Ezekiel 36

¹ 'Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel. Say, "Mountains of Israel, hear the word of Yahweh.

² The Lord Yahweh says this: Since the enemy has gloated over you by saying: Aha! These eternalheights are owned by us now,

³ very wel , prophesy! Say: The Lord Yahweh says this: Since you have been ravaged and seized onfrom al sides, and have become the property of the rest of the nations, and become the subject of people's talkand gossip,

⁴ very wel , mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh! The Lord Yahweh says this to themountains and hil s, to the ravines and val eys, to the devastated ruins and abandoned cities which have beenput to the sack and have become a laughing-stock to the rest of the nations al round;

⁵ very wel , the Lord Yahweh says this: I swear it in the heat of my jealousy; I am speaking to the rest ofthe nations and to the whole of Edom who so exultantly and contemptuously took possession of my country todespoil its pastureland."

⁶ 'Because of this, prophesy about the land of Israel. Say to the mountains and hil s, to the ravines andval eys, "The Lord Yahweh says this: I am speaking in my jealousy and rage; because you are enduring theinsults of the nations,

⁷ very wel , the Lord Yahweh says this: I raise my hand and I swear that the nations al around you shallhave their own insults to bear.

⁸ "Mountains of Israel, you will grow branches and bear fruit for my people Israel, who wil soon return.

⁹ Yes, I am coming to you, I shal turn to you; you wil be tilled and sown.

¹⁰ I shal increase your population, the whole House of Israel, yes, al . The cities wil be inhabited andthe ruins rebuilt.

¹¹ I shal increase your population, both human and animal; they wil be fertile and reproduce. I shalrepopulate you as you were before; I shal make you more prosperous than you were before, and you wil knowthat I am Yahweh.

¹² Thanks to me, men wil tread your soil again, my people Israel; they wil own you and you wil be theirheritage, and never again wil you rob them of their children.

¹³ "The Lord Yahweh says this: Since people have said of you: You are a man-eater, you have robbedyour nation of its children,

¹⁴ very well, you wil eat no more men, never rob your nation of its children again -- declares the LordYahweh.

¹⁵ I shal never again let you hear the insults of the nations, you wil never again have to bear the tauntsof the peoples, you wil never again rob the nation of its children -- declares the Lord Yahweh." '

¹⁶ The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as fol ows,

¹⁷ 'Son of man, the members of the House of Israel used to live in their own territory, but they defiled itby their conduct and actions; to me their conduct was as unclean as a woman's menstruation.

¹⁸ I then vented my fury on them because of the blood they shed in the country and the foul idols withwhich they defiled it.

¹⁹ I scattered them among the nations and they were dispersed throughout the countries. I sentencedthem as their conduct and actions deserved.

²⁰ They have profaned my holy name among the nations where they have gone, so that people say ofthem, "These are the people of Yahweh; they have been exiled from his land."

²¹ But I have been concerned about my holy name, which the House of Israel has profaned among thenations where they have gone.

²² And so, say to the House of Israel, "The Lord Yahweh says this: I am acting not for your sake, Houseof Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone.

²³ I am going to display the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations,which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am Yahweh -- declares the Lord Yahweh-- when in you I display my holiness before their eyes.

²⁴ For I shall take you from among the nations and gather you back from al the countries, and bring youhome to your own country.

²⁵ I shal pour clean water over you and you wil be cleansed; I shal cleanse you of all your filth and ofal your foul idols.

²⁶ I shal give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you; I shal remove the heart of stone from yourbodies and give you a heart of flesh instead.

²⁷ I shal put my spirit in you, and make you keep my laws, and respect and practise my judgements.

²⁸ You wil live in the country which I gave your ancestors. You wil be my people and I shal be yourGod.

²⁹ I shal save you from everything that defiles you, I shal summon the wheat and make it plentiful andimpose no more famines on you.

³⁰ I shal increase the yield of tree and field, so that you wil never again bear the ignominy of famineamong the nations.

³¹ Then you wil remember your evil conduct and actions. You will loathe yourselves for your guilt andyour loathsome practices.

³² I assure you that I am not doing this for your sake -- declares the Lord Yahweh. Be ashamed andblush for your conduct, House of Israel.

³³ "The Lord Yahweh says this: On the day I cleanse you from all your guilt, I shall repopulate the citiesand cause the ruins to be rebuilt.

³⁴ Waste land, once desolate for every passer-by to see, will now be farmed again.

³⁵ And people wil say: This land, so recently a waste, is now like a garden of Eden, and the ruinedcities once abandoned and levelled to the ground are now strongholds with people living in them.

³⁶ And the nations left round you wil know that I, Yahweh, have rebuilt what was levelled and replantedwhat was ruined. I, Yahweh, have spoken and shall do it.

³⁷ "The Lord Yahweh says this: As a further mark of favour, I shal let myself be consulted by the Houseof Israel; I shal increase their numbers like a human flock,

³⁸ like a flock of sacrificial animals, like the flock in Jerusalem on her solemn feasts. So your ruinedcities will be fil ed with human flocks, and they wil know that I am Yahweh." '