Ezekiel 36

1 And thou, son of man, prophesy unto mountains of Israel, and thou hast said, O mountains of Israel, hear a word of Jehovah.

“And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: Mountains of Israel, listen to this message from the Lord.

2 Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because the enemy said against you, Aha, and the high places of old for a possession have been to us,

This is what the Lord God says: The enemy said about you, ‘Aha! These old high places now belong to us,’

3 therefore, prophesy, and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because, even because, of desolating, And of swallowing you up from round about, For your being a possession to the remnant of the nations, And ye are taken up on the tip of the tongue, And [are] an evil report of the people.

so you must prophesy and announce that this is what the Lord God says: They have turned you into a wasteland, attacking you from every direction, so that you became the property of other nations and people gossiped about you and slandered you.

4 Therefore, O mountains of Israel, Hear a word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus said the Lord Jehovah, to mountains, and to hills, To streams, and to valleys, And to wastes that [are] desolate, And to cities that are forsaken, That have been for a prey, And for a scorn, to the remnant of the nations who [are] round about.

So now, mountains of Israel, listen to the message from the Lord God. This is what the Lord God says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the deserted ruins and abandoned towns, that the other nations around you have looted and mocked.

5 Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Have I not, in the fire of My jealousy, Spoken against the remnant of the nations, And against Edom — all of it, Who gave My land to themselves for a possession, With the joy of the whole heart — with despite of soul, For the sake of casting it out for a prey?

Yes, this is what the Lord God says: I have spoken passionately against these other nations, and against all the Edomites, who took over my country and made it theirs, happily celebrating as they looted the land and treated me with complete contempt.

6 Therefore, prophesy concerning the ground of Israel, And thou hast said to mountains, and to hills, To streams, and to valleys, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I, in My jealousy, and in My fury, I have spoken, Because the shame of nations ye have borne.

So prophesy concerning the country of Israel and tell the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, that this is what the Lord God says: Just watch, for I have spoken passionately about this because you have had to put up with this mockery from other nations.

7 Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: I — I have lifted up My hand, Do not — the nations who [are] with you from round about — they their own shame bear?

This is what the Lord God says: I hold up my hand and swear that the other nations around you will suffer their own shame.

8 And ye, O mountains of Israel, Your branch ye give out, and your fruits ye bear for My people Israel, For they have drawn near to come.

But you, mountains of Israel, will grow trees that will produce fruit for my people Israel, for soon they'll be coming home.

9 For, lo, I [am] for you, and have turned to you, And ye have been tilled and sown.

Look, I am for you and I will help you. Your land will be ploughed, and crops will be sown.

10 And I have multiplied on you men, All the house of Israel — all of it, And the cities have been inhabited, And the wastes are built.

You will support the people of Israel as they return and grow in number. People will live in the towns again and rebuild the ruins.

11 And I have multiplied on you man and beast, And they have multiplied and been fruitful, And I have caused you to dwell according to your former states, And I have done better than at your beginnings, And ye have known that I [am] Jehovah.

The number of your people will grow— they will have many children. The animals too will have many young. I will make sure that you're inhabited just as you used to be, and I will make you more prosperous that you were before. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

12 And I have caused man to walk over you, — My people Israel, And they possess thee, and thou hast been to them for an inheritance, And thou dost add no more to bereave them.

I will have my people Israel walk on you mountains. You will be theirs; you will belong to them, and you will no longer rob your nation of their children.

13 Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because they are saying to you: A devourer of men [art] thou, And a bereaver of thy nations thou hast been,

This is what the Lord God says: Because people say to you, ‘You eat people, and rob your nation of their children,’

14 Therefore, man thou devourest no more, And thy nations thou causest not to stumble any more, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

from now on you won't eat people or rob your nation of their children, declares the Lord God.

15 And I proclaim not unto thee any more the shame of the nations, And the reproach of peoples thou bearest no more, And thy nations stumble not any more, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.'

I'm going to stop these nations insulting you, and you won't have to put up with their taunts any more, or make the nation fall, declares the Lord God.”

16 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

Another message from Lord came to me, saying,

17 'Son of man, The house of Israel are dwelling on their land, And they defile it by their way and by their doings, As the uncleanness of a separated one hath their way been before Me.

“Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their country, they made it unclean by the way they behaved, by what they did. The way they were behaving in my presence was like the ceremonial uncleanness of a woman's period.

18 And I do pour out My fury upon them For the blood that they shed on the land, And with their idols they have defiled it.

So I became angry with them because of murders they committed in the country, and because they made it unclean by worshiping idols.

19 And I scatter them among nations, And they are spread through lands, According to their way, and according to their doings, I have judged them.

I scattered them among the different nations and countries. I judged them according to the way they had behaved and what they did.

20 And one goeth in unto the nations whither they have gone, And they pollute My holy name by saying to them, The people of Jehovah [are] these, And from His land they have gone forth.

But wherever they went among the nations, they ruined my reputation, because people said about them, ‘These are the Lord's people, but they had to leave his country.’

21 And I have pity on My holy name, That the house of Israel have polluted among nations whither they have gone in.

So I had to take care of my reputation for holiness which the people of Israel had ruined among the nations where they'd gone.

22 Therefore, say to the house of Israel, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Not for your sake am I working, O house of Israel, But — for My holy name, That ye have polluted among nations whither ye have gone in.

Tell the people of Israel that this is what the Lord God says: I'm not doing this for you, people of Israel, but for my reputation for holiness, which you ruined among the nations where you went.

23 And I have sanctified My great name, That is profaned among nations, That ye have polluted in your midst, And known have the nations that I [am] Jehovah, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, In My being sanctified in you before your eyes.

I will reveal the holy nature and importance of my reputation, which has been ruined among the nations, the reputation you have ruined among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when I reveal my holiness through you as they watch.

24 And I have taken you out of the nations, And have gathered you out of all the lands, And I have brought you in unto your land,

For I will bring you back from among the nations, gathering you from all the different countries, and I will lead you back into your own country.

25 And I have sprinkled over you clean water, And ye have been clean; From all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols, I do cleanse you.

I will also pour pure water over you, and you will be clean. I will wash you clean from all your uncleanness and from all your idols.

26 And I have given to you a new heart, And a new spirit I give in your midst, And I have turned aside the heart of stone out of your flesh, And I have given to you a heart of flesh.

I will give you a new mind and I will put a new spirit inside you. I will take away your stubborn mind and I will give you a loving mind.

27 And My Spirit I give in your midst, And I have done this, so that in My statutes ye walk, And My judgments ye keep, and have done them.

I will put my Spirit inside you so you will follow my laws and remember to do what I tell you.

28 And ye have dwelt in the land that I have given to your fathers, And ye have been to Me for a people, And I — I am to you for God.

Then you will live in the country I gave to your forefathers. You will be my people, and I will be your God.

29 And I have saved you from all your uncleannesses, And I have called unto the corn, and multiplied it, And I have put no famine upon you.

I will save you from everything that makes you unclean. I will make sure you have plenty of grain. I won't send you any famines.

30 And I have multiplied the fruit of the tree, And the increase of the field, So that ye receive not any more a reproach of famine among nations.

I will also make sure you have good harvests from your orchards and fields, so that you won't be mocked by other nations anymore because of famine.

31 And ye have remembered your ways that [are] evil, And your doings that [are] not good, And have been loathsome in your own faces, For your iniquities, and for your abominations.

Then you will remember your evil ways and terrible things you've done, and you'll hate yourselves for your sins and disgusting actions.

32 Not for your sake am I working, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Be it known to you, Be ashamed and confounded, because of your ways, O house of Israel.

You need to realize that I'm not doing this for your sake, declares the Lord God. You should be ashamed and embarrassed for what you've done, people of Israel!

33 Thus said the Lord Jehovah: In the day of My cleansing you from all your iniquities, I have caused the cities to be inhabited, And the wastes have been built,

This is what the Lord God says: On the day I make you clean from all your sins, I will have you live in your towns again and make sure the ruins are rebuilt.

34 And the desolate land is tilled, Instead of which it was a desolation before the eyes of every passer by,

The land that was deserted will be cultivated again instead of looking abandoned to everyone passing by.

35 And they have said: This land, that was desolated, Hath been as the garden of Eden, And the cities — the wasted, And the desolated, and the broken down, Fenced places have remained.

Then they will say, ‘This deserted land is now like the garden of Eden. The towns that were demolished, abandoned, and destroyed have been restored and strengthened, and people are living in them.’

36 And known have the nations who are left round about you, That I Jehovah have built the thrown down, I have planted the desolated: I Jehovah have spoken, and I have done [it].

Then those nations around you that are left will acknowledge that I, the Lord, have rebuilt what was demolished, and that I have replanted what was destroyed. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will carry it out.

37 Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Yet this I am required, By the house of Israel to do to them, I multiply them as a flock of men,

This is what the Lord God says: I will once again answer the prayers of the people of Israel. This is what I will do for them: I will have them increase in number like a flock.

38 As a flock of holy ones, as a flock of Jerusalem, In her appointed seasons, So are the waste cities full of flocks of men, And they have known that I [am] Jehovah!'

Just like all the many flocks that are brought to Jerusalem to be sacrificed during the religious festivals, so the towns that were once demolished will be full of flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”