Ezekiel 36-39

Lexham English Bible

Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel and of Israel’s Restoration

36 “And you, son of man,^[a] prophesy to the mountains of Israel; and so you must say, ‘Mountains of Israel, hear the word of Yahweh; ² thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Because the enemy said concerning you, ‘Ah, and^[b] the ancient high places will be to us as a possession!’”’ ³ Therefore prophesy, and you must say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Because indeed^[c] when you were desolate,^[d] then they crushed you from all around, so that you became a possession to the remainder^[e] of the nations, and you became a byword and object of slander for the people.”^{[f] 4} Therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh; thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains and to the hills, to the river channels and to the valleys and to the ruins that are desolate and to the cities that are abandoned and that have become as plunder and as scorn for the remainder^[g] of the nations that are from all around. ⁵ Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Certainly^[h] in the fire of my passion I spoke against the rest of the nations and against all^[i] Edom, who made my land as a possession, because of^[j] its pastureland for plunder, for themselves in all of the joy of their whole heart and in their inner disdain.”^{[k] 6} Therefore prophesy against the land of Israel, and you must say to the mountains and to the hills, to the river channels and to the valleys, thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I spoke in my passion and in my anger the insult of the peoples you have endured.” ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “I swear^[l] certainly^[m] that the nations that are all around you,^[n] they indeed will endure their disgrace.

⁸ “‘“But you, mountains of Israel, your branch you will shoot, and your fruit you will carry^[o] for my people Israel, for they are soon to come. ⁹ For look! I am for you, and I will turn you, and you will be tilled, and you will be planted. ¹⁰ And I will cause your population^[p] to increase for you, all of the house of Israel, all of it, and the towns will be inhabited, and the ruins will be built. ¹¹ And I will cause your population^[q] to increase for you, and domestic animals, even they will be numerous, and they will be fruitful, and I will cause you to be inhabited like your ancient times,^[r] and I will do good things more than in your former times, and you will know that I am Yahweh. ¹² And I will send over you my people Israel, and they will take possession of you, and you will be for them as an inheritance, and you will no longer bereave them of their children.”^[s]

¹³ “‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh, because they are saying to you, “You are an eater of humans,^[t] and you are one who makes childless^[u] your people.”^{[v] 14} Therefore humans^[w] you will not eat any longer, and your nation you will not make childless^[x] any longer,” declares^[y] the Lord Yahweh. ¹⁵ “And I will not let you hear any longer the insult of the nations, and the disgrace of the peoples you will not bear any longer; you yourself will not cause your nation to stumble,” declares^[z] the Lord Yahweh.’”

¹⁶ And the word of Yahweh came^[aa] to me, saying,^{[ab] 17} “Son of man,^[ac] the house of Israel, they were dwelling on their soil, and they defiled it with their way and with their deeds; like the uncleanness of menstruation was their way before me.^{[ad] 18} And I poured out my rage on them for the blood that they poured on the land and for their idols with which they defiled it. ¹⁹ And I scattered them among the nations, and I dispersed them in the countries according to their way, and according to their deeds I judged them. ²⁰ And they came^[ae] into the nations to which they went,^[af] and they profaned my holy name^[ag] when they said to them, ‘These are the people of Yahweh, and from his land they went out.’ ²¹ And I was concerned for my holy name,^[ah] which, the house of Israel defiled among the nations to which they went.^[ai]

²² “Therefore thus say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Not for your sake ^[aj] am I about to act, house of Israel, but^[ak] for my holy name,^[al] which you defiled among the nations to which you went.^{[am] 23} And I will consecrate my great name, which was profaned among the nations and which you have profaned in the midst of them, and the nations will know that I am Yahweh!”’ a declaration of the Lord Yahweh, when I show myself holy^[an] before^[ao] their eyes.

²⁴ “‘And I will take you from the nations, and I will gather you from all of the lands, and I will bring you to your land. ²⁵ And I will sprinkle on you pure water, and you will be clean from all of your uncleanness, and I will cleanse you from all of your idols. ²⁶ And I will give a new heart to you, and a new spirit I will give^[ap] into your inner parts, and I will remove the^[aq] heart of stone from your flesh, and I will give to you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will give^[ar] my spirit into your inner parts, and I will make it so that you will go^[as] in my rules, and my regulations you will remember, and you will do them. ²⁸ And you will dwell in the land that I gave to your ancestors,^[at] and you will be to me as a people, and I will be to you as^[au] God. ²⁹ And I will save you from all of your uncleanness, and I will call to the grain, and I will cause it to increase, and I will not bring famine upon you. ³⁰ And I will cause the fruit of the tree and the crop of the field to increase, so that you will not suffer again the disgrace of famine among the nations. ³¹ And you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourself^[av] over^[aw] your iniquities and over your detestable things. ³² But not for your sake am I acting,” declares^[ax] the Lord Yahweh. “Let it be known to you, be ashamed, and be put to shame because of your ways, house of Israel.

³³ “Thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘On the day when I cleanse you from all of your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the ruins will be rebuilt. ³⁴ And the land that was desolate will be cultivated in the very place that^[ay] it was desolate before the eyes of all of the persons crossing over. ³⁵ And they will say, “This desolate land^[az] has become like the garden of Eden, and the wasted and desolate and destroyed cities, now being refortified, are inhabited.” ³⁶ And the nations who are left all around, you will know that I, Yahweh, I built that which was destroyed;^[ba] I planted the desolate land; I, Yahweh, I have spoken, and I will act.’

³⁷ “Thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Again this time I will let myself be inquired of^[bb] by the house of Israel, to do something for them; I will cause them to increase their population like a flock.^{[bc] 38} Like the flock of the sanctuary, like the flock of Jerusalem at its festival, so the desolate cities will be filled with flocks^[bd] of people; and they will know that I am Yahweh.’”

A Valley of Dried Bones; A Renewed Nation of Israel

37 The hand of Yahweh was upon me, and he brought me by the Spirit of Yahweh, and he let me rest^[be] in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones. ² And he led me all around^[bf] over them, and look, very many on the surface of the valley, and look, very dry. ³ And he said to me, “Son of man,^[bg] can these bones live?” And I said, “Lord Yahweh, you know.” ⁴ And he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and you must say to them, to the dry bones, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh! ⁵ Thus says the Lord Yahweh to these bones: “Look! I am bringing into you breath, and you will live! ⁶ And I will lay on you sinews, and I will let flesh come upon you, and I will cover you over with skin, and I will put breath into you, and you will live, and you will know that I am Yahweh.”’”

⁷ And I prophesied just as^[bh] I had been commanded, and there was a sound at my prophesying, and look! A rattling, and they came together—the bones! Bone to its bone! ⁸ And I looked, and indeed, sinews were on them, and flesh went up,^[bi] and skin covered over^[bj] them upward,^[bk] but breath was not in them. ⁹ And he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man,^[bl] and you must say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh from the four winds,^[bm] “Come, O spirit and breath, on these dead ones, so that they may live!”’” ¹⁰ And I prophesied as^[bn] he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they became alive, and they stood on their feet, a very, very large group.

¹¹ And he said to me, “Son of man,^[bo] these bones are all of the house of Israel; look! they are saying, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is destroyed; we are cut off as far as we are concerned.’^{[bp] 12} Therefore prophesy, and you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am opening your graves, and I will bring you up from your graves, my people, and I will bring you to the land of Israel! ¹³ And you will know that I am Yahweh when I open your graves when I bring you up from your graves, my people! ¹⁴ And I will put my breath into you so that you may live, and I will cause you to rest on your soil, and you will know that I, Yahweh, I have spoken, and I will act!”’ declares^[bq] Yahweh.”

¹⁵ And the word of Yahweh came^[br] to me, saying,^{[bs] 16} “And you, son of man,^[bt] take for yourself a piece of wood,^[bu] and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the Israelites^[bv] his associates,’ and take another piece of wood, and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the piece of wood of^[bw] Ephraim and all of the house of Israel his associates.’ ¹⁷ And join them one to the other with respect to you as one piece of wood, so that they may become one in your hand. ¹⁸ When^[bx] your people^[by] say to you, saying,^[bz] ‘Will you not inform us as to what these actions mean for you?’ ¹⁹ Then speak to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am taking the piece of wood for Joseph that is in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel its associates, and I will put them on it, the piece of wood of Judah, and I will make them into one piece of wood, so that they be one in my hand.’” ²⁰ And the pieces of wood on which you wrote will be in your hand before their eyes. ²¹ And speak to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am taking the Israelites^[ca] from among the nations to which they went,^[cb] and I will gather them from everywhere,^[cc] and I will bring them to their own soil. ²² And I will make them into one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel, and they will all have one king as their king,^[cd] and they^[ce] will not again be two nations and will not again divide into two kingdoms again. ²³ And they will not defile themselves again with their idols and with vile idols and with all of their transgressions, and I will save them from all of their apostasy by which they sinned,^[cf] and I will cleanse them and they will be for me as a people and I, I will be for them as God.

²⁴ “‘“And my servant David will be king over them, and one shepherd will be for all of them, and in my regulations they will go, and my statutes they will observe, and they will do them. ²⁵ And they will dwell on the land that I gave to my servant, to Jacob, in which your ancestors dwelled,^[cg] and they will dwell on it, they and their children and the children of their children forever,^[ch] and my servant David will be a leader for them forever.^{[ci] 26} And I will make with them a covenant of peace; an everlasting covenant^[cj] it will be with them. And I will establish them, and I will cause them to increase, and I will put my sanctuary in the midst of them forever.^{[ck] 27} And my tabernacle will be with them, and I will be for them as God, and they will be to me as a nation. ²⁸ And the nations will know that I, Yahweh, am consecrating Israel when my sanctuary is in the midst of them forever.”’”^[cl]

God’s Message to Gog

38 And the word of Yahweh came^[cm] to me, saying,^{[cn] 2} “Son of man,^[co] set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the head^[cp] leader of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him. ³ And you must say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am against you, Gog, the head^[cq] leader of Meshach and Tubal, ⁴ and I will turn you around, and I will place^[cr] hooks in your cheeks, and I will bring you out and all of your horses and horsemen fully armed,^[cs] all of them, a great crowd, holding a shield,^[ct] and small shield, and holding^[cu] swords, all of them. ⁵ Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them, with a small shield and helmet. ⁶ Gomer and all of its troops, Beth Togarmah, the remote areas of the north, and with all of its troops and many peoples with them. ⁷ Be ready, and prepare yourselves,^[cv] you and all of your assembly,^[cw] the assembling^[cx] around you, and you must be^[cy] for them as a guard. ⁸ After many days you will be mustered; in the last years^[cz] you will come to a restored land from the sword, gathered from many peoples on the mountains of Israel which were as permanent ruins^[da] but from peoples it was brought out, and they will dwell in safety,^[db] all of them. ⁹ And you will advance like a storm; you will come, and you will be like a cloud covering^[dc] the land, and all of your troops and many nations along with you.”

¹⁰ “‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “And then^[dd] on that day, things^[de] will come up on^[df] your mind, and you will devise evil plans. ¹¹ And you will say, ‘I will go up against a land of open country; I will come^[dg] to the people being at rest in safety,^[dh] all of them dwelling without a wall^[di] and crossbars^[dj] and without doors,^{[dk] 12} to^[dl] loot loot,^[dm] and to plunder^[dn] plunder, to assail^[do] inhabited ruins and a people gathered together from various peoples and who are acquiring livestock and goods and dwelling at the center of the world. ¹³ Sheba and Dedan and traders of Tarshish and all its strong lions,^[dp] they will ask you, ‘To^[dq] loot loot^[dr] are you coming? To plunder^[ds] plunder have you summoned your assembly, to take away silver and gold, to take livestock and goods, to loot great amounts^[dt] of loot?”’

¹⁴ “Therefore prophesy, son of man,^[du] and you must say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Will you not realize^[dv] on that day when my people Israel are dwelling in safety,^{[dw] 15} and so you will come from your place, from the remote areas of the north, you and many people with you, horsemen^[dx] all of them, a great crowd and a vast army, ¹⁶ and you will advance against my people Israel like a cloud covering^[dy] the land; it will be^[dz] in the last days, and I will bring you against my land, so that the nations know me, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes, O Gog!”’

¹⁷ “Thus says the Lord Yahweh, ‘Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by the hand of my servants the prophets of Israel who were prophesying in those days for years that I would bring you against them? ¹⁸ And so then in that day, on the day of the coming of God against the land of Israel,’ declares^[ea] the Lord Yahweh, ‘my rage will come up in my anger. ¹⁹ And in my passion, in the fire of my wrath, I spoke^[eb] that certainly^[ec] on that day a great earthquake will be on the land of Israel. ²⁰ And the fish of the sea and the birds^[ed] of the heaven^[ee] and the animals^[ef] of the field and all of the creeping things that creep on the earth and all of the humans^[eg] who are on the surface of the earth will shake at my presence;^[eh] and the mountains will be demolished, and the steep mountain sides will fall, and every wall on^[ei] the earth will fall. ²¹ And I will call against him^[ej] in all of my mountains a sword,’ declares^[ek] the Lord Yahweh, ‘And the sword of each person will be against his brother. ²² And I will execute justice with^[el] him with a plague and with blood and torrents of rain,^[em] and hailstones; fire and sulfur I will cause to fall on him and on his troops and on many peoples who are with him. ²³ And so I will exalt myself, and I will show myself holy, and I will make myself known before the eyes of many nations, and they will know that I am Yahweh.’”

God’s Destruction of Gog and His Hordes

39 “And you, son of man,^[en] prophesy against Gog, and you must say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am against you Gog, the head^[eo] leader of Meshech and Tubal, ² and I will turn you around, and I will drag you along, and I will bring you up from the remote areas of the north, and I will bring you against the mountains of Israel, ³ and I will strike your bow from your left hand,^[ep] and your arrows from your right hand^[eq] I will cause to fall. ⁴ On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all of your troops, and the peoples who are with you, to birds^[er] of prey, birds of every wing,^[es] and animals of the field I will give you as food. ⁵ On the surface of the field you will fall, for I myself^[et] have spoken,” declares^[eu] the Lord Yahweh. ⁶ “And I will send fire against Magog and among the people inhabiting the coastlands in safety,^[ev] and they will know that I am Yahweh. ⁷ And my holy name^[ew] I will make known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not let the name of my holiness be profaned anymore, and the nations will know that I am Yahweh, the holy one in Israel. ⁸ Look! it is coming, and it will happen,” declares^[ex] the Lord Yahweh. “It is the day about which I have spoken.^[ey]

⁹ “ʻ“And the inhabitants of the towns^[ez] of Israel will go out, and they will set ablaze, and they will kindle a fire with a weapon^[fa] and a small shield and a shield,^[fb] with a bow and with arrows, and with hand clubs^[fc] and with spears,^[fd] and so they will light a fire with them, a fire lasting seven years.^{[fe] 10} And they will not carry trees from the field, and they will not chop wood from the forests, for with the weapons^[ff] they will light a fire; and they will plunder those plundering them, and they will plunder those plundering them,”’ declares^[fg] the Lord Yahweh.

¹¹ “‘“And then^[fh] on that day I will give to Gog a grave there^[fi] in Israel, The Valley of the Travelers, east of the sea,^[fj] and it will block^[fk] the travelers and Gog and all of his hordes^[fl] they will bury there, and they will call it the Valley of Hamon-Gog.^{[fm] 12} And the house of Israel will bury them for seven months to cleanse the land. ¹³ All of the people of the land will bury them, and it will be an honor for them on the day when I appear,”’ declares^[fn] the Lord Yahweh. ¹⁴ ʻ“And they will set apart men to continually^[fo] go through the land burying the travelers,^[fp] the ones left over on the surface of the land to cleanse it; for the whole of^[fq] seven months they will explore it. ¹⁵ And the ones going through, they will go through within the land, and if anyone sees the bones of a person, then he will build beside it a sign to remain until the buriers have buried him in the Valley of Hamon-Gog.^{[fr] 16} And furthermore the name of the city there is Hamonah,^[fs] and thus they will cleanse the land.”’

¹⁷ “And you, son of man,^[ft] thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Say to all kinds of birds and animals of the field,^[fu] “Be gathered, come be gathered from everywhere^[fv] to my sacrifice that I am sacrificing for you, a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, and you will eat flesh, and you will drink blood. ¹⁸ Flesh of warriors you will eat, and the blood of leaders of the land you will drink; rams, young rams and goats, bulls, and the fattened animals of Bashan—all of them! ¹⁹ And you will eat fat until you are satiated,^[fw] and you will drink blood until you are drunk^[fx] from my sacrifice that I sacrifice for you, ²⁰ and you will be satisfied at my table with horse and horsemen and warriors and every man of war,”’ declares^[fy] the Lord Yahweh. ²¹ “And I will display my glory among the nations, and all of the nations will see my judgment that I have executed and my hand that I have laid upon them.

²² “And the house of Israel will know that I am Yahweh their God from that day and beyond, ²³ and the nations will know that because of their guilt the house of Israel went into exile, because^[fz] they acted unfaithfully against me, and I hid my face from them, and I gave them into the hand of their foes, and they fell by the sword, all of them. ²⁴ According to their uncleanness and according to their transgression I dealt with them, and I hid my face from them.

²⁵ Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob, and I will have compassion on all of the house of Israel, and I will be jealous^[ga] for my holy name.^{[gb] 26} And they will forget their disgrace and all of their infidelity that they displayed against me when they dwelt on their soil in safety^[gc] with nobody making them afraid.^{[gd] 27} When I restore them from the nations and I gather them from the countries of their enemies, then I will show myself holy through them before the eyes of many nations. ²⁸ And they will know that I am Yahweh their God, because of when I deported them into the nations, and I reassembled them to their soil, and I will not let any of them remain there any longer.^{[ge] 29} And I will not hide my face again from them when I pour out my Spirit over^[gf] the house of Israel,” declares^[gg] the Lord Yahweh.