Ezekiel 36

Chapter 36

Restoration for Israel

1 “Son of man, prophesy to Israel’s mountains. Give them this message: O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD!2 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Your enemies have taunted you, saying, ‘Aha! Now the ancient heights belong to us!’3 Therefore, son of man, give the mountains of Israel this message from the Sovereign LORD: Your enemies have attacked you from all directions, making you the property of many nations and the object of much mocking and slander.4 Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign LORD. He speaks to the hills and mountains, ravines and valleys, and to ruined wastes and long-deserted cities that have been destroyed and mocked by the surrounding nations.

5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: My jealous anger burns against these nations, especially Edom, because they have shown utter contempt for me by gleefully taking my land for themselves as plunder.
6 “Therefore, prophesy to the hills and mountains, the ravines and valleys of Israel. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am furious that you have suffered shame before the surrounding nations.

7 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I have taken a solemn oath that those nations will soon have their own shame to endure.
8 “But the mountains of Israel will produce heavy crops of fruit for my people—for they will be coming home again soon!9 See, I care about you, and I will pay attention to you. Your ground will be plowed and your crops planted.10 I will greatly increase the population of Israel, and the ruined cities will be rebuilt and filled with people.11 I will increase not only the people, but also your animals. O mountains of Israel, I will bring people to live on you once again. I will make you even more prosperous than you were before. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

12 I will cause my people to walk on you once again, and you will be their territory. You will never again rob them of their children.
13 “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: The other nations taunt you, saying, ‘Israel is a land that devours its own people and robs them of their children!’14 But you will never again devour your people or rob them of their children, says the Sovereign LORD.

15 I will not let you hear those other nations insult you, and you will no longer be mocked by them. You will not be a land that causes its nation to fall, says the Sovereign LORD.”
16 Then this further message came to me from the LORD:17 “Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by the evil way they lived. To me their conduct was as unclean as a woman’s menstrual cloth.18 They polluted the land with murder and the worship of idols,t so I poured out my fury on them.19 I scattered them to many lands to punish them for the evil way they had lived.20 But when they were scattered among the nations, they brought shame on my holy name. For the nations said, ‘These are the people of the LORD, but he couldn’t keep them safe in his own land!’

21 Then I was concerned for my holy name, on which my people brought shame among the nations.
22 “Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign LORD: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations.23 I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign LORD, then the nations will know that I am the LORD.

24 For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.
25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols.26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.t

27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.
28 “And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God.29 I will cleanse you of your filthy behavior. I will give you good crops of grain, and I will send no more famines on the land.30 I will give you great harvests from your fruit trees and fields, and never again will the surrounding nations be able to scoff at your land for its famines.31 Then you will remember your past sins and despise yourselves for all the detestable things you did.

32 But remember, says the Sovereign LORD, I am not doing this because you deserve it. O my people of Israel, you should be utterly ashamed of all you have done!
33 “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: When I cleanse you from your sins, I will repopulate your cities, and the ruins will be rebuilt.34 The fields that used to lie empty and desolate in plain view of everyone will again be farmed.35 And when I bring you back, people will say, ‘This former wasteland is now like the Garden of Eden! The abandoned and ruined cities now have strong walls and are filled with people!’

36 Then the surrounding nations that survive will know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt the ruins and replanted the wasteland. For I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do what I say.
37 “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am ready to hear Israel’s prayers and to increase their numbers like a flock.

38 They will be as numerous as the sacred flocks that fill Jerusalem’s streets at the time of her festivals. The ruined cities will be crowded with people once more, and everyone will know that I am the LORD.”

EZEKIEL 36

A Message //for Israel's Mountains

1 The [Lord] said:
Ezekiel, son of man, tell the mountains of Israel

2 that I, the [Lord] God, am saying:
Your enemies sneered and said that you mountains belonged to them. 3 They ruined and crushed you from every side, and foreign nations captured and made fun of you. 4 So all you mountains and hills, streams and valleys, listen to what I will do. Your towns may now lie in ruins, and nations may laugh and insult you. 5 But in my fierce anger, I will turn against those nations, and especially the Edomites, because they laughed at you the loudest and took over your pasturelands. 6 You have suffered long enough, and, I, the [Lord] God, am very angry! Nations have insulted you,

7 so I will now insult and disgrace them. That is my solemn promise.
8 Trees will grow on you mountains of Israel and produce fruit for my people, because they will soon come home. 9 I will take care of you by plowing your soil and planting crops on your fertile slopes. 10 The people of Israel will return and rebuild your ruined towns and live in them.

11 Children will be born, and animals will give birth to their young. You will no longer be deserted as you are now, but you will be covered with people and treated better than ever. Then you will know that I am the [Lord].
12 I will bring my people Israel home, and they will live on you mountains, because you belong to them, and your fertile slopes will never again let them starve. 13 It's true that you have been accused of not producing enough food and of letting your people starve.

14-15 But I, the [Lord], promise that you won't hear other nations laugh and sneer at you ever again. From now on, you will always produce plenty of food for your people. I, the [Lord] God, have spoken.

The [Lord] Will Be Honored

16 The [Lord] said:
17 Ezekiel, son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own country, they made the land unclean by the way they behaved, just as a woman's monthly period makes her unclean. 18 They committed murders and worshiped idols, which made the land even worse. So in my anger, I punished my people 19 and scattered them throughout the nations, just as they deserved.

20 Wherever they went, my name was disgraced, because foreigners insulted my people by saying I had forced them out of their own land.
21 I care what those foreigners think of me,

22 so tell the Israelites that I am saying:
You have disgraced my holy name among the nations where you now live. So you don't deserve what I'm going to do for you. I will lead you home to bring honor to my name

23 and to show foreign nations that I am holy. Then they will know that I am the [Lord] God. I have spoken.
24 I will gather you from the foreign nations and bring you home. 25 I will sprinkle you with clean water, and you will be clean and acceptable to me. I will wash away everything that makes you unclean, and I will remove your disgusting idols. 26 t I will take away your stubborn heart and give you a new heart and a desire to be faithful. You will have only pure thoughts, 27 because I will put my Spirit in you and make you eager to obey my laws and teachings.

28 You will once again live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.
29 I will protect you from anything that makes you unclean. Your fields will overflow with grain, and no one will starve. 30 Your trees will be filled with fruit, and crops will grow in your fields, so that you will never again feel ashamed for not having enough food. 31 You will remember your evil ways and hate yourselves for what you've done.

32 People of Israel, I'm not doing these things for your sake. You sinned against me, and you must suffer shame and disgrace for what you have done. I, the [Lord] God, have spoken.
33 After I have made you clean, I will let you rebuild your ruined towns and let you live in them. 34 Your land will be plowed again, and nobody will be able to see that it was once barren. 35 Instead, they will say that it looks as beautiful as the garden of Eden. They won't see towns lying in ruins, but they will see your strong cities filled with people.

36 Then the nearby nations that survive will know that I am the one who rebuilt the ruined places and replanted the barren fields. I, the [Lord], make this promise.
37 I will once again answer your prayers, and I will let your nation grow until you are like a large flock of sheep. 38 The towns that now lie in ruins will be filled with people, just as Jerusalem was once filled with sheep to be offered as sacrifices during a festival. Then you will know that I am the [Lord].