Promise of Israel's Restoration and Spiritual Renewal
Ezekiel 36:1-38
1And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD.2Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the enemy has said concerning you, Aha, and the high places of old have become a possession for us,3therefore prophesy and say: Thus says the Lord GOD: Because they have made you desolate and crushed you from around, so that you became a possession for the remnant of the nations and were taken up on the lips of the tongue and the slander of the people,4therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD. Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and to the hills, to the channels and to the valleys, and to the desolations that are devastated, and to the forsaken cities that have become plunder and derision for the remnant of the nations that are around,5therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Surely with the fire of my jealousy I have spoken against the remnant of the nations and against all Edom, who gave my land to them as a possession with joy of all heart, with scorn of soul, because of pasture for plunder.6Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and to the hills, to the channels and to the valleys: Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my rage because you have borne the shame of nations.7Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I have lifted up my hand. Surely the nations around you, they shall bear their shame.8And you, mountains of Israel, shall yield your branches and bear your fruit for my people Israel, for they are near to come.9For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown.10And I will multiply people upon you, the whole house of Israel, all of it; the cities shall be inhabited and the desolate places shall be rebuilt.11And I will multiply upon you both people and animals; they shall multiply and be fruitful. I will make you dwell as in your former times and will do better for you than at your beginnings, and you shall know that I am the LORD.12And I will cause my people Israel to walk upon you, and they shall possess you, and you shall become their inheritance, and you shall no longer bereave them.13Thus says the Lord GOD: Because they say to you, You who devour man, you, and you who bereave your nations, you have become,14therefore you shall no longer devour man, and your nations shall no longer be bereaved, declares the Lord GOD.15And I will not again let you hear the shame of the nations, and the reproach of peoples you shall no longer bear, and your nations shall no longer stumble, declares the Lord GOD.16And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,17Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land they defiled it by their conduct and by their wanton deeds; their way was before me like the uncleanness of impurity.18So I poured out my rage upon them because of the blood they had shed on the land, and they defiled it with their idols.19I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the lands; I judged them according to their conduct and according to their wanton deeds.20And they came to the nations to which they went, and they profaned my holy name when people said of them, These are the people of the LORD, and yet they came out of his land.21But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came.22Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake that I am doing, O house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you profaned among the nations to which you came.23And I will consecrate my great name that was profaned among the nations, which you profaned in their midst, and the nations shall know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when I show myself holy among you before their eyes.24I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land.25I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.26And 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.27And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.28You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.29I will deliver you from all your uncleanness, and I will summon the grain and make it abundant; I will not bring famine upon you.30I will make the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field abundant, so that you will never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations.31Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations.32It is not for your sake that I am doing, declares the Lord GOD; let it be known to you. Be ashamed and be humiliated because of your ways, O house of Israel.33Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited and the desolations to be rebuilt.34And the desolate land shall be tilled instead of remaining a wasteland in the sight of all who pass by.35And they will say, This land has become like a garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.36And the nations that are left around you shall know that I am the LORD; I have rebuilt the ruined places and planted the desolate land; I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.37Thus says the Lord GOD: This also I will do for the house of Israel: I will multiply them like a flock of men.38Like the flock set apart for sacred use, like the flock of Jerusalem at her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men, and they shall know that I am the LORD.