an earthquake. Then the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸ I saw, and behold, there were tendons on them, flesh came up and skin covered them above, but there was no breath in them.

⁹ Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the Ruach. Prophesy, son of man, and say to the Ruach, thus says Adonai Elohim: ‘Come from the four winds, Ruach! Breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” ¹⁰ So I prophesied just as He commanded me. The Ruach came into them and they lived. They stood up on their feet, a vast army.

¹¹ Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say: ‘Our bones are dried up; our hope is lost; we are cut off—by ourselves.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them, thus says Adonai Elohim: ‘Behold, I will open your graves. I will bring you up out of your graves, My people. I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³ You will know that I am Adonai, when I have opened your graves and brought you up out of your graves, My people. ¹⁴ I will put My Ruach in you and you will live. I will place you in your own land. Then you will know that I, Adonai, have spoken and that I have done it.” It is a declaration of Adonai.

Reunification of Southern and Northern Kingdoms

¹⁵ The word of Adonai came to me saying: ¹⁶ “You, son of man, take one stick and write on it, ‘For Judah’—for Bnei-Yisrael joined with him. Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph’—the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel joined with him. ¹⁷ Join them one to another for yourself, as one stick, so they may become one in your hand.

¹⁸ “When the children of your people speak to you saying, ‘Won’t you tell us what you mean by these?’ ¹⁹ say to them, thus says Adonai Elohim: ‘Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph—which is in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel joined with him—and I will put them together with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick. They will be one in My hand.’ ²⁰ The sticks that you write on will be in your hand before their eyes.

²¹ “Then say to them, thus says Adonai Elohim: ‘Behold, I will take Bnei-Yisrael from among the nations, where they have gone. I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land. ²² I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will be king to them all. They will no longer be two nations and never again be divided into two kingdoms. ²³ They will never again be defiled with their idols, their detestable things or with any of their transgressions. I will save them out of all their dwellings in which they sinned. I will purify them. Then they will be My people and I will be their God. ²⁴ My servant David will be king over them. They will all have One Shepherd. They will walk in My ordinances and observe My rulings and do them. ²⁵ They will live in the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, where your ancestors lived. They will live there—they, their children and their children’s children, forever, and My servant David will be their prince forever. ²⁶ I will cut a covenant of shalom with them—it will be an everlasting covenant with them. I will give to them and multiply them. I will set up My Sanctuary among them forever. ^{[e] 27} My dwelling-place will be over them. I will be their God and they will be My people. ²⁸ Then the nations will know that I am Adonai who sanctifies Israel, when My Sanctuary is in their midst forever.’”