Chronological

Prophecy against Mount Seir

35 A message came to me from the Lord and it went like this: ² “Son of Man, turn your attention^[a] toward Mount Seir^[b] and begin to prophesy against it. ³ Tell them,^[c] ‘This is what the Lord God says:

⁵ “Because of your undying hatred, you kept on making the Israelis experience abuse^[d] during the time of their calamity, even when they were in their final stages^[e] of punishment, ⁶ therefore as I’m alive and living,” declares the Lord God, “I’m turning you over to bloodshed,^[f] and bloodshed will certainly overtake you, since you never have hated shedding blood. That’s why bloodshed will certainly pursue you. ⁷ I’m turning Mount Seir over to ruin and desolation. I’m going to eliminate everyone who comes and goes, ⁸ and I’ll fill that^[g] mountain with the dead. Those who die by violence^[h] will cover your hills, and fill your valleys and all your ravines! ⁹ I will turn you into an everlasting wasteland, and your cities will never be inhabited. Then you’ll learn that I am the Lord!

¹⁰ “Because you have claimed, ‘These two nations and these two lands are going to belong to me, and we will take possession of them, even though the Lord is there,’ ¹¹ therefore as I’m alive and living” declares the Lord God, “I’m going to deal with you as your anger deserves. When I judge you, I’ll treat you like you did the Israelis^[i]—that is, with the same kind of envy that motivated your constant hatred of them. ¹² That’s how you’ll know that I, the Lord, have heard every loathsome, reviling thing that you’ve had to say against the mountains of Israel, such as, ‘They’re desolate, and we’ll eat them for dinner!’ ¹³ Not only that, you’ve arrogantly reviled me many times over, and I’ve heard every word!

¹⁴ “So this is what the Lord God says: ‘Just as the earth rejoices, I’m going to turn you into a desolate wasteland. ¹⁵ Just as you rejoiced when Israel’s inheritance became desolate, I’m going to do the same thing to you. Mount Seir, you and Edom—all of you—will become a desolate wasteland.’ Then they will learn that I am the Lord.”

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^[j] 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^[k] will be plowed and planted. ¹⁰ I’m going to make the entire house of Israel grow—every single member^[l]—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,^[m] 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^[n] 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^[o] and behavior; they were as disqualified to be with me as a menstruating woman is to you.^{[p] 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,^[q] 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^[r] 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^[s] and replace it with one that’s sensitive to me.^{[t] 27} I’ll place my spirit within you, empowering you to live according to^[u] 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^[v] 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^[w] 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.’”

The Vision of the Valley of Bones

37 The Lord laid his hand on me and brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord to the middle of a valley that was filled with bones. ² He led me here and there throughout^[x] the valley, and I was amazed to see that the surface of the entire valley was covered with myriads of very dry bones! ³ The Lord^[y] asked me, “Son of Man, will these bones ever live?”

“Lord God,” I replied, “you know the answer to that!”^[z]

⁴ Then the Lord told me, “Prophesy to these bones. Tell them: ‘You dry bones, listen to the message from the Lord: “ ⁵ This is what the Lord God says to you^[aa] dry bones! ‘Pay attention! I’m bringing my Spirit into you right now, and you’re going to live! ⁶ I’m going to grow tendons on you, regenerate your flesh, cover you with skin, and make you breathe again so that you can come back to life and learn that I am the Lord.’”’”

The Bones are Raised to Life

⁷ So I prophesied, just as I had been ordered to do so. Immediately there was a noise and a rattling—and then all of a sudden the bones came together by themselves! Each bone came together, all of them attached together!^{[ab] 8} As I continued to watch, I saw tendons growing on the bones,^[ac] and muscles growing and covering them, and then skin covered the flesh from above. But the bodies weren’t breathing. ⁹ Then he ordered me, “Prophesy to the Spirit, Son of Man. Tell the Spirit, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Come from the four winds, you Spirit, and breathe into these people who have been killed, so they will live.”’” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as I had been ordered, breath entered them, and they began to live. They stood on their own feet as a vast, united army.

The Vision is Interpreted for Ezekiel

¹¹ “These bones represent the entire house of Israel,” the Lord^[ad] explained to me. “Look how they keep saying, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our future is lost. We’ve been completely eliminated!’ ¹² “Therefore prophesy to them, and tell them, ‘Watch me! I’m going to open your graves, lift you out of those graves, and bring my people back into the land of Israel. ¹³ Then you’ll learn that I am the Lord, when I’ve opened your graves and caused you to come up out of them, my people. ¹⁴ I’m going to place my Spirit in you all, and you will live. I’ll place you all into your land, and you’ll learn that I, the Lord, have been speaking and doing this,’ declares the Lord.’”

The Future Union of Israel and Judah

¹⁵ A message came to me from the Lord, and this is what it was: ¹⁶ “Now as for you, Son of Man, grab a stick of wood for yourself and write on it these words:

“Then grab another stick and write on it:

¹⁷ “Then join them together end-to-end so that they become a single baton in your hand. ¹⁸ When the descendants of your people ask you, ‘Would you please explain to us what you mean by this?’ ¹⁹ you are to tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Watch me! I’m taking the baton that represents Joseph, which Ephraim is holding in his hand, along with his companions the tribes of Israel, and I’m going to join them with the baton that represents Judah. I’m making them a single baton, that is, a complete baton in my hand.”

²⁰ “The batons on which you engrave your writing are to remain right in front of them in your hand. ²¹ Then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Watch me take the Israelis out of the nations where they’ve gone and return them from every direction. I’m going to bring them back into their own land. ²² I’m going to make them a united people in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and I’ll set a single king to rule over them. They’ll never again be two separate people. They’ll never again be divided into two kingdoms. ²³ They will never again defile themselves with their idols, with other loathsome things, or with any of their sins. Instead, I will deliver them from all of the places where they have sinned, and then I’ll cleanse them. They will be my people and I will be their God.”’”

David’s Rule as King

²⁴ “‘“My servant King David will be there for them, and one shepherd will be appointed for them. They will live according to my decrees, keep my regulations, and practice them. ²⁵ They will live in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob and on which your ancestors lived. They will live in that land, along with their children and grandchildren, forever. David my servant will be their everlasting leader. ²⁶ I’ll make a secure covenant^[ae] with them, one that will last forever. I will establish them, make them increase in population,^[af] and will place my sanctuary in their midst forever. ²⁷ I will pitch my tent among them and will be their God. They will be my people, ²⁸ and the nations will learn that I, the Lord, am the sanctifier of Israel when I place my sanctuary in their midst forever.”’”