Ezekiel 36-39

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Blessing on Israel

36 And you, mortal, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. ² Thus says the Lord God: Because the enemy said of you, “Aha!” and, “The ancient heights have become our possession,”^{(A) 3} therefore prophesy and say: Thus says the Lord God: Because they made you desolate indeed and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations and an object of gossip and slander among the people,^{(B) 4} therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God to the mountains and the hills, the watercourses and the valleys, the desolate wastes and the deserted towns, which have become a source of plunder and an object of derision to the rest of the nations all around;^{(C) 5} therefore thus says the Lord God: I am speaking in my hot jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who, with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, took my land as their possession, because of its pasture, to plunder it.^{(D) 6} Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the watercourses and valleys: Thus says the Lord God: I am speaking in my jealous wrath because you have suffered the insults of the nations;^{(E) 7} therefore thus says the Lord God: I swear that the nations that are all around you shall themselves suffer insults.

⁸ But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot out your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they shall soon come home. ⁹ See now, I am for you; I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown, ¹⁰ and I will multiply your population, the whole house of Israel, all of it; the towns shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt,^{(F) 11} and I will multiply humans and animals upon you. They shall increase and be fruitful, and I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times and will do more good to you than ever before. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.^{(G) 12} I will lead people upon you—my people Israel—and they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance. No longer shall you bereave them of children.

¹³ Thus says the Lord God: Because they say to you, “You devour people, and you bereave your nation of children,” ¹⁴ therefore you shall no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children, says the Lord God, ¹⁵ and no longer will I let you hear the insults of the nations; no longer shall you bear the disgrace of the peoples, and no longer shall you cause your nation to stumble, says the Lord God.^(H)

The Renewal of Israel

¹⁶ The word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁷ Mortal, when the house of Israel lived on their own soil, they defiled it with their ways and their deeds; their conduct in my sight was like the uncleanness of a menstrual period.^{(I) 18} So I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land and for the idols with which they had defiled it.^{(J) 19} I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries; in accordance with their conduct and their deeds I judged them.^{(K) 20} But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that it was said of them, “These are the people of the Lord, yet they had to go out of his land.”^{(L) 21} But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came.^(M)

²² Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.^{(N) 23} I will sanctify my great name, which has been profaned among the nations and which you have profaned among them, and the nations shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when through you I display my holiness before their eyes.^{(O) 24} I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.^{(P) 25} I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.^{(Q) 26} A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you, and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.^{(R) 27} I will put my spirit within you and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.^{(S) 28} Then you shall live in the land that I gave to your ancestors, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.^{(T) 29} I will save you from all your uncleannesses, and I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you.^{(U) 30} I will make the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field abundant, so that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. ³¹ Then you shall remember your evil ways and your dealings that were not good, and you shall loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominable deeds.^{(V) 32} It is not for your sake that I will act, says the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and dismayed for your ways, O house of Israel.^(W)

³³ Thus says the Lord God: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the towns to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. ³⁴ The land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. ³⁵ And they will say, “This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined towns are now inhabited and fortified.”^{(X) 36} Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate; I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it.^(Y)

³⁷ Thus says the Lord God: I will also let the house of Israel ask me to do this for them: to multiply their people like sheep. ³⁸ Like a consecrated flock, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed festivals, so shall the ruined towns be filled with flocks of people. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.^(Z)

The Valley of Dry Bones

37 The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.^{(AA) 2} He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. ³ He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.”^{(AB) 4} Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath^[a] to enter you, and you shall live.^{(AC) 6} I will lay sinews on you and will cause flesh to come upon you and cover you with skin and put breath^[b] in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”^(AD)

⁷ So I prophesied as I had been commanded, and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸ I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them, but there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath:^[c] Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath,^[d] and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”^{(AE) 10} I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.^(AF)

¹¹ Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’^{(AG) 12} Therefore prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves and bring you up from your graves, O my people, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel.^{(AH) 13} And you shall know that I am the Lord when I open your graves and bring you up from your graves, O my people.^{(AI) 14} I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.”^(AJ)

The Two Sticks

¹⁵ The word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁶ Mortal, take a stick and write on it, “For Judah and the Israelites associated with it”; then take another stick and write on it, “For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with it”;^{(AK) 17} and join them together into one stick, so that they may become one in your hand. ¹⁸ And when your people say to you, “Will you not show us what you mean by these?” ¹⁹ say to them, “Thus says the Lord God: I am about to take the stick of Joseph (which is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with it, and I will put the stick of Judah upon it^[e] and make them one stick, in order that they may be one in my hand.”^{(AL) 20} When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, ²¹ then say to them, “Thus says the Lord God: I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone and will gather them from every quarter and bring them to their own land.^{(AM) 22} I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king over them all. Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms.^{(AN) 23} They shall never again defile themselves with their idols and their detestable things or with any of their transgressions. I will save them from all the apostasies into which they have fallen^[f] and will cleanse them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God.^(AO)

²⁴ “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall follow my ordinances and be careful to observe my statutes.^{(AP) 25} They shall live in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your ancestors lived; they and their children and their children’s children shall live there forever, and my servant David shall be their prince forever.^{(AQ) 26} I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them, and I will bless^[g] them and multiply them and will set my sanctuary among them forevermore.^{(AR) 27} My dwelling place shall be over them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.^{(AS) 28} Then the nations shall know that I the Lord sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary is among them forevermore.”^(AT)

Invasion by Gog

38 The word of the Lord came to me: ² Mortal, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him^{(AU) 3} and say: Thus says the Lord God: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; ⁴ I will turn you around and put hooks into your jaws, and I will lead you out with all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great company, all of them with shield and buckler, wielding swords.^{(AV) 5} Paras, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with buckler and helmet;^{(AW) 6} Gomer and all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remotest parts of the north with all its troops—many peoples are with you.^(AX)

⁷ Be ready and keep ready, you and all the companies that are assembled around you, and take command of them.^{[h] 8} After many days you shall be mustered; in the latter years you shall go against a land restored from war, a land where people were gathered from many nations on the mountains of Israel, which had long lain waste; its people were brought out from the nations and now are living in safety, all of them.^{(AY) 9} You shall advance, coming on like a storm; you shall be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.^(AZ)

¹⁰ Thus says the Lord God: On that day thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme.^{(BA) 11} You will say, “I will go up against the land of unwalled villages; I will fall upon the quiet people who live in safety, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates,^{(BB) 12} to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to assail the waste places that are now inhabited and the people who were gathered from the nations, who are acquiring cattle and goods, who live at the center^[i] of the earth.”^{(BC) 13} Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all its young warriors^[j] will say to you, “Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your horde to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to seize a great amount of spoil?”^(BD)

¹⁴ Therefore, mortal, prophesy and say to Gog: Thus says the Lord God: On that day when my people Israel are living securely, you will rouse yourself^{[k](BE) 15} and come from your place out of the remotest parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army;^{(BF) 16} you will come up against my people Israel like a cloud covering the earth. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I display my holiness before their eyes.^(BG)

Judgment on Gog

¹⁷ Thus says the Lord God: Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them?^{(BH) 18} On that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel, says the Lord God, my wrath shall be aroused.^{(BI) 19} For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare: On that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;^{(BJ) 20} the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and the animals of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground and all humans who are on the face of the earth shall quake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground.^{(BK) 21} I will summon the sword against Gog^[l] in^[m] all my mountains, says the Lord God; the swords of all will be against their comrades.^{(BL) 22} With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him, and I will pour down torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur upon him and his troops and the many peoples who are with him.^{(BM) 23} So I will display my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.^(BN)

Gog’s Armies Destroyed

39 And you, mortal, prophesy against Gog and say: Thus says the Lord God: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal!^{(BO) 2} I will turn you around and drive you forward and bring you up from the remotest parts of the north and lead you against the mountains of Israel. ³ I will strike your bow from your left hand and will make your arrows drop out of your right hand.^{(BP) 4} You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every kind and to the wild animals to be devoured.^{(BQ) 5} You shall fall in the open field, for I have spoken, says the Lord God. ⁶ I will send fire on Magog and on those who live securely in the coastlands, and they shall know that I am the Lord.^(BR)

⁷ My holy name I will make known among my people Israel, and I will not let my holy name be profaned any more, and the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.^{(BS) 8} It has come! It has happened, says the Lord God. This is the day of which I have spoken.

⁹ Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and make fires of the weapons and burn them—bucklers and shields, bows and arrows, clubs and spears—and they will make fires of them for seven years.^{(BT) 10} They will not need to take wood out of the field or cut down any trees in the forests, for they will make their fires of the weapons; they will despoil those who despoiled them and plunder those who plundered them, says the Lord God.^(BU)

The Burial of Gog

¹¹ On that day I will give to Gog a place for burial in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers^[n] east of the sea; it shall block the path of the travelers, for there Gog and all his horde will be buried; it shall be called the Valley of Hamon-gog.^{[o](BV) 12} Seven months the house of Israel shall spend burying them, in order to cleanse the land. ¹³ All the people of the land shall bury them, and it will bring them honor on the day that I show my glory, says the Lord God.^{(BW) 14} They will set apart men to pass through the land regularly and bury any invaders^[p] who remain on the face of the land, so as to cleanse it; for seven months they shall make their search.^{(BX) 15} As the searchers^[q] pass through the land, anyone who sees a human bone shall set up a sign by it until the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog.^{[r] 16} (A city Hamonah^[s] is there also.) Thus they shall cleanse the land.

¹⁷ As for you, mortal, thus says the Lord God: Speak to the birds of every kind and to all the wild animals: Assemble and come, gather from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel, and you shall eat flesh and drink blood.^{(BY) 18} You shall eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of the princes of the earth—of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bulls, all of them fatted calves of Bashan.^{(BZ) 19} You shall eat fat until you are filled and drink blood until you are drunk, at the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you. ²⁰ And you shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with warriors and all kinds of soldiers, says the Lord God.^(CA)

Israel Restored to the Land

²¹ I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed and my hand that I have laid on them.^{(CB) 22} The house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward. ²³ And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, because they dealt treacherously with me. So I hid my face from them and gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword.^{(CC) 24} I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their transgressions and hid my face from them.^(CD)

²⁵ Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name.^{(CE) 26} They shall bear their shame, and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when they live securely in their land with no one to make them afraid,^{(CF) 27} when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies’ lands and through them have displayed my holiness in the sight of many nations.^{(CG) 28} Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God because I sent them into exile among the nations and then gathered them into their own land. I will leave none of them behind,^{(CH) 29} and I will never again hide my face from them, when I pour out my spirit upon the house of Israel, says the Lord God.^(CI)