Ezekiel 36

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 'Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel. Say, "Mountains of Israel, hear the word of Yahweh.	1 As for you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel: Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD!
2 The Lord Yahweh says this: Since the enemy has gloated over you by saying: Aha! These eternalheights are owned by us now,	2 Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the enemy has said of you, "Ha! the everlasting heights have become our possession"
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,	3 (therefore prophesy in these words: Thus says the Lord GOD:); because you have been ridiculed and despised on all sides for having become a possession for the rest of the nations, and have become a byword and a popular jeer;
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;	4 therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD: (Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, the desolate ruins and abandoned cities, which have been given over to the pillage and mockery of the remaining nations round about;
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."	5 therefore thus says the Lord GOD:) Truly, with burning jealousy I speak against the rest of the nations (and against all of Edom) who with wholehearted joy and utter contempt have considered my land their possession to be delivered over to plunder.
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,	6 (Therefore, prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys: Thus says the Lord GOD:) With jealous fury I speak, because you have borne the reproach 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.	7 Therefore do I solemnly swear that your neighboring nations shall bear their own reproach.
8 "Mountains of Israel, you will grow branches and bear fruit for my people Israel, who wil soon return.	8 As for you, mountains of Israel, you shall grow branches and bear fruit for my people Israel, for they shall soon return.
9 Yes, I am coming to you, I shal turn to you; you wil be tilled and sown.	9 See, I come to you, it is to you that I turn; you will 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.	10 and I will settle crowds of men upon you, the whole house of Israel; cities shall be repeopled, and 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.	11 I will settle crowds of men and beasts upon you, to multiply and be fruitful. I will repeople you as in the past, and be more generous to you than in the beginning; thus you shall know that I am the LORD.
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.	12 (My people Israel are the ones whom I will have walk upon you; they shall take possession of you, and you shall be their heritage. Never again shall 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,	13 Thus says the Lord GOD: Because they have said of you, "You are a land that devours men, and you rob your people of their children";
14 very well, you wil eat no more men, never rob your nation of its children again -- declares the LordYahweh.	14 therefore, never again shall you devour men or rob your people of their children, says the Lord GOD.
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." '	15 No more will I permit you to hear the reproach of nations, or bear insults from peoples, or rob your people of their children, says the Lord GOD.
16 The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as fol ows,	16 Thus the word of the LORD came to me:
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.	17 Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their land, they defiled it by their conduct and deeds. In my sight their conduct was like the defilement of a menstruous woman.
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.	18 Therefore I poured out my fury upon them (because of the blood which they poured out on the ground, and because they defiled it with idols).
19 I scattered them among the nations and they were dispersed throughout the countries. I sentencedthem as their conduct and actions deserved.	19 I scattered them among the nations, dispersing them over foreign lands; according to their conduct and deeds I judged them.
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."	20 But when they came among the nations (wherever they came), they served to profane my holy name, because it was said of them: "These are the people of the LORD, yet they had to leave their land."
21 But I have been concerned about my holy name, which the House of Israel has profaned among thenations where they have gone.	21 So I have relented because of my holy name which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they came.
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.	22 Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord GOD: Not for your sakes do I act, house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you profaned among the nations to which you came.
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.	23 I will prove the holiness of my great name, profaned among the nations, in whose midst you have profaned it. Thus the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD, when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.
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.	24 For I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the foreign lands, and bring you back to your own land.
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.	25 I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
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.	26 I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts.
27 I shal put my spirit in you, and make you keep my laws, and respect and practise my judgements.	27 I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees.
28 You wil live in the country which I gave your ancestors. You wil be my people and I shal be yourGod.	28 You shall live in the land I gave your fathers; you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
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.	29 I will save you from all your impurities; I will order the grain to be abundant, and I will not send famine against you.
30 I shal increase the yield of tree and field, so that you wil never again bear the ignominy of famineamong the nations.	30 I will increase the fruit on your trees and the crops in your fields; thus you shall no longer bear among the nations the reproach of famine.
31 Then you wil remember your evil conduct and actions. You will loathe yourselves for your guilt andyour loathsome practices.	31 Then you shall remember your evil conduct, and that your deeds were not good; you shall loathe yourselves for your sins and your abominations.
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.	32 Not for your sakes do I act, says the Lord GOD--let this be known to you! Be ashamed and abashed because of your conduct, O 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.	33 Thus says the Lord GOD: When I purify you from all your crimes, I will repeople the cities, and the ruins shall be rebuilt;
34 Waste land, once desolate for every passer-by to see, will now be farmed again.	34 the desolate land shall be tilled, which was formerly a wasteland exposed to the gaze of every passer-by.
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.	35 "This desolate land has been made into a garden of Eden," they shall say. "The cities that were in ruins, laid waste, and destroyed are now repeopled and fortified."
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.	36 Thus the neighboring nations that remain shall know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt what was destroyed and replanted what was desolate. I, the LORD, have promised, and I will 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,	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 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." '	38 As with sacrificial sheep, the sheep of Jerusalem on its feast days, the cities which were in ruins shall be filled with flocks of men; thus they shall know that I am the LORD.