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24 “‘I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries; then I will bring you to your land. 25 I will sprinkle you with pure water,[a] and you will be clean from all your impurities. I will purify you from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone[b] from your body and give you a heart of flesh.[c] 27 I will put my Spirit within you;[d] I will take the initiative, and you will obey my statutes[e] and carefully observe my regulations.[f] 28 Then you will live in the land I gave to your fathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God.[g] 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and multiply it; I will not bring a famine on you. 30 I will multiply the fruit of the trees and the produce of the fields, so that you will never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil behavior[h] and your deeds that were not good; you will loathe yourselves on account of your sins and your abominable deeds. 32 Understand that[i] it is not for your sake I am about to act, declares the Sovereign Lord. Be ashamed and embarrassed by your behavior, O house of Israel.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 36:25 sn The Lord here uses a metaphor from the realm of ritual purification. For the use of water in ritual cleansing, see Exod 30:19-20; Lev 14:51; Num 19:18; Heb 10:22.
  2. Ezekiel 36:26 sn That is, a heart that symbolizes a will that is stubborn and unresponsive (see 1 Sam 25:37). In Rabbinic literature a “stone” was associated with an evil inclination (b. Sukkah 52a).
  3. Ezekiel 36:26 sn That is, a heart that symbolizes a will that is responsive and obedient to God.
  4. Ezekiel 36:27 tn Or “in the midst of you.” The word “you” is plural.
  5. Ezekiel 36:27 tn Heb “and I will do that which in my statutes you will walk.” The awkward syntax (verb “to do, act” + accusative sign + relative clause + prepositional phrase + second person verb) is unique, though Eccl 3:14 contains a similar construction. In the last line of that verse we read that “God acts so that (relative pronoun) they fear before him.” However, unlike Ezek 36:27, the statement has no accusative sign before the relative pronoun.
  6. Ezekiel 36:27 tn Heb “and my laws you will guard and you will do them.” Jer 31:31-34 is parallel to this passage.
  7. Ezekiel 36:28 sn This promise reflects the ancient covenantal ideal (see Exod 6:7).
  8. Ezekiel 36:31 tn Heb “ways.”
  9. Ezekiel 36:32 tn Heb “Let it be known.”

24 For I will [a]take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and from all your idols. 26 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My ordinances and do them. 28 You will live in the land that I gave to your fathers; and you will be My people, and I will be your God. 29 I will also save you from all your uncleanness, and I will call for the grain and make it abundant, and I will not bring famine on you. 30 I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not suffer again the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember [clearly] your [own] evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your sins and for your outrageous atrocities. 32 I am not doing this for your sake,” says the Lord God. “Let that be known to you. Be ashamed and humiliated for your [wicked] ways, O house of Israel!”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 36:24 This prophecy has been in the process of fulfillment since World War II. The Jews have for centuries been dispersed among all the nations with only a few remaining in the homeland. But by a.d. 1960 one-sixth of the Jewish population of the world was in Israel. Already they had been made “one nation” (37:22a)—between sunrise of one day and sunset of the next—“a nation born in one day” (Is 66:8). But the greatest event of all is yet to come (Ezek 37:22b-25). This prophecy will be fulfilled in its entirety.