Ezekiel, 36

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

1. Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye 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 saith the Lord GOD; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in 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 saith the Lord GOD; Because they have made [you] desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and [are] an infamy 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, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that [are] 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 saith the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all [their] heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.

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. Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen:

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 saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that [are] about you, they shall bear their shame.

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

8. But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come.

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 unto you, and ye 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, all the house of Israel, [even] all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded:

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 bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better [unto you] than at your beginnings: and ye shall 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 cause men to walk upon you, [even] my people Israel; and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them [of men].

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 saith the Lord GOD; Because they say unto you, Thou [land] devourest up men, and hast bereaved thy nations;

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

14. Therefore thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave thy nations any more, saith 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. Neither will I cause [men] to hear in thee the shame of the heathen any more, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the people any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nations to fall any more, saith the Lord GOD.

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

16. Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

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 own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman.

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. Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols [wherewith] they had polluted 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. And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings 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. And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These [are] the people of the LORD, and are gone forth 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 pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.

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 unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not [this] for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.

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 sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I [am] the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you 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 among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will 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. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I 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 also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an 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 ye shall keep my judgments, and do [them].

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

28. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye 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. I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, 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. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.

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

31. Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that [were] not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.

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. Not for your sakes do I [this], saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own 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 saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause [you] to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded.

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

34. And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that 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 shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities [are become] fenced, [and] are inhabited.

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 heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined [places, and] plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken [it], 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 saith the Lord GOD; I will yet [for] this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do [it] for them; I will increase them with 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. As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I [am] the LORD.