Ezekiel, 36

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

1. "And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, O 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 eternal heights are owned by us now,

2. Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the enemy said of you, `Aha!' and, `The ancient heights have become our possession,'

3. very well, prophesy! Say: The Lord Yahweh says this: Since you have been ravaged and seized on from all sides, and have become the property of the rest of the nations, and become the subject of people's talk and gossip,

3. therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Because, yea, because they made you desolate, and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you became the talk and evil gossip of the people;

4. very well, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh! The Lord Yahweh says this to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the devastated ruins and abandoned cities which have been put to the sack and have become a laughing-stock to the rest of the nations all round;

4. therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD: Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, the desolate wastes and the deserted cities, which have become a prey and derision to the rest of the nations round about;

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

5. therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I speak in my hot jealousy against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who gave my land to themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, that they might possess it and plunder it.

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

6. Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I speak in my jealous wrath, because you have suffered the reproach of the nations;

7. very well, the Lord Yahweh says this: I raise my hand and I swear that the nations all around you shall have their own insults to bear.

7. therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I swear that the nations that are round about you shall themselves suffer reproach.

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

8. "But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people Israel; for they will soon come home.

9. Yes, I am coming to you, I shall turn to you; you will be tilled and sown.

9. For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown;

10. I shall increase your population, the whole House of Israel, yes, all. The cities will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt.

10. and I will multiply men upon you, the whole house of Israel, all of it; the cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt;

11. I shall increase your population, both human and animal; they will be fertile and reproduce. I shall repopulate you as you were before; I shall make you more prosperous than you were before, and you will know that I am Yahweh.

11. and I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and be fruitful; and I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times, and will do more good to you than ever before. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

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

12. Yea, I will let men walk upon you, even my people Israel; and they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer bereave them of children.

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

13. Thus says the Lord GOD: Because men say to you, `You devour men, and you bereave your nation of children,'

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

14. therefore you shall no longer devour men and no longer bereave your nation of children, says the Lord GOD;

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

15. and I will not let you hear any more the reproach of the nations, and you shall no longer bear the disgrace of the peoples and no longer cause your nation to stumble, says the Lord GOD."

16. The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows,

16. 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 it by 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 dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their doings; their conduct before me was like the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity.

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

18. So I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood which they had shed in the land, for the idols with which they had defiled it.

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

19. I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries; in accordance with their conduct and their deeds I judged them.

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

20. But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that men said of them, `These are the people of the LORD, and yet they had to go out of his land.'

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

21. But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel caused to be profaned among the nations to which they came.

22. And so, say to the House of Israel, "The Lord Yahweh says this: I am acting not for your sake, House of 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: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have 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. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them; and the nations will know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.

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

24. For I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land.

25. I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed; I shall cleanse you of all your filth and of all your foul idols.

25. I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.

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

26. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

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

27. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.

28. You will live in the country which I gave your ancestors. You will be my people and I shall be your God.

28. You shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

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

29. And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses; and I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you.

30. I shall increase the yield of tree and field, so that you will never again bear the ignominy of famine among the nations.

30. I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations.

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

31. Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominable deeds.

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

32. It is not for your sake that I will act, says the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.

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

33. "Thus 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 waste places shall be rebuilt.

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

34. And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by.

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

35. And they will say, `This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now inhabited and fortified.'

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

36. Then the nations that are left round about you shall know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt the ruined places, and replanted that which was desolate; I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it.

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

37. "Thus says the Lord GOD: This also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: to increase their men like a flock.

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

38. Like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men. Then they will know that I am the LORD."