Old/New Testament
Chapter 35
Against Edom.[a] 1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it. 3 Say to it: Thus says the Lord God: Watch out! I am against you, Mount Seir. I will stretch out my hand against you and turn you into a desolate waste.(A) 4 Your cities I will turn into ruins, and you shall be a desolation; then you shall know that I am the Lord.(B)
5 Because you nursed a long-standing hatred and handed the Israelites over to the sword at the time of their collapse, at the time of their final punishment,[b](C) 6 therefore, as I live—oracle of the Lord God—you are guilty of blood, and blood, I swear, shall pursue you. 7 I will make Mount Seir a desolate waste and cut off from it anyone who travels across it and back.(D) 8 I will fill its mountains with the slain; those slain by the sword shall fall on your hills, into your valleys and all your ravines.
9 I will make you a desolation forever,
your cities will not be inhabited,
and you shall know that I am the Lord.(E)
10 Because you said: The two nations and the two lands[c] belong to me; let us take possession of them—although the Lord was there— 11 therefore, as I live—oracle of the Lord God—I will deal with you according to the anger and envy you dealt out to them in your hatred, and I will make myself known to them when I execute judgment on you,(F) 12 then you shall know that I am the Lord.
I have heard all the insults you spoke against the mountains of Israel, saying: They are desolate; they have been given to us to devour. 13 You boasted against me with your mouths and used insolent words against me. I heard everything! 14 Thus says the Lord God: Because you rejoiced that the whole land was desolate, so I will do to you. 15 As you rejoiced over the devastation of the heritage of the house of Israel, the same I will do to you: you will become a ruin, Mount Seir, and the whole of Edom, all of it! Then they shall know that I am the Lord.(G)
Chapter 36
Regeneration of the Land. 1 As for you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord! 2 Thus says the Lord God: Because the enemy said about you, “Ha! the ancient heights have become our possession,” 3 therefore prophesy and say: Thus says the Lord God: because you have been ridiculed and hounded on all sides for becoming a possession for the remaining nations and have become a byword and a popular jeer,(H) 4 therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and abandoned cities, plundered and mocked by the nations remaining around you:(I) 5 therefore thus says the Lord God: Truly, with burning jealousy I speak against the remaining nations and against Edom; they all took possession of my land for plunder with wholehearted joy and utter contempt. 6 Therefore, prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: Thus says the Lord God: See! in my jealous fury I speak, because you endured the reproach of the nations. 7 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: I raise my hand and swear: the nations around you shall bear their own reproach.
8 But you, mountains of Israel, you will sprout branches and bear fruit for my people Israel, for they are coming soon.(J) 9 Look! I am for you! I will turn my face toward you; you will be plowed and planted.(K) 10 Upon you I will multiply the whole house of Israel; cities shall be resettled and ruins rebuilt.(L) 11 Upon you I will multiply people and animals so they can multiply and be fruitful. I will resettle you as in the past, and make you more prosperous than at your beginning; then you shall know that I am the Lord.(M)
12 Upon you I will have them walk, my people Israel. They shall possess you, and you shall be their heritage. Never again shall you rob them of their children.
13 Thus says the Lord God: Because they say of you, “You devour your own people,[d] you rob your nation of its children,”(N) 14 therefore, you shall never again devour your people or rob your nation of its children—oracle of the Lord God. 15 I will no longer make you listen to the reproach of nations. You will never again endure insults from the peoples. Never again shall you rob your nation of its children—oracle of the Lord God.
Regeneration of the People. 16 The word of the Lord came to me: 17 Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in its land, they defiled it with their behavior and their deeds. In my sight their behavior was like the impurity of a woman in menstruation.(O) 18 So I poured out my fury upon them for the blood they poured out on the ground and for the idols with which they defiled it. 19 I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through other lands; according to their behavior and their deeds I carried out judgment against them.(P) 20 [e]But when they came to the nations, where they went, they desecrated my holy name, for people said of them: “These are the people of the Lord, yet they had to leave their land.” 21 So I relented because of my holy name which the house of Israel desecrated among the nations to which they came. 22 Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Not for your sake do I act, house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you desecrated among the nations to which you came.(Q) 23 But I will show the holiness of my great name, desecrated among the nations, in whose midst you desecrated it. Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord—oracle of the Lord God—when through you I show my holiness before their very eyes.(R) 24 I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you back to your own soil. 25 [f](S)I will sprinkle clean water over you to make you clean; from all your impurities and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 (T)I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.(U) 27 I will put my spirit within you so that you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep them.(V) 28 You will live in the land I gave to your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.(W) 29 I will deliver you from all your impurities. I will summon the grain and make it plentiful; I will not send famine against you. 30 I will increase the fruit on your trees and the crops in your fields so that you no longer endure reproach from the nations because of famine.(X) 31 Then you will remember your evil behavior and your deeds that were not good; you will loathe yourselves for your sins and your abominations. 32 Not for your sake do I act—oracle of the Lord God. Let this be known to you! Be ashamed and humbled because of your behavior, house of Israel.
33 Thus says the Lord God: When I cleanse you of all your guilt, I will resettle the cities and the ruins will be rebuilt.(Y) 34 The desolate land will be tilled—once a wasteland in the eyes of every passerby. 35 They will say, “This once-desolate land has become like the garden of Eden. The cities once ruined, laid waste and destroyed, are now resettled and fortified.”(Z) 36 Then the surrounding nations that remain shall know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt what was destroyed and replanted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken: I will do it. 37 Thus says the Lord God: This also I will be persuaded to do for the house of Israel: to multiply them like sheep. 38 Like sheep for sacrifice, like the sheep of Jerusalem on its feast days, the ruined cities shall be filled with flocks of people; then they shall know that I am the Lord.(AA)
I. Address
Chapter 1
Greeting. 1 [a]Symeon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of equal value to ours through the righteousness of our God and savior Jesus Christ: 2 may grace and peace be yours in abundance through knowledge[b] of God and of Jesus our Lord.
II. Exhortation to Christian Virtue
The Power of God’s Promise.[c] 3 His divine power has bestowed on us everything that makes for life and devotion, through the knowledge of him(A) who called us by his own glory and power.[d] 4 Through these, he has bestowed on us the precious and very great promises, so that through them you may come to share in the divine nature, after escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.(B) 5 [e]For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge,(C) 6 knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, 7 devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love. 8 If these are yours and increase in abundance, they will keep you from being idle or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 (D)Anyone who lacks them is blind and shortsighted, forgetful of the cleansing of his past sins. 10 [f]Therefore, brothers, be all the more eager to make your call and election firm, for, in doing so, you will never stumble. 11 For, in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.
Apostolic Witness. 12 [g]Therefore, I will always remind you of these things, even though you already know them and are established in the truth you have. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this “tent,”[h] to stir you up by a reminder, 14 since I know that I will soon have to put it aside, as indeed our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me.(E) 15 I shall also make every effort to enable you always to remember these things after my departure.
16 We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming[i] of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty.(F) 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father[j] when that unique declaration came to him from the majestic glory, “This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”(G) 18 We[k] ourselves heard this voice come from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 (H)Moreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable. You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 [l]Know this first of all, that there is no prophecy of scripture that is a matter of personal interpretation, 21 for no prophecy ever came through human will; but rather human beings moved by the holy Spirit spoke under the influence of God.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.